Disclaimer: Oh my... I forgot this last time.. Heh. Well, were I Ms. Rowling, I wouldn't be putting this on this time or last time, so, since this has appeared... I suppose I am not, regrettably, J.K.Rowling.

Well. I am not quite pleased with this chapter.. Well, not pleased at all. However, since I was at my dad's this summer and unable to write until I got back here, I figured I should get something up.

Also, the two songs Hermione was singing in the previous chapter were Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers and Confidence by Teddy Geiger.

Thanks to my only reviewer, Johnny-Depp-and-fire-lover. I'm sorry I didn't update sooner!

The Fates Prophesied

Chapter 2: Personal Remarks and Passwords

Mistress B

His steps echoed on the cold stones that made up the Hogwarts floors. His pale eyes, silver, looked out from under a fringe of brown hair. He had been so close, discovered the location of their study. And then, much to his disappointment, Dumbledore unconsciously lowered his voice before telling the Heads the password to the room. The books were in there, he knew. Those precious journals. He glared at the wall in front of him as he came to a corner, turning sharply on his heel and heading down the corridor. It shouldn't be so hard, now that he knew the location, but knowing Dumbledore, he put some far-fetched muggle invention as the password. He growled deep in his throat. A simple mission, he had been told. Go to school, as usual, get the journals and deliver them at Hogsmeade. He nearly snorted in disgust. "Simple, my arse… " He muttered, glaring at his feet on the floor. He had been so close.

He had stepped out of the Great Hall with his classmates, and then told them he had forgotten something. He had made it back to the Hall just in time to see Dumbledore lead them out, heading down halls and corridors, up to the sixth floor. He had watched them stop, and then ducked behind the corner they had come around as Dumbledore had halted and began his explanation. He had to hand it to the old coot; he had hidden the door well. No flashy suits, which would have stood out against the filthy ones that surrounded the corridor, and no portraits that could blabber, no gargoyles that would draw one's eye. Then, just as he was sure he would have the password, be able to pull it off at anytime, Dumbledore had lowered his bleeding voice! He growled and turned yet another corner, stopping abruptly as a meow broke the silence. He turned slowly and looked around. "Shite." He murmured, running as Mrs. Norris' eyes followed him down the dark corridor.

XxXxXxXxXxX

He sat on one of the armchairs, his feet stretched out towards the fireplace. He stared at the flickering flames, his hair falling across the top of his forehead, falling down and laying in front of his eyes. Granger had already retreated to her room, and yet, Draco remained in the common room, in front of the flickering fire. He had attempted reading, the book opened and laying face down on the arm of the chair, but that had been a wasted effort, his thoughts racing far too much to concentrate on the story. He had given up after reading the same paragraph three times, and still not knowing that it had contained.

He was in for quite the year, stuck in the same dorm as Granger. She annoyed him, her and her golden reputation. Draco sighed, running his hand through his hair. He couldn't complain, though. She was better than Potty and Weasel, he supposed. Even spending the summer with the three had not improved his opinion of those two. Granger wasn't any better than the two, but she at least was amusing to annoy.

He should sleep, he knew. Classes began in the morning, and an early rise was always needed the first morning. He glanced around the common room, taking in the subdued decorations. He had seen better, but he supposed it would do. Not the colours he would have chosen, although he supposed that a neutral scheme was best. If they had attempted incorporating both houses' colours, the room would look like a muggle house at Christmas. He grimaced as he tried to imagine the room with the clashing red and green, and decided that he really didn't mind the neutral scheme.

His fingers tapped on the cover of the book, and he sighed as he stared into the flames. The flickering made shadows dance along the wall, drawing his gaze as he watched, deep in thought. A cough from behind him broke him away from his thoughts, and he turned around. Granger was standing at the bottom of the stairs, her left shoulder leaning against the wall. Her head was tilted towards the wall, the dark strands of hair falling over her shoulder, the highlights shining in the light. He stared at her, an eyebrow lifted in puzzlement. "What are you doing down here, Granger." He asked, looking back to the fire that danced before him.

