3.
GLACIUS
The following Friday after Potions class, Professor Slughorn stopped them right after the bell rang. They all looked exhausted after having endured a double lesson. At least it wasn't a test this time, Hermione thought.
"Ah yes, sorry." He cleared his throat and read from a piece of parchment. "Granger, Greengrass, Malfoy, Nott and Zabini, may I have a word with you all, please?"
He did a simple spell to write on the classroom blackboard. Six people stayed behind and Slughorn looked at them one by one until he reached a tall blonde Slytherin girl.
"Oh, Daphne, is it?" he asked. "Excuse me. I meant your sister, Astoria."
The blonde girl turned to her younger sister, who was just as beautiful, but more adept in potions, having been one of the only two students the previous week to produce a Wolfsbane Potion. Daphne Greengrass hugged her sister in encouragement and left without another word.
"Okay!" Slughorn said with a loud clap and pointed at the blackboard. "That's the date and place for the first gathering of the new Slug Club. I hope you'll all be in attendance so we can enjoy a great evening."
October 31st, Potions Master's Office, it read.
"But Professor," Astoria Greengrass said. "The big Halloween feast is always held on the 31st of October."
"Therefore, I imagine you all would like a chance for an alternate way to celebrate, correct?" Slughorn said with a smile. "So I expect to see the lot of you then. Have a good weekend."
The Professor left them in the classroom, leaving Hermione and her classmates in a bit of a daze. She looked around at the odd group of students some looked confused and others looked downright irritated. The five of them didn't naturally fit together, Hermione thought, but she and Ginny had been through this before. She had delivered Slughorn's invite to her redhead friend and she was quick to accept.
"He thinks he can compete with the Halloween feast?" Greengrass asked, mildly surprised.
Theo Nott moved to her side and put an arm around her. "Ah, the youth," he said in a breathy voice. "You'll learn quickly that he actually can."
"You're all going?" Greengrass asked, and it didn't escape Hermione's notice how the girl looked slyly at Malfoy right after.
"We can't be the only ones, though, right?" Nott said.
And they weren't. As the day came to a close, rumours of the new Slug Club spread amongst the older students. Hermione, Ginny and Luna sat together eating supper in the Great Hall during the buzz.
"Wait, so that makes a majority of Slytherins in the group," Ginny counted down. "I thought Slughorn didn't favour any house?"
"He doesn't," Hermione responded. "He chooses whoever he feels may be more influential."
"Astoria Greengrass? Who's ever heard of her before?" Ginny whispered. "And Rolf Scamander? Who even is that?"
"I know who he is," Luna affirmed dreamily.
"Well, naturally," Ginny said shrugging. "He's in Ravenclaw. We only know about Vicky Frobisher because she's in Gryffindor and a total social butterfly."
"Which is probably why she got in," Hermione commented.
"He's in sixth year. He likes animals and he's very nice," Luna said as though her friends hadn't kept talking.
Both Ginny and Hermione looked at each other with knowing expressions, trying hard not to giggle. Hermione thought she'd never seen Luna blush before then.
"Wait, Scamander, you said? Like Newton Scamander?" Hermione asked, suddenly interested in Luna's friend.
"His grandfather, Newton Scamander, wrote Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," Luna recited. She sounded like an expert.
"Right!" Hermione said. "So he's very nice, then, this Rolf?"
Ginny snorted and Luna nodded silently, her blush climbing up her neck once more.
"Speaking of people who we didn't know about before," Hermione said. "Who's the new woman at the staff table? Is she teaching any of your classes?"
She'd been pondering this for a few days. Knowing she was taking more than half the classes offered at Hogwarts and also knowing the professors teaching the ones she wasn't taking, the woman with grey hair intrigued her. Was she a guest teacher? Was she living in the castle for some other reason?
"I overheard McGonagall say she teaches a very small group of students," Ginny said. "No idea who or what, but she seems to be good friends with Professor Slughorn. Maybe we can find out on Halloween."
