Disclaimer: What? Me own Harry Potter? How ridiculous! If I did I'd have my own house...
A/N-Sorry for how long it took. Writers block is a pain.
Chapter 8: To Destroy a Slytherin's Mind
Head Over Feet
I had no choice but to hear you
You stated your case time and again
I thought about it
You treat me like I'm a princess
I'm not used to liking that
You ask how my day was
(chorus)
You've already won me over in spite of me
Don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet
Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are
I couldn't help it
It's all your fault
Your love is think and it swallowed me whole
You're so much braver than I gave you credit for
That's not lip service
(repeat chorus)
You are the bearer of unconditional things
You held your breath and the door for me
Thanks for your patience
You're the best listener that I've ever met
You're my best friend
Best friend with benefits
What took me so long
I've never felt this healthy before
I've never wanted something rational
I am aware now
I am aware now
(repeat chorus)
Draco and Hermione stood on the revolving staircase that led to Dumbledore's office listening to the elevator music as they went...except it was more like an escalator and the music was actually decent. Who knew Dumbledore had a good taste in Muggle music? Hermione stood on the step above Draco humming under her breath. Draco couldn't help wondering what her real singing voice was. In itself her humming had this soothing effect that unnerved him just for the sheer fact of his reluctance to let it stop. Dear Merlin, what was this woman doing to him? He was close enough that he could just barely smell the cinnamon apple scent that exuded from her. He had to ask her if that was a perfume or her shampoo or soap or something. He couldn't say that he'd ever smelled anything so intoxicating before. The impact left him wishing that he didn't have to move so slow with her. If they continued at their current pace, he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't go nuts and do something he'd really regret, then he'd never get a real chance with her.
Lucky for Draco, just that second they reached the top of the revolving staircase. Hermione lifted her hand to knock on the door, but before she could do so the door swung open to reveal Dumbledore and his office beyond. Dumbledore's office was one of those places that you could be in for years and still not discover every secret there was hidden in it's walls. There was the basics: his desk, a high-backed chair, a few paintings of the old Headmasters, and a fireplace. Then where were the other things: Fawkes the phoenix, a thousand instruments that looked like they had something to do with astronomy, the sword of Gryffindor, and may things too unusual to put into words. The floor was marble and the walls were lined with shelves of his books and trinkets. There was a second level that must lead to the Headmaster's living quarters. Spread out on the desk, there was what looked lie an exact copy of the Marauder's Map (no wonder he knew they were coming).
"Salutations, Miss Granger and Mister Malfoy. Come in, come in! We have much to discuss. If you will please be seated we can begin," Dumbledore greeted, eyes twinkling, pointing his wand he conjured two chairs for them to sit in. "Now I would like to hear your plans for the balls this year."
"Well...uh, we only came up with the ideas for the Halloween Ball so far..." Draco mumbled.
"Then let's start with that. Obviously you have decided to have a Halloween Ball. When shall the first Hogsmeade trip be? We need to leave time for the students to be able to get their outfits. Also we need to know who will be invited to this ball," he asked.
"The first trip should be in three weeks, so we have ample time to inform the students and they still have time to shop for their clothing," Hermione stated, starting to get into her element.
"We should only have the 5th-7th years in attendance. They are more mature and can take care of themselves if something happens because of being at the dance after curfew," Draco put in.
"Alright, that is settled then. What of the decorations?"
"We'll make everything look like a haunted house. Jack-o-lanterns, the castle ghosts, cobwebs, everything faded and dark to build atmosphere, candles everywhere, and cover the enchanted ceiling with a few fake rafters and ply-wood with holes to let the light through. We have to make it spooky though, like they walked into a nightmare without any monsters, of course," she replied.
"That sounds perfect. Mr. Malfoy, what should we do about attire? Surely they will not arrive in their school clothes?" Dumbledore said, directing his attention to Draco.
"Halloween costumes, sir. They all dress up in costumes that they will pick out in Hogsmeade." Draco glanced over to Hermione to see if she approved of the way he presented her plan. He saw a smile on her face so he took that as a sign that he did a good job.
"Well, that was very simple. What of food? And what theme shall we be using to describe this dance on the posters?" he continued.
"Candy, pumpkin juice, butterbeer, cakes, a bit of fruit for those insisting on eating a strict diet. For the candy and cakes we can recruit a local vendor to donate some of their products. In exchange we advertise for their shop on the posters and banners at the ball itself. We can ask Madam Rosmerta for the help getting butterbear. Hogwarts is her best customer; she should agree to the donation if we give her a little advertisement as well," Hermione rattled off.
