[BeLieVinG iN YoU]
CHAPTER 12: The Morning After
//DEDICATED to Artemis MoonClaw for reviewing nearly every single one of my HP fanfics, LOLs...and BellethePhilosopher'sCookie for reviewing some too! Oh yea...this chappies plotless too, but I promise it won't be plotless soon!//
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I woke up, eyes puffy and resoloutions gone. I was so confused, so lost, in between the somewhere and the now, the dialogue blurred. Could I carry on? I wasn't sure. Draco Malfoy. Nothing deeper. No hidden subtext.
::A lust, a relationship. A love. A hot water bottle through the winter.::
If he had the fire in his veins, if he had yelled at me, I would have gladly let myself get burnt.
But instead I was caressed by the ice, I slept, entwined with snow. And it followed nature and melted away, without a trace, leaving me only cold and with a sense of loss. Damn him for not feeling. Damn me for feeling too much.
I lie in bed, with Kensington curled on the rug near my fireplace, the cats entangled in the folds of my blanket, staring up at the roof.
Last night was Dream night. The skies glow with stars, hanging like a fishing net in the sky which had a full catch. It's like all the galaxies come to outside my window, to hover outside in the indigo sky.
The folks in these parts have a little tale, that whoever you go to sleep and think about on Dream Night will come to you in your dreams. It's been exaggerated, of course, many a girl has claimed that her dream lover has visited her, leaving her to wake up miraculously pregnant the next day. They often end up marrying 'the man of their "dreams".' I call it lucky timing and blame it on superstition causing people to become silly and gullible. My parents would never allow it.
Of course I dreamt of Draco last night. I've dreamt about him nearly every night since he left.
But this dream...he was so close, right within my grasp, and I just couldn't reach him. I kept stretching out, and he always extended his arm, but we never managed to reach each other. And then, just as I was about to give up...our fingers brushed...
I woke up.
And nothing's felt as real since then.
So, now I force myself out of bed, to shuffle down the hallway to the bathroom so I can brush my teeth. How I hate morning breath.
The real story of Dream Night? It's the one night in this damned cold English winter where in our parts young people sneak out to dance under the stars, to hang out, converse...sometimes it even allows forbidden love a chance. It's magical, it puts us all in a trance. Even the thieves stay in on Dream Night, the bums in the park get lucky as young picnickers leave their food behind, forgotten. Parents watch wistfully from their warm parlours and reminisce on their past escapades. It all started before I became a witch, although not before I was born. Dream Night is the one safe night for all to be out late, because no harm can come to you in this neighbourhood while the sky is lit.
Rinse and spit.
I can't help but wonder where Draco was this Dream Night. Was he close enough to see it? Or perhaps he was in the cities, where it's impossible to tell that it's even occurring.
Not that I would care...
There was banging at the door.
"'Mione, hurry up! I'm going to be late as hell for classes!" Josh pounded on the door.
I sigh. I guess my hair will just have to wait till later. I throw open the door just as Josh is about to pound on it again and walk past my dopey older brother.
"Morning..." I mumble groggily.
"Yeah, morning." He rushes into the bathroom. I really don't undertand how boys can wear just socks and boxers in the middle of winter...he must be freezing!
The door slams just as I've barely left the bathroom...silly twat.
________________________________________________________
"Mione, how are you?" Mother's sitting at the table, drinking her tea over the paper and Dad's making breakfast for us all. Jacob's already in his school uniform, eating his cereal.
There's something happy about Jacob today. Well, whatever it is, it makes me happy too. For once.
"Morning Mother, Father. Morning, runt." I push Jacob's head and he protests loudly.
"Muuuuum!" Mum ignores us both.
The house seems strange, like it's been years since it was this way. I guess it really has. Today there are no strangers, no Draco lurking around the house, no Daniel half-dressed trying to find a clean shirt of Josh's. No....anything, really. It feels so empty...like it's really just an echo of the past, some stupid wizard construction pretending to be my family, pretending to be real.
"Where's Katrina? I hardly ever see her anymore." I asked mother as I pulled up a chair.
"Yes, well you've been slightly occupied these holidays, haven't you dear? You need a haircut." She beckons me over to tug at my hair.
"Well, at least no split ends." She sighs. No thanks to Draco and his bloody-minded makeover, I thought.
Stupid git.
"How are things, Mione?" Dad brings over a plate of buttered toast for mam and himself, a piece of which I steal subtly.
"Ok, I guess." I know he wants to ask me about Draco, but he won't bring it up. I can see it in his eyes, that questioning, curious look, but he won't say anything, not unless I bring it up.
"Harry and Ron well, then? Ah! Jacob, eat your cereal!" He admonishes as he helps himself to the business section of the newspaper, which mother doesn't protest to. I poke my tongue out at Jacob. Ha ha.
"Ok, I think. I haven't seen Ron, I hope I do before the end of the holidays. And I'll probably go see Harry today." He nodded.
Suddenly Jacob stood up, ran over to the sink and clattered his spoon and bowl in noisily.
"Be back in a minute!"
I shrug it off as something he's forgotten and begin to recount the recent muggle news with mother.
_________________________________________________
"Draco?" Jacob whispered.
"Draco!" Draco's eyes flicked open immediately. He registered the voice and sighed in relief.
"Oh, hey there Jacob. Have a good time last night?" Jacob nodded.
