A.N last chapter I forgot to start out saying that Hermione and Draco's words are still switched. When he talks his words come out of her mouth and when she talks her words come out of his mouth. They speak in each other's voices and have no control really over what the other says short of shoving things in their mouths. I was rather proud of this idea and yes it is just another silly ploy to get them to be around each other more……giggles.

Now keep this in mind at all times! Yes confusing and slightly amusing…..

Now on with the show or whatever this thing is……..

OoOoOoOoO

With the morning came two bleary eyed and sluggish Heads ambling down the
corridors of Hogwarts.

The two walked quietly and tried not to draw any attention at all to their
persons. It was six in the morning and although the number of students and teachers stirring about the school was at a minimum, the thought of having to attempt conversation through the other's mouth was highly unappealing.

It was too darn confusing.

The exhausted teenagers gave a sigh of relief when they arrived without a hitch and they silently scurried to Dumbledore's office. On the way they met a very pristine looking Professor McGonagall, who regarded them shrewdly from beneath her petite spectacles.

"I am sorry, Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy, but if you are looking for the
Headmaster he is currently out of Hogwarts on personal business, and will not be returning until at least lunchtime today. Is there anything in particular that I could help you with?" She clasped her hands in front of her stomach and waited with pressed lips for
an answer.

"No!" Draco's mouth said quickly. "We will just wait till then. It was
really not that big of a deal, and thank you very much Professor!" The two of
them rushed away with frustrated thoughts.

"Can't he bloody well be at the school when he is needed? What idiotic type
of business would he have outside of the school anyway? I thought that this
was like his entire life." Draco snapped out bitterly through her lips.

Hermione knew that he was just frustrated but she could not restrain herself
from lecturing him about Dumbledore.

"He is a great man and I am sure that whatever he is doing is important for
everyone. Try to be a little more trusting, because I am sure that he is
helping people in far greater peril then us. I trust him, and so should you,
Malfoy."

Just then Harry walked by talking to Neville and he looked at Draco oddly.
He paused and then whispered to Hermione.

"Why is Ferret boy talking to himself? Has he finally lost it?" Draco began
to walk ahead a little and a giggle escaped his lips and Hermione clamped
her hand over her smiling mouth as Harry regarded Draco in confusion and
apprehension.

"Harry, I have to go eat some breakfast so I will see you in potions
alright?" Draco mouthed out for Hermione.

"Sure, and can you lend me your notes for Wednesday's class? I left mine on
the Quidditch pitch and they got rained on." His emerald eyes looked at her
pleadingly and she nodded profusely. She watched them go down the stairs to get to the class early. The two heads turned to look at each other as they walked down to the Great Hall amidst the half-asleep students milling about.

"Alright, we just grab something quickly and tell the people at the tables
that we are in a hurry for head business. You can go or I will and just get
some toast or something portable like that. The other will watch from the
doorway and if anyone talks to you just say you are in a hurry. If someone
tries to detain you, fake a stomach ache and try to get out of there as
quickly as possible, okay?" Hermione voiced out in his clipped tones.

"So do you want to go or shall I?" She asked as a small group of second
years parted in front of the two Heads.

"I will…" He said quietly.

Draco merely nodded and looked away with a blank face. They reached the
towering doors and he walked into the Hall amidst the sneers and whispers.
She watched from the corner of the large oak doors as he stepped over to the
centre of the table and reached over Goyle's massive shoulder and grabbed a
few slices of toast and a banana.

Blaise looked up from his cereal and raised a questioning eyebrow to Draco.

"Where were you all weekend, man? Pansy, Sarah and I waited for you for
hours. The girls really missed you…especially Pansy. I swear if she was any
more head of heels for you, she would be permanently walking on her hands."
Blaise began adjusting his school tie and watched as Draco merely shook his
head and said, "I am sorry, ahh…Blaise? But I am in a hurry, I will talk to you later….."
Blaise was stopped cold by the unsure and humble tone that Draco used. His
eyes narrowed as he watched Draco shuffle quickly away and huddle behind a
couple of Hufflepuffs as Pansy walked by oblivious to him.