"As far as the theme, we will be going with Trick or Treating at Hogwarts," Draco included.
"Well, that seems all in order. I will dismiss you to your classes now, and I hope you will be ready to present your ideas for the rest of the balls by the next time I call you both to my office," Dumbledore said in closing. Hermione and Draco left the room without another word.
When they were far enough out of hearing distance, Hermione said, "Nice thinking with the ages and the ball theme, although I thought we were going with Classic Halloween."
"I thought it could use a more edgy title. It's not that much better, but it's all I could come up with," Draco said, sounding rather nervous.
"Don't worry about it. It was short term notice. What else could you have done? In any case, I think you did a great job thinking up a name," she said encouragingly.
"Hermione...I was wondering, if you want I can invite Blaise over today," he muttered out of no where. She whipped around so fast he was sure she was dizzy.
"Why the hell would you do a thing like that? I don't want him anywhere near me!" she replied with malice, not at him but at the thought of having Blaise in their common room.
"How are we supposed to get revenge against him if we don't catch him with his guard down? He still trusts me and won't suspect that I know what happened. He would come and act like he owned the place, like the Slytherin he is, and then we will hex him to no tomorrow. It would be helpful if you played along, acted like you were attracted to him. If you got as close to him as possible to him, the spells would be more powerful. Just don't get too into the role, okay?" Draco explained.
"Why would I want to get close to that git?" Hermione asked incredulously.
"Well, girls seem to like him and it would--" He got quieter as he said it so the phrase was lost to the wind.
"What was that?"
"Itwouldmakemejealous," Draco said, words jumbled together.
"One more time."
"It would make me jealous," he said finally.
"Aw, that's sweet, but you know I don't want that kind of relationship right now."
"Can't blame a boy for trying."
"In any case, the plan sounds like a good one. Invite him over after dinner. Now we have to get to our classes," she stated and purposefully strode down the hallway towards her next class.
Draco stood there for a few moments just staring after her and watching her hips sway as she walked. God, that woman will be the death of me, he thought to himself and made his way toward Care of Magical Creatures.
That night at dinner, Draco was once again surrounded by his Slytherin peers, though not listening to a word they said.
Seemingly for no reason, he looked at Blaise Zabini and asked, "Oi, mate, you want to come to my common room tonight?" in the most innocent tone.
"Sure! I've been wondering what that place looks like since Crabbe claimed to have gone there in 3rd year," the dark haired boy replied just as innocently.
"Okay, come with me after dinner, and I'll show you up," he said, smirking seemingly at the thought of having his friend over, but in truth because he was thinking of how sweet this revenge would be. He was hoping that helping with this would bring Hermione closer to him. At the thought he subconsciously shifted his gaze to the brown haired Gryffindor herself.
Feeling his gaze upon her Hermione looked up and met his eyes. She saw him smirking and knew all was going to plan, so she grinned back at him. She couldn't help but think this was going to be fun. Blaise was going to pay.
She returned her attention to the other members of her table. Ginny and Harry were looking at each other, and it was only too obvious what was going through in their mind. Ron was talking to Seamus and Dean about Quidditch. Lavender and Parvati were discussing boys and fashion, silly girls. Basically everyone was absorbed into their own little world, so she could leave and not be noticed. She slipped away and headed back to the common room to set up for their plans.
The only person who noticed wasn't even at her table. He had platinum blond and sat at the Slytherin table. Why even bother describing him? You get the hint; it was Draco. He knew to give her at least 15 minutes until he brought Blaise up with him. Couldn't have him barging in on her when she wasn't ready, now could we? He continued eating his food at a slower pace to make sure he didn't finish before he wanted too. Approximately 30 minutes later, he pushed his food away and stood up. Blaise followed suit and fell into step beside him as they made their way toward the head of the Great Hall.
"Uh, Draco, where are we going?" Blaise asked in obvious confusion.
"To my common room, of course!" Draco replied with an undercurrent of laughter in his voice. "We have a long way to go, but this is the only way to get there." After that, Blaise followed him in silence until they reached the hall of mirrors.
"Draco, why did you lead us to this dead-end? I thought I was finally going to get to see your common room," he said barely bothering to cover his disappointment.
"Will you just keep quiet." He said it as a statement not a question. He strode confidently over to the correct mirror and reflected. "Please stand back over by the staircase Blaise." While Blaise moved to do as Draco said, the painting of the founders materialized.
"Password?" asked the portrait of Madam Ravenclaw.
