Hi everyone,
I'm a bit loopy because I've written a whole 15,000 words term paper from scratch (yes, that includes finding a topic and doing the research) in two days. I don't know how but I've managed somehow. I'm done now. Good night, I love you all.
PS: I hope to wake up to many nice reviews ;)
Chapter Sixteen
Already in her first week, Hermione had to give her first detention. Her second year Gryffindor and Slytherin class had gotten into a heated debate about muggle fashion.
She had taught them to transfigure wizarding robes into acceptable muggle clothing and one of the Slytherin girls had a knack for producing the most hideous patterns on her fabrics, thinking that this was what muggles would wear.
'While I believe that there are muggles out there who would wear anything, I'm sorry to tell you that these trousers will not help you blend in with regular muggles on the street. Maybe try again with a simple pair of jeans?' Hermione suggested but all she got was a blank look in return. Hermione understood that the Slytherin girl was probably wizard raised and had never seen muggle clothing up close.
'Who here can help Miss Kenilworth transfigure her robe?' she asked the class and looked at several Gryffindors of whom she knew were muggle born but nobody volunteered. Suddenly, everyone seemed very busy with their own work. In the last row she heard a boy's voice jeer at the girl, 'Seems like the superior pure-blood isn't so superior after all.'
'Mister O'Neill, I will not tolerate bullying in my classroom. You will help Miss Kenilworth with her transfiguration now and serve four weeks of detention with me. Come to my classroom every Wednesday after dinner. You can help me prepare the Flobberworms and Spiders for Headmistress McGonagall's classes,' Hermione said harshly.
Of course, there was the obligatory moans and mutters of disagreement.
'If I were you, I would stop complaining. Be happy that I didn't take away house points on top of it.'
That settled the matter and regular teaching could continue.
Hermione's birthday was on a Saturday this year. Fleur had planned to take her out to Hogsmeade and after that, dinner, but as it were it was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the school year and the village would be crawling with students. So Fleur had to come up with something else.
Late on the the morning of her birthday, Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table and decapitated her five minute egg, when Ginny arrived, grinning madly.
'Happy birthday, Hermione,' she said and squeezed her friend tightly.
'Thanks, Ginny. You are pretty chipper for someone whose birthday is not today,' Hermione laughed. Ginny didn't get to explain though because Fleur sat down on Hermione's other side, grinning just as brightly as the Weasley girl.
'What's going on with you two?' Hermione asked, sensing they knew something she didn't.
When at this point Minerva walked by with a very rare but equally bright smile, she knew that the world was going to end.
'I was going to take you out to 'ogsmeade but I didn't want to share your birthday with the rest of the school. What do you think of celebrating in the castle instead?' Fleur asked innocently.'
'Sure. What's the plan?' Hermione asked.
'First we have breakfast,' Ginny said and turned to her plate. Laughing Hermione went back to her egg and Fleur decided to go against school rules and eat at the student table. Minerva didn't seem to mind.
Hermione had just taken a bite of her toast when she felt the hair on her neck stand up. Something wasn't right. She stopped eating and inconspicuously move her hand to her wand.
The very next moment, there was a movement behind Hermione and almost at the same time she jumped up from her seat and whirled around with her wand drawn. Fleur and Ginny were shocked at the sudden commotion and couldn't do much but look.
'Blimey, Hermione,' Harry said, 'remind me to never surprise you again.' Harry had his hands thrown up in surrender, as did Ron, standing right behind him.
Hermione looked dumbfounded but quickly recovered and put away her wand before pulling them both into a tight hug.
'Happy birthday, Hermione,' Ron said before he went to greet his sister.
'But how? I mean...you even sent me a birthday card!' Hermione said and pointed to the decoy that had been delivered earlier.
'Fleur,' said Harry instead of an explanation and smiled warmly at the French witch.
Hermione turned around and looked at her girlfriend. She put her hands around Fleur's neck and pulled her in for a well deserved thank you kiss.