Something odd was going on and Blaise wasn't sure that he really wanted to
find out as he saw Draco dump some toast and the banana into the Head girl's
hands while she looked at him in disdain and began brushing the crumbs off
of her robes before exiting behind his retreating form.

Blaise had known Draco a long time and they had truly been through
everything together. It was not until Hogwarts that Draco really started to
pull away from people and Blaise suspected that this was due to his father.
His father took most emotions as a sign of weakness and it seemed to him
that Draco had almost become brainwashed by all of his father's moronic
purity propaganda. Blaise could easily remember a time where both of them
were ignorant of the Death Eaters and they used to dream of winning the
Quidditch Championship and their greatest sorrow was a rainy day or a broken
broomstick.

Now Blaise knew what real sorrow was, as did many of the children of Death
Eaters. It was losing a mother, a father, a sister, a brother or even a best
friend. Those that are lost may still be alive but they were forever altered
through greed or mistakes that cost them more then they could have ever
dreamed possible. They all had been forced to grow up fast, in harsh and
terrible ways. These were not the lives of children, and now they were all
being forced to become like their parents: slaves to an unforgiving and
black master.

Blaise took another bite of his pastry and watched silently as the morning
owls arrived in a flurry of feathers and papers.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Hermione rushed back up to her dormitory to collect her bag and books for
the day, in the morning stupor she had forgotten to bring them with her when
they went to Dumbledore's office. She ate her toast in large bites as she
sped down the chilly corridors to reach Snape's classroom. Her breath came
out in almost fogging pants as she settled herself next to Lee. He smiled up
at her and then returned to doodling on his parchment. The little frog that
he had drawn was hopping away from his quill as he attempted to add spots to
its back with amusement.

Hermione opened her Potions volume seven text book and reread the
instructions for making a Willy Oker potion and waited for class to begin.

Snape billowed into the classroom in his usual overly dramatic fashion and stared down at the waiting students as if daring anyone to comment on his lateness. Silence ruled as the Professor began his tirade.

"Today we will be brewing a very un-concentrated version of the Dreamless
Sleep potion. I doubt that any of you dunderheads would know but why exactly
are we not creating a concentrated version?" His dark eyes flashed with malice as he took in the blank expression of the class assembled before him…he waited for an answer

Hermione's hand shot up in a flash and as usual he berated the entire class
before responding to her insisting hand.

"I have complete confidence that none of you should have made it to seventh
year Potions and the only reasons that you are here is that the Headmaster
wishes you all to graduate. However, I can safely say that I will not be capable of maintaining my hard-fought sanity if I have to spend one more year looking at your slack-jawed faces and miserable excuses for potions."

His head turned slowly as he glared down at every student and then sighed.

"Fine, Ms. Granger. If you would be so kind as to enlighten us?" He said
with a tone laced in sarcasm.

"We are not making the concentrated version because the fumes from it alone
would make the person unconscious for a long period of time. The way to get
an effective draught is to make it un-concentrated and then leave it open
and let the water evaporate and then….." Hermione faltered as she realized
that her answer was coming out of Draco's mouth. Snape looked at Draco with
an eyebrow raised and then said, "Very good Mr. Malfoy. Twenty points to Slytherin. It is nice to know that someone has done the reading." He looked pointedly at Hermione and the dumbfounded Gryffindors, "I expect an eighty three inch essay on the
Dreamless Sleep Potion and its creator by Wednesday from the rest of you."

Many students in the class visibly gulped but Snape turned his attention to
Hermione.

"Now, Ms. Granger please tell me why the bezoar needs to be added at a
certain time and what time that is?" He asked with an evil glint in his eye.

Hermione's mouth opened but no sound came out and she quickly flicked her
glance over to Draco who merely shrugged his shoulders and smirked.

"I am afraid that I do not know, Professor Snape." Draco words came out of her mouth in a very spacey rhythm.

She shook her head in the negative and Snape was almost glowing with
malicious glee.

"I see our resident Book Worm has worn out her conceited brain! Twenty
points from Gryffindor and I expect an extra essay from you on the bezoar, where it must be obtained, and its seventy uses for tomorrow. Now your instructions for the Potion are on the board, and if anyone tastes the potion before it is done you will be
left where you fall. That is all, now begin!"