"Ambition and Courage," Draco whispered in return. In response the portrait swung open to reveal the entrance to their common room. Turning to Blaise, he said, "You coming?" Not even waiting for a reply, he entered their common room with a smirk.
"Oi, Malfoy, have you seen my hair scrunchy?" Hermione yelled at him while walking down the steps from her room in a barely-there nightgown that was satin and black with a scoop neck, which came to about the middle of her thigh, and barely anything else. I've never seen that one before, Draco thought with a tilt of his head. "Oh, you've brought company. I'll just go change." Turning on her heel, she started to go back to her room, but Blaise came up behind her and grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Trust me, I don't mind at all," he said looking her up and down.
"Don't worry, Granger, you can still run around her in your nighty. I swear we won't complain," Draco said, grinning inwardly.
"Oh okay. I'll just read on the couch then," she said and strode over to the couch, hips swaying, and plopped down with confidence and opened the book. Somehow she made the action seem natural, sexy, and graceful, enough so that Draco couldn't help but stare at her butt as it swayed. It rather bothered him to realize that Blaise was doing the same. He felt this burning need to pummel Blaise and yell at Hermione to go back up to her room and change. At this point he didn't even try to say that he wasn't jealous. How was he supposed to be able to sit through while Hermione acted her part if he couldn't even stand to see Blaise simply looking at her? She was going to make him lose his sanity fast.
Blaise walked over to the couch and sat beside her. He snaked his arm around her shoulders. Draco could see her shoulders tense, but her concentration seemed firmly placed on the book. Blaise ran his hand along her almost bare shoulder and started to knead her neck. This made her look at him, and she quickly realized just how close his face was to hers.
"Could you back away a bit, Zabini?" she said, like she wasn't completely uncomfortable. She gave him a sidelong glance that you wouldn't have notice if you didn't know to look. Blaise noticed. He was supposed to. He backed away a few inches, and removed his arm. Instead of simply backing off, he placed his hand on her inner-thigh and moved it in small circles. Slow enough that if you weren't paying attention you wouldn't notice, he inched his hand higher up her leg. That was about all Draco could take.
"Get off her, Blaise," Draco hissed. Blaise seemed to have forgotten entirely about him. He seemed to slowly swim out of the perverted thoughts that were running around in his head and turned to look at Draco with glazed over eyes. He didn't remove his head, but he did stop moving it.
"Don't worry, Draco. There's enough for both of us. I would never deny my best friend," he said, not even trying to hide his intent.
While he was looking away, Hermione pulled out her wand and aimed it at him where he most deserved it. His crotch. "If you think I'm that easy, you are as dumb as you look," she announced. "Reducio! I'm pretty sure you couldn't satisfy me anyway." Blaise's head snapped back to look where her wand was pointing. He paled when he realized what had happened.
"Buboter Pus!" Draco yelled with his wand pointed at the other boys face. Zabini's beautiful face sprouted hideous boils, but the spell didn't stop there. You can rest assured that the rest of him had the painful lymph nodes as well.
Blaise ran out of the room yelling, "You will pain for this! I won't rest until I have my revenge!" Hermione and Draco were rolling on the ground laughing... until Hermione realized how little she was wearing.
"I'll go change now..." she said, backing out of the room with a deep crimson blush forming on every inch of her face. That being said, she ran.
A/N- Well, there you go. One more chapter. (It's actually an important one, so remember it.)
Riley Malfoy- Thank you as always. : )
Babiblue754- I already know what her costume will be. It will be gorgeous if I do say so myself and I do. lol
Steelo- Trust me you aren't the only one to say it's about time. It's still far from a happy ending though.
mysteriouscharm- Thanks...the Hermione thing was just my way of quick fix. Couldn't have them getting in trouble just yet could I?
Alyssium- I hope you like the chapter! Now they get to terrorize the school together! Hehe!
lilwhitney- Thanks! Hope you liked the update.
Queen of Duct Tape- Well, it wasn't against each other this time... Down with Blaise!
his-lil-shortie- We're nowhere near the end! Keep reading! Long way to go!
slytherin-91- Thank you for reviewing! Keep it up! It brings a smile to my face:D
green pea soup- I read my mail and wrote back too! You better update your story soon! I'm waiting, so hurry it up okay?
musicfob- No worries. A compliment is a compliment. I'll read your story soon.
diabolicalone 18- Nice name! Hope you like the chapter.
supafly09- It was more of a comforting kind of hug...and yes the thoughts about her straddling him went into the Pensieve.
Alexandra Warkel- You are not crazy...just a little over enthusiastic. I mean if you were crazy, you wouldn't know it right? Review as much as you please. I like reviews!
