Title: All's Fair in Love and War
Author: Silverhair Theory
Disclaimer: I own nothing. J.K.Rowling owns everything. If you sue me, all you'll get is my sweet stash and my teddy bear, and he bites. I wouldn't advise it.
Authors Note: Look, I know I don't usually put an A/N at the beginning of a chapter, but just recently my beta untimely deserted me and now I have noone but myself to check through the chapters. As such I apologise in advance for all spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes and general mistakes.
Chapter 4
For the next few weeks, life passed in a blur for Draco. Lessons seemed to fly by, the corridors were filled with people who's faces were hazy, all except one.
Wherever he was, wherever he went, he always caught himself looking out for her. In every lesson they had together, he would always find himself sitting close to her. Whenever she talked to him his heart speeded up. Unfortunately, his mouth and body appeared to be agreeing with what his father would say, and were stubbornly insulting her and acting like they didn't care.
What is she doing to me? Draco wondered in the Slytherin common room, late at night. I can't have feelings for her. I mean, for a start, what would father say. He knows I can't lie to him. What am I going to do? But the flickering fire had no answers for him.
A welcome distraction came about three weeks after that potion night when Draco noticed a sign on the notice board;
Calling all Adventurers!
The Department of Muggle Relations at the Ministry of Magic has proposed an excursion for witches and wizards over 16 years of age, to train them how to survive, should they ever find themselves in muggle occupied territory without the capacity to perform magic.
This excursion will take the form of:
1) a residential period in muggle occupied territory.
2) a challenge which will involve travelling and survival out-of-doors.
3) a short time spend enhancing wizard-muggle relations.
It will be held over a period of one month. If enough people sign up then the first part of the excusion will take place in approximately two weeks.
Those who have an interest in participating must sign their names on the board outside the Great Hall by Saturday.
There is also an Introductory meeting for those who are thinking of going, and it will be held in the Transfiguration classroom at 1:00 tommorow afternoon. If you miss this meeting you may speak to Professor McGonagall.
Draco read the notice with interest. Although he had no real interest in helping muggle-wizard relations, the time spent out of school would hopefully take his mind off the thoughts forever running round in his head.
Besides, it wasn't as if Granger would go, was it? She was muggle-born, she knew all about muggles, she didn't need to study them. At least, he hoped she didn't. Didn't he?
SGSGSGS
"Come on Ron! It'll be fascinating! Just think, we get to improve relations with the muggle community, we help wizard and mugglekind!" Hermione said.
They were all standing next to the notice board. Hermione was trying to persuade Ron to go on the muggle excursion. Ron was flatly refusing. Harry was trying to work out whether he should try and break them up or leave them to sort it out.
"No, Herm. I wouldn't be able to bear living near muggles. I'd probably say something stupid to the whole neighborhood and then they'd have to call in the Ministry Task Force to obliviate them all. I am not going." Ron said stubbonly.
"Oh Ron, you really are hopeless. Tell him, Harry!" Hermione poked Harry.
"Ron, you might actually like it. Just think, a whole month away from Draco Malfoy and the other Slytherins. 'Coz really, none of them are gonna come are they?" Harry reasoned, knowing Ron hated Slytherins more than anything else, except perhaps spiders.
"I s'pose..." Ron admitted grudgingly.
Encoraged, Hermione said "We'll be able to spend some time out-of-doors as well! It'll be like, that thing, that muggles do in senior school, oh whats it called..." Hermione trailed off, thinking hard.
"Duke of Edinburgh's award?" Harry asked. "The Dursleys were talking about Dudley doing it last summer. The exercise would have been good for him. It's a pity, he couldn't even handle the training, I could have gone."
"But this'll be so much better, Harry! We can spend lots of time working, go to bed early, get up early, everything!" She looked at the two horrorstruck faces of Ron and Harry, then laughed. "Don't worry, I'm only kidding. Hey Ron, you can bring Gabrielle!"
This was the deciding point for Ron. He nodded, beginning to grin again. "Yeah, yeah I can. I think I'll go ask her." He hurried out of the portrait hole.
"Have you noticed Gabrielle and Ron have been spending a lot of time together?" Hermione asked Harry.
"Come on Herm, it's obvious they fancy each other, you're a girl, you're supposed to be good at understanding this sort of stuff!" Harry teased.
Hermione frowned. Then she sighed and put her arms round Harry. She kissed him and tried to forget the thoughts that seemed to be persisting in her mind.
The next afternoon Harry, Ron and Hermione joined the other sixth and seventh years from all four houses going to the meeting. They all clustered in the transfiguration classroom and looked up at Professor McGonagall behind the desk. She stood up and everyone stopped chatting.
