Author's Notes: This fiction will feature no reference to J.K. Rowling's fifth and sixth books. And there will be most likely no reference to Sirius . . . because bringing him back alive would be sort of weird.
Chapter 3: A Quidditch Misfortune
By: Callisto Callispi
Things began to settle down a bit. Students were officially back in Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Thankfully, despite rumors, there were no signs of Voldemort. Hopefully, there wouldn't be.
Hopefully.
November finally arrived with traces of October lingering, and the Yule Ball was only a month away. The school buzzed with excitement. Dumbledore had given the announcement at the beginning of the school term so everybody had a chance to get their robes. He also proudly announced (although his mouth seemed unwilling to announce anything) that a new professor for Defense Against Dark Arts had been appointed. He called himself Rames but preferred the kids to call him Professor Untsery. He seemed to know what he was doing. It was just that he was a very private, very unsociable man in the sense that he fancied himself as the bastard brother of the current king of England. Even Hermione wondered how this man escaped the lunatic asylum at times.
But such things escaped her mind easily now. Since she was made Head Girl, there was only one thing that she truly cared about: her marks.
And studying was what she did this day. The whole school was put off because of a meeting with the staff. Hermione took advantage of that and hurried up to her room with her books and papers and quills to do homework.
In her Head Girl room, Hermione yawned and closed the book that, just a few minutes ago, she was so deeply engrossed in. For the first time in her life, she didn't want to read. She couldn't anyway. Her eyes, blurry and clouded, just couldn't make out the tiny text on the ancient pages.
She closed the big book, carefully marking the spot where she left off and closed her eyes for a moment. She would relish this peace to her fullest extent, Hermione thought, since there was hardly any time for her to relax like this.
Her duties as head girl, her studies, and her dedication to six NEWT classes dominated her life. She sometimes felt as if she had no time to even sleep.
"Come in," Hermione called as she heard someone knocking on her door.
A tall girl with fiery red hair walked in.
"Hello, Ginny."
Ginny walked over to Hermione's bed and sat down at the edge of it, her face solemn. "Hermione, is this what you plan to do all of your seventh year?"
Hermione sat up. "What do you mean?"
"I mean all this school work."
Hermione shrugged. "Might I remind you that in order to pass Hogwarts, completing school work is a necessity?"
Ginny grasped Hermione by the shoulders and locked her emerald eyes with the older girl's darker ones. "Finishing your work is fine, but really," Ginny insisted, grabbing a scroll, "this assignment is not due for two days, if the date is correct!"
"You know I have my meetings, Ginny," Hermione muttered. "And that new NEWT class in Ancient Runes -- it's slaughtering me."
"So drop Runes if it's draining you!" Ginny cried, exasperated.
"But I like Ancient Runes."
Ginny stared pointedly at Hermione. "You know, I've read somewhere that studying too much can cause severe memory loss and head aches during old age."
Hermione blinked then laughed. "Where did you ever hear something so absurd?"
"Procrastinators Weekly, of course! I'm just kidding. But really, you have to get out more. Ron and Harry wanted me to ask you if you would join them out on the quidditch field."
"What for?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know. But I think it might have to do with some new plays for the game against Hufflepuff next week," Ginny replied thoughtfully.
"I don't think . . ." Hermione paused for a few seconds. Then, she shrugged. "Well, it would be nice to get away from all this studying . . . for a few minutes, of course."
Hermione grabbed her regular black robes, threw them on, and rushed out to the field, trailing Ginny by only a bit.
"Ginny!" Hermione cried panting a little. "Go ahead! I'm right behind you!"
Ginny must have not heard as she was now gaining more ground and getting closer and closer to the Quidditch field.
Hermione gasped and slowed her pace to a fast walk. "Running is fun. I could run 800 meters without stopping. And yet . . . how am I this out of shape?" she mused out loud.
"Easy. All you do is stay locked up in your room, I hear, studying." The voice was cold and dripping with disdain.
Hermione knew immediately who this new voice was and whipped around. "I least I am passing my classes, Malfoy. Unlike certain snakes I know."
Surprisingly, he was alone, without Crabbe and Goyle. He smirked. "At least I have a life, Granger. Fortunately, I only have to endure residing in same building with you for only one more year." Draco stood there casually, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.
