Chapter 4:
Somehow, time passed by.
Quite quickly, Hermione would admit. The air around them had began to chill with the faint warnings of winter's approach but it was still pleasant enough to wander around the courtyards without a jumper if the sun was high enough.
It was perfect to sit outside and read, which she would be doing if she were back home, but at school she was nestled firmly between Tom and Blaise, with Vince and Greg at her back. She was boxed in and had no other choice than to turn her head to the left, then the right, watching as the players in maroon and green rushed back and forth ahead of her as they practiced before their match began. To put it lightly, she was bored out of her mind.
"I wonder if Father is already here," Tom leaned towards her, but his gaze was searching steadily into the Governor's box.
She hummed absentmindedly in agreement because why wouldn't he be here? Ever since Cygnus had joined the team, he hadn't missed any matches. So of course he was here.
Hermione didn't get to linger on the thoughts of her father when suddenly Hooch was striding onto the field. It took every fiber of her being to not jump from her spot and shout "Finally!" because the faster this match started, the faster she could go back inside. It wasn't that she hated being outdoors, it was just the sheer amount of people that were shouting and packed together so closely that she felt her lungs spasm uncomfortably. It was all too-
Wild.
That's what she always thought when she watched the players zoom into the air after Hooch blew her whistle. It looked like a storm of green and maroon, their robes billowing quickly in the breeze as they zipped and zoomed like gnats gone haywire. She often marveled how they did it, how their eyes could function so quickly and their reactions be so lightning-quick that they made it look effortless. She knew without a doubt that if she were up there, she would be motionless and white knuckled as she gripped for dear life and wouldn't pay mind to the others as long as she stayed afloat and untouched.
Because that was what terrified her. Sure flying wasn't her strong suit and yes she may despise it, but the thought of getting touched and hurt made her swear to herself that she would never, ever do something as daft and daring as quidditch.
So it was only natural that it happened to be her cousin that was the most dangerous of them all. She would watch on pins and needles as Cygnus flew in the air, many times reaching up to shield her eyes when he would get close to the other players. He played dirty, narrowly bending around the rules to where he wasn't actually breaking them, but making sure he could inflict the most damage and making it look like an accident. She applauded his ability but… still. Hermione cringed each time a Gryffindor took a hit or spun out of control or somehow 'slipped' off their brooms and crashed down onto the solid surface below.
She never let her eyes leave Cygnus. The match went by faster when she only concentrated on him, watching his fierce determination never leave his focus. It was an added bonus that the match was close- too close for comfort as the Slytherins practically vibrated with anticipation and the cheers got louder and louder with each goal scored- but at least it left her on edge with the game not clear on the victor and that too made time seem to go by quicker.
It was when she heard the frantic voice of Lee Jordan boom throughout the pitch that she realized Potter had caught of the snitch and dipped his broom forward in pursuit. Terence Higgs wasn't too far behind and soon both of them were neck and neck as they chased after the snitch. The volume of the crowd made the stands shake and Hermione's hands clenched together as they inched closer and closer, both hands outstretched and-
WHAM!
Cygnus slammed into Potter with a force that made the crowd take a collective intake of breath in shock as every set of eyes watched the Gryffindor spin out of control. Her housemates jumped from their seats, fists raised into the air and cheered louder than anything Hermione had ever heard before. The roar was deafening yet didn't manage to dull the cries of outrage as the Gryffindors sprung to life. Students were booing, some screaming 'foul!' but Madam Hooch shook her head otherwise. Hermione wouldn't begin to question the rules but she was certain that Cygnus should have been fouled in one way or another.
"Damn," Blaise muttered. "He's going to be feeling that for a couple of weeks."
"More like months," she responded, her eyes still watching the game.
Then, there was another disruption within the crowd and everyone's eyes were back on Potter as his broom gave a frightening lurch. It happened again, and again, with Potter flailing back and forth like parchment caught in the wind.
She couldn't think of a more worse way to die. As much as she never believed she would ever pity Potter, she did in that very moment.
Harry was going to die.
Draco could only watch in horror as his best friend lurched forward and back. Something was wrong, so terribly wrong, but the murmurs of a rogue broom were all the Gryffindors were shouting about.
A rogue broom? Of all the chances for Harry to be stuck on a rogue broom, especially since the thing was brand new, it just logically didn't make sense. Harry of all people? On his first match?
Draco frantically turned toward Hagrid. "It can't be the broom!" he said, feverently when Harry suddenly flung off but managed to catch himself at the last minute and held on with one hand. "Maybe Lestrange did something when he crashed into him?!"
"No, no," Hagrid shook his head. His eyes were wide and his face was scrunched in terror as he watched Harry. "Couldn' have been Lestrange. Nothin' interferes with a broomstick except Dark magic- no kid could do that," Hagrid spoke with a shaky voice.
"Even if that kid was a child of two of the most ruthless Death Eaters?" Ron darkly shot back.
Hagrid spared him a glance but stayed silent against the retort. Draco, however, couldn't help but think that Cygnus Lestrange wouldn't dare jinx Harry's broom, not in a stadium full of professors and adults, and he wouldn't jeopardize getting kicked from the team for one stupid match. He may not actually know the guy but word got around and it was rumored he wasn't dumb. So it only left-
Draco grabbed for Hagrid's binoculars and instead of looking towards his friend flapping in the air, he began to frantically search the crowd. He swept through the Slytherin's, bypassing Hermione and her brother, and the rest of the students with a rush but when he began to scour the upper stands where the higher ups sat. He skimmed over Dumbledore and McGonagall, the rest of the professors, and when he saw a flash of white-blonde hair he faltered. There was Mr. Granger downed in impressive garments, surrounded by the other school governors, and watching the scene before him with a grin of amusement. Draco moved his line of sight to Mr. Granger's left and as he realized what he was seeing, he pulled away with a gasp.
"I knew it."
"And Higgs catches the Snitch… Slytherins win."
Hermione didn't understand how the professors still let Lee Jordan manage the mic when it was so obvious by the tone of his voice that he wasn't as unbiased as he was supposed to be. Honestly, would it kill him if he put an ounce of effort into sounding happy for their house? A proper congratulations was in order. It was a tough game for both teams.
She would admit that the sad looking faces of the Gryffindors almost made up for it when they began to walk back to the castle.
"I've never seen a broom act like that," she spoke, turning her head towards Tom so that she could watch him. "Have you?"
Tom's mouth twitched, "I guess there's a first time for everything then."
She turned away from him to look ahead.
"Seems awfully coincidental," she lowered her voice. "Potter's first game and his broom goes crazy right when he's about to catch the snitch."
"We would have still won Hermione."
"That's not the point."
Tom's footsteps came to a halt and he reached out to clasp a hand around her wrist, stopping her as well. He tilted his head to the side and smiled, "Then what is the point?"
"The point is that whoever did it, had spot on timing." With that she tucked herself into her brother's side and made them continue forward. When he pressed a kiss into her hair, she could feel his grin.
Quidditch matches took place every two weeks and it was to her utter relief that her and Tom only attended the ones where Slytherins were partaking in. The team was fairly successful and apart from a match against Ravenclaw, they kept winning. On the other end of the spectrum, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were battling for the spot in second. And well, Hufflepuff… well.