"Welcome to the Muggle Studies excursion meeting. As I'm sure you all know, in two weeks we will be taking you all to an area of muggle occupied territory. You will be sorted into groups of fourteen and given a teacher as your group leader. You will be staying in rented appartments, in your groups of fourteen. Any questions?"
"Professor?" A thin ravenclaw girl boy said. "When do we find out who we're in groups with?"
"Submit to me a list of no less than six and no more than eight of groups who would like to be together. We will then add groups together to make larger groups of fourteen. We want you to have the chance to socialise." Mutterings broke out among the students, and Professor McGonagall quitened them before pointing to a blonde hufflepuff, who had her hand up.
"When will we know who our group leader is going to be?"
"You will find out when we have organised the groups. Is that all?" No more hands were raised. "Right then, off you go. If you could please hand the lists of names to me by the end of the week, then you will all be notified when we have made a descision." She started packing away her notes and everybody trooped out.
In the common room that evening, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Ron and Gabrielle were sitting around a table, composing a list of names for the apartments. Hermione was writing on the slip of parchment, Ginny and Gabrielle were giggling about something and Ron and Harry were talking about quidditch.
Hermione sat up and cleared her throat. "Okay, so far we have me, all of you and Brie. Is there anyone else?" Everybody shook their heads. "Right. I'm just going to go and put them on Professor McGonagall's shelf." She got up and climbed out of the portrait hole. Harry watched her leave and sighed.
"Isn't she beautiful. Tell me Ron, is she not the most beautiful thing you ever saw?" Harry smiled lazily at Ron.
"Well, no-one could deny that Hermione is beautiful." Ron said, grinning. "But personally I think I know someone better." He looked over at Gabrielle, who was smiling and laughing with Ginny, and sighed. Harry smiled a knowing smile and watched Ron stare at Gabrielle. She glanced over at him and blushed, Ginny looking too, and Harry saw Ginny smiling also, but there was something strange, her eyes had a pained look, as if she wasn't really happy at all. He heard the clatter as Hermione entered the common room again.
"What? What is everyone grinning at?" She looked confused.
"Nothing." Harry said, standing up and swinging her round so he was holding her up. "Nothing at all." He grinned cheekily and kissed Hermione before she could argue.
SGSGSGS
The following monday, Harry, Ron and Hermione left their dorms to find an enourmous crowd around the notice board. Ron elbowed some first years out of the way and the saw that a new notice had been put up. It was about the groups for the excursion. Hermione ran here finger down the sheet until she came to her list.
Group VII - Professor Snape
Ciel Belledévre
Brie Chevin
Vincent Crabbe
Gabrielle Delacour
Gregory Goyle
Hermione Granger
Draco Malfoy
Pansy Parkinson
Harry Potter
Persia Renard
Ranger Truman
Ginny Weasley
Ronald Weasley
Blaise Zabini
"What?" Ron gaped. "We can't have slytherin's in our dorm with us! They'll curse us in our sleep! They'll put poison in the cereal! With Snape as group leader as well! We have that prat Ciel in with us too! I have to go and see Professor McGonagall about this!" He stormed out of the portrait hole, and Harry and Hermione had to push through loads of people to follow him.
As they approached McGonagall's office, they saw Ron standing outside, looking terrified. They peeked in through the door and saw Malfoy, fists clenched, shouting at McGonagall, who was sitting with her arms crossed, looking angry.
"-- and worst of all I will have to face Granger, and I really don't want too do that anymore, I see too much of her already in those dumb potion brewing sessions! I willl not go in an apartment with them!" Malfoy stopped, out of breath and seemed to realise that he'd been shouting at a professor. "I'm sorry, Professor." He said. "My anger overcame me. But I really would much rather not go in a dorm with Potter and Co. Is that in any way possible?" He ended, controlled now and businesslike again.
"Mr Malfoy, I have two things to say to you." McGonagall began. "Firstly, if you ever speak that way to me, or to any other teacher, ever again, I will suspend you. As it is I am giving you a weeks detention when we get back. Secondly, no, I will not change the groups. All of you will be together, Dumbledore insisted, and the Headmaster's word is final. I think he hopes that this trip may alter some of your feelings towards Mr Potter and his friends."
Malfoy snorted, and Harry privately agreed with him, he doubted whether living in such close quarters wouldn't push them over the edge. "That's my final word, Mr Malfoy. Good day." Malfoy turned on his heel and strode out of her office, almost bumping into Ron.
