hey, you guys have been wonderful with reviews, thank you so much! I'm going on vacation and will be back on the 26th so I thought I'd leave you with this chapter, the OFFICIAL beginning of the contest! Please leave me some stuff to come back to !
The Competition Begins
Hermione was starting to feel sick to her stomach due to her mixture of eager anticipation of: the contest beginning, sitting at the Slytherin table with Malfoy, and her two ex-best friend's attempt at an apology. The only thing she could do now to ease herself was to focus on the bright blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore as he began his speech.
"Good morning, students and faculty alike! Today is a very special day; hopefully many of you know why it is so special," the man's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"This very morning, beginning in ten minutes, some of your fellow classmates will be competing in a school wide scavenger hunt for the spots of Heady Boy and Girl!" he proclaimed happily, receiving a loud talkative buzz that erupted amongst the students.
"So on that note, I would like to introduce you to the competitors. Would those competing be so kind as to come up here to the podium?" he asked;his arms outstretched. Hermione, still in a hopeless daze, felt the words go in one ear and out the other, not paying attention to their meaning. She didn't notice the sudden sound of movement as the others made their way to the front.
"C'mon Granger, we've got to go up there," Draco hissed, standing up at the bench waiting for the girl to arise. At the sound of Malfoy's voice, the Gryffindor shook her head and looked up to notice that everyone except her and Draco had made their way up to the front.
"Oh shit, sorry," Hermione mumbled as she stood up quickly. Draco smirked hearing the foul word come out of the girl's mouth.
Didn't know Granger spoke like an old sailor. That's a nice surprise, I wonder if I can get her to curse more often…well that shouldn't be too hard considering she hates the living hell out of me.
Hermione followed close behind Draco as they made their way up to the front, feeling everyone's eyes on them for the second time today. Draco glanced over his shoulder intending to sneer at the girl, but couldn't bring himself to it. She looked so lost…embarrassed…certainly not the Hermione Granger he knew and loathed.
What's going on with me? I can't even give the girl a dirty look anymore! God damn it.
Once situated next to Harry and his partner, the two stood silently side by side engaging in the awkward silence that had encased the hall. Dumbledore turned around to look at every pair behind him, his eyes brimming with pride for all of them them. His gaze fell upon Hermione and Draco, lingering a few moments longer.
Ah, by far the most interesting duo of the game. Oh, if they only knew that together, they would be unstoppable. The two most intelligent students in the school bring together the elements of bravery, cunning, and sheer determination. This combination is one that will surely succeed if they do not kill eachother before they complete the hunt.
The only question regarding the outcome of their success is, will they push aside their past confrontation and prejudices to learn that they are both more alike then they think? This competition I think will be most beneficial to them in ways that involve victory beyond the places of Head boy and girl.
The two may possibly discover the greatest prize of all during the hunt…love.
"Why is the crazy bastard looking at us like that?" Draco whispered next to Hermione. She too had noticed Dumbledore staring intently at them for the last minute or so, making her feel quite uncomfortable.
"Is something wrong, Professor?" Hermione said quietly, meeting the man's gaze. He smiled warmly at her, shaking his head lightly.
"Oh no dear, everything is perfectly fine," he assured her and then turned back around to face the masses of students.
"I will need help from all of you in conducting this contest," he requested as he addressed the hall once again.
"You must not under any circumstances offer help to the contestants in anyway. Furthermore, they are not allowed to return to their dormitories while participating in the competition, so please respectfully deny them entrance," he instructed, his face more serious now.
"And if you suspect the contestants are in danger in anyway while completing a task, kindly alert a faculty member," he concluded. The students simultaneously nodded their heads
"Thank you very much each and every one of you," he announced in gratitude. The elder man in sweeping blue robes produced his wand from his sleeve and gave it a wave. In front of him, a small table appeared that was stacked with rolls of parchment similar to the one Hermione and Draco had received the day before.
"He's giving the others their clue," Hermione commented lowly, fingering their own clue that she held in her pocket. Draco nodded in agreement and took a deep breath.
"It's really starting isn't it?" Hermione asked him, hearing his heavy breathing.
"Yeah, I guess it is," Draco said back as Dumbledore waved his wand again. Parchment rolls flew to each of the pairs except their own.