"And how I look forward to that happy day when you walk out of my life forever," Hermione sneered then whipped around. "Go back to the hole where you slithered out of. I haven't any more time to waste. I'm going."
Draco laughed. "As you wish, mudblood."
Hermione ran, muttering, "Despicable ferret."
X
About five minutes later, Hermione entered the quidditch field. There, she not only saw Ginny, but probably half of the Gryffindors, including the underclassmen. They cheered and saluted the Gryffindor players as they zoomed about on their broomsticks.
"Hermione!" a cheery voice called.
Hermione turned around and grinned. "Ginny."
"What took you so long to get here? I knew you were out of shape, but a turtle would have gotten here faster!" Ginny laughed.
"I was just distracted. Sorry."
"A boy caught your eye?" she teased.
Hermione scowled at the thought. "Quite the contrary. It was . . . Malfoy. That snake. But let's not speak of such dreary people on a day like this!" Hermione said, breathing in the crisp autumn air through her nostrils. "Really, Ginny, nothing can go wrong today. I feel like a million galleons!"
But Ginny did not answer. Instead, her gaze turned stormy as she noticed who was fast approaching.
Hermione also frowned. "How delightful."
"Well, well, I guess we meet again, Granger," Draco noted in a cold voice. This time, he had Crabbe and Goyle strutting behind him.
"Malfoy, why do you insist on following me around like this? I never knew you held so much interest in me," Hermione replied in a cool voice.
Draco and his two sidekicks laughed.
Ginny grabbed Hermione's arm. "Come on. Let's go somewhere else."
Though tempted to hex Draco, she nodded. Slowly, the two girls turned and attempted to walk away.
"So, now the mudblood is taking orders from another worm-digging weasel. How utterly pathetic," Draco said, amused.
Though Ginny kept a straight face, Hermione could see her blood rush up to ears. Hermione's eyes narrowed.
"Hermione, really it's okay," Ginny pleaded.
"No," Hermione said as she turned around to face Draco. "Malfoy needs to learn a lesson."
Draco only smirked in return.
"Ten points from Slytherin, and more if you do not remove yourself and your two thugs from the Gryffindor stands," Hermione warned.
Draco walked up to Hermione with his head held up high. Crabbe and Goyle followed him, but Draco soon stopped them with a raise of his hand. "So, Granger, am I supposed to be shaking? Because I'm as sure as hell not."
"Just go, Malfoy," Hermione demanded, fists quivering with the desire to punch his nose.
Draco stepped closer and closer until his face was but centimeters from hers. "Don't play games in which you don't know the rules, mudblood," he sneered.
That struck her last nerve. Hermione shoved Draco away from her and she pointed her wand at him.
Draco recovered quickly and also took out his wand. "Filthy mudblood."
"Wretched ferret," Hermione returned.
The younger Gryffindors, already apprehensive, backed up away quickly. Soon enough, there was enough space for a duel. Even the Quidditch players had all stopped practicing and looked at what the commotion was.
Crabbe and Goyle started to run up to Draco, but Draco once again stopped them with a raised hand. "Let me deal with this mudblood personally."
Ginny had also tried to run up to Hermione, but she too was stopped. "No, Ginny. I don't need any help."
Draco and Hermione's faces were marred with fierce scowls as if the memory of their counterpart's face would haunt their lives forever.
"You know you could never beat me in a duel, Granger!" Draco called.
"Would you like to wager on that?" Hermione asked.
Draco sneered. "Do you really think that you can stand up to me? Come on, then. Give me your best shot."
Hermione could see nothing but Malfoy and his jeering face. She hated him -- utterly and completely hated him with such a great passion. "Watch!" And with that, Hermione attacked Draco with a powerful curse.
Streaming white light emerged from the wand and exploded. Panicked screams erupted, and many of the younger Gryffindors fled from the duel scene.
Through a cloud of smoke, Hermione could not see Draco and felt triumph.