"I could ask you the same, but I know that would be inviting a snide remark." She answered softly, causing him to smirk lightly and nod, running a hand over the soft leather armrest.

"You're learning." He said shortly, glancing back to find her walking slowly towards the fire. She seemed to hesitate, then sat in the matching armchair, sinking into the off-white leather. Draco eyed her for a moment, and then turned back to the fire. "So. Why are you down here." He asked again. He heard a soft laugh, and then a sigh.

"I can't sleep." She admitted quietly, and Draco looked over, an eyebrow raised. She sat deep in the chair, her head propped on the back of the chair. Her brown hair stood out sharply against her pale skin in the flickering light of the fire, and there were dark circles under her eyes. She never looked away from the flames, the brown of her eyes looking darker than usual.

Draco nodded and looked back to the fire, tilting his head to the side as he watched the flames. Neither him nor Granger spoke a word after that, both just content to sit and watch the lulling flickering. It wasn't until he glanced at the clock long after that the silence was broken. He coughed and stood, grabbing the book off of the armrest and marking his place with his fingers, then looked over at Granger. She was asleep, her face calm and at rest. Draco picked up a blanket off of the back of the couch and laid the fabric over her, pulling it up to her chin and stepping back. He turned and walked to the stairs, stopping at the bottom and looking back at her. "'Night, Granger." He said softly, heading up the stairs and entering his room. It surprised him that the room was devoid of greens, but he just fell into the warm embrace of the dark blue quilt.

XxXxXxXxXxX

The next morning came all to quickly for Hermione, and she awoke feeling as though she had just closed her eyes. She hadn't been able to fall asleep the night before, although that was no surprise to her. Since her parents had gone missing, she hadn't been sleeping well, dreams of them being tortured haunting her. She had left her bedroom after she realized that there was no hope of her being able to sleep, heading downstairs where she knew a fire would still burn. She had been surprised to see Malfoy there, expecting him already to be in his room. She had been hesitant to join him in his silent perusal of the flames, but she knew she wouldn't calm enough unless she did. She had decided, before she fell asleep, that she wouldn't keep on the way she was. She would finish school, and then worry about her parents. She could do nothing to help them, and she knew that moping around wouldn't bring the Order any closer to finding them.

She yawned and stood, the blanket that had found its way to her lap falling to the floor. She picked it up and frowned, and then simply set it on the back of the chair. A glance at the clock brought a silent sigh as the hands stood in mockery of her, far too early to be awake, far too late to return to sleep. She shook her head and started towards the stairs. She walked slowly upwards, being careful not to step too quickly, to risk making too much noise. She yawned against the back of her hand as she entered her room, closing the door behind her as she stepped into the warm room. The thick carpet quieted her steps as she stared towards her armoire, opening the doors and gazing at the drawers and shelves. Pulling open a few, she grabbed her clothes and started towards the door that led to the bathroom.

A large room, it contained a claw-foot bathtub, the kind her mother had always wished for. She sighed and ran her finger along it before stepping to the long wooden counter. It took up a whole wall, and the mirror ran the length of it. A large porcelain sink was right in the centre, and scattered over the counter space was a variety of toiletries, from her perfumes, to Malfoy's colognes. She set her clothes on the counter and opened a few drawers, looking for the towels. She found them, fluffy and white, in a closet across from the sink. The towel joined her pile of clothes, and she reached into the separate shower, turning it on before checking both of the doors. Making sure they were locked, she pulled off her clothing and stepped into the shower, the cascading water hitting her back and the top of her head, massaging the muscles they hit. She hummed softly as she worked the shampoo into her hair, rubbing her scalp softly before ducking her head under the even spray of the nozzle and rinsing out the sweet smelling foam.

The room became filled with steam as she stood under the spray, her eyes closed as she yawned and swayed softly. She sighed and shut off the stream of water, stepping out of the shower and grabbing the towel off of the counter, wrapping it around herself as she stood in front of the mirror. She reached out and wiped at the steam covering the mirror, clearing a patch and letting her hand drop to the counter as she gazed at her reflection briefly before shaking her head and drying off. She had just finished dressing, her hair still wet and wrapped in the towel, when a banging came from Malfoy's door. "Damnit, Granger! You've been in there for over an hour! There is other people who need the bathroom, you know." He yelled through the doorway. Hermione smiled and shook her head.