"Are you going to be here tonight?" He asked.
Draco could only shrug.
"Perhaps."
It's not likely.
Jacob emerged fully into the treehouse and sat on the floor cross-legged.
"What is it?" Draco stretched elegantly and yawned, swinging his legs off the bed to reveal his bare torso and yesterday's pants.
"I don't wanna go to school." Jacob whispered sullenly.
"Mm." Was all that Draco said finally.
Then the old Draco Malfoy smirk crept upon his lips. How he had missed that smirk, it's delightfully familiar movements caressing his lips.
"Why don't I come with you, Jacob?"
Jacob looked at him dubiously.
"You can't, there's laws against that."
"Against what?"
"Tresspass and stuff." Draco didn't understand why he couldn't tresspass on the grounds of a lowly school...
"You know...like how them evil Death men aren't allowed onto your school grounds?" Jacob asked him. Draco's expression became wary.
Jacob shrugged.
"I read the Daily Prophets that Hermione always throws out. She refuses to read them, but I think they're entertaining, albeit not likely to be true."
Once again, Jacob had proved a most lovely surprise.
"So...I'm not allowed onto your school grounds?"
"Not without a visitor sticker, and you need a reason to get one of those. It's like...if Death Eater's went onto your school grounds they could get held for trial or killed or whatever. If you come to our school you can get sued."
"Sue?"
"Money battle. Duelling, but with sentences, not wands."
Draco grinned.
"But have they written laws against invisible people?"
Jacob frowned.
"Naw, I guess not..."
"Well there you have it Jacob, it's sorted, now run along and I'll meet you out the front in fifteen.
________________________________________________________________________________
Hermione watched her brother strangely as he got in the car, and sat right next to her. He paused for about two or three minutes before leaning over to shut the door.
"Jacob, why aren't you sitting on the other side?"
He shrugged, but there was a little smile on his face.
And on top of it, she could smell something fishy...
Make that rich. Something slimy and rich, and it smelt an awful lot like CK1.
An awful lot like that bastard Draco, she realised as she sniffed the wafting odor of CK1 drifting through the car.
She glared suspiciously at Jacob who was busy playing snake on their mother's mobile phone.
No way. It could not be, Hermione. She told herself.
So she ignored it, and ignored the drifting scent that teased her nostrils tantalisingly.
_______________________________________________________________________________
He could see her from here, beneath the silky finish of the invisibility cloak. A muted pattern of green and blue fractals hung over his eyes and clung to her features in the muted grey light of the overcast sky above.
He was just being dramatic again.
He knew he had to sit still, because if he moved she would see the ripple of the air.
She sensed something, he knew it. He almost died when she looked straight at him, eyes narrowed.
He closed his eyes.
The music swirled around him, abruptly coming into focus as if Mrs Granger had changed stations.
And as if reading his mind...
"I close my eyes....and voice my fears..."
Hermione looked outside the window. She didn't sing, but he could see her lips mouth the words quietly. Strangely enough he missed those lips. Honeyed, the taste of girlish lip gloss flooded his mouth.
The song was beginning to annoy him. It was so depressing and sad, and it was making him feel bad.
It had absoloutely no relevance to the relationship between himself and the Mudblood, yet it somehow managed to encompass all meaning, of all relationships gone wrong in the world.
Stupid muggles.
And here we were. The car pulled up, Jacob leaning over him to open the door and waiting for Draco to get out. Then he turned, and unexpectedly patted Hermione's shoulder.
"Cheer up sis." And he was gone, leaving a puzzled Hermione with a scrap of paper on her lap.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Hermione thanked her mother for the lift, left the car, number scrawled on the scrap of napkin hastily shoved in the back of her jeans, forgotten.
Taking a deep breath, she walked up to the door and raised her hand to knock. Just as her knuckles were about to come into contact with the door, someone opened the door, quietly backed out of the doorway and went to shut the door, banging into her.
Daniel straightened and turned to face her.
"Oh! 'Mione, it's you!"
She smiled.
"Can I go in?" Daniel nodded, putting a finger to his lips.
"Shush, they're all still sleeping." She nodded and slipped inside, the sound of his keys locking the door behind her.
She tiptoed past Sirius, stretched out on the couch and busied herself in the kitchen, making breakfast.
It became some time before she was aware of someone watching her.
She whirled around, frypan at the ready.
"Morning Harry." She spoke quietly, voice hushed.
"What are you doing here?" He frowned, and although his voice wasn't hostile it definitely wasn't warm and welcoming.
"I...Oh, Harry I'm sorry for last night, it was just I was tired...and Malfoy...and..." distraught, she ran her fingers through her hair.
Harry had been nodding and looking tiredly accepting up until that point, when an unfortunate amount of light reflected off the ring on her hand.
"Where'd you get that from?" He asked, indicating the brightly glittering band on her left hand.
"This?" Hermione asked, nervously twisting it. He nodded.
"Oh...er...my mother got it for me." She said weakly.
"May I see?"
"Errr...sure, why not." She held out her hand for him to look at.
"It's beautiful." He smiled.
Inside her stomach turned.
"It is, isn't it?" She lied.
Luckily, before the conversation could depreciate any further, Sirius appeared, tired and stretching in the doorframe.
"Is that pancakes I smell?" He asked, looking mischieviously delighted.