Mid-December was on them before Hermione even knew it. One night she went to sleep with clear skies and faint sun rays and the next morning, there was a thick blanket of snow that covered everything in sight. Winter was a beautiful thing, not necessarily her favorite season but it was breathtaking nonetheless. The only hindsight was that Hogwarts wasn't the most successful at keeping the bitter wind at bay, no matter how many charms were set in place. There was always a draft that wasn't due to the ghosts that roamed. And to her luck, her two favorite places, the common room and her godfather's classroom, where she was at at that very moment- always had the chill that seemed to soak through her bones.
Potion's was her favorite, there was no other choice, really. When she had been born and raised by the Godfather of Potions himself, it was nearly impossible to have any say otherwise. Even if she had to share the class with the ever insufferable Gryffindors.
Although, in actuality, it was her own classmates that sometimes wanted her to bang her head against the desk. Especially Parkinson.
Only Parkinson.
"I do feel sorry for all of those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays because they aren't wanted at home," Hermione gave Blaise a look when Parkinson's voice rang out. The pugged-face girl was sneering at Potter as she spoke and it only managed to scrunch her face more appealing than it already was. "Imagine not having parents that can love you!" she cackled. Behind Hermione, Vince and Greg bursted into laughter.
Potter didn't bother to acknowledge any of them and continued to chop the lionfish spine in front of him, his jaw clenching in agitation. Longbottom started to tremble as he fought the tears that threatened to spill.
Hermione had to swallow thickly and forced her attention to stay on Blaise.
She ignored the glares the Gryffindors sent their way. What she needed was a break. She was counting the days she could get away from it all and just go home, finally letting her walls come down that she had spend so much time and energy keeping up.
She could only keep living day by day for so long.
"I guess that's the criteria to be placed into Gryffindor," Parkinson continued. "You are either dirt poor, an orphan, or come from a unfortunate background." When Parkinson's narrowed gaze flittered towards Potter and-
Hermione clenched her jaw when she caught sight of Draco as he dipped his head down into his work, obviously having heard Parkinson's dig. The whole bloody class had heard, it was hard not to.
But still… the sight made Hermione's insides feel… wrong. Her stomach churned in embarrassment, not in Draco's behalf but in her own; ashamed that her housemate could say things so cruel and unnecessary. Everyone knew Draco was a Muggleborn just as everyone knew Weasley was incredibly poor and just as everyone in the wizarding world knew Potter's parents were dead. There was no need for any of it and hearing Parkinson and the rest of her housemates giggle in amusement had Hermione bowing her own head and forcing on her own work.
She had to clench her fingers around her quill in order to resist the urge to snatch up her wand and hex Parkinson into tomorrow. Beside her, Blaise exhaled heavily through his nose.
It felt like a blessing when they were allowed to leave. Double potions was always long and extraneous and it never failed that she left with a headache more times than not. All she wanted was to go to lunch, forget about everything, and-
The cry of freedom was on the tip of her tongue as she parted through the heavy oak door but the very moment she entered the hall, her shoulders slumped in defeat. If she didn't know any better, she would have been sure that Parkinson had developed a horrid crush on Potter but she did know better and she knew for a fact that Parkinson valued her family's wealth more than she ever would for someone like him. Still, it didn't explain why the girl had to go out of her way at every chance she had to make Potter's life miserable. It was nearly Christmas for Salazar's sake.
Parkinson was still spewing her strings of insults that had very much gotten past their desired effect and honestly, Potter was looking quite bored. Everyone watching looked like they were attending Professor Binns lesson instead of seeing the possibility of a fight unfold.
"Honestly, why does she even try?" Hermione shook her head.
Blaise shrugged, "Maybe she's trying to impress."
She scrunched her brows in confusion as she turned to her friend, "Impress who?"
"Our housemates? The rest of the school?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, but turned back to watch Parkinson closely. "The rest of the school worships the very ground Potter walks upon."
"Then she wants the Slytherin's to respect her," Blaise suggested. "She's not like you."
Hermione glanced at her friend with her brows raised. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
The handsome boy to her left smirked, his hazel eyes glittering in the low light of the hall. "It means that she isn't on the same level as you, Hermione. Honestly, everyone here knows you, not only because of Tom and Cygnus but also because of your father. I had never even heard of the Parkinson's before I got here."
"Because you're from Italy."
Blaise chuckled at that. "True," he grinned. "But I knew about your father, therefore, I knew of the Grangers, which you happen to be. Heck, maybe she's trying to impress you."
"I don't talk to her," Hermione pointed out. "I don't even like her."
"Exactly."
She huffed in exasperation and took a step towards the crowd that began to clutter around. Blaise, however, reached out and caught her arm in warning. "We are supposed to go to lunch," he reminded her. "Not get involved in others affairs."
"I'll make it fast then," she responded before tugging her arm free and continuing forward. She heard Blaise sigh but knew he was following close.
It was easy to push past the handful of students that were crowded around Parkinson and Potter, the vibrant contrast of red and green clashing against each other as if in preparation for war. She continued to push until she was standing right beside Parkinson, eyeing her carefully as the girl's face scrunched up with the insults she threw.
When the girl brought up Potter's dead parents again, Hermione couldn't help but jump in.
"Again Parkinson?" she asked. The effect was instantaneous; Parkinson's head shot to the side, mouth dropping in astonishment; Potter's eyes widening as he realized her words weren't directed towards him; Greg and Vince were glancing hesitantly between the two.
"Don't you think you can come up with something a bit more clever?" Hermione gave her a look of disdain. "We're all getting tired of hearing the same thing, Parkinson."
The pug-faced girl spluttered in indignation, her mouth opening and closing in a truly unpleasant manner. "Well I don't see you doing anything."
Hermione folded her arms across her chest and said, "Because they aren't worth my time. Clearly the same can't be said for you."
Parkinson's face twisted into something sour and Hermione half expected a snarl to leak from her mouth. But her housemate only straightened up and mimicked her pose. "You act like you have never said a word to any of them. In fact, weren't you the one who made Potter make the quidditch team because you just had to make their business your business?"
What? Hermione stared at the girl as if she had gone crazy. Although, really, the possibility wasn't that far fetched. It completely plausible.
"Yeah, it was you," Parkinson sneered. "Always getting into things that do not concern you, just as you are now."
Greg stepped forward, shaking his head as embers began to spark in his eyes but Hermione pushed her hand out to stop him from advancing, relishing as Parkinson's eyes widened.
Hermione's gaze narrowed playfully and she smiled, pitying the girl before her. "Instead of being concerned about people like Potter-" she let her attention drift over Parkinson's shoulder and focus on the small huddle of Gryffindors before snapping back, "- perhaps you should be more concerned about yourself. You never know what could happen."
Parkinson's eyes roamed against the crowd that somehow moved to circle her now, her position not Gryffindor but not entirely Slytherin anymore.
Lines had been drawn with a thick warning but Parkinson had crossed them with an ease of foolishness.
Hermione tilted her head in mock sympathy and shrugged. "Just giving a word of advice," she spoke, putting an innocent tilt to her words. But then, like a switch, she dropped her act and pinned Parkinson with a wordless glare. She unfolded her arms and moved away, getting a glimpse of the astonished Gryffindor trio as they watched her. She nearly erupted into laughter at the sight of them, her mind rushing with the thoughts that must be running through their heads. However, she wouldn't dare do such a thing in front of them and instead shot Potter a forced sneer as she turned and absolutely refused to let her gaze shift to his right.
The crowd of students parted like enchanted water to let her through and she pushed her legs forward with eagerness as she felt the bubbles within her chest rising higher and higher and- Hermione flung herself around the corner and could no longer contain the giggles that began to climb up her throat.