He swooped over to his desk and with a flourish began marking essays in
crimson ink. A true Slytherin, Snape was partial to green and positively loathed the bold red of Gryffindor house; however nothing said 'failure' like the colour of blood.

Hermione glared at Draco while he merely whispered through her mouth, "Well
we should do that more often right, Hermione?" She punctuated her anger by
giving him silence and ignoring him for the rest of the period.

Lee gave up trying to get her to give him instructions and he just continued
to prepare the ingredients while she put them in at the right time. At the
end of class she gathered her books and rushed out of the classroom leaving
Lee behind to stopper up their sample.

She arrived early to Transfiguration and continued to ignore Draco whom treated her similarly. That class they turned rabbits into toasters and the only real problem was that Neville's was still brown, furry and continued to hop around after he had turned it. Neither Draco nor Hermione could do the spells in their present states so he asked through her voice if they could be given some extra time to work on other classes. Professor McGonagall looked at them strangely and bid them away to the library till
lunch.

All around them towers of musty books leered like wizened ancients as they
quietly sat down and began on their essays.

"As soon as lunch starts we will go down to his office again alright?"
Hermione asked timidly, as if almost afraid to break the meditative silence
that the library loyally offered her time and again.

Draco looked up at her from Hogwarts: A History, and his eyes were listless
as he nodded consent and returned to the battered book. She allowed her mind
to wander and her eyes quickly followed as she watched his finger absently
trace over grooves in the old wooden table. Hermione let her mind focus only
on the rhythm of that pale digit and sat in silence as it did figure eights,
circles and swirls over the weathered and lacquered grain.

Draco peered from his dog eared book too find Hermione staring intently at
his moving hand. He frowned and studied her face. She looked like a nymph
from one of those silly muggle stories that by some strange act had ended up
in a musty library when she really should be out in a Forrest somewhere. Her
dark velvet eyes were soft and her lashes framed them in feathery strokes.
Lips that were pale had curved into an absent minded smile, giving her one
dimple on the left side of her face. She was too entirely pale, He thought
as she finally noticed that he was watching her and began to blush. He shook
these imbecilic thoughts from his mind.

"What?" He asked blandly, and she avoided his eyes.

"Oh come on! You have to tell me what's bothering you, so just end this and tell me why you are acting strangely before you drive me insane!"

"Oh fine!" She huffed and began to fiddle with the elastic around her wrist.

"I think you have nice hands…" It seemed impossible but her blush grew
deeper.

"Yes, I have nice everything." He said without the barest smidgeon of
sarcasm.

"Well fine Mr. Inbred! If you can't take a decent compliment then I am sorry
that I even said anything, you conceited, egotistical pig headed prat!" She
crossed her arms over her chest and he just shook his head.

"I have confidence! What is so wrong with that? I know what I am, and I am
happy with it! And thank you for the compliment Ms.
I-Have-A-Broom-Shoved-Firmly-Up-My-Ass…"

They shot fiery sparks at each other through their stare and then Hermione
began to laugh. This was no simpering little girly giggle but a full
throated belly clenching, I am going to fall off my chair type of laugh.
While Hermione sat with her eyes screwed firmly shut Draco was vibrating
with the force of her laughter as is resounded in his throat. The sensation
was so peculiar that he too began to laugh, but fell off his chair and this
caused them to laugh even harder. After Hermione had also fallen over with a
small thud and the peals of laughed died down, she realized that it felt as
if a great weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. All the anxiety over
the backfired spell was lifted off and she looked at Draco with a goofy
smile that he returned in a much smaller sense.

Her moments of silly blissful peace were shattered when she heard a prim
voice clear its throat crisply from above.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"I cannot believe that I am banned from the library for a week! Its one
thing to act crazy but it's another to get kicked out of there for it. I mean
what am I going to do? What if I need a book and I can't get it? I am only
on letter Q for authors and I need to start on Don-Lee Quitin books."

Hermione was dangerously close to a panic attack because Draco could sense
first hand as her tone shrilled out through his voice box.

"Don't worry! You will be back before you know I….what do you mean Q for
authors? Are you saying that you have read all the books in the library up
to the letter Q? Are you insane?" Draco almost goggled at her before he
regained his mask of indifference.