"It sure is! Oh!" Hermione rushed back to the stove.
____________________________________________________________
They sat around the bed, anxiously, nervously waiting for the man on the floor to awaken.
Hermione shook the foggy mists from her mind and looked at Masako, the cogs and gears gliding and whirling slowly as the old memories of that time, that period before Hogwarts began to replay like an old film reel.
He had always been beautiful.
She looked down at him now, he looked weak, underfed. His hair and beard was matted, the cartiledge of his ears scarred where earrings had been ripped out, giving him the appearance of an old battle-veteran alley cat.
She bit her lip. She remembered when they had been back in school, Masako had pulled up to the school to pick her and Yuri up. As Yuri scrambled in and hugged Masako, her hair had caught on his ear, causing him to wince and growl as they attempted to distangle the hair from the studs in his ear. It had been so funny at the time.
Masako used to carry a fortune on his ears, diamond studs that glittered like stars in the dark. A smile brushed Hermione's lips...then she shook her head. He was wearing iron rings now.
Here they were, waiting for the man to awaken, and all she could think about was his ears?
She laughed quietly, as the red numbers of Harry's clock clicked to 9:47 am. Minutes passed like years as they sat silent in the room, waiting, watching, breathing quietly.
Actually, that's a lie...Sirius was breathing quite loudly, and she sent him a glare for it.
Just as he opened his mouth to reciprocate, Masako's eyes snapped open and he began to wheeze and gasp for air. His body bucked and spasmed.
"Ohmygod!" Hermione gasped.
'Oh if only Draco was here, he'd know what to do...ohmigosh...where is Draco...we need Draco...' Her mind muttered to her fervently.
"Hermione, hold him!" Sirius shouted.
It was just like a movie, only no music to dictate what she should feel.
Bracing herself, she knelt on the floor and grasped Masako's shoulders with one arm, stroking his face with her other hand.
He calmed down immediately, and his eyes closed.
"Sank you...Sank you..." He sighed in relief as Sirius tipped a glass of water to his lips.
"Untie him, Harry." Sirius motioned, and Harry knelt and quickly untied the knots.
Masako sat up, massaging his sore wrists.
"Ugh...I don't feer too weru..." He looked around wildly, and Harry pointed out the en suite, which Masako stumbled and crawled to, hand over his mouth.
Sirius and Harry winced at the sounds of retching coming from the toilet.
Hermione buried her head in her hands.
After the never-ending torrent seemed to have ended, Masako slowly stood, and flushed the toilet.
He dragged himself over to the basin, and stared at his reflection in the mirror, palms down on the counter, supporting him.
A wild-man looked back at him.
He continued to stare as a lovely woman of about seventeen, eighteen appeared in the doorway behind him, and stared at him in the mirror.
"Who are you? What do you want with me?" His voice was gruff. The girl seemed familiar, but he couldn't recognise her.
"Masako...Yuri says to say that Tetsuo and Kimura have passed on." She gently bit her bottom lip as his grip tightened on the basin. He whirled to face her.
"Who are you? How do you know of Yuri?" His eyes were wide and blazing with anger, the colour of molten gold and chocolate. The white glaringly obvious against the dirt colour of his skin.
"It's...It's me, Hermione. Hermione Granger."
The name rung a bell, somewhere in the deep depths of the past.
A small girl, a permanent double of Yuri, always attached. Yuri's best friend...
He had missed her when she had gone away. Little Hermione. Even the hazes of drugs couldn't make him forget the past.
She'd grown up somewhat. His grip on the basin slackened and fell away.
"Herumane." He whispered, his special name for her. And she smiled.
"Yea, Masako-kun, it's me." He gave her a weak grin and stumbled forward into her caring embrace.
__________________________________________________________
"Little Jacob Granger. Just who I wanted to see." The voice was dripping with menace.
"Oh shit." Jacob muttered.
Draco rolled his eyes. It was the playground bully, wa-hey...
"What, no ponce to defend you now? Poor Jacob, you're going to be very sorry..." The voice enclosed in. Where Draco would have said it, it would have sounded silky and dangerous. Where this...this mere _boy_, his mind spat, said it, it sounded merely like a dogs chew toy. Squeaky. He sounded like a right little prat, down to his sneer and swagger.
Realisation hit Draco like a cruciatius curse. He was an exact duplicate of Draco at that age. Except smaller, whinier and much more annoying, because Draco was sure he didn't have a thing to his name. And Draco was sure that this little prat wouldn't be running to his daddy for everything. And ugly brown hair, of course.
Luckily, Draco had grown into his sneer, and his swagger became a cat-like gait that many admired and none could accomplish successfully. Wait a minute, ponce? His eyes narrowed.
"Sorry for what? You've got what, two broken ribs and a black eye and you want to make me sorry? I say, that's rather unsporting, isn't it?" Jacob defended himself admirably.
The little prat sneered.
"Go for him." At that moment, something shimmered in the air and the little prat, also known as Phillip Turner the Fourth (or Poopsies by his mother) was lifted bodily into the air and thrown off his supporting crutches.
His four goons looked at Jacob worriedly and began to slowly and innocently meander away.
Jacob winked at the air, hoping that it was in Draco's general direction.
He began to walk over to Phillip, who was still lying face down in the dirt, staring at a worm not two centimeters from his eye.