A few wolf whistles were heard but immediately silenced by a scathing look from Ginny.
'Thank you, love. Tell me, how on earth did you manage to pull that off?' Hermione asked.
'Don't worry about it. It was just a couple of letters,' Fleur shrugged.
'Don't be so modest. First, she asked me to distract you, so she would have enough opportunities to organise. Then she convinced McGonagall to let them visit, which is why there is a Hogsmeade weekend today; to limit the number of girls that follow Harry around,' explained Ginny and glinted playfully at Harry. 'Then there were a lot of letters to Kingsley and the head of the Auror department to convince them to give them the day off.'
'Actually, I have the whole week-end off. Ron was kind enough to take my shift tomorrow,' Harry informed Ginny and it was quite clear what he was trying to communicate to Ginny.
The five of them sat down and had breakfast as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
'So tell us, how is it, being an Auror? Was it the right choice?' Hermione asked.
'Yeph, dephinitely,' Ron answered.
'Ron, swallow before you talk,' Hermione scolded him and he smiled at her. It felt good to fall back into old patterns.
'It's great. Well, as great as it is to hunt down dark wizards. I can't really give you any details,' Harry began and when Hermione raised one eyebrow in question, he hastily continued.'Not, because you can't be trusted, because we don't have much. We're trying to figure out the hiding spot of a pocket of remaining Death Eaters but every time we investigate a crime scene we come up empty. It's frustrating but I do enjoy the work.'
Hermione furrowed her brow. She hadn't known that there was still so much Death Eater activity.
'I do miss this place though. How about we take a walk around school grounds?' Harry suggested and a few minutes later they were all breathing in the fresh air of Scotland.
Some time later, they passed by the new Quidditch stadium and Ginny proudly showed the boys around. With Hermione's permission they grabbed some brooms and played one against one with Ron being the keeper. Hermione and Fleur sat in the ranks, cuddling up and watching them.
'Thank you. This was a wonderful birthday present,' Hermione said and kissed Fleur.
'There is nothing to thank me for. Seeing you smile and be 'appy is reward enough,' Fleur answered and stole another kiss.
When they finally got back to the castle, Hermione was approached by one of the house elfs and asked to come to the Great Hall, before he popped away as they always did these days.
With confused looks, the party of five went to see what the elf had talked about.
As soon as they had stepped into the Great Hall, there were a lot of squeaky voices shouting "Happy Birthday" at Hermione. The whole room was full of house elfs. They even sang for her.
'Did you do this?' she mouthed to Fleur but the French witch just shook her head.
Hermione was overwhelmed and when she was given a cake to blow out the candles tears were running down her cheeks.
She closed her eyes, made a wish and blew out all the candles.
As it turned out, the house elfs had heard that it was Hermione's birthday and wanted to thank her for her efforts concerning elf rights.
Since they were still horribly understaffed the elf party had to be kept short so that they could prepare dinner but everyone enjoyed themselves nonetheless.
It was approaching midnight when Ron flooed back to the Burrow to get some sleep before his shift tomorrow.
They had spent the evening in the common room, talking, laughing, cuddling. A few minutes after Ron had left, Ginny whispered something into Harry's ear, which promptly turned fire red. Hermione nodded almost imperceptibly, understanding that Ginny really wanted some alone-time with her boyfriend. She stood up and pulled Fleur with her. She, too, had some things she wanted her girlfriend to hear but that would have to wait until they were alone in their soundproof bedroom.
As September blurred into October, everyone had settled into a routine. Part of Fleur's routine was researching healing spells and potions in the library. She was growing more and more frustrated. There was nothing that stopped the bleeding of Hermione's cursed wound. Hermione reassured her that it was ok and that she appreciated her concern. Eventually, they would find something that worked but apart from being inconvenient, she had grown used to the bandage on her arm. The pain kept getting worse, but it was something the body learnt do deal with.
Fleur took it personally and began to shift her research deep into the restricted section, hoping to find the solution in the dark literature of the Hogwarts library.