"What is being presented to you is your first clue," the Headmaster told the group, confirming Hermione and Draco's suspicions.
"You may not unfold the parchment until precisely 10 AM on my command, which will be in around two minute's time," the Professor finished. The only thing left to do was countdown the time now that the speech was concluded.
"Granger, when he tells us to start, run as fast as you can," Draco whispered urgently under his breath. Hermione groaned in response; running was not her thing.
"Can't I just…power walk?" she reasoned, her honey eyes pleading. Draco rolled his steel eyes and scoffed.
"Really Granger, I would think you were a little more athletic then that," he jeered. Hermione scowled and began stretching her legs, disregarding the odd glances the students in the hall must have been giving her.
Hey, better safe then sorry! I don't want to have to be sent to the Hospital Wing for pulling a muscle running around the bloody school. Draco would have a field day with that one…
As she continued her unorthodox forms of stretching, Draco watched her out of the corner of his eye.
Good gods, I don't think Hermione's ever done physical activity in her life. I mean yeah, she's skinny, but that's probably because she eats like a bird. Oh well, she's going to become a damn track star after we finish this thing because I intend to be sprinting every time we get the chance.
"The countdown begins!" Dumbledore proclaimed from the podium as the clock chimed loudly, barely containing his giddy expression. The contestants looked petrified with fear and nervousness, clutching their clues madly. Hermione and Draco shared a brief glance; Draco looking calm and pompous with Hermione appearing panicked and uneasy.
"Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one! The game starts now!" The Headmaster yelled wildly, tossing his pointed hat into the air causing a shower of blue sparks.
"Come on!" Draco shouted over the sudden wave of noise. He took off running, looking over his shoulder to see Hermione, surprisingly, right on his heels. They fled down the Great Hall, receiving a thunder of applause, relalizing the other pairs must still be standing at the front reading their clues. Malfoy reached the heavy doors of the exit first, and he wrenched them open. The pair took off down the corridors in search of the Astronomy Tower.
"This isn't s-s-so bad!" Hermione panted beside him, struggling to keep with his long legged strides. Draco smirked, seeing small beads of sweat trickle down her forehead while her cheeks flushed red. His breathing was still perfectly normal and he looked exactly like he did when he was standing at the podium, earlier motionless.
"Just wait til we get to the stairs," he purred with a mischievous grin.
"Oh fuck," Hermione grunted at his reminder of what lay ahead. The blonde chuckled as he turned his head to see her brown hair had fallen out of her miserably tied pony tail, obstructing her view slightly. She growled when she saw him laughing at her disheveled appearance.
"Not…funny," she breathed, falling behind him as they reached the staircase to the Astronomy Tower. Draco stopped for a moment before heading up the stairs to give Hermione a chance to catch her breath.
"Hurry up and get yourself together, I don't want to have to carry you up the stairs," Draco shot impatiently as Hermione wheezed next to him.
"I'm coming, you start going up," Hermione shooed him. Draco looked at the staircase and then back at Hermione, her chest heaving.
If I leave her here, she'll collapse and then we'll be majorly screwed. Agh, stupid unfit chit.
"I'm not leaving you here, Granger. You're coming," he stated, grabbing her hand and tugging her behind him as he started up the stairs. The usual tingly jolt of their hands in contact made Draco shiver and he started up the stairs faster.
"You're going to rip my arm out of its socket!" Hermione squeaked out as he clamored further up the stairs dragging her behind him.
"People from the other team are going to be coming up right behind us fairly soon, so we've got to get our clue first. I thought you were smart, Granger."
Huffing in response, Hermione reluctantly allowed Malfoy to continue pulling her up the stairs until they reached the top, where a trap door resided above them.
"Finally, I thought I was going to drop dead," Hermione muttered under her breath as Draco pushed the door open and a set of stairs appeared leading up to the room.
"Pureblood's first," Draco announced as he pounced up the stairs leaving a scowling Hermione in the dust. She furiously went up after him, subconsciously fixing her unruly hair.
The Gryffindor emerged into the room and found Draco already looking around, trying to find the crystal ball.
"There!" Hermione exclaimed as her eyes rested on a table pushed to the back of the room directly ahead of her. Multicolor beads hung from the tables sides and on top of it rested a shining crystal ball. The pair ran toward it, Draco in the lead, pushing the tables in front of them aside. One of the tables he thrust sideways landed right in Hermione's path and she slammed into it, soaring over top of it and falling to the ground with a loud thud.