"I say Phillip, you've managed to get your uniform awfully dirty. Whatever will the teachers say?" Jacob barely repressed a smile of mirth. As a friend called him, he turned to walk away.
Draco caught his wrist.
"Jacob, I'm going now, I may see you later." He spoke urgently, then let go as Jacob nodded and smiled gratefully. Bobby Midgen, younger brother of one hatefully spiteful Eloise Midgen waved at his best friend.
Draco turned to move, then stopped as someone stood in his way.
"I know that you can hear me, invisible Draco. I heard you. And I'll get my revenge. Oh, but don't you worry, I'll get my revenge." Phillip snarled blankly at the air. Draco contemplated replying, but decided it was beneath him, and walked off.
"I'd love to see that little wanker try and tell the teachers that Jacob siked an invisible man onto him..." he muttered to himself.
Despite a certain part of himself that sounded awfully like his father reprimanding him for helping filthy muggles and mudbloods and actually going out of his way for doing so, he couldn't help but allow a small smile to brush his pale lips as he yanked off the invisibility cloak and continued to walk down the street.
______________________________________________________________
He stared at himself, a stranger looking back at him.
He didn't look like he had before, nor did he look how he had looked after his stint in jail.
He didn't know who the two strange men were, or what they were doing with Herumane, but he knew he was safe.
The crust of sleep had been washed from his eyes, the crystallised tears wiped off his lashes. His hair had been washed and trimmed (We'll take you to a hairdresser later, Hermione had said) and he had been allowed a razor for the first time in two years.
He was pale. He was godawfully pale. Kami help him, he could pass for a gajin.
Deprivation of sunlight did that to you. He looked sick.
And the hard, muscled body he had before he went into the big one was replaced by a pale, weak one. His ribs showed through, and the scars were dark against the white skin.
Everything was an effort.
But now...he looked critically at the long spill of dark hair that framed his face.
"I don't rike it." He said in slightly-accented english.
"But Masako, you look so beautiful!" Hermione had exclaimed, "Like a bishounen!"
"Rike a pretty boy...and pretty boys do what? They kiss other pretty boys." He muttered, shaking his head, the glossy wave of black hair swaying back and forth.
"I do not rike boys, Harumane, I rike girus." He said ruefully.
Hermione laughed.
"Harry! Come here! Masako's ashamed to go out because he thinks he looks too much like a girl!" Hermione waved him over.
Harry, who had been sulking over Hermione's sudden new absorption in the stranger came over broodily.
"He does." And immediately regretted it as Masako let out a rotten moan and looked rather depressed.
"Come on, eat first." Harry motioned for Masako to follow, and Hermione told them she'd be down in a minute, after cleaning up the bathroom.
Any depression Masako had been feeling quickly was beaten into submission by the food placed in front of him. Sure, it was only instant ramen, but it was better than the slop he had been served in 'the big house'. After polishing off four bowls...leaving Sirius to shake his head and scrawl something on a piece of paper that could have passed for a grocery list, he patted his stomach and burped noisily.
"Ah! Gomen." He stood and stretched.
"Sank you. Sank you very very much. You do not know how much I owe you." He bowed deeply to Sirius, almost bending in half, and also to Harry and Hermione.
"Only about 2 pounds," Sirius joked.
Masako looked at him blankly.
"I wir go to my house and get the money immediately." He stood.
"It was a joke Masako! Sit down, you are still weak!" Hermione went to push him back in his seat, but he waved her off.
"No. I have been absent for too long. I wir return."
And before they could say anything, he was out the door. Hermione blinked, and sat down.
"Tea, anyone?" A dazed Sirius asked.
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Um ok yet another plotless wonder. *shrugs* It'll get better soon, I promise! Draco'll go...oooh, but I can't give away the plot now, can I? *winks* But the next two chapters will be exciting... I hope... *shrugs* and yes, there will be more D/Her!!! :P LONG LIVE ENEMIES!! I mean...lovers!! :P hhaha
heheh :P
Read and review, if you please!
THANKS TO
DiOsA4u: LOL well I did...i dunno if it's waht you want tho...I know, i know, more D/Her action...*shakes head*
annonymouse: You're back!!! :P hahah omg I'm on sumones fave list! So happy! Happy happy happy! :P (u gotta have watched australia's big brother to get it) hheheh thanks for reading!!
princessfantasy: Lucy is some girl in most of Atmosphere's songs...I wanted to edit it out, but that would be lame and it'd make the song shitty, so I didn't cut it out...there is a character in this story called Lucy, right near the start, but she's just a little supporting muscle to Eloise, so she's not important...heheh :P (that's Lucy Balle)
mutsumi- hahha well she won't find out...yet...heheh well not until..hey I can't tell you this! I'm giving it away, dammit! :P lols
SlytherinsGothGoddess/megan- LOL thanks!! Awww ur review's so niiice... *huggles and betty crocker cookies*
BellethePhilosopher'sCookie- Thanks for reviewing my other stories also!! LOLs sorri if I offended you, didn't mean to... heheh
Starknight- It is? Sorri, just do it out of habit...LOL :P well as long as it's interesting to ya, might as well continue!
ArtemisMoonClaw- You're reviews gone, so I'm guessing you and sum1 else had the same nick? But THANKS for reviewing all my stories! you legend!