But what Hermione did not know was that Draco had muttered a counter-curse for the attack and was unscathed. Then, suddenly, Draco shouted a curse. Three blazing fireballs materialized out of the air, and he threw them right at Hermione. Hermione dodged them with her shielding curse and the fireballs simply bounced off her, smashing into the marble ceilings and the white stonewalls. They were blown into smithereens.
"Hermione!" the girl heard someone scream. But Hermione did not answered. She was too blinded by her fury to utter anything but a curse. But when Hermione tried to scream out another spell, she found that she couldn't speak. Draco found himself in a similar situation.
Hermione grabbed her throat and whipped around to see who it was. She felt her stomach fall as she faced a very, very, angry Professor McGonagall and a wide-eyed Professor Snape, who darted his eyes from Hermione and Draco. No doubt the professors had performed the 'silent curse.'
Professor McGonagall opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Too angry, most likely. Not a good sign at all. Instead, McGonagall motioned for the two to follow her and whipped around, stomping off, into the school. Snape, however, just coldly glared at Hermione and followed after Professor McGonagall.
Hermione's face paled, then reddened. This was all Malfoy's fault! If he hadn't taunted her . . .
Draco was also red in the face. He glowered at Hermione and followed the two professors.
Hermione cringed. Though she had her voice returned, she dared not use it.
"That was the most -- the most damnable thing that you two have ever done! One hundred points off of you each!" Professor McGonagall shrieked.
The two were sitting stiffly in an uncomfortable chair. They winced as they heard the professor curse for the first time in their lives. They also winced again as they heard the points being taken off from their houses.
Snape glowered at the two students, anger dancing in his dark eyes. Even he didn't stand up for Draco, with the situation being so severe.
"I cannot believe that you, especially you, Hermione, for being the Head Girl, have done such a thing! Did you not know that there were lives at stake for such a foolish display of rage and pride? Fine example you are! I would have expected much better than this!"
The professor paused and breathed in a deep calming breath. She sat back down and glared at each of them. "I don't understand. You two are older, much more mature, I daresay, and able to handle responsibility. So why are you still after each other's necks!"
Hermione stared at the floor. Draco looked straight at Snape, who shook his head slowly, obviously telling him that he shouldn't expect any lenience from him either.
"This has gone far enough, Miss Granger, Mister Malfoy. I am afraid that I will have to assign you both a month's worth of detention, full-time. Until mid-December. I shall notify you with the accurate date."
"Professor!" Hermione choked out. "Full-time? But you must understand that my grades, my assignments!"
"Miss Granger, you must understand that you should have thought about your grades before this whole incident. And you must also understand that this is a case extreme enough that we could fancy the possibility of expulsion. So if I were you, I would graciously accept this light punishment," McGonagall remarked acidly. She turned towards Draco. "Is that understood, Mister Malfoy?"
"Yes, professor," he muttered.
"Professor," Snape said, speaking for the first time. "Why don't I suggest that these two have detentions together? Some time with one another could maybe ease the -- ah -- tension between them."
Draco and Hermione's eyes widened. Together!
"With Filch."
FILCH!
"Professor Snape!" Draco protested.
"And if another quarrel surfaces between these two, we will have to make the punishment more severe," Snape added nastily, ignoring Draco's pleas.
Both Hermione and Draco looked as if they were about to faint.
Professor McGonagall nodded approvingly. "I agree, Severus." She stared at the two horrified students. "Do get along, Miss Granger, Mister Malfoy, for if you say one negative word to each other from now until the end of detention and it reaches my ears, there will be thirty points taken off from your houses."
Hermione and Draco were absolutely aghast. Thirty points!
"So mind those tongues," Professor McGonagall murmured seethingly.
Hermione's breaths came in gasps. This was the perfect hell for her. A month of detention, full-time, with Draco Malfoy, within the depths of Filch's dungeons.
After a painstaking silence, Professor McGonagall excused them. "Go. Now. And rest up, for after your classes, you will spend the night cleaning the dungeons under the orders of Mister Filch."
Hermione and Draco rose from their seats and walked out rigidly, still under shock. Hermione was the first to regain her composure in the empty hallway as she walked next to Draco and whispered the words, "I hate you," with the most passion she had ever felt in her life.
"The feeling is mutual, mudblood," Draco returned, his voice equally icy.