And when they came forward, she lost it.
Hermione clutched a hand to her mouth as a stream of uncontrolled laughter began to spill out. It was so hard that tears began to blur her vision and she had to use her other hand to grip her ribs as Blaise doubled over beside her, his own laughter mingling with her own in the silent corridor.
"Do you- think that will- calm her down abit?" she managed to get out, struggling to breath, talk, and laugh at the same time.
Blaise grinned. "Are you kidding? Did you see her face? She looked seconds away from fainting right there on the spot. I think we will have at least the next year Parkinson-free."
Hermione took a deep breath, managing to contain her outburst despite the rattle that still lingered in her chest and the faint giggle that would leave every few seconds. She tilted her head back and wiped at her cheeks, making herself presentable once more before straightening up and sharing a smile with her friend. "So worth it," she whispered, meaning every word of it.
"I hate all of them," Ron sulked.
Draco had one ear trained on the redhead but hardly paid him any attention as his eyes raked over the bookshelves. That was one thing that had him mystified once he started Hogwarts, the nearly overwhelming amount of books that seemed to tower all throughout the library, in all shapes and sizes and dealing with topics that had Draco squirming in anticipation to read. There was just so many and in times like this, when he needed their help, the books were nothing more than a jarring intimidation.
They needed all the help they could get but when Ron absolutely refused to so much as touch a book, and instead choose to lounge carelessly in a chair, it made Draco's frustrations threaten to be unleashed and just happen to all be directed towards said redhead.
It wasn't like Draco had dragged Harry and Ron into the library by their ears. It wasn't like Draco was doing this for his own benefit, when in fact it was for the safety and protection for the entire bloody school.
Harry hummed in agreement but was still busy scouring the shelves a few feet from Draco. At least Harry had the sense that what they were doing was something important. The school was in danger, there was no debating it. The three of them understood that. Without a doubt. Draco had seen Snape with his own eyes curse Harry off of his broom, the incantations spilling from his lips with a dangerous poison that nearly cost Harry his life. They had all seen Snape wounded the night of the troll invasion within the school, all saw the blood that had trickled down his leg from the large split of his leg. They had seen Fluffy for Godric's sake and there was no mistaking that the dog was the culprit to that scratch. But most importantly, they had seen the door that Fluffy was guarding. They all knew that whatever had been in vault 713 was now beneath the three-headed dog, and they knew Snape was after it. Hagrid had been no help when they approached him and had only let slip the name Nicolas Flamel when he had began his anxious rambling. So with nothing more to go off of, Nicolas Flamel became their obsession. Their only key in this twisted puzzle.
"Why do we even care about all this?" Ron groaned. "If Hagrid didn't care, then what could we possibly do that he can't? He could tell Dumbledore."
"We've been over this already," Draco snapped. His patience was long gone and he had to fight the urge to chunk the heavy tome in his hands at the blasted boy. "Dumbledore and Hagrid trust Snape. He's a professor and it is his word against ours."
"But-"
Harry spun around and silenced Ron with a piercing look, his emerald greens burning like a wicked curse. He closed the space between him and Ron and thrust his hand out, pushing a book into Ron's freckled hands.
"If you help us, we can be done faster," Harry spoke, not waiting for Ron to answer as he turned back towards the shelves and plucked the next book from his stack.
Draco's eyes kept skimming the pages but when he heard Ron sigh and the subtle creak of the redhead opening the leather cover, he grinned.
About time.
Another two weeks went down the drain with no success. Draco was beginning to think that Nicolas Flamel was just some wizard that Hagrid knew, but then again, it wasn't as if he had much more to go off of. So naturally, he kept at it, even if he was the only one.
He would be leaving for home tomorrow morning to celebrate the Holidays with his parents. Both Ron and Harry were to stay at the castle and they had said that they would kept searching for any information about Flamel, but Draco didn't listen to a word either of them said nor would he hold them to it. He was still in the school and the two of his friends had chosen to play Wizarding Chess instead of join him even when he had insisted numerous times. Even he was starting to get annoyed listening to his own voice so, he left them. He wasn't going to waste time when it was quickly disappearing by the hour and then be weeks until he would be back at Hogwarts.
Thankfully Madam Pince never told him anything. Surprisingly, it appeared that she even trusted him as the older woman would leave him at random spurts of time when the library rang in silence. It had occurred more than once that she would allow him to stay in past curfew, disappearing to her bed chambers and leaving a signed hall pass that would let him bypass trouble from either the Prefects or Heads on their routine monitoring. He still had a few hours until curfew would hit but there wasn't a soul in the library, leaving him blinking tiredly at the pages before him.
Minutes passed and he closed yet another book with no luck. He had lost track of how many tomes he had shuffled through, lost track of the thousands upon thousands of words that he had skimmed, even ignoring the discomfort of his body as it begged to give up and just go rest. The temptation was strong and Ron's words from weeks prior kept ringing in his ears. Because, in a sense, the redhead was right. If Dumbledore and Hagrid trusted Professor Snape, then who was he to question their judgement?
He could abandon the search, could leave behind his efforts and only look forward to going home for the holiday's. It would be easy to forget about it all. But… But if there was a chance that they were right, then it was a chance that Draco didn't want to take because how could he ignore the risk against everyone within the school? That's why it made no sense why neither Harry or Ron cared as much to bypass a stupid chess game. It made Draco want to pull his hair out in frustration and-
Draco's spine straightened when he heard the sounds of steps lightly tapping against the floor of the library. He could hear them approaching towards his side of the library, getting closer, but then the steps shifted to the right and the sounds started to lessen. Draco turned his head, his brow furrowed in concentration, because to the right of where he was was only one area. The Restricted Section was a place that was rare to get into because you had to have a selected pass from one of the professors and Draco, well, Draco had never gotten anywhere close.
His curiosity overtook him and he found himself rising to his feet, slowly and quietly creeping around the corner. He kept his attention sharp, darting a glance towards Madam Pince's empty desk, before inching his way towards the metallic gate that shielded the Restricted Section from the student body. Draco peered into the darkness and could see the faint light that shone from within. It looked drowned within the shadows but it was there nonetheless and it told Draco that someone was in there.
He lingered near the bookshelves and waited. His grey eyes tracked the light as it moved down the Restricted Section and paused for several long moments, until it turned back around and got closer to the entrance. Draco held his breath and pressed himself into the shadows, watching closely as the gate was suddenly being pushed open. When he caught sight of the person, his mouth dropped open in disbelief.
Because there she was.
With her wand clutched tightly in hand and a heavy book underneath her arm, she turned to make sure the gate was secure. He almost couldn't believe his own eyes. Of all the people, it had to be her. Of all the students to have access, it had to be her.
Draco took a deep breath and jumped from the shadows, rushing up to her without thinking of anything or anyone else.
At the sudden noise, Hermione's head shot up and she barely had the time to bring her wand up and ready until he was stopping right in front of her, his hands raised in submission. Her eyes narrowed in confusion as she took him in, her mouth parting. "Dr-" her voice began but died just as fast and she abruptly turned her head from side to side.
He knew she was looking for other students, the possibility of wandering eyes and tongues ready to spew their gossip. It hurt, but he was starting to get used to it.
