A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, guys! Enjoy the new chapter, even though it's a bit of a short one. :)
"I think you can do much better than me
After all the lies that I made you believe." – Better Than Me, Hinder
Chapter 12 - Cursed
Before Hermione could believe it, October was upon them and so was the first trip to Hogsmeade. She was nearly up to her ears in homework and sixth years were now expected to use non-verbal spells in both Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts. If that wasn't enough to handle, Hermione also managed to get through two more lessons with Malfoy. To her utmost annoyance, and surprise, he was actually graceful and fluent with his movements on the dance floor. The kind of grace that only comes with experience, though Hermione dare not ask, deciding that their uncomfortably close parameters were terrible enough without adding verbal conversation.
McGonagall watched the two of them carefully, with more attention than she gave the others. It was almost like McGonagall knew something, or was waiting for something to happen, though Hermione did not know what. But she had other things to deal with besides Malfoy and silly dance lessons. Ron was still angry about having to take them and Harry had divulged a crucial secret.
He had told Hermione about his lessons with Dumbledore. And he had told her the prophecy. Though Hermione was not one to dwell on prophecies and predicting the future, she had to admit Harry's omission left her feeling very uneasy. According to the prophecy, the one they found in the Department of Mysteries last year, it was foretold that Harry had to kill Voldemort, or Voldemort would kill him. 'Neither could live while the other survives,' Harry had said. The more she thought about it, though, as terrible as it may be, the more it made sense. It didn't change anything in the end—Harry was always going to be the one to bring down Voldemort.
With this new bit of information, Hermione was fascinated to learn that instead of Dumbledore preparing Harry with complicated hexes and spells, they were researching Voldemort's past. Before now, she hadn't really considered that Voldemort had a past, but of course he had. And the past, she knew, held many answers for the future.
The present, however, was proving to be most problematic for Hermione. Ron had asked Lavender to go Hogsmeade for the first trip of the year. Ever since the Quidditch tryouts, Ron and Lavender were spending quite a big deal of time together. Too much time together, Hermione thought. Every touch, whisper, sneaked glances—it was like watching glass crack. At some point, the glass was going to shatter.
It wasn't until Hermione saw Lavender kiss Ron on the cheek did she decide she was not going to go to Hogsmeade; she would find another way to get a gown for the ball. Or even better, she would not be allowed to go at all. Harry was not thrilled that she was not going to Hogsmeade, but wisely did not bring up Lavender and Ron. Instead he ate his eggs and bacon a little sulkily at breakfast the Saturday of the trip, sending Ron annoyed glances after every two or three bites, who sat with Lavender a few seats down.
"Is Ginny still around?" Hermione asked suddenly, poking at her eggs.
Harry looked up and blinked. "Left with Dean to Hogsmeade already, didn't she?"
"You're probably right," said Hermione, sighing.
"Why?"
"I was going to see if she'd find a dress for me," said Hermione. Well, she tried. Looks like no dance for her. "Oh well. I need to go to the library, anyway."
"You could always have your mum send one from home," Harry suggested.
Hermione snorted. "Mum doesn't do well with owls. I guess that can be my last resort."
"What about the one you wore to the Yule Ball?"
Hermione blinked at him, and then appeared most scandalized. "I'm not wearing something I've already worn to a ball here!"
"That was two years ago," said Harry, amused.
"People remember." When Harry just stared at her, she added, "You did," for emphasis. "And if you, of all people, remember, so will everyone else."
Harry laughed. "If you say so."
She gathered her things and stood from the table, shaking her head. "Boys. I'll see you around, Harry."
"Hermione!" a breathless voice called, when she had reached the doors to the library. "Hermione, wait!"
She turned, a hand on the knob, to find a panting Neville. He took a moment to gather his breath and then said, "Here, Hermione." He handed her a red and black invitation. "This is for me and Luna. We're going together."
He was red in the face, whether it was because he was so out of breath or something else, Hermione did not know. She smiled, regardless. "Thanks Neville," she said. "Have a nice trip in Hogsmeade."
He exhaled a long breath and pinched his side. "You not going?"