Hermione had gotten used to working in pairs with the Slytherins in potions. Even Ginny seemed to have found a modus vivendi with Draco. They even seemed to have friendly conversations on occasion. Hermione had noticed Draco's declining status within his house. He now tried to avoid the crowd all together and usually either left when she came to eat or arrived long after most of his house mates were gone. She could have sworn she even saw him with a crumpled shirt once and again.
In yet another double potions class, Daphne and Hermione were working together to produce a very useful potion that helped against headaches. Hermione had noticed that Draco looked especially dishevelled today, not something she was used to from a Malfoy. She had to admit that she had observed a steady decline in his self-care. She had even seen him unshaven a few days ago.
Daphne followed Hermione's look and promptly misinterpreted it.
'You don't have to worry about him. He won't hurt you or anything.'
Surprised by Daphne's assessment Hermione set out to correct her but Daphne continued talking.
'I don't know what happened exactly. He's not telling anyone and believe me they've tried to get it out of him in more than one way but I know he screwed up and you had to suffer for it. If he wanted to hurt you again, he would have done it by now. He's quietly suffering for his mistakes.'
'What do you mean? Is that why he looks so messed up?' Hermione asked, wondering what was going on in the dungeons.
Daphne nodded.
'It's not much fun being in Slytherin at the moment and Draco has it even worse. But please, don't feel obliged to feel for him. As I said, I know he fucked up big time and he never endeared himself to you while at school, so it's alright. Everyone's compassion has a limit.'
While Golden Trio Hermione had a hard time feeling empathy for her nemesis, Headgirl Hermione felt that there was something happening that needed investigating.
'What's going on in your house, Daphne?' she asked, while remembering to stir her potion.
'I shouldn't be telling you this. If someone found out... It's a real mess. Some people are eaten up by guilt over having had no backbone and they don't know how to properly deal with it so they do what they've always done, they follow the leader. There are those that haven't learnt anything from the war and try to hold on to every scrap of propaganda they can find. And then there are people like me, who have learnt their lesson and want to change, but we are few. If we spoke out we might just as well paint a target on our backs, we'd only end up like Draco. Basically, there are a lot of hormonal teenagers who don't know how to deal with their emotions all crowded up in one big dungeon. Literally.'
Hermione was shocked. She knew that there was hostility towards the Slytherins from other houses but she hadn't thought about the implications of never helping the Slytherins deal with the war and its consequences. Few of them probably had parents that could teach them a new way, so where should they get it from? Uncertainty always led to fear and created chaos.
'What exactly do you mean with "end up like Draco"? What did they do to him?' Hermione whispered.
'They are trying to find out why he has turned docile. They are calling him a disgrace to his family name and since someone found out that there had been an incident involving you that apparently led to his change of heart, they are trying to force the story out of him. Last night, they resorted to sleep deprivation and threatened to organise Veritaserum. All he said was that wouldn't talk, that he owed that to you,' Daphne explained.
'They what? In the muggle world they call that torture. Who did that?' Hermione hissed. She didn't want to draw attention.
Daphne just shook her head.
'Daphne, this is serious. You have to tell me,' Hermione insisted.
'I can't. They are still my house mates and if they found out, I'd have to sleep with a sneakoscope under my pillow.'
Hermione understood. Her lips set tightly, very displeased with the situation and angry with herself for not having the foresight to see this coming.
'I can't just ignore it. I'm the Headgirl. But I won't act on anything I can't have possibly known or seen myself. I won't give you away,' Hermione said, her mind racing to figure out what to do.
She didn't get to ask more questions, though, since Fleur demanded back the class' attention to conclude the lesson.
Fleur signalled her to stay for a minute longer and she told Ginny to go ahead without her.
'What's going on with you? You look pale. Are you in pain?,' Fleur asked with a concerned look on her face.
'It's not that, Fleur. There are things going on in the dungeons. They are establishing a darwinistic system in which the cruel get to bully the weak and it's bordering on torture. Apparently, they forcefully kept Draco awake all night, trying to get him to tell what happened at Malfoy Manor,' Hermione recounted what she had heard from Daphne.
