A Cheater's Game
Chapter 3 – Red and Porcelain and Black
Last Chapter – "Barrett!" The fourth year turned from his group of friends at Draco's call.
"Yeah what?" Nelson replied, cocky as he strutted over towards Draco.
"Want to make a few quick Galleons?" Draco shone a handful of gold in his face. Nelson eyed it greedily, a mischievous smirk on his face.
"What do you have in mind?"
One the way to Draco's next class, Charms, Nelson scurried passed him, a mischievous grin spread across his face. As the fourth year rounded the corner, perfectly timed, so did Hermione from the opposite direction. The result was … well, loud to say the least.
Nelson skidded straight into the unsuspecting witch, sending them both on a scream and gasp-filled trip to the floor. Books, parchment and quills went flying into the air, scattering around them like leaves on a windy autumn's day.
"Barrett!" Draco yelled through all the noise and commotion on-lookers were making. "How many times have I told you NOT to run in the corridors?"
Hermione, who was now on her back, bushy brown hair in her face, looked up in surprise.
"I don't know," Nelson retorted ignorantly. "How many?"
Draco shot him a warning glare.
"Get off Miss Granger," Draco ordered. "Now!"
Barrett, who was sprawled over Hermione's legs, smirked.
"Do I have to?"
Hermione made a noise of repulsion and pushed the boy off her in disgust.
"Get to class Barrett before I inform Snape of your consistent rule-breaking," Draco threatened. "He's already started handing out detentions today – I'm sure you don't want to be the next. Now go."
Barrett picked himself off the ground.
"With pleasure," he said with a short bow before walking passed Hermione with a wink.
Great, first I get stuck with an arrogant git for all of potions, now some Slytherin bowls me over on the way to class. Could this day get any worse?
"Are you alright?" Draco asked, standing over her offering a helping hand.
"Not like you care," Hermione brushed him off, ignored his hand and began to scramble around the floor for her belongings. A group of giggling girls pointed at Hermione fumbling around on the floor, laughing unmercifully.
"Get to class girls," Draco told them. A tall blonde girl with a face full of make up stepped forward.
"Aww, but do we have to?" She remarked, flipping her hair over her shoulder, flirting. "A hopeless Mudblood is always fun to watch."
Hermione froze, the comment hitting her like ice. Amidst all the laughter, she hurried to collect all her things so she could just get out of there.
"Do you want me to inform Professor Dumbledore what you just said?" Draco asked, his voice cold.
"But Draco, you always-" The Slytherin girl protested.
"Get to class!" Draco barked, sending the girls scattering to their classes. By the time Draco had turned around to help Hermione, she had almost finished picking everything up.
"Here let me," Draco offered, picking up her last textbook and handing it to Hermione. She snatched it out of his hands without thanks and quickly headed off down the corridor away from him.
"Hey wait up, are you alright?" Draco reached out and grabbed her shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" Hermione screamed at him, eyes brimming with tears. "After all these years of you criticising me, how can you even dare to feel sorry for me you hypocritical bastard!"
"I'm just trying to help!" Draco exclaimed.
"You have no idea what it's like to try so hard to get such good grades and then to have snobby, rich brats crush me by reminding me that I'm not a pure witch," Hermione spat, tears running down her cheeks. "You couldn't possibly have any idea, Draco, so stop trying to sympathise with me!"
She threw his hand off before it even rested on her arm and ran away from him.
Bloody hell Weasley, Brown better have been worth it – because if I get much more of this it's going to kill me!
Ron, after finally getting out of Snape's office with a detention for tonight, had only a few minutes of morning break left. By now he was starving but he didn't think Flitwick would see hunger as an excuse for being late. Just my luck … I think I'll die of starvation if I get kept back before lunch!
He passed the Great Hall, a longing in his eyes that only food could suppress but unfortunately for him stopping to eat was out of the question. Ron sighed and stalked up towards the Gryffindor Common Room silently sulking. As Ron reached the fourth floor, Hermione clumsily ran out of the corridor fumbling with her book bag. She didn't see Ron until it was too late to cover up. Furiously wiping at the tears streaking her face, she brushed passed her boyfriend without a word, running up the stairs.
"Hermione!" Ron called out, reaching for her.
"Leave her, Weasley," Draco muttered, his sudden appearance causing Ron to jump. The red head quickly recovered his stature.