CHAPTER 12: The Morning After
//DEDICATED to Artemis MoonClaw for reviewing nearly every single one of my HP fanfics, LOLs...and BellethePhilosopher'sCookie for reviewing some too! Oh yea...this chappies plotless too, but I promise it won't be plotless soon!//
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I woke up, eyes puffy and resoloutions gone. I was so confused, so lost, in between the somewhere and the now, the dialogue blurred. Could I carry on? I wasn't sure. Draco Malfoy. Nothing deeper. No hidden subtext.
::A lust, a relationship. A love. A hot water bottle through the winter.::
If he had the fire in his veins, if he had yelled at me, I would have gladly let myself get burnt.
But instead I was caressed by the ice, I slept, entwined with snow. And it followed nature and melted away, without a trace, leaving me only cold and with a sense of loss. Damn him for not feeling. Damn me for feeling too much.
I lie in bed, with Kensington curled on the rug near my fireplace, the cats entangled in the folds of my blanket, staring up at the roof.
Last night was Dream night. The skies glow with stars, hanging like a fishing net in the sky which had a full catch. It's like all the galaxies come to outside my window, to hover outside in the indigo sky.
The folks in these parts have a little tale, that whoever you go to sleep and think about on Dream Night will come to you in your dreams. It's been exaggerated, of course, many a girl has claimed that her dream lover has visited her, leaving her to wake up miraculously pregnant the next day. They often end up marrying 'the man of their "dreams".' I call it lucky timing and blame it on superstition causing people to become silly and gullible. My parents would never allow it.
Of course I dreamt of Draco last night. I've dreamt about him nearly every night since he left.
But this dream...he was so close, right within my grasp, and I just couldn't reach him. I kept stretching out, and he always extended his arm, but we never managed to reach each other. And then, just as I was about to give up...our fingers brushed...
I woke up.
And nothing's felt as real since then.
So, now I force myself out of bed, to shuffle down the hallway to the bathroom so I can brush my teeth. How I hate morning breath.
The real story of Dream Night? It's the one night in this damned cold English winter where in our parts young people sneak out to dance under the stars, to hang out, converse...sometimes it even allows forbidden love a chance. It's magical, it puts us all in a trance. Even the thieves stay in on Dream Night, the bums in the park get lucky as young picnickers leave their food behind, forgotten. Parents watch wistfully from their warm parlours and reminisce on their past escapades. It all started before I became a witch, although not before I was born. Dream Night is the one safe night for all to be out late, because no harm can come to you in this neighbourhood while the sky is lit.
Rinse and spit.
I can't help but wonder where Draco was this Dream Night. Was he close enough to see it? Or perhaps he was in the cities, where it's impossible to tell that it's even occurring.
Not that I would care...
There was banging at the door.
"'Mione, hurry up! I'm going to be late as hell for classes!" Josh pounded on the door.
I sigh. I guess my hair will just have to wait till later. I throw open the door just as Josh is about to pound on it again and walk past my dopey older brother.
"Morning..." I mumble groggily.
"Yeah, morning." He rushes into the bathroom. I really don't undertand how boys can wear just socks and boxers in the middle of winter...he must be freezing!
The door slams just as I've barely left the bathroom...silly twat.
________________________________________________________
"Mione, how are you?" Mother's sitting at the table, drinking her tea over the paper and Dad's making breakfast for us all. Jacob's already in his school uniform, eating his cereal.
There's something happy about Jacob today. Well, whatever it is, it makes me happy too. For once.
"Morning Mother, Father. Morning, runt." I push Jacob's head and he protests loudly.
"Muuuuum!" Mum ignores us both.
The house seems strange, like it's been years since it was this way. I guess it really has. Today there are no strangers, no Draco lurking around the house, no Daniel half-dressed trying to find a clean shirt of Josh's. No....anything, really. It feels so empty...like it's really just an echo of the past, some stupid wizard construction pretending to be my family, pretending to be real.
"Where's Katrina? I hardly ever see her anymore." I asked mother as I pulled up a chair.
"Yes, well you've been slightly occupied these holidays, haven't you dear? You need a haircut." She beckons me over to tug at my hair.
"Well, at least no split ends." She sighs. No thanks to Draco and his bloody-minded makeover, I thought.
Stupid git.
"How are things, Mione?" Dad brings over a plate of buttered toast for mam and himself, a piece of which I steal subtly.
"Ok, I guess." I know he wants to ask me about Draco, but he won't bring it up. I can see it in his eyes, that questioning, curious look, but he won't say anything, not unless I bring it up.
"Harry and Ron well, then? Ah! Jacob, eat your cereal!" He admonishes as he helps himself to the business section of the newspaper, which mother doesn't protest to. I poke my tongue out at Jacob. Ha ha.
"Ok, I think. I haven't seen Ron, I hope I do before the end of the holidays. And I'll probably go see Harry today." He nodded.
Suddenly Jacob stood up, ran over to the sink and clattered his spoon and bowl in noisily.
"Be back in a minute!"
I shrug it off as something he's forgotten and begin to recount the recent muggle news with mother.
_________________________________________________
"Draco?" Jacob whispered.
"Draco!" Draco's eyes flicked open immediately. He registered the voice and sighed in relief.
"Oh, hey there Jacob. Have a good time last night?" Jacob nodded.