I knew this was bound to happen. Malfoy's finally managed to kill me; all by pushing a measly piece of wood in front of me. God bless his rotten little soul.
Hermione groaned loudly, sprawled on the hardwood floor with her limbs contorted in all sorts of awkward angles. She closed her eyes for a moment; the pain burning through her.
"Bloody hell, you look like a rag doll," Draco said with an amused smirk as he looked down at the heap on the floor that was Hermione. The loud thud she made on contact with the floor had caused him to whip around, thinking for a split second the other teams had caught up. It was nothing short of Christmas morning when he found the cause of the noise to be Hermione practically dead.
"Thanks for the compliment. Now will you be so kind as to help me up?" Hermione asked in an irritated voice. Draco sighed and walked over to her, offering his hand. She grasped it and he pulled her upwards, seeing her wince in pain.
"Gods, I think I've sprained my ankle," Hermione hissed through grit teeth. She was actually in a terrible amount of pain, but kept her cool to show Draco she wasn't weak. He saw through her act easily as an unwilling tear leaked from her eye.
"This is perfect, we barely start the contest and your injured." The Slytherin's annoyance was quite profound. Hermione took a deep breath and tried hobbling forward, still holding onto Draco's hand. Almost the instant she took a step, she crumpled in pain, only to be caught my Draco's strong arms.
"You're lucky I read a book on Healing spells once," Draco told her as he propped her upright; not relaying any sort of sympathy to the girl. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at her ankle.
"Panea reducto." The spell was cast and immediately, Hermione could feel the pain in her ankle leaving her; a warm tingling sensation replacing it.
"Give me your ankle," Draco commanded, pocketing the wand. Hermione lifted her leg and Draco took her foot in his skilled hands, and rotated it.
"Does this hurt, Granger?" he asked her; his eyes scrutinizing the injury. She shook her head, feeling not a smidgen of discomfort.
"It feels as good as new," she said in leftover shock from previously. For once, Malfoy had mastered a spell she didn't even know.
Not only that; he helped me! The way he touched my foot, it was so gentle…gods I'm so naïve. Of course he helped, if he hadn't, we'd be out of the competition for sure. He'd never have done it otherwise.
"Thank you." Hermione smiled at him as he released his foot and she put it back onto the floor. Draco started to smile back but stopped himself, applying an arrogant smirk instead.
"I wouldn't have had to do it if you weren't so damn clumsy, Mudblood," he spat. Draco turned around and started walking to the table once more, Hermione padding along behind him.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Malfoy asked as he prodded the crystal ball once they had reached the table. Hermione fished inside her cloak, retrieving the crumpled paper that was the clue. She reread it and handed the paper over to Draco.
"See that last line, where it says whisper 'Knowing the future doesn't make life worth living'" she pointed out. Draco read the part she was referring to and handed it back.
"Here goes nothing," the blonde leaned his body down towards the sparkling crystal orb so that his lips were barely above it.
"Knowing the future doesn't make life worth living," he said quietly, and drew back to watch the ball as the grey mist in it began to swirl violently.
"What's happening?" Hermione asked as she too observed the contents of the glass object. The swirling motion stopped and a low, female voice began to speak beneath the fog.
"Congratulations, you both have found the first object, this crystal ball. You will receive your next clue shortly, but first, I will make a prediction for the person that spoke to me first," the woman told them, pausing for a moment. Draco looked over at Hermione with a raised eyebrow and she shrugged.
"I don't believe in Divination, so whatever she says is probably as meaningful as a Dungbomb," Hermione gave him her opinion on the matter. Draco fully agreed with Hermione's view but he decided it wouldn't hurt to listen to what the seer had to say.
"You, young man, will find something you've long been searching for. It has in fact, been in front of your nose for quite some time, but you have pushed it away time and time again. You will not be receiving what you seek with open arms, but initially with reluctance and distaste. This blessing in disguise will only be given to you once you learn to put aside beliefs instilled into you from childhood. If you succeed in overcoming your past, you will be greatly rewarded," the woman in the sphere concluded. Hermione watched Draco silently gasp and then furrow his brow in mock confusion.