It was only once she saw with her own eyes that the coast was clear that she slowly began to drop her wand. She held her chin high and her eyes were set and- and she didn't look like the Hermione he knew. The girl before him was the one that roamed the halls of Hogwarts, sitting beside her brother and cousin and the rest of the Slytherins, the one that sneered at them and said cruel things. It wasn't the Hermione he had seen that day in Diagon. The girl wasn't his friend.
"Yes?" she asked, her tone clipped and short. She wasn't looking directly at him, looking past his shoulders and refusing to make eye contact. He noticed that her grip was tight around the book in her hand but the fingers holding her wand were loose.
For a moment he didn't know what to say. There was too much to say yet no reason to say any of it.
The girl was not his friend.
"How did you get access?" he asked. It was by far the least question he actually wanted to ask her but at least he would have an excuse.
Hermione's brows scrunched, "What are you talking about?" She looked as if she were in a headspace that she didn't know if she was supposed to either flee or stay, as if she would rather be any place else beside right in front of him. Her attention kept flicking to the sides, her shoulders tense.
"The Restricted Section," he clarified. "How did you get in?"
"Why would I not be allowed?"
Draco clenched his jaw because of course she was going to be difficult. "Who gave you access?"
Hermione tilted her head to the side. "I don't see how that would be your business," she pointed out. And, okay, she was right but still.
"Hermione-" he watched as her brows inched upwards, "- Please. I'm asking you for a favor."
He watched her carefully, eyeing how she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and glanced around them once more. The air was tense between them for several long minutes. So thick that it was nearly difficult to breath. Then, she sighed heavily and the noise was almost heaven to his ears because it meant that she was giving up the charade that he had despised the very moment he started Hogwarts. She eased her stance and finally met his gaze.
"What do you need?"
Draco mentally gave a heavy breath of relief. He hadn't expected this approach to work but heck, it was something. It was just a heck of a miracle that Hermione actually chose to cooperate. He wasn't going to brush this off as nothing since she clearly still felt some type of friendliness towards him that was enough to actually break that demeanor of hers. He was no bloody idiot to know that if there were others around, they would be having a completely different conversation.
"I need to get access to the Restricted Section. Who gave it to you?"
Hermione frowned. Draco kept watching as her gaze shot from side to side, like she was waiting for someone to come running up. She looked panicked and he knew that he needed to get as much out of her in as little time as possible.
"I get access from my Godfather and… I can guarantee you that he would not be passing on the invitation to you anytime soon," she spoke. There was an apology in her eyes so at least he could tell that she was somewhat sincere.
Draco frowned back. "Who's your Godfather? Are you sure I couldn't convince him?"
"Why do you need access so badly? What could you possibly be doing that you need to get it from there?" she tried instead, avoiding the question.
"It's for a side project."
She hummed, obviously not believing a single word he said.
"Hermione, please," he tried instead.
Hermione sighed impatiently. "Severus is my Godfather, Draco. You can't get access from him so whatever you need, you have to tell me instead. It's me or nothing. Sorry to disappoint," she said with a slight sneer.
And there she was. The girl who talked down on everyone so easily that Draco truly believed that she didn't know any better. This was the girl that was the top of the food chain within the school and the rest of the Wizarding World. Draco didn't think she even knew what she was doing half the time, she had no idea how she came off on people without really meaning to. Because who had the guts to tell her off? No one.
But then, her words registered and he felt the blood slowly leave his face. Severus. As in Severus Snape. The man who was trying to take what Fluffy was guarding. Great. It seemed like no matter how hard he tried to look past the darker elements that surrounded Hermione and the rest of her family, there was something else that was making it almost impossible. .
Draco forced himself to keep his cool, keeping his face unaffected. "Do you know if there is a book in there that contains information about a wizard named Nicholas Flamel?"
"Flamel?" Hermione echoed. There was a look that passed across her face and she took a step back as if seeing him in a brand new light. She narrowed her eyes and continued on, "Why would you need information about Flamel?"
"I told you already," Draco answered her. "It's for a side project."
Hermione scoffed as if she found something funny. "I heard you the first time, Draco. If I didn't believe you then, what makes you think I would believe you now?"
He couldn't blame her for not understanding how important this was because how could she possibly know? No one in the whole bloody school knew apart from him, Harry, and Ron. He couldn't hold this against her but she was making it so hard not to. Draco clenched down on his jaw. "If you aren't going to help me, then excuse me, I have things to do," he said and moved as if to take a step away from her, towards the rest of the library.
But just as he began to draw near the corner, that would separate him from Hermione, her voice filled the air. "Flamel was the wizard that celebrated his 665th birthday last year," she informed him. Draco looked over his shoulder and eyed her carefully. She had her book clutched tightly in front of her and there was a furrow in her brow as she looked back at him.
He waited for her to elaborate or say something else, anything that would help him- help them all. But she didn't. She stayed standing there, watching him hesitantly as her teeth burrowed into her bottom lip. Her silence hung between them like a tarnish in the air.
He hated it.
Draco gave her a brisk nod. "Thanks," he replied, blankly. He didn't give her the chance to say anything else. Not like she planned on it anyways.
So, Draco turned back around and walked away.
Going home for the holidays was almost a fresh breath of relief but it only made it coming back to school that much harder. But, unlike the other students, Draco was well armed with the knowledge of what he knew that was a very dangerous possibility for all of their futures.
As soon as Draco had been reunited with Harry and Ron, they told him about their adventures throughout the castle, and more importantly, they showed him the invisibility cloak. When he first saw it, he couldn't believe his eyes. He could hardly fathom why someone would give Harry such a rare item, especially since they didn't know who had given it to him.
However, once term had started, they were back to skimming through books for any information about Nicolas Flamel. And that's what the Gryffindor trio was currently doing while sitting in front of the fireplace in the common room.
After what seemed like eternity, Ron slammed his book down causing his two companions to jump at the noise. "I'm sick of reading! We must have gone through the entire library in this bloody school. My eyes cannot take this anymore."
Harry opened his mouth to tell Ron to continue reading, but was interrupted when Neville toppled into the common room. Draco looked at him with eyebrows raised, wondering how he had managed to climb through the portrait hold since his legs had been stuck together with what he recognized as the Leg-Locker Curse.
Everyone fell over laughing, except for Draco, who lept up and performed the countercurse. Neville's legs sprang apart and he hastily stood up on trembling feet.
"What happened?" Draco asked him, as he made his way to sit next to Harry and picked up his book to continue where he had left off.
"Lestrange," Neville said in a shakily voice.
At hearing Cygnus' last name, Draco was reminded of the altercation he had with his father at the beginning of the Christmas holiday. The morning after they had the heated discussion about Hermione's family, Caius had apologized over breakfast. He had apparently caught his mistake, because he had told Draco that he had diverged himself into the history of the Wizarding World and the families that had children attending Hogwarts. Apparently, as his father said, it didn't take much effort to turn money into galleons. And with the large amounts of wizard currency, his father basically had access to anything he wanted. Draco believed him of course, but he did question what exactly his father had read that would have such specific information.
"I saw him outside the library, with the Grangers and the rest of their lot. He said he's been looking for someone to practice that on."
"Go to Professor McGonagall!" Ron urged Neville.
"I don't want more trouble," Neville mumbled. Draco agreed with him. If Neville was to go running to McGonagall, things would get extremely bad for him. The entire house of Slytherin would attack the poor boy until he eventually dropped out or died.
"You've got to stand up to them, Neville! Ron said. "People like him are used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier." Draco rolled his eyes at Ron. He knew that if the Slytherin's ever did something like that to Ron, Ron wouldn't do a damn thing. Sure, he would explode at them, but his words were meaningless.
