Evaluate This
Chapter 3
Strange Things Abound
"They can't be serious!" Ron exclaimed as they walked to Gryffindor tower, Harry at his side. "I don't need no bloody psychologist telling me I'm nutty, I've got plenty of family for that!"
Harry rolled his eyes. "You got nothing to worry 'bout, Ron. You aren't the one who has visions and dreams of Voldermort."
Ron shuddered. "Do you have to say that name?"
"Fear of a name only heightens fear of the thing itself, darling." Charlotte had followed them and now she laid a hand on Ron's shoulder, giving him her most winning smile—watching his defenses lower. Seeing him relax she lowered her voice to whisper in his ear. "Voldermort."
Ron's resulting scream had Harry bent over, his insides clenching in laughter induced pain.
Ron glowered. "Aren't you supposed to be going to the Slytherin dungeons?"
Harry glanced around. If Charlotte had followed them, maybe Miriam had as well…
"Right behind you."
Harry spun around his heart rate spiking.
"Didn't mean to scare you." Miriam whispered. "I have such trouble when it comes to that. That and being a klutz."
"Downright gave me a heart attack." Harry muttered.
Miriam shrugged. "Better than the lobotomy Charlotte there has planned for dear Ron." She inclined her head towards the two.
"He'll never learn."
"Nope. But…" she shook her head. "He's family. And I need to have a word with him."
Harry watched Miriam pulled Ron aside—shooting Charlotte a knowing glance. Her expression, however, was grave when she turned back to Ron. He wondered if it was a coincidence that both Miriam and Charlotte were in Slytherin. The whole thing was just odd. Interestingly odd, mind you but…maybe the sorting hat was coming down with a cold. Harry snorted, laughing out loud.
Charlotte looked at him, distracted. "Harry, do you know where the Heads dorm is? I was asking…" she looked pointedly at Ron. "Your friend there, but…he wasn't much help."
Blinking Harry thought for a second. "I think that they're…" He pointed to the fork ahead of them. "I believe that you go that way and up the stairs. Just listen for the screaming."
"Thanks. I've been meaning to talk to Hermione. But…" Charlotte's eyes darkened. "She's been avoiding me."
"I'm sure she's just been busy with Head duties and such." Harry assured. "Not avoiding you."
Charlotte shook her head as she turned away. "No. She's avoiding me."
Harry watched her walk away. Hermione's cousin was moody. Much like Hermione. There was something strange about her, besides the fact she was a brick of ice. Everything was peculiar. Harry shook his head. What had he been thinking? A hat with a cold, Harry moaned at himself, I'm such an idiot.
"Harry!" Miriam laughed as he was wrenched back into reality. "Skittish aren't you? Ron and I've decided that we all need to get together—hang out." She added at his blank look. "Get to know each other."
"Who?"
"Well, there'd be you, me and Ron. Hermione and Charlotte—that is if you can get her to attend a social function. I'd really like to get to know you all better." She thought for a second. "Yes. Very much so. Well, it's all set. We'll all meet up here. Grand. Bye!"
"Does she always do that?" Harry asked turning to Ron who was shaking his head.
"Not always." Ron mumbled, too low. "Come on, lets get out of here."
Hermione was doing her utmost to avoid the horrid Slytherin. Every time she spotted a glimpse of his gleaming blond hair she saw red and fantasized about all the ways one could rip out someone else's hair. She hated everything about his arrogant self. The entire year was ruined. Completely ruined.
Out of the corner of her eye she spied him smirking as usual.
No question about it, Hermione decided, the year was going to suck, badly.
"The Heads dormitory is up this way. You both have to agree on a password for the portrait—or rather, enchanted door—and then you each choose one for your room. You must be able to remember the password here, or you will not be allowed into the room. It will not be changed. So make it something you both can remember." Professor McGonagal finished sharply.
Draco stopped dead in his tracks. "Is the door going to bite me?" He peered cautiously at the…wriggling door. It might have appeared to be solid wood from afar, but now he understood by what McGonagal had meant by 'enchanted door'. Up close it resembled a mesh of writhing fang and teeth. Utterly unpleasant to look at, Draco decided.
"It's just a door Mr. Malfoy." McGonagal replied dryly. "I don't have all night, choose a password. Since Mr. Malfoy has a mortal fear of the door, Ms. Granger, choose."