"There are other people? My, I never knew." She muttered, heading towards the door and flicking the lock before returning to the mirror. Malfoy entered, glaring at her, and stood just in the bathroom, his arms crossed. Hermione glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow before dropping her head forward, drying her hair with the towel it was wrapped in. She set the towel on the counter and grabbed a brush, running it through her hair. Malfoy coughed slightly, and Hermione turned to look at him. "Yes?" She said shortly, pulling the brush once more through her thick hair. Malfoy glared at her and his arms dropped to his side.

"I need to use the shower." He said, crossing his arms again. Hermione glanced at his arms slightly, and turned back to the mirror, running the brush once more through her hair. She glanced at him through the mirror and almost smirked at his confused expression. His hair was longer than it usually looked, when it wasn't styled. It fell in front of his eyes, and just reached underneath his ears. He looked tired still, and when he shifted his feet the pyjama bottoms, surprisingly cotton, rubbed against the floor, nearly covering his feet. He frowned, and looked around. "Granger. I need to use the shower." He repeated. Hermione smirked and shook her head.

"I heard you the first time, Malfoy." She said, turning and looking at him, running the brush through one last time and setting it on the counter. "Only thing is... I couldn't give a damn." She smiled innocently and turned back around, grabbing some gel of hers off of the counter and squeezing a small amount onto her palm. She eyed Malfoy through the mirror and rubbed her hands together, then drug her finger through her hair, spreading it through evenly. Malfoy was glaring, and Hermione simply shrugged, rinsing the left over gel off of her hand before picking up a comb, and pulling it through her hair, spreading the small amount of gel even more thinly. When she finished, the only way you'd know there was anything in her hair, was that it would be a gentle wave instead of the bushy mess it usually was. Her mother had the same hair as her, and finally had convinced Hermione to let her mother teach her how to style it. It was simple, but it calmed her hair a great deal.

Malfoy was glaring, and leaned against the counter as he waited. "I don't see why you bother. No matter what you do, you'll always be the bushy-haired know-it-all to everyone you meet." He said, glancing at her as he spoke. Hermione glared at the mirror, and set the comb gently on the counter.

"You should learn not to make personal remarks, Ferret. It's very rude." She said, glaring at him darkly. Malfoy smirked and shrugged, his head falling back slightly as he stared at the spot where the walls and the ceiling met. Hermione began humming softly again, grabbing different brushes off of the counter and running them through her hair. Malfoy eyed her and sighed, gazing regretfully at the shower and muttering under his breath. She smirked. "What was that, Malfoy?" she said innocently.

"I said," He began, turning around to face the mirror, grabbing a variety of hair products as he spoke, "Bloody Granger." He said, eyeing her through the mirror. Hermione grinned and shrugged. Malfoy glared and ran his hands through his hair, spreading who knew what hair product through it. He looked over and frowned slightly, then went back to gazing at the counter top. He sighed and grumbled, picking up a brush and running it through his hair. Hermione placed the brush down on the counter and grabbed her things off of the floor and started towards the door, only to be stopped by a comb flying past her head. She turned around crossed her arms, eyeing Malfoy. He glared at her and picked up the comb she had been using. "This. Is mine." He said shortly, turning back to the mirror.

Hermione rolled her eyes and went into her own room, grabbing her book bag and pulling her robes over her tee shirt and jeans. She grabbed her wand and tucked it in her front pocket, and with a last look around her room, she left, heading into the common room. She gazed at the clock and contemplated heading to the Great Hall, then sighed and sank into the couch, staring at the clock as she waited. She ignored the sound of Malfoy's feet on the stairs, concentrating instead on the movement of the clock hands, and only looked back when he spoke first.

"You know, I don't think your styling did a damn bit of difference." He said, and Hermione looked over to see him in contemplation. She rolled her eyes and caught herself from growling, instead she stood and turned towards him, glaring and gripping the strap on her book bag.