"Never mind. Just try to focus! We are going right now to Dumbledore's
office and I would like to keep this entire incident quiet so can you please
try to not freak out and make everyone worry and think that something truly
horrible happened? It's not the end of the world you know."

"Nothing truly horrible happened eh? It's not the end of the world, right?"
She shrieked through his throat, "I just can't think….I…I….I…." She breathed
deep. "You are right we need to be calm so we can get this thing reversed.
Sorry, I just don't know what came over me then."

He shrugged his shoulders and picked up his pace on the way to the Headmaster's office.

They entered side by side and it was almost as if he was expecting them.

Behind his desk Dumbledore sat with a thoughtful look on his face as they
took seats in front of him.

"I was wondering when I would see you too again!"

They both looked at each other, her with surprise on her face and him with a
questioning look.

"So what have you decided for the Ball? I hope it's something good, because
although I do like Percy Weasley very much he lacks the creative skills to
truly plan a delightful evening. Our theme that year was traditional magic
and it was the most boring evening of my life. The most interesting thing
that happened was when someone put fire whiskey into the punch bowl. They
never found out who did that though…" His eyes twinkled as he looked at the
two apprehensive heads.

"They, sir?" Hermione had to refrain from laughing again as Draco snorted.

"We never found I mean…" he trailed off, lost in thought and then snapped
back to reality, "So what is your theme?"

"A Masquerade Ball but that is not why we are here sir." Hermione said
again.

"Oh no? Well a masquerade does sound wonderful!" His eyes positively danced with
merriment and he waited for them to continue.

"You see, Professor, we ahh well we sort of had an accident."

"Really? Why that is positively delightful, Hermione!" he began writing in a
note book with a bright green feathered quill. "Please continue…"

"Well," Hermione began, "We cast a spell and it went wrong and we need it
fixed very badly. You know of my tutoring Draco?"

Dumbledore looked at Draco in confusion. "Draco you are tutoring yourself? That is rather a novel idea, now isn't it?"

Hermione inwardly groaned as she realized that he did not know what was
going on. He still did not know that their words were switched.

"No," she said quickly, "Me--Hermione" she pointed to herself, "am still
tutoring Draco" she gestured to him, "and during a session this weekend we
both cast the Vox Vocis Commuto spell and we were standing beside each other
and it well…sort of swapped our words." Draco's tone faltered as Hermione
felt more awkward.

Dumbledore regarded the two of them blankly and Hermione gave a grunt of
frustration.

Draco chose this moment to speak up, "My name is Draco Aidan Malfoy, My
father is Lucius Aidan Malfoy and my mother is Narcissa Ulva Malfoy. I am
failing Charms and I am Head Boy, Captain of the bloody Slytherin Quidditch
team, and I have an allergy to mushrooms." Hermione looked at him in
surprise and he merely shrugged his shoulders as returned his fierce glare
to Dumbledore.

Smiling he said in a mockingly grave voice, "This is very serious you two! I
would suggest next time a spell goes awry that you got straight to Madame
Pomfrey or one of the other teachers here. Now if I remember correctly the
counter charm it is Voc Commu Vocisnia. You two did not by any chance look
in Harold's Book of Switching and Swatches? No well, it's not really well known
and I think that a Mr. Zabini currently has it in his possession."

He looked at them as if waiting for something and they fumbled for their
wands.

Hermione opened her jaw wide as she felt the icy tingles of magic that
flowed into the back of her throat as the spell worked.

"Splendid! Ten points to each house for your success. I would normally take
points but I assume the two of you have gone through enough from having to
speak for each other….literally….so I will let the two of you off with a
warning."

Draco began to mumble out, "In what distant deeps or skies, Burnt the fire
of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare seize the
fire?" and Hermione could barely hear him as she tried to listen to
Dumbledore requests for an outline of various dance preparations.

He lead them out after the two had avidly refused any offers of candy to
wave them good bye as the stone gargoyle danced back into place in front of
his door. The next two days passed wordlessly for Draco and Hermione.
Neither really avoided the other but there was a silent acknowledgment of
separation. Draco had become really removed and more moody then usual with
bouts of anger and pacing and Hermione definitely did not feel the need to
fight any more with him and she let herself become re-immersed in school
work.