· - ·
The date of the first Slug Club meeting was fast approaching and Hermione had made it a habit to monitor Malfoy's escapades. For weeks she saw him go up to the Room of Requirement, sometimes disappearing, but a majority of the time his name lingered in front of the door for several minutes before finally vanishing. She knew he'd been able to go in, but not more than a few minutes at a time.
Because she'd been studying so much, she hadn't physically followed him like she had before. She was forced to search for his name on the map instead. For some reason, she worried whether he was hurting himself on purpose. His words at the Sun Dial still came to the front of her mind often. "I'll never be able to pay enough penance," he'd said. Was he weirdly seeking some kind of pain, like burning his hands on a flaming hot door, to punish himself? It sounded like a twisted way of self-flagellation in her head but at that point, Hermione would believe anything.
More than once she'd caught herself looking for him at lunch or dinner and even in the library, which she realised he frequented almost as much as her. He'd always occupy the same seat across the aisle from her and she started to see a pattern. After several days in a row of visiting the Room of Requirement and seemingly disappearing inside, he would appear in the library when she arrived after supper and his eyes would either be drooping or his head would be down on his arms. She also noticed how his hair was no longer properly kept, but in a constant state of disarray as he had taken to roughly running his hands through it. Much to Hermione's surprise, it didn't look bad on him. It wasn't slicked back or perfectly straightened, and Hermione preferred it that way. It made his facial features softer, not as rigidly pointed. Not that it mattered to her the fact that she preferred his hair in a certain way, of course. It just meant he was frustrated.
This intrigued Hermione even more, knowing there was something he was trying to figure out on his own. She wanted to know about it and see if she could research whatever it was with better results than he was getting.
The last week of October came with intermittent rain showers, cloudy skies and colder days. During one of those lousy weather days when she didn't have Transfiguration until the afternoon, Hermione found refuge in the library. The common room might have been more comfortable that day, certainly warmer, but she couldn't help but feel like she was being lured out. She knew that Malfoy hadn't been up to the seventh floor since the beginning of the previous week and she could only imagine how frustrated he was becoming. She didn't fully understand why she wanted to help Malfoy, but she'd decided that she was going to offer it to him anyway.
However, she didn't have a chance to talk to him since something else rather curious happened instead. When she got to the back of the library to claim her favourite seat, she saw Malfoy sitting in his usual spot. Before she could approach him, Theo Nott and Astoria Greengrass walked up following Madam Pince. The librarian was sporting a sour look as she went to the gate door that locked out curious students from the Restricted Section and opened it. Not a minute later she came out holding a thick book Hermione didn't have a chance to read the title of and handed it to Nott.
"Here's your book, boy," Madam Pince said in a clipped voice. "Make sure you return it by the end of the day. I'll keep the Professor's note."
He thanked her more profusely than was necessary, clearly just to get a reaction. The woman huffed and left. Nott chuckled when he noticed Hermione still standing close by. He passed the book to Greengrass, who sat beside Malfoy.
"Hey there, Hermione," Nott said. "How's Hogwarts treating you these days?"
"It's going okay," she responded. "What's that book?"
She gestured where the other Slytherins were sitting, waiting for Nott. Greengrass leaned in to say something to Malfoy, but he kept his eyes on Hermione, watching her interaction with his friend expectantly.
"Oh, that?" Nott said nonchalantly. "Nothing interesting, you know…magic stuff."
"I didn't know any book from the Restricted Section could be uninteresting," Hermione said with furrowed eyebrows.
"I dare to guess you don't find any book in any library uninteresting," Nott said with a teasing smile.
"Theo," Malfoy said in a warning tone.
"Sorry, I can't play today," Nott said in a whiny voice. "I have to do homework. Bye, Hermione!"
And with that, he walked away and sat down at the other side of Malfoy, who was shaking his head. He opened the book they'd just obtained and the three Slytherins went to work. Hermione spent hours next to them in the library hoping for a better glimpse of the book or a louder whisper from the neighbouring group to make sense of what they were studying. Unfortunately, her rumbling stomach forced her to leave for lunch.
