Chapter 7

Freedom

Draco watched as Hermione calmed down, still shaken from her encounter.

"Um, could you hold on for just a moment?" Draco asked. Hermione nodded and sat on his bed as he pulled the curtain shut around him once more. After he had finished dressing, he opened the curtain again and grinned.

"Ta-da!" A small smile flickered onto Hermione's face. Draco internally smacked himself. Ta-da? What is wrong with me today? I think that last dose of medicine has gone to my head.

"What? I don't see the surprise." she said.

"I'm free today! I can walk out right now." Draco said with an air of victory. "In fact, I feel a dance coming on." He began to do a small victory dance when he bumped into the pole of the curtain and doubled over in pain.

"Draco, are you alright? You need to be more careful." Hermione jumped to her feet and bent over him with a worried look. He rolled his eyes and slowly straightened up.

"I'm fine. Now, I believe I have some freedom to experience." Draco grinned. He strode to the doors and beckoned to her. "Well, are you coming or not? I've no idea where the dorm is." Hermione picked up her bags and followed him, a half-smile playing on her lips.

"Freedom sounds good to me."

+++++Meanwhile, in the dungeons...+++++

"What are you doing here, Weasley?" Blaize asked with a slight sneer. Ginny glared at him as she closed the Potions room door and surveyed the seating. There were 3 Slytherins and a Hufflepuff, all of them at separate tables. She had a choice of sitting next to Blaize or sitting at the front table as close to Snape as she could possibly get. She chose the seat next to Blaize.

"I'm here for the Saturday Advanced Potions class. Why are you here?" Blaize's eyes widened slightly before settling into a narrowed glare.

"Same reason. Don't know how you managed to get into this class, short of bribing Dumbledore. You're only a 5th year." Blaize sneered.

"Apparently I have incredible talent." she smirked.

"We'll see about that." Blaize said. Professor Snape came out of his office and sat at his desk.

"Open your books to page 382 and follow the instructions carefully. You will be making a strong sleeping draught, the Peregrin Poppy Potion. One step out of line and everything will be wasted. Get to work." Ginny turned to her cauldron and began to strain a clump of sopping gillyweed. Blaize grabbed his own and matched her pace. As she threw it into her cauldron and began chopping beetroot, she gave Blaize a small smirk.

"You want a contest, then, Zabini?" she whispered. He grinned.

"You're on, Weasley. First one finished with the best remark from Snape wins." he muttered, keeping an eye on Snape to see if their conversation had been detected over the bubbling and hissing of the cauldrons.

"Wins what, exactly?" Ginny asked.

"I'll figure it out as I go." Blaize answered. Snape's gaze snapped to their table.

"Mr. Zabini, Miss Weasley, is there a problem?" he asked with a glare. Blaize and Ginny both shook their heads and quickly returned to their tasks silently, shooting each other smirks as they worked.

"Hello, Leonard. This is Draco Malfoy. You know, the Slytherin Head Boy?" Hermione asked. Leonard gave her a conspiratorial wink.

"Password, please." he grinned. Draco looked expectantly at Hermione.

"Well, say the password, Granger." he said impatiently. Hermione stifled a giggle.

"Godric Gryffindor is my hero." she said. Leonard nodded, still grinning, and the portrait swung open. She climbed through and turned to see Draco still in the hallway, staring at her with a look of incredulous horror.

"You were serious." he said faintly. "You were bloody serious."

"Hurry up before Leonard-" Hermione started, but was cut off as the portrait suddenly closed. Hermione giggled as she heard Leonard, who was trying not to laugh, ask Draco for the password.

"That's not fair! She just said it!" Draco complained.

"Password, please." Leonard stated again. Draco looked around nervously in the corridor. Satisfied that no one was around to hear him he muttered under his breath, "Godric Gryffindor is my hero."

"What was that?" Leonard asked, smirking. Draco glared at him and mumbled it again.

"Look, you'll have to speak up quite a bit." Leonard said. Hermione slapped a hand over her mouth and shook with silent laughter, imagining the look of terror on Draco's face, as she put her ear up against the portrait to listen.