Hermione bit her bottom lip as she thought. If there was one thing she'd always hated it was multiple-choice tests, she hated having options. She hated choices. "Um, how bout Macha."
The door swung open and McGonagal left them without a word. The echo of her footsteps faded down the hall leaving them quite alone. Draco watched her hurried departure.
"What is going on this year?" He mumbled. "And what the hell is Macha?" on second thought. "No, don't tell me, probably some fool muggle god." He sneered at Hermione. "I don't care, I just want to sleep."
Hermione shook her head. "You are amazing."
Draco smirked. "Thank you." He entered the dorm.
"It wasn't a compliment you conceited asshole."
Draco only looked at her, scrutinizing. "Such language, Granger, I would have thought it below you. But then again, you can't sink much lower, can you?" He opened the door to his left and peered in. The room was pale ivory but anything soft ended there. The corners were sharp, harsh and outlined in black. A thick, obsidian black lining wound its way around the room and the windows were covered by heavy drapes. Draco nodded in approval. He turned to Hermione, grasping the door.
"This one's mine." He slammed the door.
"Like I wanted that stupid room anyway." Hermione mumbled. Turning instead to the other door, unfortunately Draco had come back out and rushed past her, opening it and sticking his head in.
"Excuse you." Hermione wanted to smack him. He was sticking that horrible Roman nose into everything.
"Do you have a problem with me?" Draco asked with laughter in his eyes. Of course you do, he thought as she shook her head.
"No." Hermione answered curtly. "I just don't like you in my room." It was her room, she could tell as she ignored the drat male blocking most of it from view. The room was furnished in dark burgundies, jades, and gold. Her colors. And Malfoy was only maiming the beauty of it all. "You are ruining the décor." She pushed passed him and gripped the door.
Draco had a feint hint of deja'vu as he looked at the scowling Gryffindor.
"Do you think that leaving is on your agenda? I have things to do."
Instead of leaving, Draco pushed his way back in and chose to recline on the bed. "Such as?"
Hermione gawked at him. "It is none of your business!" He only smirked at her.
"Well then, I guess I really don't feel like moving. This is an awfully comfortable bed by the way." Draco relaxed as her fury took over.
"You…you! I hate you!"
"We're going to be living together for this entire year. So, Granger, I propose you get used to how things will be—right now. If I ask you where you're going, you'll tell me. If I ask you to tell me something, you'll tell me or…"
"Or what you greasy haired ferret?" Seeing red was an understatement but she hadn't actually expected him to react. He was up with more speed than she'd have thought possible.
"I don't like your insults Granger." He stood close to her—too close, letting his hands run lightly down her back.
"And you are too friendly with where you put your hands Malfoy." He smirked and her anger only grew hotter.
"Not yet, Granger." Draco hissed. "Just you wait. Just you wait." He turned then, leaving her alone in her room.
Speechless.
He liked her that way.
It was late and Harry wanted nothing more than to escape. He didn't want to be here. Across from him sat Miriam, he really didn't want to be here. "So, uh, when are the other's supposed to get here?" He asked, nervously.
Miriam shrugged. "I have no idea. I told everyone ten o'clock…but…" she looked away. "We can start without them." She flipped her multi-colored hair and it shimmered over her shoulder. She waited another second before making a decision. "Well, I can see it's going to be a bit awkward. So, I'll start." She leaned back into the couch.
"Er, that sounds good." Harry received another mega-watt smile, instantly relaxing.
"Well, let me see. As you know, Ron is my favorite cousin, hmm…I live—correction, lived in Coral Canyon, Utah. That's in the United States. Have you ever traveled Harry?"
Harry shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, no. Never."
"Travel is definitely an eye opener. Really expands your horizons, know what I mean Harry?"
"I…I really don't know what you mean. The farthest I've been from home is Hogwarts, but I consider Hogwarts home, so, yeah." Harry mumbled something inaudible.
The conversation ground to a halt.
Harry watched the carpet.
Miriam studied him.
"When did you find out that you were a wizard?"
"Huh?"
"When did you find out you had, you know, magical abilities?"
Harry thought for a second. "Er, when I got my letter. I suppose that's when I knew for sure. It was complicated. I'd always just thought I was odd or something. I guess I was eleven."
Miriam twisted a ring on her finger. Harry watched her artist's fingers slowly rotate the simple silver band.