· - ·
The next evening, Hermione and Ginny sat in the Gryffindor common room. The redhead played with an Exploding Snap card deck and Hermione sat beside her reading.
"I'm going to Hogsmeade tomorrow morning to buy an outfit for dinner," Ginny said. "Want to come with?"
Hermione took a moment to answer. She hadn't thought about what she was going to wear to Slug Club, thinking she didn't need to make an impression since they all already knew each other. But Ginny had a good idea. It was the weekend and all she had brought as far as muggle clothes were concerned were wool jumpers, plain long-sleeved shirts, a skirt and a few trousers. She fleetingly imagined herself next to Draco Malfoy in his polished black suit and pristine school robes and felt her cheeks getting pink. Why would she be measuring herself next to him?
"Sure," she said, shaking her head to get rid of thoughts of Malfoy.
Ginny laughed. "Is that a yes or no?"
"Sorry," Hermione said with a sigh. "Yes."
Early the next day, both girls made their way into the small neighbouring town. Luna was busy with her new friend, whom they had plans to meet later that evening, so they were all alone for now. Both Ginny and Hermione couldn't wait to see what he was like, size him up to see if he was good for their friend. They knew nothing was going on between them yet, but seeing how giddy Luna seemed lately, they hoped it would happen eventually.
"Were you thinking about Luna when we drew your tarot cards?" Ginny was saying as they walked down the path to Hogsmeade side by side.
"Aha!" Hermione laughed. "Maybe the universe or the cards got mixed up."
"If that's what you want to think," Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic," Hermione said quoting Professor McGonagall.
Before starting with their shopping, both friends headed to the Hog's Head Inn, a quiet pub still less popular than the Three Broomsticks but much endeared to them because of the owner, Aberforth Dumbledore, and because of the role the place had played in the last few years of their lives here. It wasn't as cosy an establishment as Madam Rosmerta's, but Dumbledore's Army was founded at one of the tables inside, and Hermione couldn't forget the help Albus Dumbledore's brother had given her, Harry and Ron before the Final Battle. He managed to sneak them inside the castle through a secret passage that led right to the Room of Requirement.
"Good morning, Aberforth," Hermione and Ginny said almost in unison as they entered the pub. Much to everyone's relief, the man had insisted they called him by his first name instead of Mr Dumbledore. They understood that it was partly because he had an odd collection of patrons, but it also helped them to keep the memory of Albus Dumbledore separate from his brother's gripe against him.
"Good morning, girls," he said in a gruff voice.
Aberforth Dumbledore was the kind of man who appeared to be grumpy all the time. He was cynical and had a quick sarcastic wit. Harry had kept in contact with him after the war and offered his help whenever the old man needed it, although Aberforth tended to lead a simple life. He also seemed to genuinely like Ginny, which was why he served her and Hermione a hefty breakfast and hot chocolate without expecting (or accepting) payment.
Ginny and Hermione had breakfast while they discussed their Christmas plans. Harry and Ginny dreamed of hosting a big party with their family and friends at Grimmauld Place, but the house needed some remodelling and they were both too busy to go through with it. Hermione didn't feel like celebrating with that many people anyway, so she was glad that her friends' plans sat still in the future. She told Ginny she'd rather stay at Hogwarts since going to the Burrow wasn't a good option for her and her parents' house…it was too painful to even think about.
When she felt her heart start beating faster and her palms getting clammy, Hermione announced she was done and stood up before walking to the restroom. When she'd composed herself, she went back out and found Ginny putting on her coat and scarf back on.
"Ready?" she asked with a kind smile.
Hermione's first thought was that maybe she'd been successful in not letting her anxiety come through, but she also knew better than to underestimate her friend's perceptive ability. Ginny was currently her main support pillar and knew exactly what she'd gone through in the last year. Being back at Hogwarts without her would have been much harder. The redhead's Gryffindor go-getter disposition pushed Hermione outside of her newly-discovered and anxiety-ridden comfort zone. Hence a day of clothes shopping.
Hermione nodded in response and they both left the establishment, Ginny looping an arm through hers.