"Nobody asked your opinion, Ferret." She snapped, turning on her heel and stalking to the door. The sound of him chuckling sped her along, and just as the door was closing, she heard him call out triumphantly.

"Who's making personal remarks now?" She glared at the doorway behind her and stepped out of the picture frame, stalking down the hallways towards the Great Hall.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Harry glanced at Hermione, his eyes wide in shock. She had her head propped on her arm, and was humming. In the middle of charms, Hermione Granger was completely ignoring Professor Flitwick. Not only that, she seemed to be daydreaming. Professor Flitwick glanced around the class, an eyebrow raised. "No one can tell me what the incantation for the Featherweight charm is?" He asked again, then shook his head and sighed. Harry reached over and touched Hermione's elbow, pulling back when she jerked up. He frowned and she looked at him in surprise.

"What's the matter, Harry?" She asked quietly, glancing at Professor Flitwick. Harry raised his hand to her forehead as if checking her temperature, and Hermione raised an eyebrow. "What?" She asked, pushing his hand away. Harry shook his head and gazed at her.

"You aren't paying attention, you're humming, and you just ignored a question from a teacher." He said, checking them off with his fingers as he went. Hermione blushed slightly and shrugged, half smiling as she looked at Harry. He shook his head again in disbelief and Hermione sighed, looking at her hands, and Harry turned back to Flitwick. Hermione hadn't been paying much attention at all that day, and it had been noticed by all of the teachers. They had asked Harry if Hermione had been feeling well, and the members of the Order asked if it was about her parents. Harry had had to make excuses all day for Hermione. He glanced at the brown haired witch next to him, and then at the clock. He was just glad this was Hermione's last class of the day.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Ron yawned and gestured with his wand, muttering the incantation as he did so. He didn't expect the charm to work, and, as he thought, when he attempted to lift up the bookcase, he was met with no success. He turned to Harry, who didn't seem to be met with any better results. "Bloody hell." He muttered, getting Harry's attention. "You'd think it would be enough to know Wingardium." He said, and Harry's nod echoed his statement. Hermione was to Ron's right, and as he turned to look at her, he was surprised to see her already done, lifting her bookcase with ease. Flitwick walked over beaming, and Ron sighed. "She doesn't even pay attention, and she gets it first..." He muttered.

He turned around and Harry was laughing. Ron sighed and turned back to his bookcase, jabbing at the air as he muttered the incantation again. "Ron, its swish, dip, prod, not jab jab jab." Came Hermione's voice over his shoulder, and he turned around. She was grinning slightly and mimicking his jabbing motions, and Ron just smiled.

"Glad to see you still know what you're doing." He said, patting Hermione's shoulder. She rolled her eyes slightly and shrugged.

"I learned this charm years ago." She muttered, and Ron sighed. Of course she did. Harry snickered behind him and Ron turned back to his bookcase at a look from Flitwick.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Draco stood in front of the suit of armour that guarded their study and glanced down the hallway. He was leaned against the wall opposite the armour, his arms crossed in front of his chest and his book bag at his feet. The sound of scurrying feet brought his attention to his right, and he pushed off of the wall. "It's about bloody time, Granger." He muttered, but she simply rolled her eyes and stood in front of the suit of armour.

"Hershey Kisses." she said quietly, and the suit of armour began clanking, and it moved to the side, exposing a small enclosure, and it expanded off to the right. The door was all but invisible unless you walked right into the enclosure, and Draco nodded slightly as he followed Granger. She pulled at the door and stepped into the study, and Draco glanced behind him in time to watch the suit of armour return to the entrance. He had to stoop to walk in the expansion of the enclosure, and he to stepped through the doorway into the study, closing it behind him. It wasn't a big room, but not quite small. There were crates and trunks littering the floor, piled up along the bookshelves, the bookshelves empty and along every wall. There was a window on one wall, and a fireplace on the other, but other than that, there were no sources of light. There was a small table and two chairs at it, and also one armchair in front of the fireplace. Granger stood by the table grimacing, eyeing the boxes of books. She kneeled, as well as she could in the small amount of space she had at her feet, and dug into one of the boxes.