"Are you going to be here tonight?" He asked.
Draco could only shrug.
"Perhaps."
It's not likely.
Jacob emerged fully into the treehouse and sat on the floor cross-legged.
"What is it?" Draco stretched elegantly and yawned, swinging his legs off the bed to reveal his bare torso and yesterday's pants.
"I don't wanna go to school." Jacob whispered sullenly.
"Mm." Was all that Draco said finally.
Then the old Draco Malfoy smirk crept upon his lips. How he had missed that smirk, it's delightfully familiar movements caressing his lips.
"Why don't I come with you, Jacob?"
Jacob looked at him dubiously.
"You can't, there's laws against that."
"Against what?"
"Tresspass and stuff." Draco didn't understand why he couldn't tresspass on the grounds of a lowly school...
"You know...like how them evil Death men aren't allowed onto your school grounds?" Jacob asked him. Draco's expression became wary.
Jacob shrugged.
"I read the Daily Prophets that Hermione always throws out. She refuses to read them, but I think they're entertaining, albeit not likely to be true."
Once again, Jacob had proved a most lovely surprise.
"So...I'm not allowed onto your school grounds?"
"Not without a visitor sticker, and you need a reason to get one of those. It's like...if Death Eater's went onto your school grounds they could get held for trial or killed or whatever. If you come to our school you can get sued."
"Sue?"
"Money battle. Duelling, but with sentences, not wands."
Draco grinned.
"But have they written laws against invisible people?"
Jacob frowned.
"Naw, I guess not..."
"Well there you have it Jacob, it's sorted, now run along and I'll meet you out the front in fifteen.
________________________________________________________________________________
Hermione watched her brother strangely as he got in the car, and sat right next to her. He paused for about two or three minutes before leaning over to shut the door.
"Jacob, why aren't you sitting on the other side?"
He shrugged, but there was a little smile on his face.
And on top of it, she could smell something fishy...
Make that rich. Something slimy and rich, and it smelt an awful lot like CK1.
An awful lot like that bastard Draco, she realised as she sniffed the wafting odor of CK1 drifting through the car.
She glared suspiciously at Jacob who was busy playing snake on their mother's mobile phone.
No way. It could not be, Hermione. She told herself.
So she ignored it, and ignored the drifting scent that teased her nostrils tantalisingly.
_______________________________________________________________________________
He could see her from here, beneath the silky finish of the invisibility cloak. A muted pattern of green and blue fractals hung over his eyes and clung to her features in the muted grey light of the overcast sky above.
He was just being dramatic again.
He knew he had to sit still, because if he moved she would see the ripple of the air.
She sensed something, he knew it. He almost died when she looked straight at him, eyes narrowed.
He closed his eyes.
The music swirled around him, abruptly coming into focus as if Mrs Granger had changed stations.
And as if reading his mind...
"I close my eyes....and voice my fears..."
Hermione looked outside the window. She didn't sing, but he could see her lips mouth the words quietly. Strangely enough he missed those lips. Honeyed, the taste of girlish lip gloss flooded his mouth.
The song was beginning to annoy him. It was so depressing and sad, and it was making him feel bad.
It had absoloutely no relevance to the relationship between himself and the Mudblood, yet it somehow managed to encompass all meaning, of all relationships gone wrong in the world.
Stupid muggles.
And here we were. The car pulled up, Jacob leaning over him to open the door and waiting for Draco to get out. Then he turned, and unexpectedly patted Hermione's shoulder.
"Cheer up sis." And he was gone, leaving a puzzled Hermione with a scrap of paper on her lap.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Hermione thanked her mother for the lift, left the car, number scrawled on the scrap of napkin hastily shoved in the back of her jeans, forgotten.
Taking a deep breath, she walked up to the door and raised her hand to knock. Just as her knuckles were about to come into contact with the door, someone opened the door, quietly backed out of the doorway and went to shut the door, banging into her.
Daniel straightened and turned to face her.
"Oh! 'Mione, it's you!"
She smiled.
"Can I go in?" Daniel nodded, putting a finger to his lips.
"Shush, they're all still sleeping." She nodded and slipped inside, the sound of his keys locking the door behind her.
She tiptoed past Sirius, stretched out on the couch and busied herself in the kitchen, making breakfast.
It became some time before she was aware of someone watching her.
She whirled around, frypan at the ready.
"Morning Harry." She spoke quietly, voice hushed.
"What are you doing here?" He frowned, and although his voice wasn't hostile it definitely wasn't warm and welcoming.
"I...Oh, Harry I'm sorry for last night, it was just I was tired...and Malfoy...and..." distraught, she ran her fingers through her hair.
Harry had been nodding and looking tiredly accepting up until that point, when an unfortunate amount of light reflected off the ring on her hand.
"Where'd you get that from?" He asked, indicating the brightly glittering band on her left hand.
"This?" Hermione asked, nervously twisting it. He nodded.
"Oh...er...my mother got it for me." She said weakly.
"May I see?"
"Errr...sure, why not." She held out her hand for him to look at.
"It's beautiful." He smiled.
Inside her stomach turned.
"It is, isn't it?" She lied.
Luckily, before the conversation could depreciate any further, Sirius appeared, tired and stretching in the doorframe.
"Is that pancakes I smell?" He asked, looking mischieviously delighted.