'That explains his demeanour. You should talk to Minerva,' Fleur advised. She could see that Hermione was worried about the situation and pulled her into a tight hug.
'I can't go to Minerva with this. She'll be forced to suspend them or expel them but that doesn't solve anything. And in part it's our fault. The three other houses do nothing to bridge the gap. All they do is turn the game around and bully the Slytherins. And we expect them to deal with all their sort of trauma alone. They have lost people too and they have to adjust to a new, scary world that nobody in their family can explain to them. No, the students have to solve this, we have to set a sign and I've just had an idea on how to do that,' Hermione said grimly before her face lit up.
'What are you planning?' Fleur asked. She was sure it would be something unexpected.
'Don't worry, I'm not planning on going to the dungeons or anything. See you at dinner?' Hermione asked and gave Fleur a quick peck on the lips before racing to her next lesson.
Ginny had given her a dirty look when Hermione arrived just in time but Hermione made it clear that it wasn't what she was thinking and Ginny let it go. Sometimes, Hermione just couldn't be teased.
After finally being done with school for the day, they headed to the Great Hall for dinner. Hermione waited a bit longer and told Ginny to go ahead and save her a seat. She knew for her plan to work she would have to be one of the last people to walk in.
When she finally arrived at the big wooden doors that stood open as they always did at regular mealtimes, she saw Draco walk through just a few steps before her. He was staring at the ground before him and walked like an old man. His robes were crumpled and his hair in need of a wash and comb.
Hermione took a deep breath and put her plan in motion. With a few quick steps she caught up with Draco just before he had reached the end of the Slytherin table. She took his hand and used his confusion to drag him along after her.
'Granger, what the...what?' Draco protested as he stumbled after her.
But the witch didn't answer, she dragged him along until she reached her seat at the Gryffindor table and sat down. She let go of Draco's hand and motioned for him to sit down between Ginny and herself.
Completely dumbstruck, Draco stared at her.
'Come on, Malfoy, I'm sure you were taught how to correctly sit at a table,' Hermione jibed at his noble upbringing.
'But...' he lamely mumbled.
'Sit down, Malfoy, or would you rather not have a peaceful meal for once?' Hermione said a little bit louder and suddenly the table grew silent.
Malfoy didn't dare defy orders and simply sat down, ignoring the stares. The whole Hall had turned silent, even the teacher's table. Only Fleur wore a knowing smirk. She at least had the advantage of knowing Hermione's motivation for her little stunt. If she hadn't she'd be right there asking Hermione what had gotten into her. But with the pathetic looks of Draco, not even her protective instincts kicked in.
'Mashed potatoes?' Hermione offered, ignoring the silence. Draco nodded and took the bowl from her to fill his plate.
Hermione pretended that nothing was out of the ordinary and just started her dinner. Ginny followed her example and Draco was just happy that he could eat without fearing someone would lace his food with Veritaserum. Ginny had a vague idea what was going on, after all she was Draco's potions partner. She thought it was best to trust Hermione and go along.
Slowly, the silence was broken. People started to whisper and talk again but it wasn't the lighthearted banter that was usually heard at the tables, it sounded like someone had poked into a hornets nest. There were jibes and jeers coming from all directions until Ginny's famous temper boiled over.
'Do you have a problem?' she challenged one of the boys who had just spoken up against the new situation.
'Yes, I do. The Death Eater at our table is the problem,' he hissed back, obviously determined not to be intimidated.
Draco watched the scene unfold before him. He was torn between wanting to stay to have a safe meal and wanting to leave to not further cause any trouble for Ginny and Hermione. He was extremely surprised and even more confused by what Hermione had done.
'You know what, you prat, just shut up and eat your dinner. If Hermione of all people has it in her to sit next to Draco and have a conversation with him, you should be just fine over there if you focus on your own plate,' Ginny growled. Most people who knew her were impressed by how well she controlled her temper. They had all expected her to unleash hell on the boy.
