A/N: No chat. Just read on!
After so many years of gaining strange, and sometimes unexplainable, injuries and illnesses, it was quite easy for Harry to once again fake being sick. After all, even if DADA was his favorite class, it still only paled in comparison to his friendship with Ron and Hermione. So, once excused, Harry headed immediately for his dorm, and the Marauder's map that was hidden under his mattress.
Scanning his eyes quickly over the map, Harry frowned when he finally located his friends' names. They were both moving quickly, running back and forth and in circles in the same room, the empty classroom Hermione had chosen for her props-making room. Harry folded the map and carefully slid it back into its hiding place, then charged out Gryffindor tower. It only took a few minutes to get to the room, where he could hear Hermione's shrieks and Ron's yelling through the heavy wooden door.
Their wands were just outside, as if carelessly dropped, and Harry bent to pick them up as he tested the handle of the door, frowning and muttering "Alohamora" when he realized it was locked. Though he should have taken the shouts as a warning, Harry just wasn't prepared to see why his friends were so obviously panicked and stared slack jawed even as Hermione ran past, the whizzing of the sword flying through the air after her coming close enough for Harry to feel the small breeze the move created.
"Oh, Harry!" she cried with relief, but didn't slow a bit as she ducked, letting the sword fly over her head only to be replaced by three others. "Help us please!"
"And make it quick like!" Ron demanded, nearly running into Hermione as he tried to escape his own batch of attacking rapiers.
Harry shook off his shock and, silently thanking Hermione for making him learn them after the whole flying keys debacle first year, cast several quick spells that made the swords clatter to the floor. Hermione and Ron both instantly slouched over, breathing heavily. "What happened?" Harry asked, pocketing his wand and cautiously picking up one of the rapiers to give it a test swing. It didn't feel cursed.
"It....it was those... those ruddy Slytherins!" Ron growled, still trying to catch his breath. "They got us again!"
Hermione nodded then, obviously giving up to battle with her trembling knees, fell to sit on the floor, cold stone or not. "They couldn't do anything else," she explained, pulling her hair back from her face and waving her free hand like a fan. "So I told them to make the swords for us."
Harry looked down at the sword in his hand with faint surprise. It was Slytherin-made?
"But they found out we've been working without them, and decided they wanted revenge, I suppose." Hermione shrugged and scooted back to lean against the wall, not caring that her clothes were starting to get dirty. It was a sign of how tired she was, Harry was sure.
Ron moved to sit next her, his breath finally evening out. "They told us they finished and insisted we come check them out before class. Hermione," he sent the girl a glare that she ignored, "reckoned we had enough time and agreed. They set us up!"
She nodded, letting her hair fall and swiping her hand over her brow, trying to wipe away the sheen of sweat but succeeding only in smudging dirt across her brow. "They stole our wands then charmed the swords to attack us. We would have just left the room, but..." She waved a hand in the general direction of the door.
"They locked the door," Harry finished and Hermione nodded. He shook his head and passed the two their wands. "How long have you been here?"
Ron shrugged, but Hermione, grateful to once more be in possession of her wand, cast a tempus and groaned. "Nearly forty minutes!" she sighed, letting her head fall back against the wall and surveying the room. Then she groaned again and closed her eyes. "They've ruined it all again!"
And they had. Rapiers were sticking straight out, some embedded nearly to the hilt in the balcony, evidence that fire proofing did nothing to stop high speed flying metal objects. "Look on the bright side," Harry suggested and flinched under the double glare his friends shot him, "at least we have the swords ready."
Hermione let her head fall into her hands, shaking it softly. Ron was more enthusiastic with his opinion. It may have lacked words, but the constant banging of his head on the wall behind him was sign enough that he disagreed with Harry's "bright side".
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Lunch was a quiet affair. At least, it was at the Gryffindor table, where Ron and Hermione's gloom seemed contagious. The Slytherin table, by contrast, was more loud and boisterous than ever, some members of that dark house congratulating one another on yet again pulling one over on the lions.
"I don't understand," Ginny pouted, chin in hand as she glared down at her sandwich. "We've hit them with dungbombs, booby-trapped their entrance portrait, and slipped some of Fred and George's candies into their food. How are they still getting the better of us?"
Even the twins, seated on either side of their sister, had no answer, but they were impervious to the general air of despair that floated over the long table. "Cheer up, Gin," Fred grinned, throwing and arm over the girl's shoulder. "For as long as they keep going, so do we!"