"It sure is! Oh!" Hermione rushed back to the stove.
____________________________________________________________
They sat around the bed, anxiously, nervously waiting for the man on the floor to awaken.
Hermione shook the foggy mists from her mind and looked at Masako, the cogs and gears gliding and whirling slowly as the old memories of that time, that period before Hogwarts began to replay like an old film reel.
He had always been beautiful.
She looked down at him now, he looked weak, underfed. His hair and beard was matted, the cartiledge of his ears scarred where earrings had been ripped out, giving him the appearance of an old battle-veteran alley cat.
She bit her lip. She remembered when they had been back in school, Masako had pulled up to the school to pick her and Yuri up. As Yuri scrambled in and hugged Masako, her hair had caught on his ear, causing him to wince and growl as they attempted to distangle the hair from the studs in his ear. It had been so funny at the time.
Masako used to carry a fortune on his ears, diamond studs that glittered like stars in the dark. A smile brushed Hermione's lips...then she shook her head. He was wearing iron rings now.
Here they were, waiting for the man to awaken, and all she could think about was his ears?
She laughed quietly, as the red numbers of Harry's clock clicked to 9:47 am. Minutes passed like years as they sat silent in the room, waiting, watching, breathing quietly.
Actually, that's a lie...Sirius was breathing quite loudly, and she sent him a glare for it.
Just as he opened his mouth to reciprocate, Masako's eyes snapped open and he began to wheeze and gasp for air. His body bucked and spasmed.
"Ohmygod!" Hermione gasped.
'Oh if only Draco was here, he'd know what to do...ohmigosh...where is Draco...we need Draco...' Her mind muttered to her fervently.
"Hermione, hold him!" Sirius shouted.
It was just like a movie, only no music to dictate what she should feel.
Bracing herself, she knelt on the floor and grasped Masako's shoulders with one arm, stroking his face with her other hand.
He calmed down immediately, and his eyes closed.
"Sank you...Sank you..." He sighed in relief as Sirius tipped a glass of water to his lips.
"Untie him, Harry." Sirius motioned, and Harry knelt and quickly untied the knots.
Masako sat up, massaging his sore wrists.
"Ugh...I don't feer too weru..." He looked around wildly, and Harry pointed out the en suite, which Masako stumbled and crawled to, hand over his mouth.
Sirius and Harry winced at the sounds of retching coming from the toilet.
Hermione buried her head in her hands.
After the never-ending torrent seemed to have ended, Masako slowly stood, and flushed the toilet.
He dragged himself over to the basin, and stared at his reflection in the mirror, palms down on the counter, supporting him.
A wild-man looked back at him.
He continued to stare as a lovely woman of about seventeen, eighteen appeared in the doorway behind him, and stared at him in the mirror.
"Who are you? What do you want with me?" His voice was gruff. The girl seemed familiar, but he couldn't recognise her.
"Masako...Yuri says to say that Tetsuo and Kimura have passed on." She gently bit her bottom lip as his grip tightened on the basin. He whirled to face her.
"Who are you? How do you know of Yuri?" His eyes were wide and blazing with anger, the colour of molten gold and chocolate. The white glaringly obvious against the dirt colour of his skin.
"It's...It's me, Hermione. Hermione Granger."
The name rung a bell, somewhere in the deep depths of the past.
A small girl, a permanent double of Yuri, always attached. Yuri's best friend...
He had missed her when she had gone away. Little Hermione. Even the hazes of drugs couldn't make him forget the past.
She'd grown up somewhat. His grip on the basin slackened and fell away.
"Herumane." He whispered, his special name for her. And she smiled.
"Yea, Masako-kun, it's me." He gave her a weak grin and stumbled forward into her caring embrace.
__________________________________________________________
"Little Jacob Granger. Just who I wanted to see." The voice was dripping with menace.
"Oh shit." Jacob muttered.
Draco rolled his eyes. It was the playground bully, wa-hey...
"What, no ponce to defend you now? Poor Jacob, you're going to be very sorry..." The voice enclosed in. Where Draco would have said it, it would have sounded silky and dangerous. Where this...this mere _boy_, his mind spat, said it, it sounded merely like a dogs chew toy. Squeaky. He sounded like a right little prat, down to his sneer and swagger.
Realisation hit Draco like a cruciatius curse. He was an exact duplicate of Draco at that age. Except smaller, whinier and much more annoying, because Draco was sure he didn't have a thing to his name. And Draco was sure that this little prat wouldn't be running to his daddy for everything. And ugly brown hair, of course.
Luckily, Draco had grown into his sneer, and his swagger became a cat-like gait that many admired and none could accomplish successfully. Wait a minute, ponce? His eyes narrowed.
"Sorry for what? You've got what, two broken ribs and a black eye and you want to make me sorry? I say, that's rather unsporting, isn't it?" Jacob defended himself admirably.
The little prat sneered.
"Go for him." At that moment, something shimmered in the air and the little prat, also known as Phillip Turner the Fourth (or Poopsies by his mother) was lifted bodily into the air and thrown off his supporting crutches.
His four goons looked at Jacob worriedly and began to slowly and innocently meander away.
Jacob winked at the air, hoping that it was in Draco's general direction.
He began to walk over to Phillip, who was still lying face down in the dirt, staring at a worm not two centimeters from his eye.