"No, I have so much to do with the ball," she said quickly. "See you later."
She was almost getting tired of saying that.
Hermione left the library an hour later, arms full of invitations. She was handling all invitations and the guest list herself; Malfoy immediately sent every invitation he received directly to her. He tried to give the excuse that he was too busy with Quidditch and classes. When Hermione reminded him she was actually taking more classes than he was, he promptly ignored her.
When she arrived at her common room, Malfoy was sitting in a chair by the fireplace with his elbows on his knees, his face resting in his hands. He was twirling a shiny galleon in his fingers, the gold catching the flickering firelight. He did not notice her presence until she let the door shut and when he looked up, he appeared almost startled.
Why isn't he in Hogsmeade? Hermione thought, bewildered.
Malfoy slid the galleon into his pocket and sneered at her. "What are you looking at, Mudblood?"
Was it really necessarily to ruin a perfectly good question with such a nasty name?
"I was going to ask you a question but never mind. Heaven forbid a Mudblood—" she sneered the word "—ask the almighty king of kings anything."
"At least you finally caught on."
"You're so pathetic," Hermione said, more to herself than to him, and looked away.
"You know what?" He stood up and leaned against the side of the chair, arms crossed. "You've called me pathetic on multiple occasions. Explain…please," he said through gritted teeth. "I'd love to hear how you reached that conclusion."
"Your father is locked in Azkaban prison for being a Death Eater and breaking into the Ministry of Magic," she burst out before she could stop herself. "He nearly killed me and my friends. Yet you stand here and try to act as if you and your Malfoy family are better than me." She drew in a sharp breath and added, very slowly, "That. Is. Pathetic."
Hermione wondered when was the last time anyone had spoken to him like this.
Malfoy's gaze was measured and strained. She could almost see the cold fury in his eyes, hidden behind the cool façade he always kept up. But then she blinked, and his face contorted into something unfamiliar. She did not recognize his expression, and it was gone so quickly she could not identify it.
"You will never understand," he said softly, sounding nothing like the ridged, cold boy standing before her. He sounded exhausted. "No one can."
Hermione stared at him, too stunned for words. She half expected a duel, her own fingers twitching at her side, ready to pull out her wand. But Malfoy's fire was put out now, no longer fueling his anger. He looked defeated, and almost desperate, like he was holding in something so destructive it was slowly killing him.
She didn't know what to do with this Malfoy.
"Understand what?" Hermione heard herself whisper, for lack of anything else to say.
Malfoy glanced to the ground and shook his head. "Just go, Granger."
She took a hesitant step forward, as though trying not to frighten a wild animal. "Don't you want someone to understand?"
He looked up, eyes dead. "Why would I want that?" he asked flatly.
"Because," she started, and then paused. Because what? What could she say to that?
Malfoy just stared at her, long and hard, a look of torment flashing across his face, like some inner turmoil was eating him from the inside out. He opened his mouth, like he wanted to say something, but suddenly Hermione's name echoed in the distance. They both jumped and looked to the door.
"Hermione!" a voice shouted, louder and closer, followed by a pounding at the door.
"Ron?" Hermione questioned, puzzled, completely disregarding Malfoy. She rushed to the door and threw it open, nearly forgetting she was angry at him because of Lavender.
"What—" she started, but the look on Ron's face made her pause. He pulled her out the door so fast she choked on her words.
"Something is wrong, Hermione," he said, tugging her after him. He dragged her by the arm all the way to the Dueling Room at the end of the corridor. "Something bad. Katie Bell was attacked—No, poisoned or something. I dunno."
Hermione waited until Padma and Hannah went to their dorms, shopping bags tucked under their arms, before she spoke. "Just calm down," she said. "What do you mean she was poisoned?"
"I mean one minute we were following her back to the castle and another she was lifted into the air and started screaming," he replied, a hint of hysteria in his voice. "And her eyes went all black and pupil less. It was…scary."
Hermione felt herself shiver. "Where's Harry? Was he with you? And Lavender?" she forced herself to say.
"Just Harry," said Ron. "He's waiting in one of the empty classrooms. I told him I'd get you."