Draco glanced around before looking at Granger. "They should be put on the bookshelves." He said, and Hermione put down the book she had been looking at and nodded regretfully. Draco sat down on the armchair and watched as Granger began pulling stacks of books out of the boxes. The box she was emptying was full of black books with a red band along the spine, and the one he had opened with his foot, were all with green bands. He was pulling a green-banded one out when a cough came from behind him where Granger was working. He looked over his shoulder and eyed her. "Yes, Granger?" He asked. She stood with her arms crossed, her feet spread slightly.

"Are you going to help me?" She asked hotly, glaring at him. He pretended to think that over, and leaned back in the armchair, putting a finger to his chin. He grinned and turned around, looking at Granger.

"No. You seem to be doing well on your own." He said, smirking. She had cleaned out a box, all of them red banded, and placed them on one bookshelf, and had opened another to find yellow. Those she had begun putting on another wall. Draco glanced around and nodded. It appeared to be a type of colour coding, so he supposed it would work. Granger growled in annoyance, and turned back to the box she was emptying. Draco rolled his eyes and dug into the box of greens and pulled out an armful, moving to one of the empty walls and pushing them onto the shelves, then moved back to the box. Granger was smiling lightly as he stood, and he wrinkled his nose. "I'm not doing this to help you, Granger. Don't fool yourself. This is just so I can get to work as quickly as possible." He shot at her. She just shrugged and turned back to her box.

They spent a good hour simply emptying boxes, shooting insults at regular intervals. Draco glanced around the room and winced. "Is it just me, Granger, or does it seem like we haven't made a dent." He asked, eyeing the brown haired witch. She looked around and Draco could see the surprise in her eyes. She stood for a moment, and then opened her mouth to speak. "And don't say some of them could be empty. I've been taking the empties outside." He added. She sighed and sank into a chair.

"Then we haven't made a dent." She muttered. Draco glanced at the bookshelves. There were about two and a half shelves of red, one of yellow, two of green, and one and a half of blue already shelved. He sank into a chair at the table and eyed Granger. She was counting the boxes and frowning, then stood again and dug into another box. "I figure that since it was such a small room, Dumbledore put some type of enchantment on so that the boxes would be in here, but not take up as much room. That way, it seems like there is less boxes as there is, because some aren't actually in the room. They just continuously replace themselves until we empty the ones that aren't actually here, and then we work on the ones that are." She attempted as she placed an armful onto the blues shelving. Draco nodded and dug into another box, walking to the shelves they corresponded with.

"You know, this is incredibly boring." He muttered, and Granger nodded her agreement. "Why didn't Dumbledore get Pince or the house elves to put them away before?" He added. Granger looked over at him, one eyebrow raised.

"Madame Pince was probably very busy getting the library set, and didn't need to worry about putting this room together as well as the library, and the house elves may just have been too busy. This is a large castle, and you all expect it to be clean when you get here." She said. Draco rolled his eyes and grabbed the boxes the two had cleared, taking them out to the hall. As he had suspected, the ones he had placed outside earlier were already taken away. He put the empties down and turned around, rejoining Granger in the study.

He reached into another box of greens, grabbing an armful and heading towards the shelves. He set them in and turned around, glancing to see Granger's progress. He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms in front of his chest, watching as she stood on her tiptoes in an attempt to reach into one of the top most boxes. Draco sighed and walked over, then pushed her lightly out of his way. She glared and he raised an eyebrow. "Do you want help or not." He asked sharply. She frowned, but didn't say a word. "Thought as much." He muttered, pulling the box slowly over and into his arms. He put it on the table and went back to the box he had been emptying, grabbing another armful.