"Watch it, Weasley" He hissed and headed off down the corridor towards the dungeons. Ron looked at Harry and Hermione, who looked back. Ron's face was empty, expressionless. All that could be said had been said. For two whole weeks they would be trapped with Malfoy and his gang, and it looked like the slytherins were as appalled as themselves.
It was going to be one hell of a fortnight.
SGSGSGS
An air of futility hung over all of their actions that week. They packed their bags in a stupor, every item reminding them that they would be stuck in close quarters with the people who they hated most in Hogwarts. On the last day Harry called an emergency meeting to try and work out a survival plan.
Hary, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Brie and Gabrielle were all sitting round a table in the common room. Hermione had large grey patches under her eyes from stress, Ginny, Gabrielle and Brie looked exhausted from lack of sleep, Ron was actually snoring and Harry was pacing feverishly. Suddenly he sat down in an armchair and kicked Ron to wake him up.
"Ok everyone, we all know that this isn't going to be pretty. But we are being forced into it, and we need to promise each other to be civil to them, even if they're not civil to us.
"If they get really bad, then we go and see a teacher, not Snape, because he'll side with them, someone else. We tell them that the slytherins are being unreasonably nasty and that we havent done anything to them.
"They will have to do something about it if Malfoy and his gang are extremely annoying us without provocation." Harry looked round at them all. "So, are we agreed?"
A series of mumbled "Yes" echoed back and Harry slumped back in his chair. Whatever anyone said, it was going to be a long two weeks. He just hoped Malfoy would be at least half-civil.
SGSGSGS
Draco Malfoy, in question was having a similar discussion with his 'friends'. "Listen, you guys. If we mess this up, we'll have no chance at all of doing anything over christmas, we'll have so many detentions.
"I'm already going to be cutting it fine with McGonagall, if we get more time out then we won't be able to leave because we'll be in security. So, much as we might hate to do so, we have to be civil to them.
"And if I hear anyone has made disruptions and if anyone gets caught up so that they are unavailable when we need to go, well, lets say that we won't wait for them." He glowered at them. "Understood?"
Everyone nodded, Crabbe and Goyle somewhat reluctantly. Draco sighed. "Good. Even if they do turn nasty, we have to keep out of trouble, that way when the teachers are looking for accomplices we're not targets."
Draco knew that something was going to happen in these next two weeks. He had had the same feeling before that disasterous potion brewing evening with Granger.
No, don't think about her. Draco told himself fiercely. If you are going to make it unscathed through these two weeks then you have to ignore her completely. She means nothing to you, she never can, she never will. Hopefully.
SGSGSGS
The next morning the Gryffindor troupe made their way to the school gates, at the unearthly time of 3:00. They were to be travelling by muggle coaches, so that they would not attract suspicion for the muggles they were living near. The coaches were small, cramped and musty, and when they were told that they would be sharing a coach with the Slytherins they seemed even worse.
Hermione was sitting next to Harry, with her bag under the seat, and was feeling very slightly claustrophobic at the thought of being stuck in a small coach with The Slytherins, and especially Draco, for eight hours. They were due to arrive in the town of Elmsdale at around midday, when they would move their bags in and get settled, before going out for lunch to give them a chance to see the town.
She took a deep breath and felt a little of the worry slip away from her. Hermione glanced round and saw that Ron and Gabrielle were whispering. Ginny was sitting next to the window with Brie on her other side. They were sitting in silence but Ginny looked pained. Brie's face was blank. Harry was gazing out of the window, lost in thought. She reached out and touched his face. He started and looked round.
"Hey. Are you alright?" She asked.
"Sure." Harry sighed. "I'm trying not to think about what we'll have to put up with over the next two weeks. It's quite hard." He gave her a faint smile and turned back to staring out of the window.
Hermione sighed too. Harry was becoming so unresponsive. She supposed it must be because of the stress of knowing he was going to be attacked, but with no idea of when or where. It could also be the prospect of two weeks of Slytherins, she mused. She looked round to see what they were all doing.
Crabbe and Goyle were playing a punching game where, as far as she could make out, the idea was to make the other one's arm go numb. However, they both seemed to be grinning trollishly, so she supposed they must find it fun.
Pansy and her friend, Persia or something, were whispering and reading a Magazine which looked like it could be Witch Weekly, as it was rather pink and seemed to have a picture of a very pretty blonde witch on the front.
The two french exchange boys and Blaise Zabini were involved in a complex discussion about Quidditch. Ciel was looking haughty and annoyed, Ranger was looking nervous, and Zabini was apparently disagreeing violently with something Ciel had just said.