"Let's go see him, then."
They raced through the corridors, and found Harry sitting at one of the desks in a classroom on the first floor.
"Tell me everything that happened," Hermione demanded, shutting the door.
Harry and Ron recounted the entire story, answering every question she had to the best of their ability. When they finally finished, Hermione had to take a seat in one of the empty chairs.
"But it doesn't make sense," she said with a frown. "Leanne said Katie went into the bathroom and came back with a package. So when the package broke, Katie started screaming? Why would Katie do something like this?"
"Katie wouldn't, you know that. We think she was cursed or something," said Harry. "You should have seen her. She wasn't…right."
"But who would have put the package in the bathroom in the first place?" asked Hermione, more to herself than to the others.
"I have a theory," said Harry, exchanging a look with Ron, who in turn put his head down, looking disapproving. Harry went on regardless, pretending not to notice.
"I think Malfoy did it," he said. "Remember when I said he was up to something? Inside the package was a necklace. I knew I had seen it before and then I remembered I saw Malfoy look at that necklace back in our second year at Borgin and Burkes. He seemed interested," he added.
For a moment Hermione's mind blanked, and all she could see was the look of torment flashing across his face. The tense way his shoulders sat when she saw him in the common room. Was it guilt, instead of torment she was seeing? But, no. It couldn't have been him. He was here, in the common room. He couldn't be two places at once—not now, that the timeturners were all destroyed.
"It wasn't Malfoy," she said, a little surprised by the determination in her voice.
Harry and Ron exchanged another look.
"Hermione, he told his whole compartment he had a mission to do. How d'you know this wasn't it?" asked Harry.
"Because he was in our common room," said Hermione. "I was talking to him just before Ron came and got me. I don't think he even went to Hogsmeade."
"You were talking to him?" Ron asked, incredulous.
"He could've had Parkinson do it for him," said Harry, as though Ron hadn't spoken, determined to prove his point.
"No, I don't think so," said Hermione, biting her lip. "She was in detention with Flitwick for not completing her homework. She couldn't have. But the important thing is this necklace was for someone," she insisted. "Didn't Katie say?"
"No, she didn't. I bet it was for Dumbledore," piped up Ron.
"Or you, Harry," Hermione suggested, suddenly crestfallen.
"But I was standing behind her the whole time," said Harry. "Why wouldn't she give it to me then? Makes more sense to do it in Hogsmeade than Hogwarts."
Hermione took a moment to mull that over. He was right; if the package was meant for Harry, Katie would have given it to him then, before the complexity of getting the cursed necklace through the castle's security. There were pieces to this story they were missing. That much was certain.
"Look, Ron and I have to go see McGonagall and Dumbledore," said Harry. "They want the story of what happened and we're probably late already. We'll fill you in on what happens."
It wasn't long before the entire school had heard about Katie's incident. Several students had even been taken away from Hogwarts by their parents. While Hermione could understand how parents might fear to be away from their children, Hogwarts was still the safest place to be in times like this. The chances of that necklace actually making it inside the castle were slim to none, with all the protective enchantments placed on the school.
It did, however, bother her there was no speculations to whom the necklace was intended for. That was the main fear amongst the students and parents. Someone was the target and no one knew who. No one knew who had delivered the package, either, and there were no suspects. Even though Harry was bent up on Malfoy, Hermione did not believe it. There was simply no way for him to be involved. She couldn't figure out the motivation, either. Whoever sent the necklace had motivation and a reason. What reason would Malfoy have to actually kill someone? He was nothing more than a school bully, a prat, but a murderer? That was a stretch.
Hermione did, however, keep a closer eye on him, just to be safe. Malfoy didn't miss classes or dance lessons, but he was very distant. Was this normal? Now, she wasn't quite sure. She didn't really know Malfoy at all, she supposed. The boy she thought she knew seemed to be someone else entirely.
With Katie now gone, Harry was forced to replace her Quidditch position with Dean. Hermione couldn't really tell if Ginny was happy or displeased by this, but she had too much on her plate to look into it.
It was exactly one week before the Halloween Ball when she received a tiny note in her dorm.