Granger began humming again, and he worked silently, listening to the tune. He yawned and kept working, losing track of time, simply emptying boxes, and taking the emptied ones out to the hall.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Hermione stretched and looked around the study. It was midnight, or close to it, and her back was sore, her arms aching, and what more, the Ferret hadn't been doing any work for about an hour. She glanced to where he sat in the armchair in front of the fire and smiled softly. His hair was falling in front of his eyes again, and his eyes were closed against the flickering light. Hermione knelt in front of the armchair and reached out to light touch his shoulder. "Malfoy, wake up." She said quietly, shaking him lightly. "Malfoy." His eyes opened slowly, the grey moving around the room before settling on her. He smiled lightly and yawned.

"What's the matter Granger, miss my inspiring conversation?" He asked, eliciting a soft smile from Hermione. She shook her head and stood, looking out the window.

"As far as I can tell, we won't get this done tonight." She began, and Draco glanced around, gauging their accomplishments for the night. The greens were about half done, as were the blue, but yellow was far from done, and red just under half. He shook his head and Hermione nodded. "Exactly. So, we need to get to the commons. Not only are we out far past curfew, we missed our rounds." She muttered, grimacing. Malfoy laughed and shook his head.

"Granger. There are prefects for a reason." He said, grabbing his book bag off of the table where he had dropped it. "And as to us being out after curfew… There's a good excuse right there. Making rounds." He said, grinning and walking towards the door. Hermione shook her head and grabbed her book bag as well, following him out of the study. She locked the door behind them and stopped in front of the suit of armour.

"Malfoy, what should we put as the password?" She asked, turning to glance at Malfoy. He furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, then chuckled softly. Hermione raised an eyebrow and glanced at him suspiciously. "What's so funny, Malfoy." She asked carefully.

He chuckled again, and then glanced at her. "Shush, Granger. I'm thinking." Hermione rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall, running through different password possibilities. "Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re?" Malfoy suggested. Hermione raised an eyebrow and shook her head. Malfoy shrugged. "I'll bet you don't even know what that means." He challenged. Hermione blushed and shrugged uncomfortably.

"What of it, Malfoy?" She asked, glaring at him. He chuckled and shook his head, then went back to thinking of a password. She smiled. "As astra per aspera?" She offered, shrugging as she said it. Malfoy glanced at her and nodded.

"To the stars by hard ways." He echoed, turning to the suit of armour and telling it the new password. Hermione waited until Malfoy finished with the suit of armour, falling into place beside him as they made their way towards their common rooms. Hermione began humming again, a habit she had picked up when things got too quiet, and Malfoy glanced over.

Aside from Hermione's humming and their steps on the stone floor, the halls were quiet. They stopped in front of the painting that guarded their room, and Hermione smiled, stepping forward. "Hello, Hermione." Said Acantha, smiling and waving. Hermione smiled at the redhead and said a quiet hello.

Melite came out from behind one of the trees, gazing at Hermione and then turning to Malfoy. "Hello Draco. It's very good to see you." She said, smiling softly. Malfoy grinned and nodded.

"Nice to see you too, Melite." He said. "Now if you don't mind," He nodded to the three and Lilaea spoke up from the brook's bank.

"Password." She said tiredly, yawning as she asked. Hermione watched the whole thing with amusement, her brown eyes sparkling at the giggling Melite, the weary Lilaea, and the cheerful Acantha.

Malfoy chuckled. "Tempus fugit" He said, and Hermione grinned as the three nymphs waved, the painting fading into a mist. Malfoy stepped through and Hermione followed him into the common room. He made his way to the armchairs in front of the fire, and Hermione to the stairs. She paused at the bottom and turned.

"Good night, Malfoy." She said before turning and starting up the stairs. She had just reached the middle of the stairs when his voice reached her.

"'Night, Granger." He answered. She finished climbing the stairs and entered her room, placing her book bag onto the desk. She peeled off her clothing and stepped into a comfortable oversized tee shirt, then pulled back the quilt that covered her bed. She slid under the blankets and soon fell to sleep.

There it is. I will try to get past this block-type thing soon... It's annoying as hell to write a bunch of paragraphs and have to delete them because they make no sense...

Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re: Gentle in manner, firm in deed.

Ad astra per aspera: To the stars by hard ways.

Please, R&R

Mistress B