· - ·
After a nice morning of shopping, harmless gossiping and candy eating, Hermione felt the happiest she'd felt in a while. Her friend's company made it easy to let go of her worries for a few hours, so she followed Ginny's lead.
When lunchtime came around, they entered the Three Broomsticks. Seated at a table near the back were Professor Slughorn and the mystery woman with grey hair. They were so invested in their conversation that the girls didn't want to interrupt, even though they were both eager to find out who the woman was.
"Hey, Ginny, Hermione!" they heard from another table nearby.
To their left and there were George Weasley and Angelina Johnson, who had an embarrassed expression as though she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
"Hi," Hermione gave them a small wave. George and Angelina smiled at her.
"What are you both doing here? Is the store closed?" Ginny asked.
"Ron is managing it this afternoon," George explained excitedly. "We came to finalise the plans for the new shop here. We'll start renovating soon."
"Congratulations on that, George," Hermione said and he thanked her.
"Harry didn't tell me they had the day off again," Ginny said, frowning slightly. "He could have come to visit."
"Oh, no. Ron says training has been hard on him," George smiled sadly. "He took a couple of days off to recover."
Hermione sensed this conversation had the potential to ruin her good mood, so she went to ask Madam Rosmerta for a table. It wasn't hard to recognise George and Angelina were having a special connection and she didn't want to impose, so five minutes later, she and Ginny were seated at the other side of the room. The redhead seemed distracted, no doubt thinking about how soon she'd be able to have a talk with her brother.
They had a quiet lunch only interrupted by George and Angelina saying goodbye.
"Don't worry about Ron, okay?" George said to Ginny, squeezing her shoulder gently, but Hermione knew her friend wouldn't let go of it that quickly.
Back at Hogwarts sometime later, Ginny said she'd go to the owlery before getting ready for dinner, so Hermione walked up to Gryffindor Tower on her own with their bags.
· - ·
"Welcome, welcome," Professor Slughorn greeted Hermione and Ginny a few hours later with a big smile. "Come on in."
He let them into his office, which was decorated in a Halloween theme with carved pumpkin lanterns floating about, purple banners strung over the windows, spiderwebs and a cluster of bats in one corner of the ceiling.
Slughorn was very well dressed in a dark velvet grey suit and a purple bowtie which had black polka dots on it, which made him look rather funny. Seeing that flash of colour on him made Hermione's nerves settle down a little bit. It meant that this evening wouldn't be as formal as she'd feared. She'd never seen Slughorn dress in anything but green, grey and brown clothes, and she wondered what made him choose the colourful accessory.
Ginny was also dressed nicely. She was wearing a red long-sleeved dress that fell to her knees with black tights and boots. She'd even put some make-up on and finished the look with a pair of gold earrings. Somehow, she had managed to convince Hermione to do the same, even though Hermione had only conceded to mascara and a bit of shiny rosy liquid blush over her cheeks. It made them look slightly wet but flattered her more than she wanted to admit. She chose to wear a black dress with lace trim at the bottom where it graced just above her knees. Ginny had lent her some sheer black tights to go with it and a pretty silver necklace. She also opted to bring her beaded bag for a bit of colour. One of the other girls from their dorm helped them with their hair. Her well-practised spells saved them a lot of time, which was why they were on time even though there were only two other people present at the table.
The room felt warm from the roaring fire on one side. Hermione chose an empty seat on the large, round dining table in the middle of the room, facing the door, and made sure that there was room on one side for Ginny, who sat next to a boy with light brown hair and freckles. He wore a dark blue jumper with a silver two-inch strip of patterned fabric attached around the body below the armpits. He had kind eyes, which shone from the fire and crinkled when he smiled at them.
"Hello, you must be Ginny and Hermione," he said politely. "I'm Rolf. Luna has told me about you."
They waved at him in greeting before Professor Slughorn sat on his other side.