"There's no need to tell me that I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, Lestrange and the Grangers have already done that," Neville choked out.
Draco felt sorry for Neville, and watched as Harry pulled out a chocolate frog from his pocket and handed it to their quivering classmate; attempting to cheer him up.
"You're worth more than twelve of them," Harry said. "You were placed in Gryffindor by the Sorting Hat, and look where they're at- in stinking Slytherin." Neville's lip twitched as he attempted to smile weakly, and unwrapped the sweet.
"Thanks, Harry. I'm going to head off to bed now. Oh, and here, keep the card for your collection."
The trio watched Neville head up the stairs and disappear from view.
Harry sighed, "Dumbledore again," and then turned the card over. Draco had opened his book to begin reading, but stopped abruptly again when he heard Harry gasp.
"I've found him!" he whispered. "I've found Flamel on Dumbledore's card. It says that 'he is known for his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel'."
Draco jumped up to his feet and rushed to a large book that he had placed on the small table by the couch. He started flipping frantically through the pages after he looked up alchemy associated with Dumbledore. "Nicolas Flamel," he said as he found the name, "is the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone!" He pushed the book towards Harry and Ron so that the two of them could read what he had found. He smiled smugly to himself, proud that they had finally discovered the mystery surrounding the mysterious man. He couldn't help but recall when he had asked Hermione, and it was clear now, that she knew exactly who Flamel was. She had told Draco everything that he needed to know, he just hadn't pieced the clue together, and he had so quickly brushed her off.
Draco felt guilt churn deep in his stomach when he remembered how apprehensively she had been looking at him. Was it possible that she knew what he did? Is that why she had looked so wary to tell him?
"The dog must be guarding Flamel's Sorcerer's Stone," Draco spoke as soon as Ron and Harry looked up after they finished reading.
"A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying. No wonder Snape's after it!" Harry snapped.
Ron looked in awe, "If he has the stone, then he could be hundreds of years old!"
Draco nodded, "Six hundred and sixty-five to be exact." If the others noticed his solemn tone, they said nothing about it.
The next day, the school was practically empty as all of the houses made their way out onto the Quidditch field. In less than an hour, the Gryffindor's would be going against the Hufflepuff's. Usually, the Gryffindor's would have been extremely confident, but today, there was going to be a slight twist. Instead of Hooch, Severus Snape was going to be refereeing the game.
Many of the Gryffindors, especially the Golden Trio, feared that Snape was going to favor the team opposing the red and gold one. Draco and Ron had urged Harry to take extreme precaution since they had seen that Snape was the one who had hexed Harry's broom during the first match. It was safe to say that Harry was beyond nervous for this match, and he even feared for his life. Thankfully, his two best friends had comforted him by making sure they watched Snape with meticulous eyes.
After bidding Harry farewell, Ron and Draco had quickly found their place in the stands next to Neville. As the teams marched their way onto the field, the two noticed that Snape looked extremely angry.
"I've never seen Snape look so mean," Ron said rather loudly to Draco.
"It's probably because he has to be on the same field as that scum you all worship," came an icy reply from behind them. Draco paled and kept his head straight because he knew that it wasn't the voice of Hermione or her bodyguards. That cold voice belonged to the other Granger, the one who he would never get the chance to befriend.
"Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time?" Cygnus inquired loudly. "Anyone want to bet? How about you, Weasel?" Ron turned sharply to face the group of Slytherin's that decided to invade their personal space. He instantly regretted it, when he recognized that it was Tom, Cygnus, and Theo, as well as Hermione, Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini. The whole bloody pack had slithered out of their hole to come watch the match.
"I heard your running a bit low on funds," Cygnus cackled. "You and your whole excuse of a family." The Slytherins joined in the laughter and their shoulders bobbed as they all turned to watch the scene unfold.
"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" Cygnus said loudly to the rest of them. "It's people they feel sorry for."
Goyle leaned in, his face grinning from ear to ear. "Yeah! See, there's Potter, who has no parents, and the Weasleys, who have no money."
"Longbottom-you should be on the team, since you have no brains," Cygnus maliciously said as he sneered at the quivering boy. "Or parents," he added as a grimly after effect.
Draco watched Neville tremble before her eyes. Lestrange apparently hit quite a sore spot within Longbottom. It infuriated him that Lestrange would have the audacity to say such things, how someone could be so damn cruel was beyond him. It's not like Neville went around throwing it in Lestrange's face that his mum wasn't rotting in Azkaban, even if she weren't exactly in the right state of mind, Neville could still physically see her whenever he wanted.
"I'm worth twelve of you, Lestrange," Neville stammered.
The Slytherin group erupted into laughter once again. They could all see Neville uselessly nugging Ron for assistance, but their redhead friend kept his gaze on the game. Draco wanted to shout at him to back up his words that he had been so eager to spew earlier. Where was that Gryffindor bravery now, Ron?
"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something," Hermione spoke finally. This whole time Draco had watched as she stared curiously at the argument around them all, nestled securely in the middle of the Slytherin gang.
Hermione smirked towards Ron as his face went bright red with the newfound attention. Ron sharply turned around to face her. He had barely moved when Tom stepped in front of Hermione and Cygnus had shifted to where his shoulder suddenly rammed into the redhead. Ron clumsily stumbled backward into Draco and Neville.
Ron angrily shouted, "Granger, if you say one more thing-"
"You'll what?" Tom cut him off with a dangerous glare. Hermione raised a mocking eyebrow, with her head tilted to the side. She smirked at him, and judging by the way Ron's red shade darkened, he was fighting his anger. Draco must have sensed it as well because he quickly turned to pull Ron from the small gang. "Ron, stop. They just want attention, and that's exactly what you are giving them!"
Hermione's smirk dropped instantly. She looked at Draco with wide eyes, and he could visibly see the frantic panic that she stared at him with. He frowned and Hermione glanced at the rest of the Slytherins sideways, and sure enough, as he followed her gaze, they were boring daggers into Draco's skull.
Shite.
Draco had started to panic when Hermione's brother stepped forward towards the Gryffindors. "No one asked for your opinion, you -"
Suddenly, Hermione reached out and wrapped her hand around her brother's arm. He had turned abruptly towards her with his silver eyes full of confusion. Hermione began to speak, but suddenly the crowd erupted in cheers and shouts. Everyone's eyes snapped up towards the sky to watch Potter suddenly dive towards the ground like a bullet. Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Cygnus dip his head back in frustration. They watched with heated glares as Potter pulled out of the dive, lifted his arm up in a triumph, and showed off the Snitch to the crowds.
Although she would never admit it outloud, Hermione did have to give Potter some credit for actually being somewhat good at Quidditch. She might not have known too much about the sport, but she did know that being a successful first year seeker was not an easy task that was given to anyone.
In order to escape the celebrating Gryffindors, Cygnus quickly stormed towards the nearest exit available. Hermione could tell that he was beyond angry. As he made his hasty exit, many of the surrounding Gryffindors became victims of his wrath. He roughly pushed several students out of the way, many tumbling to the ground with harsh thuds.
Tom cursed underneath his breath as he watched Cygnus leave. He quickly grabbed onto Hermione so that the two could go after him, in hopes that he wouldn't do something too heinous. Ever since they were young, Tom and Hermione were the only ones that were ever able to calm down their cousin. He had always been quite irrational, and never thought about his actions or what could result from them. It was no secret that Cygnus was nearly impossible to control.