"What did you do to her?" Ron shouted. "What did you say!" He grabbed the collar of Draco's robes and shook him furiously. "What did you say, Malfoy!"
With a swift movement, Draco pushed Ron off him with surprising force, grabbed the red head's arm and pushed him up against the wall. Ron took in a sharp intake of breath out of shock, wincing as Draco twisted his arm behind his back.
"Don't touch me, Weasley," Draco warned, "These are new robes," he added in disgust. "We may have a deal but I can still tell you girlfriend whenever I want if I wish to do so. However I want to play this game and make your cheating ass suffer, just as you deserve."
Draco pulled Ron's arm even tighter getting a painful moan out of him. He smirked in satisfaction.
"And as a matter of fact, Weasley," he spat the word as if it were filth on his tongue. "I haven't told her. That little dramatic act you just saw has nothing to do with you."
"So it was your fault," Ron murmured as best he could, his face pressed up against the wall. "You made her upset. You made her cry."
"You think that is bad?" Draco exclaimed. "How do you think she is going to feel when she finds out you've been sleeping with Brown!"
"She'd never cheat on me, you know that Malfoy," Ron breathed. "So why try?"
Draco seemed to ponder this for a moment before carefully choosing his words.
"This is a challenge. And either way I win. Both you and the Mudblood are going to suffer and how much you suffer will depend on how hard I try," Draco paused, the suspense building, blood rushing to Ron's ears. "And I plan to try very, very hard."
Ron's whole body tensed as Draco released his arm, the bell ringing in the distance. The Slytherin Prince roughly pushed Weasley into the wall, not that Ron had much further to go, and laughed coldly as he walked away.
"Hermione would never cheat on me," Ron breathed softly, leaning against the wall out of breath. "She'd never cheat on me … she'd never … never …"
Albeit her dramatic run-in with a dozen Slytherins minutes before class, Hermione was still one of the first to take her seat in the Charms classroom, all traces of her former tears erased from her face though evident still in her eyes. Draco and Ron were still yet to arrive when Flitwick put them in pairs to work. Thankfully the Charms teacher put her with Harry.
"Harry, I feel like I haven't spoken to you in ages!" Hermione exclaimed, feigning enthusiasm unlike her own. Harry however, seemed glad that Hermione was acting happy at all and jumped right into conversation as they practised making flying objects appear temporarily invisible.
"Now the trick to this one is the soft, flowing motion," Flitwick advised. "Not a harsh flick of the wrist, slow … flowing …"
"… so you and Ron are going well?" Harry asked casually, yet his eyes flicked over at her, immense curiousity in them impossible to hide. Hermione noted the oddity in Harry's voice immediately, but made no comment to such ridiculous underlying meanings.
"Yes, we're going great," Hermione replied cheerfully. "He went to Dumbledore's Office for some reason last night though …"
Harry hesitated with what he was doing for barely a second – Hermione caught it.
"Do you have any idea why that might be?" Hermione asked, looking at Harry with the epitome of ignorance, a questioning look on her face. Whether it was genuine or not, Harry couldn't tell.
She's onto him … oh what do I do? Do I tell her? … NO! But what would Ron do then! … He's my best friend.
So is she.
He's my best friend.
He's cheating on her.
He's my best friend.
CHEAT!
"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked, slightly alarmed by the way Harry's complexion had paled by half a dozen shades. Eyes slightly glazed, Harry furiously shook his head as though shaking thoughts out of his mind. He turned to Hermione, eyes wide, a smile trying to etch its way on to his features.
"I don't know what he's doing!" Harry blurted.
"Is Ron failing in Divination?" Hermione pressed.
"Failing?" Harry began, almost incredulous. "But that's one of his be-"
"Ah, Mister Weasley, Mister Malfoy," Flitwick said upon their arrival into the classroom, cutting Harry and Hermione's conversation rather short. "A bit late I see? Never matter. We're working in pairs today so you both better catch up on what the others have already begun."
"Together!" Ron exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yes, to turn flying objects invisible," he said enthusiastically, like a teacher giving their first lesson. "One of you use Wingardium Leviosa and the other will attempt to make the object invisible. But it's not the flick of the wrist like the levitation spell, it's soft … flowing …"
"Poor Ron," Hermione murmured quietly to Harry. "Being stuck with Malfoy all lesson is like Hell."