"Oh, pardon me," he said. "I assumed you were all acquainted, not sure why. Yes, this is Rolf Scamander, Ravenclaw. This is Victoria Frobisher, Gryffindor," he gestured to the girl on the other side of him, whom Ginny and Hermione already knew was in sixth year, and they all waved at each other, "and I'm sure the others are on their way from the dungeons, all from your same year in Slytherin."
"I like your bowtie, Professor," Ginny complimented while pouring herself some pumpkin juice.
"Thank you, dear," he responded. "It was a special gift for this evening."
A knock on the door interrupted the conversation and Slughorn stood up to open it. Hermione was drinking some juice when the quartet of Slytherins entered the room and she had to fight the urge to spit out from the surprise. They were all dressed to the nines and, considering the setting, seemed like a bizarre group of beautiful people. They said their hellos to nobody in particular and moved to sit around the table.
Astoria Greengrass wore what Hermione first thought was a stunning long and dark green velvet dress, but was actually a pantsuit. Her pale face seemed make-up free, but her delicate features somehow looked enhanced by her blonde hair, which was extra shiny and long, down past her back. She sat next to Vicky.
Both Blaise Zabini and Theo Nott looked dazzling in fitted suits, one black and the other navy blue, with white shirts underneath. Zabini was even sporting a dark vest and tie. Nott had opted against a tie, but he still looked every bit the dandy with a handkerchief in his pocket. He smiled and winked at Hermione, a friendly gesture which made her feel hot in the neck. Nott took a seat next to Greengrass and Zabini followed.
But what really pushed Hermione's blush to her cheeks was seeing Draco Malfoy casually walking towards her, bypassing the others quickly and sitting down in the empty seat left beside her. She dared a glance at him to admire his freshly cut hair, very short on the sides and longer on top, leaving his previous fringe almost intact. He'd fixed it up somehow, but she knew it would inevitably fall into his eyes when he would compulsively run his hands through it again. Surreptitiously, she looked down at his hands but didn't see any signs of wounds or scars. At least he was being diligent with the dittany drops, she thought. He wore his signature black suit on black shirt and tie. It made his blond hair and his grey eyes stand out more. The same eyes that fixed on her before she could look away.
"Hey," he muttered.
"Hi," she said eloquently.
"We're all here, so let the dinner commence!" Professor Slughorn announced before their plates filled up with food magically, just as it would with the meals in the Great Hall.
The food was always delicious during these meetings, Hermione recalled. But considering the odd group, the conversation was stilted, even as the Professor tried to break the ice and encourage everybody to talk with one another. Thankfully there wasn't anybody present who talked endlessly about themselves like there had been before with Cormac McLaggen. Hermione almost groaned aloud at the thought of him.
"How's your grandfather, Mr Scamander?" Slughorn asked Rolf.
"He's excellent, Sir," the boy responded. "He's retired and living in Dorset, actually."
"Ah, very nice indeed," Slughorn said and addressed the table. "He's a very talented magizoologist, you see. A great friend of Dumbledore's if I recall correctly."
"Oh, yes," Rolf said. "He visited Hogwarts during my first year to consult about a hippogriff, I believe."
Ginny and Hermione looked at each other. They knew he was talking about Buckbeak. Malfoy cleared his throat uncomfortably next to Hermione.
By dessert, conversation flowed effortlessly, the topic changing from the trivial to the serious, until it completely settled on the school's most talked-about news of the past month: the Head Girl and Head Boy elections. Professor Slughorn revealed that Hermione had been the one to give Professor McGonagall the idea after she'd asked her and Malfoy to fill the positions. The school had held two debates during the first week of October and Justin Flint-Fletchley, from Hufflepuff, and Romilda Vane, from Gryffindor, were voted in.
"I loved the debates, personally," Astoria Greengrass said before taking a bite of the rich black forest cake.
"It was fun to participate in," Vicky commented as she'd been a candidate. "But I'm glad I didn't win."
"Why is that? And why didn't you accept in the first place, Hermione…and Malfoy?" Rolf asked. Hermione had noticed he was a very curious person and she understood better why he hung out with Luna. She couldn't help thinking he'd get along well with herself, too.