As Tom dragged Hermione behind him, the others were quick to follow. None of them had failed to not shoot deadly daggers at the Gryffindors that were standing in front of them.
After leaving the Quidditch fields, the Slytherin group had quickly ventured down into the dungeons to escape the horrid celebrations of the Gryffindor scum. As soon as the portrait door of the common room slammed shut, Tom dismissed the rest of their group with a simple wave of the hand. Crabbe and Goyle obediently obeyed, but Theo took his sweet time leaving the room while shooting wishful glances towards the ones that remained. Blaise at first was reluctant to go, but disbanded after Hermione smiled at him, telling him that everything would be okay. Hermione remained close to her brother's side as she watched Cygnus plop himself down on the black leather couch in an undignified manner, once everyone had left.
Tom sighed loudly as he looked down upon Cygnus, who was still throwing his tantrum. "It would be wise not to cause a scene like that in the future. Surely, you don't want detention with any of the Professors."
Cygnus kept his eyes trained on the high ceiling above him. "Do you think I give a damn-"
"I don't bloody care if you don't give a damn because I do!" Tom cut off his raging cousin. "We were given specific instructions to not get in any unnecessary trouble. And I would think that even you would be above going against Father." Cygnus clenched his jaw shut as Tom condescended him.
Hermione quietly made her way to sit next to Cygnus on the couch as Tom continued to talk sense into him.
Cygnus scoffed loudly, "I didn't even do anything wrong! The last thing I did was throw that curse at Longbottom."
Hermione gently placed her hand on his shoulder as she addressed him,"Cygnus you threw that Gryffindor off of the stands today when you stormed off after the game. Not that i'm sticking up for a Gryffindor, but when he fell, Tom had to perform the Confundus charm on him to make it look like he had accidentally tripped off of the stairs. Consider yourself lucky that no one saw since they were all focused on Potter."
Tom nodded in agreement with Hermione, "I know it's hard Cygnus, but we must obey Father. Like he said, we either make sure that there are no witnesses or we use our unregistered wands. We have to be in position for when The Dark Lord returns."
Cygnus stood to be eye level with Tom. "He would want us to be torturing and killing every sodding person that stands against our ideals. He would want us to have disposed of Potter and his moronic fanclub."
Tom rolled his eyes, "You know, just as well as I do, that it is The Dark Lord's task to kill him. If we even attempted to cause problems for Potter, Dumbledore would know and do everything in his power to dispose of us from his precious Hogwarts. Everyone here knows that all of the professors favor Potter and the bloody Gryffindors. We have to be ready for when he returns, and you can't exactly do that if you get expelled. When Father gives us permission, then we get to have fun. But until then, stay low."
Cygnus turned from Tom and started pacing in front of the couch where Hermione was sitting. His fingers were twitching to cause harm-aching to release his frustrations. Gods how he hated Dumbledore and his stupid little puppets!
Tom took two large strides and sat himself down next to his sister as they both prepared themselves to witness Cygnus blow a few things up. They weren't at home so it wasn't like Cygnus could summon one of their many house elves to torture.
Cygnus rapidly drew out his wand and trained it on a nearby shelf. With a simple cantation, the objects bursted into tiny pieces, leaving nothing but a smoking trail.
Tom narrowed his eyes at the form of Cygnus and sneered, "Don't be sloppy. Even a Weasel could cast better than that-hell Longbottom could too."
Hermione looked at Tom questionably through a quick side glance. What was he doing? She could see a dark glint in his eyes that meant he was doing it to get their cousin riled up even further.
With a feral roar Cygnus pointed his wand at an even larger bookcase. A dark green light shot out of the tip of his wand, and struck the object. Instantly, it erupted with a loud explosion that caused the dungeon room to rumble as the immense wind waved over the occupants. Little embers remained floating in the air, but other than that, the bookshelf was nowhere to be seen. Cygnus had totally obliterated it.
"Not bad cousin," Tom muttered. Hermione gave him a smile, but it was tight, and all she could think was that bookcase could have very easily been a student dressed in red and gold.
Surprisingly the next few days had ran smoothly. Cygnus had been busy with Quidditch, Tom studied, and Hermione did the same-only she usually was occupied by either Tom or Blaise.
Hermione was somewhat shocked that Tom and Cygnus hadn't confronted Potter. However, she was more than grateful that the two boys had seemingly forgotten about Draco speaking out of line. It seemed that the two were strictly sticking to Lucius' words of wisdom to not cause any huge amounts of trouble.
Currently she was upstairs in the library with Blaise, and it was late. Curfew would be arriving upon them at any moment, but the two could honestly care less. Instead of reading and studying like Hermione knew they should be doing, they were actually contemplating the great battle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald.
"It's just...don't you find it odd that Dumbledore came out the victor? Grindelwald had the Elder wand, the Elder wand, and everyone knows how powerful it is. I just don't understand how a wizard could have defeated him if he had the most powerful wand in existence. It just..logically doesn't add up."
Blaise looked at Hermione with a contemplating look. It was somewhat conflicting the young wizard that his friend was right. Every magically being alive knew how legendary the Elder wand was and now that he thought about it, Dumbledore must be either extremely powerful or just unbelievably lucky.
"Well...it is no secret that Dumbledore loved the wizard. Perhaps, maybe, Grindelwald didn't want to hurt his lover."
Hermione snorted, "You really think that Grindelwald's love for Dumbledore was greater than his love of power? I never deemed you as a fool before Blaise, but if you really believe that, I might have to rethink this friendship."
Blaise humorously rolled his eyes at Hermione's mirth, "Oh please, as if you could survive without me. So then explain to me what your theory is about the Duel of 1945."
Hermione lowered her head as she put her attention towards the book that was laying open in front of her. Quietly she mumbled to him, but he hadn't caught her words.
Recognizing her troubled expression, Blaise smiled brightly at her. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
Hermione sighed loudly, "I said that I don't have one."
Blaise raised a questioning eyebrow, "You mean to tell me that the all knowing Hermione Granger has no idea? No thoughts? No nothing?"
Hermione laughed at her companion, "Yes. I honestly have no clue how Dumbledore would have defeated him. I guess it will just have to remain a mystery."
"Well what if-"
"What do we have here? Curfew is seconds away and if you two do not go to your dormitories, I will have no choice but to report you both to Professor Snape," Madam Pince said as she interrupted Blaise's train of thought.
Hermione and Blaise rolled their eyes at the librarian, but wouldn't dare risk being reported to Severus. The two quickly put their belongings away and scurried off towards the dungeons.
They were about to round the last staircase when they abruptly stopped; a result of hearing nearby footsteps. The two Slytherins held their breaths and looked at each other with wide, worried eyes. However, they soon realized that it wasn't just one pair of footsteps. Infact it was more than two. Feeling somewhat daring, Hermione slowly peered around the staircase, hoping to find the nearby individuals that were the source of the noise. She squinted as she tried to see beyond the darkness that crept along the walls, but she could see nothing, and more importantly, no one. Hermione turned her head towards Blaise and nodded her head towards the empty hall. Blaise stuck his head out to make sure that he couldn't see anyone either, and shrugged to Hermione. The two were just about to walk down the empty corridor to the dungeon when the large, main doors of the castle opened. Hermione and Blaise stared at the sight in amazement.
