Disclaimer: Harry Potter & Co. belong to J.K.Rowling, not me.

Author's Note: I don't think I'm very successful in garnering reviews, but I hope that once this entire story is finished, it will be a satisfactory one. I admit the gum plot is quite ridiculous, that's why I keep emphasising on how the whole issue is "stupid", but the real plot is not yet here - though it has begun ...

I will find myself a minion…

a minion who can do what I want…

within the grounds of Hogwarts…

a faithful one…

who will do my bidding…

if I make him do my bidding…

-- -- --

Draco shot up straight in bed, beads of perspiration forming strands on his pale face as the moonlight streamed into the Slytherin boys' dormitory. Draco's cold fingers clutched at his bedspread, the harsh words echoing in his mind like a tape recorder. It was so…so real. The words…they seemed to have a magnetic effect – he was being drawn to the voice. It wasn't lulling – no, far from it. It was filled with dread and evil and melancholy. But it was a powerful force. Draco felt a shiver run down his spine.

Could it be that the darkness had awoken once again?

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The bell rung shrilly and the students shuffled lazily to their next classroom. Harry was in a rather bad temper because Hermione had spent the whole night shut in the girls' dormitory without a word, not even caring to explain what had inexplicably caused the Gryffindor team to be banned from the Quidditch pitch when she knew how much this meant to him. Guaranteed, the reason sounded really stupid according to Draco, but he needed to know what was wrong so he could try and sort things out. But his best friend would not budge. Harry was beginning to wonder how much power Draco had over Hermione to shut her up and twist her around his fingers. But right now, Harry was past thinking rationally and scowled all the way to the next class.

Hermione saw this, of course, but she remained tight-lipped.

Ron was in an even worse temper. And it was somewhat frightening for Hermione, because instead of flaring up in the usual Ron way, he was keeping rather quiet and was pale throughout the day. Hermione was beginning to regret pushing down the stupid secret (what secret! She mentally slapped herself. It's a LIE!) within her. Both boys moved faster than usual, with Ron occasionally muttering something about a "wet pitch" and "McGonagall" and "greenhead" and "ferret" and "dyin' real bad" to Harry (to which he just remained silent).

After Harry and Ron came out of Divination classes, they saw Hermione come down the spiral staircase to meet them from her Ancient Runes class. Ron turned to go, but Harry jerked at his sleeve, causing the Weasley boy to look rather surprised and annoyed. Hermione slowed down as she approached them at the foot of the staircase, eyeing them rather hesitantly. Harry had a very cool expression plastered on his face as Hermione came right in front of them, while Ron just looked at his feet as if something very interesting had just run across his shoes.

"So…" Harry's voice didn't really sound like his. "Are you going to tell us what is going on, Hermione?"

Hermione blinked as she went red.

"Hermione, don't be so stubborn."

Hermione blinked again, this time staring at Ron's feet too.

"There isn't any interesting thing associated with Ron's shoes."

"Then why is he staring at it?" Hermione glared at Ron, then back at Harry. Ron went a little pink, opening his mouth, but shutting it once again, looking rather sulky.

Harry saw that Hermione was playing his game all right, so he decided to be a little bit more rational to make her talk properly.

"Look Hermione, if Malfoy says this whole fiasco's a silly thing, why don't you just tell us honestly all about it and we can try to talk this out with the teachers? I mean, if it's such a ridiculous issue causing us a ban, then I don't see why we can't appeal."

"You can't 'cos Snape's in charge," snapped Hermione, failing to suppress her unhappiness. "He's in charge of Quidditch ALONE and the professors, even Dumbledore, have agreed not to interfere in his decisions because he's been stuck down there while McGonagall got promoted to a more secure internal position. And he's done a big favour to Dumbledore. So he becomes this whoa guy and we are all dead."

Hermione's little speech obviously failed to make a convincing impact on Ron.

"What nonsense is that?!" Ron blazed immediately, his face turning reddish-purple. "Honestly, I'm sure such stupid decisions can't even be passed by Dumbledore; why make Snape (he pronounced this with extreme distaste) decide when he's so bias?"

"And if Snape is bias, McGonagall is not? She's been helping us a lot." Hermione suddenly felt rather weak as she tried to offer a lame excuse that she felt was so not justifiable to her case. What case am I fighting for? She wondered. Impulsively, she wanted to find Professor Dumbledore too, but lately some dreams of hers (or were they – nightmares?) were not really very encouraging. Something about "finding a suitable – " "…Hogwarts" and she felt that the voice was filled with so much evil and hatred that she didn't want to blow up any other matter at the moment for fear that it would be the catalyst to something really evil. And…somehow that silvery-haired blond Draco Malfoy came into her mind, but she shook that image off hurriedly.

"Hermione, you can trust us. We trust you so much." Harry's tender voice was so heartbreaking for Hermione, but she didn't really want to break the horrid, absurd truth to them. She knew their immediate reactions, she knew the outcomes and she knew that Gryffindor would just be a whole laughingstock by creating a mountain out of this stupid molehill.

"Why don't you ask Naomi? She knows best. I…I don't know the details."

"Hermione!" Harry was losing his patience. "You've heard Naomi say that the whole thing was just so ruddy stupid, senseless, and it's all her fault and she couldn't talk back to any authority and won't speak any further!"

Hermione looked at him, then looked at the flaming Ron, and with sudden defiance, spoke out rather loudly and clearly. "And I won't either."

Her eyes filled with tears as she spoke, but she held them back, refusing to let her best friends see them spill out.

As she turned to go, a pair of silvery eyes from the level above watched her toss her curls and march off, with a tinge of surprise.