"I don't have any trouble believing that .."
"So about before-" Hermione began, keen to get back on topic.
"Hey, don't you think we should start this spell now? Malfoy and Ron will beat us at this rate," Harry abruptly changed the subject, pointing his wand at a small cushion they were to fly and make invisible. Hermione gave him a questioning look, raising her eyebrows as anger danced in her eyes.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Hermione exclaimed and the cushion rose in the air above her head. "Occultis!"
Harry's jaw dropped as the orange cushion immediately disappeared from sight.
"Miss Granger has done it again!" Flitwick cried enthusiastically. Hermione cocked her head to one side and with the arching of one eyebrow and a slight flick of her hand, the clever witch gestured for Harry to continue.
Harry opened his mouth but the only comprehensible words coming out of his mouth included, "ahh …" , "umm …" and the ever meaningful "erm."
Hermione's eyes narrowed in annoyance at Harry's sudden incompetence. But Harry was saved from answering Hermione's question from a few unplanned distractions.
During that one Charms lesson, Ron got bitten by the cushion Draco accidentally transfigured into a large-fanged bat, Malfoy got a bruised cheek from Ron's fist after the whole bat incident and the whole class got one hell of a surprise when the roof spontaneously began spewing snow down onto them, an accident that caused all students to spill out into the fifth floor corridor. Professor Flitwick, head barely visible in the heavily building up snow, seemed to be having trouble finding the counter spell.
"What did you do that for Malfoy?" Ron immediately yelled, catching everyone's attention.
"You're accusing me of doing that?" Draco exclaimed. "I thought you'd done it … but then I realised that would involve you having a brain …"
Ron took three threatening steps forward before Hermione jumped in between the two, grasping Ron's arm.
"Okay, just because the teacher is covered by five feet of snow does not mean you boys can start fighting," Hermione insisted authoratively.
"Do I look like I'm about to start a fight?" Draco asked, hands up in the air.
"You'll look like you've just been in a fight in a minute," Ron threatened, trying to push past Hermione.
"Grow up Weasley," Draco said, fed up and shaking his head. He pushed through the crowd of people surrounding them and headed downstairs.
"What a wimp …" Ron muttered, getting a laugh out of the Gryffindors in the crowd. Hermione however, looked at Ron with a look of utter disbelief on her face.
"Maybe you should grow up, Ronald," Hermione said coldly before also heading down stairs, intent on staying away from her boyfriend. He attempted to stop her as she brushed past him but she shook him off with a brisk flick of the wrist. Ron looked around the people surrounding him, confusion written all over him.
"Was it something I said?"
"Bloody Ronald and his bloody pride!" Hermione muttered to herself as she threw herself down on the grassy ground, back against the old leafless tree beside the lake. Sighing, she gazed out over the lake, eyes mesmerised by the bright midday sun's reflection in the startling still water. Blazing yellow light surrounded by a million shades of sky blue and the green of the forest.
Tuft of red atop piercing porcelain, draped in sopping black, flailing; alarmed.
Hermione's mind took several moments to register the error in the image in front of her.
And when it finally did, terror struck.
"Ron!" Hermione screamed, ripping her robe hastily from her body to reveal plain Muggle clothes, before – without second thought – plunging into the freezing cold water. Holding back the gasp that threatened to escape her lips, the muggle witch felt the weight of her clothes trying to force her under and she fought desperately against this downward force.
"Ron!" She cried over and over, tired arms frantically pulling her through icy water towards the blotches of red and porcelain and black that made no sense. But suddenly the colours were drowned in a flurry of deep blues, that caused Hermione's eyes to widen, lips to part in a scream and for the only word her brain now knew to escape her lips.
"RON!"
A/N – Oooo! A cliffie! … I'm not losing my touch :P …
shocked Wow, I updated! I like this chapter … though that could be because I just like this story for some reason. Sorry I haven't updated in so long … WRITER'S BLOCK!
(NOTE: I'm having SERIOUS problems writing Corruptive at the moment, so for all of you who read that story, I'm sorry! I'm trying really hard to write it but it's just not working. I will keep trying though, I'm not giving up on Corruptive, I love it too much!)
Hope you enjoyed!
Marauders Gal