Somewhere, a third year girl sneered just loud enough to be heard, 'She's probably just doing it to suck up to McGonagall.'
Faster than anyone could comprehend, Ginny had punished the girl with her famous Bat-Bogey-Hex.
'Miss Weasley, I suggest you tuck away that wand this instant. Twenty points from Gryffindor. Now go back to eating your food and I want to hear nothing more about Mister Malfoy. Miss Granger has invited him to sit here and he has accepted. That is all you need to know,' the headmistress interrupted the ruckus before heading back to the teacher's table.
McGonagall's intervention had brought satisfying results. It was clear that people were still unhappy about Draco at their table but at least they didn't voice their opinion but rather fell back to conversation with their friends.
'Thank you,' Draco almost whispered, 'I want you to know that I appreciate it, even...'
'Oh, stuff it and eat Draco,' Hermione huffed. 'I'm not forgiving you. I told you that it is unlikely to ever happen and I'm standing by my word but Daphne made me think about the current situation and I happen to believe that nobody should be treated like that. Not even you.'
'So you're trying to help me; after all I've done...,' Draco said, nonplussed.
'I see how they treat you at dinner and I heard about what happened last night. Part of it is setting a positive example for interhouse friendships, of course. That's my job as Head Girl. As hard as that might be for you to comprehend, I don't just look away when people mistreat others. Don't be fooled, my word stands. I haven't forgiven you but that doesn't mean I condone violence.'
'Do you realise that you've probably made it worse for me just now? Do you really think that they will leave me alone now that the great Hermione Granger has taken me under her protection? I'm willing to play along because I happen to think that it's important to lead by example and there are few more powerful signs than us two eating together but please don't force yourself to endure my presence just to save me,' Draco said very evenly and politely. He didn't blame Hermione for not thinking it through. She had heard of a terrible injustice and was trying to do the right thing but she was no Slytherin, she didn't know how things worked in their house.
Draco swallowed the last bite of his food and got up to leave the Great Hall. Hermione's heart sank. Her instinct was to go after Draco and apologise but she knew that would make it even worse.
'It's not your fault, chérie,' Fleur tried to stave her girlfriend's rising guilt. They had been sitting on their couch, discussing Hermione's failure, as she called it, for minutes.
'Even so, Merlin knows what they're doing with him this night. I should have listened to you and talked to Minerva.' Hermione insisted and absentmindedly rubbed her arm.
'There is nothing you can do now. Talk to Minerva first thing in the mor... What are you doing with your arm?' Fleur asked and pulled Hermione towards her.
Immediately, Hermione stopped and looked at her hands in her lap.
'I know you're doing what you can and I have no doubt you'll find a cure...' Hermione danced around the actual answer.
Fleur wasn't fooled, though and gave Hermione a concerned look.
'Chérie, please be honest or at least let me have a look. Maybe we can at least mute the pain?' Fleur pulled Hermione into her lap and hugged her tightly. To say that these developments frightened her wasn't even close to what she was feeling.
Hermione knew that Fleur had worked her way through the restricted section at least twice and the chances were dwindling. If even the Hogwarts library couldn't help them, what could?
The young woman leaned into her girlfriend let herself be soothed by her steady breath.
Soon enough, Hermione had fallen asleep on Fleur's lap. Carefully avoiding waking her, Fleur unwrapped Hermione's arm. It wasn't much but it seemed inflamed; the skin around this abominable word was turning an angry red. No wonder it hurt. Fleur could smell Madam Pomfrey's pain solution. She knew it was very potent and if even this didn't help, then nothing Fleur could produce would work. Tears stung in Fleur's eyes as she disinfected and rebandaged the wound.
Fleur took Hermione's sleeping body and carried her to bed, carefully changing her into her pyjama's. She cuddled her close and forced her thoughts to stay away from any worst case scenarios she had come up with ever since she knew the pain was getting worse.