George nodded his agreement, lifting his cup in a toast before taking a sip. "No one has outlasted the Weasley twins at their own game, little sis. We're not about to let our record go to waste now. It's all we'll have to leave this school with when we graduate!"
Hermione gave the boys a sad smile and stood from the table. "Come on, Ron," she said mournfully. "We've got a balcony to repair. Again." Ron groaned but stood from the bench, casting a glare at the Slytherin table that went unnoticed as he pulled Dean along with him.
Harry waited a few more minutes, pretending to listen to the twins chatter while keeping an eye on the Slytherin table. When Malfoy stood, pausing as expected to straighten his robes, Harry excused himself and hurried to the door. Not that anyone was paying him any mind. Fred and George had claimed the attention of most of the table as they quietly outlined a new plan of attack for what was fast becoming a war of the houses.
He managed to make it out of the Great Hall before Malfoy, but the blond didn't appear the slightest surprised that Harry was waiting for him on the other side of the door. He simply lifted a brow and tilted his head just so to the left. Harry nodded and followed the other boy to down the corridor and around the corner. "What is it now, Potter?" Malfoy finally asked, examining his nails with an air of carelessness. "And make this fast. I'd rather not be late for class."
"I'm not stupid, Malfoy," Harry started.
Malfoy interrupted with a snort. "That's debatable, but continue, please," he waved a hand at Harry imperiously.
Harry fought to hold in his anger. Swear to Merlin, he was learning more self-control from Malfoy than he'd managed to learn in the years since he'd first come to Hogwarts. "I know what you're doing," Harry continued after several calming breaths. The look on Malfoy's face said he didn't, but Harry pressed on. "You're sending your Slytherins after my friends on purpose, aren't you?"
Malfoy's face remained impassive, giving Harry no sign that he was right, or wrong. He shook his head, shoving a frustrated hand through his hair. He knew it turned that sorry case into a nightmare, but at the moment, hair control couldn't be further from his mind. "Malfoy, you're jealous."
The taller boy's eyes narrowed dangerously and he crossed his arms over his chest, assuming a casual position leaning against the wall. Harry wasn't fooled. It was thin ice he was treading on, but he steeled his resolve. This was for Hermione and Ron, after all. And that blasted balcony! "Jealous?" Malfoy hissed the word, and Harry almost shivered at the frosty tone.
Harry nodded slowly. "But you don't need to be," he insisted, taking off his glasses and cleaning them on his robe. They weren't really dirty, but at least this way, he wouldn't have to see Malfoy's face as he spoke. "Well, not of me, anyway. She's going out with someone else. Not me, b-but some wizard that graduated already." He slipped his glasses back on, and looked up, expecting to regret the move.
Far from angry, Malfoy seemed amused. There was even the faintest hint of laughter in his voice when he asked, "Lisa? You think I'm jealous of you and Lisa?" Then, apparently unable to subdue his humor any longer, Malfoy spun on his heel and strolled away, shoulders shaking from the soft laughter that floated back towards Harry.
"So, are you going to call them off?" he asked, less and less sure of his conclusion with every step further away Malfoy took. Harry wasn't surprised that he didn't received an answer. He was too busy being confused.
Students were coming down the hall now, chattering to one another and generally ignoring Harry as he made his way through the crowd and up the stairs, heading absently toward his next class. Waiting for the room to fill up after he'd taken his seat gave Harry time to sort his thoughts a bit.
He'd been wrong? Not that it hadn't been known to happen, but about what he'd seen? He'd been so sure that Malfoy was jealous, so sure that it was the root of all of Hermione's problems. Instead of answering his questions, Harry had more than ever. If Malfoy hadn't ordered it, what were the Slytherins up to? And why did that husky chuckle send shivers tingling down his spine?
A/N: Alright, I really wanted to post tonight so I finished this chapter up even though I really wanted to make it a bit longer. Oh, well. At least there's a new chapter now, right? .... Yeah... Anyways~ Thanks to Draco and Hermione is like PBJ, DarkWiccanPrincess, LyricallyInspired, Sophia Anna-Mae, boredom is a crime (sorry! set up chaps are necessary too though!), Rikuri, SexySpeedDemon, brionyjae, purplerawr, HiM'e'TSu, Lady-Umbreon, and paintupurple for the reviews! You all are awesome! I'd blow you kisses, but...it's online, you know. How would you get them?