"I say Phillip, you've managed to get your uniform awfully dirty. Whatever will the teachers say?" Jacob barely repressed a smile of mirth. As a friend called him, he turned to walk away.
Draco caught his wrist.
"Jacob, I'm going now, I may see you later." He spoke urgently, then let go as Jacob nodded and smiled gratefully. Bobby Midgen, younger brother of one hatefully spiteful Eloise Midgen waved at his best friend.
Draco turned to move, then stopped as someone stood in his way.
"I know that you can hear me, invisible Draco. I heard you. And I'll get my revenge. Oh, but don't you worry, I'll get my revenge." Phillip snarled blankly at the air. Draco contemplated replying, but decided it was beneath him, and walked off.
"I'd love to see that little wanker try and tell the teachers that Jacob siked an invisible man onto him..." he muttered to himself.
Despite a certain part of himself that sounded awfully like his father reprimanding him for helping filthy muggles and mudbloods and actually going out of his way for doing so, he couldn't help but allow a small smile to brush his pale lips as he yanked off the invisibility cloak and continued to walk down the street.
______________________________________________________________
He stared at himself, a stranger looking back at him.
He didn't look like he had before, nor did he look how he had looked after his stint in jail.
He didn't know who the two strange men were, or what they were doing with Herumane, but he knew he was safe.
The crust of sleep had been washed from his eyes, the crystallised tears wiped off his lashes. His hair had been washed and trimmed (We'll take you to a hairdresser later, Hermione had said) and he had been allowed a razor for the first time in two years.
He was pale. He was godawfully pale. Kami help him, he could pass for a gajin.
Deprivation of sunlight did that to you. He looked sick.
And the hard, muscled body he had before he went into the big one was replaced by a pale, weak one. His ribs showed through, and the scars were dark against the white skin.
Everything was an effort.
But now...he looked critically at the long spill of dark hair that framed his face.
"I don't rike it." He said in slightly-accented english.
"But Masako, you look so beautiful!" Hermione had exclaimed, "Like a bishounen!"
"Rike a pretty boy...and pretty boys do what? They kiss other pretty boys." He muttered, shaking his head, the glossy wave of black hair swaying back and forth.
"I do not rike boys, Harumane, I rike girus." He said ruefully.
Hermione laughed.
"Harry! Come here! Masako's ashamed to go out because he thinks he looks too much like a girl!" Hermione waved him over.
Harry, who had been sulking over Hermione's sudden new absorption in the stranger came over broodily.
"He does." And immediately regretted it as Masako let out a rotten moan and looked rather depressed.
"Come on, eat first." Harry motioned for Masako to follow, and Hermione told them she'd be down in a minute, after cleaning up the bathroom.
Any depression Masako had been feeling quickly was beaten into submission by the food placed in front of him. Sure, it was only instant ramen, but it was better than the slop he had been served in 'the big house'. After polishing off four bowls...leaving Sirius to shake his head and scrawl something on a piece of paper that could have passed for a grocery list, he patted his stomach and burped noisily.
"Ah! Gomen." He stood and stretched.
"Sank you. Sank you very very much. You do not know how much I owe you." He bowed deeply to Sirius, almost bending in half, and also to Harry and Hermione.
"Only about 2 pounds," Sirius joked.
Masako looked at him blankly.
"I wir go to my house and get the money immediately." He stood.
"It was a joke Masako! Sit down, you are still weak!" Hermione went to push him back in his seat, but he waved her off.
"No. I have been absent for too long. I wir return."
And before they could say anything, he was out the door. Hermione blinked, and sat down.
"Tea, anyone?" A dazed Sirius asked.
____________________________________________________________________
Um ok yet another plotless wonder. *shrugs* It'll get better soon, I promise! Draco'll go...oooh, but I can't give away the plot now, can I? *winks* But the next two chapters will be exciting... I hope... *shrugs* and yes, there will be more D/Her!!! :P LONG LIVE ENEMIES!! I mean...lovers!! :P hhaha
heheh :P
Read and review, if you please!
THANKS TO
DiOsA4u: LOL well I did...i dunno if it's waht you want tho...I know, i know, more D/Her action...*shakes head*
annonymouse: You're back!!! :P hahah omg I'm on sumones fave list! So happy! Happy happy happy! :P (u gotta have watched australia's big brother to get it) hheheh thanks for reading!!
princessfantasy: Lucy is some girl in most of Atmosphere's songs...I wanted to edit it out, but that would be lame and it'd make the song shitty, so I didn't cut it out...there is a character in this story called Lucy, right near the start, but she's just a little supporting muscle to Eloise, so she's not important...heheh :P (that's Lucy Balle)
mutsumi- hahha well she won't find out...yet...heheh well not until..hey I can't tell you this! I'm giving it away, dammit! :P lols
SlytherinsGothGoddess/megan- LOL thanks!! Awww ur review's so niiice... *huggles and betty crocker cookies*
BellethePhilosopher'sCookie- Thanks for reviewing my other stories also!! LOLs sorri if I offended you, didn't mean to... heheh
Starknight- It is? Sorri, just do it out of habit...LOL :P well as long as it's interesting to ya, might as well continue!
ArtemisMoonClaw- You're reviews gone, so I'm guessing you and sum1 else had the same nick? But THANKS for reviewing all my stories! you legend!