Malfoy however was nowhere to be seen. She glanced over Harry's shoulder and saw him walking down with Snape, both looking slightly damp as it had just started to rain. She watched as they broke into a run and saw Malfoy come into the coach, more than just wet now, he was soaked, and breathing heavily.
Snape performed drying charms on himself and Malfoy, and then Malfoy went to sit down next to Zabini. He looked over at her, and stared for a second, their eyes meeting each others.
Then they both realised that they were looking at each other and stopped. Hermione pulled out her headphones and put on her favorite track, trying to forget about Malfoy as the music filled her head.
"When the music plays,
All is stripped away,
And I simply come,"
Oh how she wished life was simple, so that each day could just be approached one at a time, with no worries or confusions.
"Longing just to bring,
Something thats of worth,
To you, My hearts desire."
Who was her hearts desire? She had been so certain it was Harry, but when he was being so sullen she did wonder if they really were meant to be.
"I'll give you more than a song,
I'll give you myself
I'll give you all that I am."
But how could she give all of herself when some of herself was uncertain, when she wasn't sure exactly how much of what she was belonged to her, and who it might belong to.
"Search deep within me,
Expose all of me,
I want you to know what I am."
What would happen if someone ever found out everything about her. Even she wan't quite sure about some of the stuff in her life. How could she just expose it all?
The chorus swelled and haunting melodies filled her head.
"It matters not about the past,
I do not care about the future,
So long as you are in it.
I will forsake all that came last,
I will renounce my fame and power,
If I can stay till it is finished."
One day she hoped she could meet someone with whom every second would be precious, with whom the world would come to a standstill with no past or future, only present.
She closed her eyes and leant back in the seat, and let them music wash over her, filling her up.
---
Draco watched Hermione Granger out of the corner of his eye for the whole trip. He joined in with Zabini and argued about Quidditch and even pretended to be interested in Pansy's magazine. But he always had a pressure on him, a faint itch which drove him gradually insane by the end of the long, long journey.
When they finally reached their destination, Draco got out of the coach and got his first glimpse of the building which was to be his home for the next two weeks.
It was a small, rather wonky looking flat. The floors seemed to jut out all over the place and several windows were broken or boarded up. There was a small garden which was a mass of weeds, nettles and dandilions.
The Slytherins were all dumbstruck. Surely they couldn't be expected to live in a hovel like this for a whole fortnight? The Gryffindors seemd to have put on a brave face about the whole thing and were taking bags out of the back of the coach.
Grumbling, the Slytherins went round as well. They lugged they heavy cases onto the ground, and Draco, Pansy and Ranger had already taken out their wands to levitate their bags inside, when Snape hissed at them to put their wands away.
"The point of this excursion, Mr Malfoy, is to live without magic. If any muggles see you doing any magic, you will be severely punished and it will mean a lot of time and effort wasted by the ministry."
Grumbling even more, they all carried their bags inside, and found a notice pinned to the inside of the front door.
To the residents'
The room plans are as follows.
Floor 2 -
Miss Hermione Granger
Miss Gabrielle Delacour
-
Miss Ginny Weasley
Miss Brie Chevin
-
Miss Persia Renard
Miss Pansy Parkinson
Floor 1 -
Mr Draco Malfoy
Mr Blaise Zabini
-
Mr Ranger Truman
Mr Ciel Belledevré
Ground Floor -
Mr Harry Potter
Mr Ronald Weasley
Basement -
Mr Vincent Crabbe
Mr Gregory Goyle
-
Professor Severus Snape
There are unfortunately a few rules that must be kept in order that you have the most agreeable time possible.
1) No boys in the girls dormitories after 8:00, and visa versa
2) You must sleep in the room assigned to you, no sleepovers
3) You must obey the teacher in charge, at all times.
Be aware that we are giving out full responibility for your actions. It is up to you to make sure you have the most fun possible.
Good Luck.
Professor M. McGonagall.
Harry and Ron put their suitcases in the small double bedroom on the ground floor, hearing the thumping overhead as everyone else moved in on their respective floors.
As they unpacked their clothes Harry was thinking about Hermione. She was acting really strangely, as if she was pre-occupied with something else. He suspected it might have something to do with being stuck in a flat withher worst enemies for two weeks, but he couldnt see how that could have had so much effect on her.
Privately he wondered whether there was something, or possibly even someone else, who was the cause of her distress. Anyway he had resolved to keep his distance and give her some breathing room until she calmed down again. He thought back to their argument after the others had gone to bed the previous night.
---
Author's note: Well, I hope my first non-beta-ed chapter was okay. If anyone out there feels like betaing this then I will be very and extremely grateful.