Days passed into weeks and with the Graduation Ball approaching and the
dreaded NEWTS, Hermione found herself more and more in his wordless company.

Volunteer charts were passed around to put up decorations, make posters and
Hermione decided that it would be interesting to have a costume contest.
This was one way that insured that the students would actually dress up,
even though the seventh years spoke of little else besides it and worry over
their inevitable futures. It was also harder on Draco and Hermione because
now the seventh years were up to their normal pranks and late night snogs
because of the end of school.

Both felt the tension but dealt with it with surprising grace. Hermione
started taking flying lessons from Ron and Harry much to their abundant joy
to take her mind off of things and Draco spent long periods of time
privately practicing his forgotten charms and doing extra credit potions
projects.

Snape, who was never Draco's favourite person, but whom he had always had respected and looked up to had offered to hire him over the summer to become his potions
assistant, and Draco knew that his father was pleased with this, and to his own
confusion, he was also. Not only did it mean that he could do something that
he truly enjoyed with a world renowned teacher who had a great deal of faith
in him but he could also spend that time at the school away from his father.

Two weeks after being banned from the library Draco stayed up very late
studying his Transfiguration notes on how to turn a desk into a deer when he
heard an insistent clicking noise on his window pane. His father's large and
bullying owl was flapping there looking very much agitated. They say owners
resembled their pets, and even though Grim the owl was hardly a pet,
Lucius's demeanour seemed to have rubbed off on the animal as it glared
disgustedly at Draco when he let him in. Landing on the back of his desk
chair he delicately held out his leg with the scroll tied neatly too it and
shiftily glanced around the almost immaculate room.

Draco heaved a great sigh, walked over and untied the owl's letter from its
place. Sitting down with a crunch on his notes that were splashed across his
bed spread he moved up again and cleared a place for himself amongst the
clutter. His hands began to quiver when his noticed the red wax sealing the
letter. This was a very bad sign because he only ever used this for fellow
death eaters and the dark lord himself.

Draco felt a writhing mass of dread breed disgustingly in his stomach. Calm
on the outside but terrified within he quickly opened the letter to read
what it said. His mind went numb and he dropped the letter.

(-----------

Hermione had just finished writing up the menu for the entire ball. It had
taken her an entire week to convince the house elves that they needed to
settle on whether they were making roast beef or chicken as the main course
and that wine should be available in small quantities for the legal
students. She stood and walked over to her window and smiled as the stars
winked cheekily down at her from the dark misty sky.

The wind played at her hair and her grin became toothy as she decided then
and there to go out on Harry's broom alone for the first time. Her
confidence over flying had grown in leaps and bounds. Harry knew that it was
something that she needed to do. To prove to herself that she could do it
and to also get some of her frustration worked off in ways that did not
involve hexing Malfoy. He had gladly lent her his broom with a very detailed
list of how to take care of it. Hermione had laughed at him and said that if
he prepared for Potions like he did his broom he would have tops marks and
not the mediocre ones that he had retained all through school.

He shrugged and told her to bugger off while smiling as she left with his
broom. He watched her leave with a grin. He had watched her grow up from the
bossy and dictating young girl that she was into the generous and fiercely
loyal woman that she was now. Hermione would always be his friend and Harry
prayed and worked and bled for the day when he could insure that her and
everyone he loved, his true family were safe from the wrenching evil and
blackness that was Lord Voldemort.

Hermione left the pitch at a very late hour and proceeded to walk her room
to collect her robe and pyjamas and then to the bath room in their common
room that they regrettably had to share. She smelled like outdoors and fresh
sweat from her exertion and Hermione thought that a nice quick hot shower
was exactly the thing she needed before she went to sleep. Her room was dark
and she softly collected her things before going to the bathroom. Hermione
did not think that even Draco would be awake at this hour and she pleasantly
pushed open the white bathroom door and was shocked motionless.

A horrid site met her eyes and she unconsciously dropped her fuzzy clothes
and stood with her mouth open wide.

Stuttering with numbness she asked, "Draco?" In a voice akin to a whisper as
if it were a prayer.