"What was that all about?" he asked her, acting as if he had no idea what the seer had predicted, when in fact he knew very well what she meant by 'what he seeked.' Hermione noticed the false tone of his voice, but she decided not to question him and to go with the flow he had ensued.
"No idea, I thought you might know, but I guess not," Hermione shrugged. She looked at the crystal ball and noticed the mist had disappeared and now a piece of parchment was beside it on the table.
"This must be the second clue," the brown haired girl reached for the parchment and brought it close to read.
"Say it out loud, "Draco told her as he watched her eyes grow wide.
"It says …..
The next clue can be found
Deep down under ground
And once you arrive, supplies you will find
To achieve what you seek, brewing is required
It must be complete before one hours time has expired"
Hermione finished reading the paper, looking over it again quickly. She brought her gaze upwards and found Draco's grey eyes locked on hers, sending a shiver in her spine. His mouth that was once stolid began to move upwards on its sides into a smile. Hermione mimicked the action, knowing this was a signal that he too knew exactly where they must go.
"Dungeons," they both suddenly said in unison. Without another word, Draco grabbed her hand and took off toward the exit with her obediently keeping pace.
"It's a potion! We have to brew a potion, what luck!" Hermione called from behind Draco as they rushed down the stairs. On the inside, Hermione was doing a full out cha cha, knowing that her and Draco combined could probably master any potion thrown at them.
"Keep your voice down! I hear people coming up the stairs," Draco scolded her from ahead. Sure enough, footsteps could be heard coming closer to them. Hermione slapped her hand over her mouth hoping those coming did not hear what she had said. Coming to her senses, she tugged her hand that was attached to Draco's and he stopped. When he turned around, she leaned closer towards him and whispered.
"We can erase their memories when we see them just in case. You take one and I'll take the other."
Draco could barely contain his shock at her proposal. Here, Hermione Granger was suggesting doing something that would usually be constituted as immoral in her book.
Wow, so Granger not only uses foul language, but she's cunning and sneaky as well! If not for her tainted blood and damn bravery, she would have made a great Slytherin.
I can't believe I just admitted that.
"Fine, you take the girl and I'll take the boy," Draco agreed, getting his wand at the ready. Hermione did the same and they both continued down the stairs once more, this time with unlinked hands. As they traveled farther down, the footsteps grew increasingly loud and in no time, Harry and his dark haired partner collided with Draco and Hermione.
"Oblivio!" The armed pair cried out at the same time, pointing their wands each at their intended victim, making sure to only concentrate on erasing the specific memory regarding their conversation on the staircase.
"Hey Hermione," Harry said after a second, sporting a dazed expression. Hermione set aside her anger from this morning and put on a happy smile, feling a small amount of remorse for what she had just done.
"Hey Harry, look we've got to get going so I can't stay and chat, good luck though!" she told him and pushed Draco lightly so he'd start running again. Feeling the pressure on his back, Draco took the hint and began his descent again, using the new found silence to think about what the seer had predicted.
Talk about spot on. I can't believe she knew what it was I've been looking for…it's not like it's an object or anything that would have been easy to guess. It's more like a person...just someone I can talk to about things. There are so many bloody problems in my life; it's driving me mad keeping them inside. I mean yeah, Blaise has offered his ear, but that's hardly a person to talk to about these things...His life's pretty much perfect and problem-free, so he wouldn't know anything about my issues. . I need someone that's similar to me that understands what I'm going through.….and god knows that person does not exist.
That lady also mentioned it was someone I wouldn't accept right off the bat and that I had to put aside some stupid stuff in order to pt up with them. There's only one person that fits this description perfectly and it will be over my dead body that I talk to them openly.
Hermione Granger is not an option
"I'm getting a b-bit winded," the occupier of Draco's thoughts said as she huffed and puffed loudly. Draco scowled and wiped the sweat off his brow before turning around to give Hermione a threatening death glare. She growled back and mopped up her face with her sleeve, shutting her mouth in defeat. Draco looked away from her and smirked in victory.
Note to Self: Must buy the Mudblood one of those silly Muggle machines where you run in place but don't go anywhere. Really bloody pointless to run nowhere, but hey, maybe she'll be able to last doing strenuous activity for more than a grand total of 10 seconds next time.