"What the f-" Blaise started to say but was quickly silenced as Hermione placed her hand over his mouth to silence him. She only released him once the doors had closed, signaling that their company was no longer lurking nearby. Quickly, Hermione grasped Blaise and pulled him towards the nearest window that overlooked the grounds. Hermione smirked to herself at the sight she saw. There in the darkness, was a light that shone brightly from a lantern.
"I can't see anyone. Only just the light," Blaise whispered to Hermione as he gazed out of the window.
"You may not see anyone, but that light means someone or some people, are out past curfew," Hermione said as a ghost of a smile spread across her face.
"It could just be a teacher," Blaise pointed out.
Hermione nodded her head in disagreement, "What teacher needs to be invisible as they walk to Hagrid's hut? I don't know about you, but I know a blasted individual that likes to visit the half giant fool."
"You mean Potter."
"Of course I mean Potter. He's the only idiot that visits the groundskeeper. Well.." And his friends. But Hermione hadn't said the last part out loud. She hadn't gotten to speak to Draco since before Christmas break, and she simply had tried to keep herself busy in order to not dwell on the fact. It wasn't like she could just walk up to him and talk endlessly. He too, had seemed like he was always busy. He either had his nose buried deep in a book, or was always herded together with Weasley, Potter, and sometimes even Longbottom. Even though they didn't talk, she knew that they still considered each other friends.
Hermione moved towards the door and Blaise looked at her in shock.
"We're going to follow them? It's past curfew Hermione."
Hermione waved him off, "Oh it'll be fine, no one is going to see us. Come on." Hermione pulled on the handle and slipped outside.
Blaise sighed deeply to himself. He just had to be the best friend of Hermione Granger, the cunning, Slytherin Princess. Blaise rolled his eyes, then followed after Hermione once he made sure the large door shut quietly behind him.
If Hermione said the journey to Hagrid's hut was easy, she would've be lying. It was incredibly difficult for her and Blaise to manage to make their way down the large, ragged hill without a light for guidance. Yes, they were aware of the fact that a simple Lumos could have eased themselves of their problem, but they didn't want to risk the chance of being caught.
"Ugh, it stinks out here," Blaise said while he made a face of disgust as they had finally arrived at the groundskeeper's hut.
Hermione nodded in silent agreement, looking down to make sure she didn't step in any questionable substances. "It's absolutely horrid. And imagine actually having to live in that… thing. It's absolutely barbaric. You would think that the old fool would have upgraded it by now."
The two quietly tip toed to a small window that light happened to be pouring out of. The two smirked to each other as they caught wind of voices seeping out as well. Hermione and Blaise pressed themselves against the wall of the hut so that they could hear the conversation that was taking place.
"We think Snape's trying to steal it. Draco and Ron saw him hexing my broom at the match! Everything points to him as the bad guy."
Hermione narrowed her eyes as she thought about Potter's words in concentration. Why were they talking about Severus? And especially about him trying to steal something. Blaise looked at Hermione in confusion, but stayed silent as Hagrid started to talk.
"Snape? Blimey, Harry, you're not still on about him are you?"
"Hagrid, we know he's after the Stone. We just don't know why," Potter spoke.
Hermione raised her eyebrows in shock. A Stone? They couldn't possibly be thinking that Severus wanted some bloody stone. He could probably make a dozen on his own. He didn't need to steal anything. What could they be bloody talking about? The only stone that had any importance was the-
"The Sorcerer's Stone," Hermione whispered to herself. Draco had asked her about Flamel, and at the time apparently had no idea about the stone and it's well wanted desires. Is that what the Gryffindor trio had been up to all this time? She had not been oblivious to the fact that they always had their noses in ever changing books. It was no surprise to see Draco reading, but the other two were a completely different story.
She could hear a loud creak within the hut, that could only mean that the half-giant had stood and started to walk around. "Snape is one of the teachers protecting the Stone! He's not about to steal it, Harry."
"What?" Hermione rolled her eyes at the ignorance of Potter. Gods how she wanted to do nothing but burst through the door and hex him where he sat. He deserved to be punished for being so judgemental towards her Godfather, and to accuse him of stealing, was completely uncalled for.
"You heard right. Come on now, I'm a bit preoccupied today," Hagrid's voice rumbled out.
"Uh, Hagrid, what exactly is that?" Hermione recognized that voice immediately. It belonged to her friend- the boy who should've been sorted into Slytherin and talking to her instead of being surrounded by blubbering idiots.
"Bloody hell Hagrid! How did you get a dragon egg?"
Instantly, Hermione and Blaise turned to each other with their mouths open in obvious shock. A dragon was definitely not allowed on the grounds of Hogwarts. Then, as if on que, the pair could hear a loud rattling sound being emitted from within the hut.
Hermione definitely didn't want to miss out on whatever was happening, so she pulled herself up in order to be able to look through the pulled curtains. It didn't take more than a second before Blaise followed up after her. The two watched as the large egg near the fire, cracked loudly. Everyone in the hut, and the two outside, gasped as a tiny dragon emerged from within.
"That's not just a dragon, Hermione. That's a Norwegian Ridgeback," Blaise whispered.
Hermione turned to look at Blaise, but quickly froze when Hagrid spoke.
"Who's that in the window?"
Hermione and Blaise immediately ducked down out of sight, but they both knew that it was too late. They had been seen by the half giant, and perhaps the other occupants in the hut.
"Granger."
Draco turned to look at Harry as he identified who had been looking through the window. "Are you sure?" Draco had no doubt that it was Hermione-he had even saw her for himself-but he didn't want to rat her out completely.
"Yes, it was Granger. Who else would have followed us out here?"
Hagrid immediately became distressed at the mention of Hermione's name. "Oh dear. How long had she been there? Did she see Norbert?"
Ron's shoulders slumped, "I think she did Hagrid."
"You don't think she'd tell, do you? Blimey, I've only jus' gotten him." Hagrid looked down at the newly hatched dragon that was squirming in his large hands.
Harry nodded his head, "Hagrid, I have no doubt that she would."
Ron snorted, "Consider yourself lucky that she didn't barge in here and Avada him before our very eyes."
Draco snapped and narrowed his eyes in agitation, "You can't say that Ron!"
Ron looked at Draco as if he grew a second head. "What, you know it's true!"
A somewhat awkward silence sat on the shoulders of everyone in the hut since Ron and Draco were glaring at each other-daring one another to say something that the other would take offense to. Harry looked between the two with hesitant glances, not wanting to get involved in their dispute.
"Ron, Draco's right," Hagrid said as he stepped towards the two. "It's very wrong to go 'round sayin students at Hogwarts be messin' with that stuff. Even if you don't like the person."
Draco was relieved that Ron somewhat looked ashamed of himself, even though it was to the slightest degree.
"We need to head back to the castle," Harry spoke as he remembered how late it was.
"Alright, ya go. And do try not to get caught on yer way back in."
The trio nodded at Hagrid, then left the hut after saying goodbye.
Hermione and Blaise ran all the way back to the castle after being seen at Hagrid's. When they entered, Hermione had turned to go towards the dungeons, but was stopped by Blaise pulling on her arm.
"What are you doing?," he hissed at her. "We need to report this! Hagrid can't keep a bloody dragon on the school grounds. Besides, we can get the Gryffindor Trio in trouble too. Tom and Cygnus are always talking about plans, and an opportunity has been given to us!"
Hermione was shocked to see that Blaise was so adamant on reporting what they had just seen. Hermione had honestly not even thought about telling anyone, but apparently Blaise did.
