Author's Notes: I'd like to apologize again for the excruciatingly long time between updates. I'd also like to remind everyone that NOTHING that happened in Half-Blood Prince is being used in this story. No revelations about Snape being an evil half-blood. No mention of what happened during the summer after fifth year. And Sirius is still alive; for the purposes of this fic, he did not die in Order of the Phoenix. I would, however, like to point out that Half-Blood Prince's characterization of Hermione is more in tune with how I've always seen Hermione. Hermione didn't change in HBP; it's just that the darker, less moral sides of her character weren't as subtly written. I've written a huge rant about that on my livejournal, the link to which is in my bio. Once again, sorry for the wait, and thanks to those of you who reviewed!
Side Note: This story had been nominated for a Reader's Choice Award in the romance category on Hogwarts: The Forum, the link to which can be found through the profile of FaTcAtInAhAt. It's a wonderful site, too, by the way; I recommend it. Anyway, huge thanks to her!
Chapter Ten
Dumbledore's Assistance
The smirk faded from Malfoy's face as Hermione came flying at him, hitting him hard in the stomach and knocking him down. People scrambled over to them to check on either Malfoy or Hermione, including Harry, Ron, and Ginny.
"Mione! Are you okay?" Ginny exclaimed as she rushed over, Harry and Ron on her heels, Dean completely forgotten.
"What is the meaning of this!" a cold voice shouted from the direction of the dungeon entrance.
"It's Snape!" someone yelled.
"RUN!" another person screamed.
The spectators scattered like pigeons avoiding a speeding car; even the Slytherins were quick to exit, knowing that Snape's vendetta against Malfoy had recently put Slytherins in a less than favorable light in his eyes. Within seconds, the only people left in the entrance hall were Snape, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Malfoy.
Hermione sat up (on Malfoy's legs, not that she cared) and looked around, rather dazed. "Ouch," she murmured. Her eyes narrowed and she looked around for Dean, but he had already fled the scene.
She struggled to her feet—and was pulled back down again by a thin gold chain, which was attached to her left wrist by a cuff like a slender manacle. It was tight and less than half an inch thick, and a similar cuff was fastened to Malfoy's right wrist.
"Oh, no," she breathed, alarmed. She pointed her wand at the chain. "Finite! Reducto! Diffindo!" she yelled. She, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Draco all began shouting spells at the chain, attempting to break it, but to no avail.
"Step aside," Snape barked at Harry, Ron and Ginny. "Let me see."
Snape crouched down next to Hermione, who was kneeling on the floor next to a terrified Malfoy. Snape picked up the chain and examined it closely, then tapped it with his wand, saying an incantation for a spell that would command it to reveal its secrets.
Nothing happened.
"This can't be good," Ron said slowly.
"Gee, Weasel, do you think?" Malfoy snapped. "Professor…" He stopped, uncertain if Snape would help him or not.
"What do we do?" Hermione asked Snape fearfully.
"Don't worry, Miss Granger," Snape said, fighting the urge to laugh at the disgusted look that appeared on Malfoy's face. "We'll go see the headmaster."
"Dumbledore can fix this. Dumbledore can fix this," Hermione kept repeating as she followed her professor and her friends to Dumbledore's office. Hermione and Malfoy were walking as far apart as possible—roughly nine feet, five for the chain, two for her arm and two for his.
"If I want to hear you repeat something, I'll use a spell, Mudblood," Draco hissed. No one else heard him—including Hermione, who continued to chant the same line.
"Hermione, it'll be okay," Ron said as they approached the gargoyle guarding the office entrance.
Hermione seemed to snap out of a trance. She lunged forward and grabbed the front of Ron's robes, staring up at him with a wild look on her face. Draco stumbled from being jerked towards Ron and had to take a second to steady himself.
"What if Dumbledore can't fix it?" Hermione demanded breathlessly, panicked. "What if he can't get it off? What if I have to stay like this forever? There's no key, Ron! There's not even a keyhole! What'll I do? What'll I do? I'll have to stay chained to Draco forever! How will I bathe? How will I study? How will I date or get married or apply for jobs or do the normal life things? How will I help you save the world? Oh, god, what will I do!"
Ron, who wasn't very good with emotion (or with strange outbursts from the sanest of them all), looked at Harry for help. Harry, however, knew all too well that, contrary to popular opinion, Dumbledore was human, and there were some things even Dumbledore couldn't do; he was just as worried as Hermione (even if he hadn't thought so far ahead about the horrible possibilities). As Harry wracked his brains for something comforting to say, Ginny stepped forward.