Hermione,
We are meeting at 5 o'clock this evening in McGonagall's classroom to discuss our final preparations for the ball. Please bring your current guest list. Thanks.
Eddie
Hermione had continued to receive invitations from her classmates—Malfoy never seemed to receive any anymore. Along with these invitations came the backstories of who was going with who and why. She wasn't one for gossip, but it sort of came with the job.
Seamus had asked Parvati to go as friends, but Parvati was hoping for more. Cormac McLaggen was taking a prissy seventh year girl named Fiona Griffith, who, Hermione thought, was only asked by him because of her glossy blonde hair that was beyond perfection, and probably charmed. Hermione nearly fell over in shock when she received her invitation from Harry's ex girlfriend, Cho Chang, who was going with Blaise Zabini; something to definitely give the school something to talk about. Lavender was going with Terry Boot, a fifth year Prefect, though Hermione had the suspicion they planned on switching dates, seeing as Padma and Terry were talking and Padma was going with Ron. And to Hermione's enjoyment, Harry was taking Ginny.
Dean had broken his ankle two days ago, the result of a crash landing in Quidditch practice, and poor Harry was going to have to replace that position, again. Of course Madam Pomfrey could mend Dean's ankle in no time, but broken bones seemed to be popular this year and she had run out of Skele-Gro. The potion needed two weeks to brew, so Dean was stuck with a pair of Muggle crutches until then. Dean insisted that Ginny shouldn't miss the dance and told Harry to take her, since he hadn't asked anyone. Ginny didn't play up the fact that she was thrilled and neither did Harry, but Hermione could see it in their faces.
Unfortunately, Hermione still didn't have a thing to wear. She had not visited Hogsmeade, and so she was going to have to go on the last minute trip with Professor McGonagall, who was taking a few other stragglers. If she couldn't find anything, she decided, she'd write to her mum. Besides the one she wore to the Yule Ball, she owned another formal gown. It was crimson and silky, long, reaching her toes, one she had worn to her aunts wedding. Nothing special, but it would have to do.
They were heading off to Hogsmeade at noon, so Hermione decided to finish up one of Flitwick's essay's after breakfast. Afterwards, she then proceeded to count the last bit of her money, sprawling the coins out on her bed. Gringotts was able to convert Muggle money to wizard money, which was why she had some to begin with, but she still didn't have enough to buy a formal gown; at least not a very nice one. She'd look, she decided, and if she didn't find one suitable, she'd owl her mum.
She glanced at her watch and realized with horror, she was supposed to have been in the Great Hall five minutes ago. She didn't know how long Hogsmeade would take, but she had the prefect meeting afterwards, and had not finalized the guest list yet. She shoved all her money into her bag and then, carefully but quickly, gathered all the guest list information and folded it into her bag.
Even though she was a prefect, Hermione couldn't help but run through the corridors, hoping she had everything. Someone mocked her on the way to slow down, but she didn't have time to care.
"Sorry I'm late Professor," Hermione breathed, hurdling her way through the Great Hall, panting.
McGonagall looked her over, with pursed lips, and Hermione immediately straightened. "We are still waiting for Miss Weasley," she said briskly. "Your tardiness is forgiven."
Hermione winced slightly at the word 'tardiness' but hope seemed to wash away the feeling of guilt. "Ginny? Ginny Weasley is coming?" she asked with optimism.
"As she is the only Miss Weasley here at Hogwarts, I presume so," said McGonagall, surveying her with a look of concern. Hermione was still panting, and knew she must look a bit out of sorts.
"Sorry I'm late," came a very familiar voice.
Hermione whirled around so fast her neck nearly broke. A smile flashed across her face. It had felt like ages since she last talked to Ginny.
"Didn't realize you were coming," said Ginny. Even though she was grinning in return, Hermione couldn't help but notice red and puffy eyes.
"What's wrong?" Hermione whispered.
"Later," muttered Ginny.