"Um," Hermione began feeling all eyes on her. "On my part, it just was a lot of responsibility on top of everything else I have going on. I have seven N.E.W.T.s to prepare for and I want to focus on that."
"Oh, seven you say?" Nott asked eagerly. "That's probably why he refused, as well. Didn't you, Draco? She's right up there with you, our dungeon prodigy."
Hermione frowned. Was Malfoy taking seven classes? She assumed he wouldn't be interested in the rest of the classes she wasn't taking either, and she knew he wasn't in them, anyway. How could he take seven? She was confused.
"Really?" Ginny asked, clearly interested. She was probably thinking the same as Hermione. They looked at him in wonder.
Malfoy cleared his throat, seemingly uncomfortable with the turn of the conversation. "I liked that there were elections," he said genuinely, before looking Hermione in the eye. "Brilliant idea."
There it was again, something about Malfoy that astounded her. He voted in the school elections? She opened her mouth to ask but no sound came out.
"I mean, if we want to change the world for the better, we might as well start small, right?" he declared.
"Here, here," Slughorn agreed, raising his cup for them to cheer.
The clanking of goblets crashing against each other didn't distract Hermione from the fact that in bringing their cups together, her with her right and Malfoy with his left, their hands touched. He didn't recoil like he would have done a year ago. He probably would have made a fuss about it and loudly declare how much she disgusted him. He let his pinkie finger free, prolonging the contact for a second.
"Who did you say gifted you that bowtie, Professor?" Ginny said. "I think I'll get one for Harry."
"I don't think I did, Miss Weasley," he responded. "It was Professor Gournie."
"Who?" Vicky asked.
Hermione and Ginny exchanged another look, already anticipating more information. He was obviously referring to the pretty woman they'd seen him with multiple times.
"Professor Marie Gournie, dear," he said as though it was obvious who he was talking about. "She's a seventh-year teacher."
"Sorry, Vicky and I seem to be out of the loop," Rolf said. "What does she teach?"
"Oh, of course," Slughorn said. "She teaches these four Slytherins here. She's our Alchemy Professor."
· - ·
"I can't believe it!" Ginny whisper-yelled as she climbed the stairs with Hermione and Vicky after dinner. "They're studying Alchemy, that's wicked!"
She sounded as impressed as Hermione felt.
"I thought after Dumbledore passed they wouldn't be able to find anybody else," she murmured almost to herself. "It's a very advanced mix of magic and science."
"It makes you wonder what else is going on under our noses, doesn't it?" Vicky said bemused with an air of conspiracy.
As they walked up the corridor to the painting of the Fat Lady it suddenly occurred to Hermione that other things were, indeed, going on. She stopped and the other two girls kept walking.
"I forgot something," she said.
"Oh?" Ginny said, narrowing her eyes with an unconvinced expression.
"I meant to ask Professor Slughorn to borrow a book," Hermione improvised. "I'll run down before it gets too late. Go on without me."
It looked like Ginny would have liked to press her with more questions, but decided not to, considering Vicky's presence. So she simply nodded and led the way up the tower. Hermione knew she was in for an interrogation when she came back to the dormitory, but she wasn't worried about it at that moment.
Holding the strap of her bag, she hurriedly walked back down the corridor and to the next until she found the bare stone wall she'd been thinking about.
"Let me guess," a voice said behind her before she could concentrate on summoning the Room of Hidden Things. "You couldn't resist solving a good mystery on Halloween."
"Well, it isn't a giant slobbering troll," she responded turning around to face Draco Malfoy. His eyebrows rose quizzically. "Are you going in today?"
His face morphed into anger. "Have you been following me again, Granger?"
She cleared her throat trying not to let him intimidate her when he said her name like that. "You're pretty easy to track, Malfoy."
"Really?" he asked more calmly now, getting closer to her and pausing after each of his next questions. "Why are you here again? How did you know? You found me that time in the middle of the night, how? Was it random or were you somehow watching me?"