"GODRIC GRYFFINDOR IS MY BLOODY HERO!" Draco shouted just as Lavendar passed the end of the corridor.

"Wow, Draco, I didn't know you were a closet Gryffindor lover. Wait until Paravati hears this!" Lavendar giggled. Draco's eyes widened in fear.

"No, don't, I- Oh, bloody hell." Draco said as Lavendar scurried off to tell anyone she could find that Draco Malfoy loved Gryffindor.

"Okay, mate, in you go." Leonard chuckled. Suddenly, Hermione let out a yelp of surprise as she tipped forward and crashed into the hallway carpet. The portrait had swung open while she had still been leaning against it.

"I swear, you are bloody insane." Draco said as he stuck his hand out. Hermione stared at it confusedly.

"What, what are you staring at? Take it." Draco rolled his eyes as she blinked a few times and took his hand. Pulling her up, Draco stepped through the portrait hole and surveyed it. Hermione was still just outside the portrait hole. That was new. Oh, get over it, he was just helping. Hermione rolled her eyes at herself and stepped inside, ignoring the electricity she had felt as he had grabbed her hand that was still tingling across her skin.

"DONE!" Ginny shouted triumphantly, nearly knocking her stool over in her excitement as she held her vial of completed potion aloft. Blaize quickly threw the last of the ingredients into his cauldron and stirred rapidly, trying to finish before Snape had a chance to scrupulate Ginny's potion.

"Ah, Miss Weasley. Thank you, but I do not believe we all need a play-by-play of your progress." Snape scoffed, taking the vial and inspecting it closely. Ginny flushed and sat down.

"Well, Miss Weasley, I'm surprised to say that-" Snape began, Ginny looking on eagerly, but he was cut off by a large explosion.

"That's your room, there's mine, and there's a large bathroom in the middle." Hermione said, pointing to each. Draco nodded. It was acceptable enough. Opening his bedroom door, he smiled and sank into the soft green velvet of his bed, his bag abandoned on the floor.

Hermione was sprawled across one of the chaises, a large book in hand, when Draco came into the common room.

"I'm going to the dungeons to see Sev- erm, Professor Snape." Draco said. Hermione marked her place in her book and stood up.

"Mind if I come with you? Well, part of the way, at least. I'd like some air." she asked.

"Uh, sure." Draco answered. They climbed through the portrait hole, Draco throwing Leonard a dirty look before they started down the corridor. Draco hung back a little, lest they bump into one another; he was still trying to ignore the electricity that had shot up his arm as he had grabbed her hand.

As they passed the 6th floor, Hermione saw Ron on the staircase just below them.

"Ron!" she shouted, waving. He grinned and waved back.

"Where's Ginny?" she shouted.

"She's in the Saturday Advanced Potions class in the dungeons. Never would've thought it, huh?" Ron yelled back.

"Thanks! Oh, I'll see you at dinner tonight! Bye!" Hermione shouted quickly as their staircase swung to the left and Ron was out of sight.

"I guess we're going to the same place." Hermione said to Draco, who shrugged. It'll be harder than I thought to talk to Severus alone with Hermione along. You're calling that girl by her first name again. I'm sick of talking to you. It's creepy enough talking to myself, but having conversations with my conscience is worse.And don't you think I realize it by now? She's not too bad. Bossy, a know-it-all, and excruciatingly goody-goody, but not too bad. She did drag me up here by herself when I passed out. I'm just saying, you're getting awfully chummy. We are not. Now go away. Draco scowled to himself.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, yes, sorry. Just...thinking." Draco replied. They were suddenly at the dungeon doors. Somehow his feet had taken him there of their own accord whilst he had been fighting with his conscience. At least I didn't fall off the stairs or anything. Opening a door, Draco slipped into the dank darkness and beckoned to Hermione, who followed him, the door slamming shut and echoing through the passage.

As Draco opened the Potions door, a puff of lavendar smoke floated into the hallway around their feet. Hermione saw the horrified expression on Draco's face and joinedd him in the doorway.

"Oh...my..."

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Thanks for reading!

Charlotte