Before Hermione could argue, McGonagall called for attention by clearing her throat, and the chatter around the Great Hall immediately ceased. "Professor Dumbledore has granted permission to enter Hogsmeade because of the exception of the ball, and as there are so few of you," she said. "There are three Auror's patrolling Hogsmeade, as well as myself, Professor Snape, and Professor Flitwick. Any suspicious behavior should be reported to one of us immediately."
Hermione had not thought about the new security since Katie's incident. Of course, she had been surprised Dumbledore would allow this visit, but what could he do? Deny the ball to those who could not visit Hogsmeade the first time? With so many professors and Aurors, it was sure to be safe.
"Now," began McGonagall, "I'm going to go over the list one more time. When I call your name, kindly respond that you are present. Jane Adams?"
"Here," said a tiny girl Hermione recognized at once. It was the same girl Hermione had run in to with Ron on the seventh floor, the one who looked so petrified. Now, though, she looked more confident. Start of the year jitters, perhaps?
"Gabriella McCarter?"
"Here," said a Ravenclaw Hermione had never seen before.
"Oliver Dawson?"
"Yeah, I'm here," taunted Oliver, a rather pompous looking Slytherin with bleach blonde hair and dark brown eyes.
"Benjamin Ferris?"
"Here, Professor."
"Astoria Greengrass?"
"Here."
Hermione actually cringed from the sickly sweet voice and had to look at her. Even though Astoria was Daphne's sister and a Prefect, she had never paid attention to who she was. One glance around the room, though, and Hermione knew who Astoria had to be because she looked so much like her sister. Both had those high cheekbones, a pale complexion, and thin red lips. Astoria's dark, almost black hair matched Daphne's, though it was a little shorter but just as thick and wavy. Her eyes were bottle green, just like Harry's.
"Daphne Greengrass?"
"Here," said Daphne, sounding annoyed.
"Hermione Granger?"
"Here, Professor," said Hermione.
"Cormac McLaggen?"
Hermione's eyes widened. Cormac? He was coming, too? Deep down, she still felt a tad bit guilty about what she had done. She had tried to avoid being near him since the Quidditch tryouts and couldn't even look at him without blushing.
"Present," said Cormac arrogantly, smirking with such perfection it could rival Malfoy.
The last eight people on the list announced their presence, and then McGonagall led them from the Great Hall to the carriages. Hermione shared one with Ginny and two other girls she did not know, and they lapsed into silence as they rode over the rocky cobblestones down to Hogsmeade.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I sort of imagine Astoria to look like Megan Fox and Daphne like Kim Kardashian, haha. I know a lot of people imagine Astoria as blonde but she's always been black haired to me for some reason. :P
Review Responses:
Giselita: "As i said before, i have memory problems...how could i have forget this chapter?" - I forgot it too, originally! haha So many chapters are re-written for this story that I'm afraid I'm going to post the wrong one. The next one was saved in a different location than all the others and took me ages to re-locate. I was afraid I hadn't saved it. But we're good now. :D
Hilary: "This is one of the best Draco/Hermione fanfics I've read in a looong time!" - Thank you so much! There are so many good Dramione's out there so I really appreciate yoru comment. :D
Chichi: " I am a little confused by Ron's behavior, does he have a crush on Hermione in your story?" - I would say so, yes. I wanted to keep Ron in canon from the real Half Blood Prince, and I think we'd all agree he was crushing on Hermione during it, even though he wouldn't admit it. ;)
Destiny Crusader: "I also get the idea that you like the kind of guys that find it hard to accept their feelings." - Only in fiction! lol But yes, in fiction and movies, I always enjoy the conflicted characters. Prince Zuko (ATLA), Will Herondale (Infernal Devices), Jace Wayland (Mortal Instruments), Prince Ash (Iron Fey), Dimitri Belikov (Vampire Academy). A few of my favorite boys. ;) I suggest you check those out if you like the conflicted characters. But in real life..not so much, haha. My boyfriend and I have been together since December of 2006 and I'm SO glad he was never like that. We clicked right from the start without the conflicted feelings or any of those head games.
We would be the most uninteresting couple if we were in fiction because we have no drama or angst or fighting, lol. But in a story, I really do like the drama and angst. It makes for a good story. :D