His face was just a few inches away. Hermione was looking into his silver-grey eyes and Merlin, they were hypnotising. She was breathing harder, trying to figure out how to avoid his interrogation while filtering out thoughts of his masculine scent. She couldn't help what her mind had attached to that moment of vulnerability at the Sun Dial, that moment she hadn't told anyone about. Not even Ginny. For just a second she let her eyes fall to his mouth and then she snapped out of it, a resounding "Stop that!" ringing in her head.
Hermione pushed him away. "I don't have to tell you anything!"
"Were you going to do something naughty at night and I happened to be in the way?" he asked smirking, and then added more sarcastically, "No, you're a goody-two-shoes, aren't you?"
"Shut up," she said and gestured at him. "Look who's talking: the Prince of Darkness."
"I deserve that," he conceded soberly. "But you forget that tonight we matched quite well."
She looked down at her black dress, realising he was right. The colour hadn't been a conscious decision, she just liked how the garment fit, not tight or baggy, but showing her feminine curves in just the right places. She looked back up and saw him staring at her form…appreciatively?
"I can help you," she blurted, causing his eyes to snap back at hers. "Honestly, you're tiring yourself with this," she pointed at the wall behind her. "You can't go on like this for much long, especially not on top of all the classes you're taking."
He was studying Alchemy, for Merlin's beard, of course he was exhausted!
"Why do you care?" he asked with narrowed eyes.
"I don't," she said pointedly. "But I can help."
He looked at her for a long moment like he was trying to read her mind.
"All right." He seemed to finally reach a decision, moving in front of the wall where a big metal door appeared. "I hope you're ready."
He pushed the door at once, unlike she'd seen him do last time. He knew today he'd be able to open it. She hadn't seen any indication as to that but didn't have time to look for it because as soon as the giant doors opened, she could see inside, and it took her breath away.
She'd already known the Room of Hidden Things was an enormous space filled with all kinds of gadgets, furniture and anything else imaginable. What she saw right then was just ashes. Piles and piles of blackened runes and ash, the result of the Fiendfyre Curse she knew had been cast in the room months before. She had imagined it decimated the place, but seeing it with her own eyes felt different. The devastation of the uncontrollable magical fire sent chills down her spine. She was only glad the curse had been contained to that one room.
It took her at least a minute to realise Malfoy had started using a freezing spell in the immediate area, a ray of icy-cold air shooting from the tip of his wand. Before she had time to react, the room started to feel suffocating with warmth despite his attempts to counteract it.
"What's happening?" she asked before mimicking him and pointing her wand to the ashes. "Glacius!"
Her efforts weren't enough, however, and she noticed small red spots in between the ashes. They emitted heat like the biggest roaring fire she'd seen in the Gryffindor common room's fireplace during extreme blizzards. It was nothing she'd ever seen before and the room was so immensely big that she knew they wouldn't be able to apply the spell quickly enough.
Soon, Malfoy was walking backwards. "We haven't got time!" he yelled. The magical ice was starting to dissipate, how was that possible?
Hermione continued to cast the freezing spell until he grabbed her arm to pull her through the door.
"Accio," Malfoy said before it closed. A handful of small pieces of ice with something inside flew out of the room and he hovered them between him and Hermione. "Fuck, I didn't bring—"
"I can carry them," she said holding her bag. He knew what it was. The snatchers had outed her during the war in front of Bellatrix Lestrange in Malfoy Manor when they revealed she'd been carrying the sword of Godric Gryffindor in it.
He seemed to realise then that he was still grabbing her arm. He took a step back and regarded her before letting out a sigh. He didn't have much of a choice, so she opened the bag and he directed the frozen balls to land inside it.
"I'm going to need those back," he said.
"Certainly," she responded. "Right after you explain everything."
Malfoy opened his mouth to answer but footsteps could be heard nearby. He rushed Hermione to the opposite end of the corridor, round a corner and through a door she'd never seen before. He closed the door behind them and pressed himself to it to be able to listen.
· - ·
A/N. Forever thankful to have AurorEowyn Girl of Chaos :3
Accio is such a useful spell, isn't it? Let me tell you, I'd be using it all the damn time...