Hermione walked back to Blaise quietly. "And who are we going to tell? Everyone in this school favors Potter."
"Ahem," came a well known voice behind them. The pair stiffened instantly, then slowly, ever so slowly, turned to face Professor McGonagall as she peered down at them from behind her glasses. "Perhaps you should tell me." Hermione spoke before Blaise could even mutter a word.
When the main doors of Hogwarts opened again, this time the three Gryffindors walked in to find themselves facing McGonagall with Granger and Zabini looking rather smug from behind her.
"Good evening, how nice of you to finally join us. I've been waiting for you three since I stumbled upon Miss Granger and Mister Zabini. Care to explain yourselves?"
Draco noticed that Harry looked completely perplexed, but his main focus was Hermione. She was looking at Harry, but occasionally would flicker her gaze towards him. When her eyes would sit on him, he was absolutely positive that there was a slight smile on her lips, but it only lasted for a second before she returned her gaze to Harry. Draco did find it odd that Blaise kept quiet, and looked agitated as McGonagall spoke.
"Nothing, I repeat, nothing gives a student the right to walk around the school at night." Draco saw Blaise glance at Hermione, then the two shared a look that obviously said the two were communicating quietly. Draco felt that sharp pang of jealousy in his stomach again. It never failed to occur when he would see the two interact with each other.
"Therefore, as punishment for your actions, 50 points will be take."
"50?!" Harry nearly screamed.
McGonagall looked at him with an unimpressed look, "Each. And to ensure it doesn't happen again, all five of you will receive detention."
Hermione snapped her attention to McGonagall, "Excuse me, Professor. Perhaps I heard you wrong. I thought you said…the five of us."
McGonagall turned to look at the two Slytherins behind her. "No, you heard me correctly, Miss Granger. You see, you too were out of bed after hours. You, as well as Mister Zabini, will serve detention with your classmates."
This time it was the lions to smirk at the snakes.
"I have detention. Tonight. At 11 o'clock." Hermione said to the two that were sitting across the table from her as they all enjoyed their breakfast.
Tom and Cygnus instantly put down their forks then focused their attention on her. The two older boys were emotionless for a second, then bursted out into laughter.
"That's a good one. And you masked your emotions exceptionally well," Cygnus said as he wiped his eyes.
"It's not a joke, Cygnus. McGonagall gave Blaise and I detention tonight for being out past curfew last night." Hermione looked towards Tom, pleading for him to realise that she was absolutely serious. Tom narrowed his eyes, and gripped Cygnus on the arm, silencing him at once. Cygnus then looked at Hermione with an incredulous look, "The old bat really gave you detention?" Hermione solemnly nodded.
"So I take it, you and Potter will have it together, since you all were caught," Tom said.
Hermione sighed, "Yes. It'll be Blaise, myself, then the three Gryffindors."
Cygnus turned towards Tom, "It'll probably be with Filch.."
"But why does she have to report at 11 o'clock at night? That's too late for any regular detention.." Tom trailed off as he stared at Hermione. "If that man makes you do anything that would not classify as normal detention, I want you to leave immediately and come to us. If we have to, we'll get Father involved."
Hermione frowned and started to pick at her eggs, "I don't want to cause any more trouble."
Tom scoffed then reached across the table to still her hand. He looked at her with a firm gaze that didn't waver. "I don't care. There's no room for argument."
Cygnus nodded then turned his attention towards the Professor's table, no doubt throwing daggers at McGonagall. "Should one of us get detention as well?," Cygnus asked the pair.
Hermione briskly shook her head back and forth, "That's hardly necessary. I'm a big girl remember?" Tom and Cygnus smiled at her. "And I'll have Blaise. Besides, it can't be that bad, right?"
Wrong. At eleven o'clock that night, Hermione had made her way up to the entrance hall with Blaise. Filch was already there, but it took a few minutes for the Gryffindors to join them.
"Follow me," said Filch, lighting a lamp and leading them outside. Hermione internally started to panic when Filch opened the doors. She had definitely not thought that they would be going outside at such a late hour.
"I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" he said, leering at them. They marched off across the dark grounds. Hermione wondered what their punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible since Filch was sounding so delighted. She contemplated if she should turn around and sprint back to the castle.
As they continued to walk, Hermione noticed that they were heading in the direction of Hagrid's hut. Hermione and Blaise had stayed behind Filch, while Potter, Draco, and Weasley walked behind them. "You'll be serving detention with Hagrid tonight. He's got a little job to do inside the dark forest. I'd be mistaken if I said that you'll all come out in one piece."
Hermione stopped dead in her tracks, causing Draco to quickly have to step around her. "The forest?" She knew she didn't sound as emotionless as she would have liked, but it was too great of a task to try and hide her fear. "We can't go in there at night-there's all sorts of things in there! And besides, students aren't allowed."
Filch smiled wickedly at her, "We'll tonight, consider yourself lucky."
Hagrid then came striding toward them out of the dark with Fang at his heel. He was carrying his large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder.
"Abou' time," he said. "I been waitin' for half an hour already. Let's go."
"I'll be back at dawn," Filch said, "for what's left of them." Hermione glared at him as he left.
" I'm not going in that forest," she said as she turned her head towards Hagrid, with her nose held defiantly in the air. She wasn't oblivious to the pleased looks on Potter and Weasley's face. Blaise was standing by her side, and Draco was an arm's length away.
"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," Hagrid said fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, "But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do."
Blaise nodded his head in agreement, "Yeah, I thought we'd be copying lines or something."
"If my father knew I was doing this, he'd-" Hagrid cut her off, "He'd tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts. If yeh think yer father would rather you were expelled, then get back off to the castle an' pack."
Hermione didn't move. She and Blaise looked at Hagrid furiously, and didn't drop their gaze.
"Right then," Hagrid said then started walking towards the Forbidden Forest with the five students in tow.
It had been a while until Hagrid stopped and bent down to dip his fingers into a silver puddle.
"Hagrid, what is that?" Harry asked.
"What we're here for. That's unicorn blood. I found one dead a few weeks ago. Now, this one's been injured or... something.
Draco looked at Hagrid, "So it's our job to find the injured unicorn?"
Hagrid nodded, "Yeah, we're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have to put it out of its misery."
From beside him, Hermione sighed loudly. "And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" she asked.
"There's nothing' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," Hagrid said. Draco saw Hermione roll her eyes. "Right now, we're gonna split into two groups."
"You've got to be kidding me," Hermione muttered.
Hagrid looked at the group before him with contemplation, "All right, Harry you'll be in my group. Blaise….you'll come with me as well. Draco, you and Hermione. And then Ron will be with you two as well." Hermione looked at Ron with utter disgust, and Hagrid immediately changed his mind. "Actually, Ron, you'll come with me."
"Don't you think I should go with Hermione, Hagrid?" Blaise asked.
"Nope. Can't have two Slytherins with one Gryffindor."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, "But it's fair that one Slytherin goes with two Gryffindors… and a half-giant. A bit biased, don't you think?"
Hagrid glared at her, but Draco knew that she was right. "I want Fang, since it's just us two."
"All right, but I'll warn yeh, he's a coward."
Hermione raised a questionable brow, "Is that so? I'm sure he's much better than those two you're stuck with." Blaise smirked at her.
Hagrid ignored her jab towards the two Gryffindors next to him, "You two head that way, and we'll go the other way. If anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks. Be careful-let's go."