"I found out by accident, well…" Her laughter rolled out sweet as honey. "Actually it is kind of ironic now that I think of it. I found out I was a witch by accident when I was in an accident. Yeah…" Miriam sighed. Her eyes grew dark. "It shouldn't have happened. It was their fault."
Harry glanced around quickly. Energy crackled around, the room seemed electrified. He could feel the anger. "I'm sorry."
Instantly, the room cleared. "It was horrible, the accident, my best friend was killed—my sister, too. And, and I only have a scar. It's a horrible scar."
Harry felt himself start to melt. "I have one too…a constant reminder of a time where I should have been killed. Other's died, but not me. Now I live with…all that pain."
Miriam reached out, taking Harry's hand in hers. Her eyes were wide and open and full of memories. "It's so hard, isn't it? Because it never ends…it never ends. Each new day brings it all back to you." She stared into his eyes, her face somber, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"No, it never ends."
It had taken her considerable time to make that idiot of a Slytherin leave her room. Finally alone, Hermione locked her door. She didn't trust her password alone nor the muggle lock. She placed her own charm on the room before settling cross-legged on her bed. A few deep calming breaths did nothing to calm her nerves as she unfolded the pendant and let it lay in front of her.
It was beautiful. Dangerous beauty. So very…her hand reached out for it and she withdrew it sharply.
The pendent was dark, neither silver nor gold, entwining ropes of non-color knotted into a tortured enclosure. Inside, a stone, a planet, revolved—its power bound causing the whole thing to hum with barely contained magic.
Unstable.
It was fear, fear of the unknown, of something she couldn't control that kept her from accepting it. The choice wasn't hers. But, if she didn't take it, someone would force it upon her.
Slowly, Hermione undid a small black leather strap and strung the pendent. Even slower she brought it to her own neck, tying the ends of the leather into a knot. The pendant weighed heavily on her chest for a second, and then she was gone.
Draco squinted against the light of the common room as the knocker continued that horrible racket. "What the bloody hell do you want!" He moaned as he opened the door. "Oh, it's you. What is your problem, it's bloody three a.m.! Don't you sleep?"
Charlotte sneered at him. "Only mortals need sleep." She pushed past him and stalked to Hermione's closed door.
"Granger's asleep." Draco said from behind her. "Plus she's locked her door."
"You can't lock out family." Charlotte whispered a spell and opened Hermione's door. Her eyes searched the room. "She isn't even here."
"What?" Draco peered over Charlotte's shoulder and observed that the room was indeed empty. "Where the hell did she go?"
"It is none of your business." Charlotte said with annoyance as she pushed a stunned Malfoy away from the door. "Goodnight." She said and slammed the door in his face, locking it by spell. She turned around, rubbing the pendent at her neck.
"Hermione, you're one bloody stupid witch." She murmured.
Malfoy stared at the door. Where the hell had Granger gone? The door had been locked by magic, he was sure. Draco cocked his head to the side…hmmm…he smiled. He hadn't made Head boy just because of his looks. He went to get his broom.
Granger's balcony doors were open. He landed as quietly as he could and peeked around the heavy drapes.
Just in time to avoid the book that had been hurled from across the room.
Granger's cousin was tearing the room apart, flinging open doors and throwing books and ranting all the while.
"Hermione, I know you can hear me!" he heard her say as she flung open the closet door. "Hermione! I am not leaving!" Charlotte kicked a pile of clothes. "Sooner or later you're going to come out. I'd say sooner, if you value any of your possessions!" Draco watched as Charlotte grabbed a handful of clothes and yanked them off the hanger.
"What the hell are you doing?" This time it was Granger's voice that rang shrilly through the room. Draco quickly scanned the room. No Granger. She didn't have an invisibility cloak that he knew of…did she?
Charlotte continued making a mess. "I think you can see what I'm doing, Hermione. What the hell are you doing?"
"Practicing."
Charlotte glared at the empty room. "Well, isn't that bloody perfect."
Draco heard laughter. "That's what you wanted, that's why you came here." He could hear Granger's taunting voice.
"Yes, but I had hoped you'd be smart about it, damn it."
"What, you can't do it?"
"No, I…" Draco saw Charlotte roll her eyes. With a swipe of her wand the drapes were pulled closed—his view cutting off completely.
"Of course I can, cousin."
A/N: Don't forget to review my sweet little readers...