"Hermione," she said seriously, her face perfectly straight, "if we can't figure out how to get the chain off, then we'll just cut off Malfoy's arm, okay?"
Hermione was so far beyond rational thinking by this point that Ginny's statement cheered her greatly, instead of making her laugh. Of course, we'll just cut off his arm, and then I'll be free, she thought in relief. She smiled weakly, released Ron, and stepped onto the spiral staircase, only slightly less worried but definitely more hopeful.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Draco, and Snape filed into the headmaster's office, sitting down in front of his desk in conjured armchairs. Dumbledore was seated behind his desk with a calm, composed nature, as if he didn't notice how unusual it was to see the six people together or he didn't see the chain dangling between Hermione and Draco.
"Might I ask what happened?" Dumbledore said to Snape calmly.
"There was a duel, from what I can tell," Snape said, "and Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy were hit by a combined curse."
"Did you happen to get a good look at the duelers?" Dumbledore asked with a small smile.
"No, headmaster," Snape said, trying not to smirk at Draco's furious expression, which was worth letting Dean Thomas off the hook.
"Can you fix it, Professor?" Draco asked impatiently, knowing it would be fruitless to contradict Snape.
"No," Dumbledore said in an infuriatingly calm tone. "I'm afraid not."
"Albus!" Snape growled in an angry, exasperated tone. The Gryffindors all turned to look at him curiously, but before anyone could ask what Snape meant, Draco started yelling.
"What do you mean, 'you're afraid not'?" Draco burst out in a near-hysterical tone. "You have to get it off! You have to! What happened to all that 'greatest wizard in the world' crap! I'm chained to Granger here! FIX IT!"
"There has to be something we can do!" Hermione exclaimed, even more worked up and on the verge of tears.
"I will do what I can," Dumbledore assured her. "I will search for a solution; it will take a lot of hard work, but I'm sure we can eventually—"
"EVENTUALLY?" Ron exploded, jumping up. "How long is eventually? They can't stay like that! What, are they going to go to the bathroom together? Share a room? He could kill her in her sleep!"
"Shut up, Ron," Harry snarled.
Everyone turned to look at him, shocked. "Excuse me?" Ron growled. "How can you take Malfoy's side!"
Draco stared at Harry, wondering the same thing—and then he saw the furtive glance
Harry gave Hermione, who looked suddenly horrified and scared. Of course, Harry wasn't sticking up for Draco; he'd just been trying to sooth Hermione's nerves, which Ron's rant had expounded.
"I'm not taking anyone's side," Harry replied in exasperation. "I'm just trying to stay calm."
Ron would have none of it. "Calm? How can you be calm when Hermione's chained to a Death Eater?" Ron roared.
"SHUT UP!"
Draco was on his feet with his wand raised at Ron before he knew what he was doing. He was shaking, his eyes wide with rage, his face flushed. He longed to use the Cruciatus on Ron, to make him suffer. Blind fury was clouding his vision; he couldn't see anything but Weasley's startled face, couldn't hear, couldn't think…
He felt a hand on his shoulder, squeezing comfortingly. "Draco," Snape murmured. "Draco, it's okay…"
Draco felt himself cooling down, as though he was literally being submerged in ice water. Snape was standing beside him, giving him an understanding look. Snape was there for him, prank war or not. Snape understood. Snape knew what it was like, even more than Draco did…
"I knew it," Ron spat at Snape and Draco. "You're both murdering scum."
The incantation for a vile curse was half-formed on Draco's lips when Snape suddenly lunged forward, his arms outstretched to throttle Ron. Ron yelped and leaped back away from Snape, who ran right into the thin gold chain and got tangled in it. Draco and Hermione were yanked towards him; the two of them landed on top of Snape with a painful thud. Ron seized the opportunity to storm angrily from the office.
"Hermione! Are you okay?" Harry asked, dropping to his knees and helping her untangle herself.
"I'm fine," she groaned, rubbing her arm. "Professor?"
Snape pushed himself to his feet now that Hermione was clear. "That horrible little—" he began menacingly, starting for the door.
"Severus," Dumbledore said in a warning voice. "Please, sit down, you three—Miss Weasley, if you could…?"
Ginny was already on her way out the door. "I'll talk to him, Headmaster," she called over her shoulder.
Hermione sighed and watched her go as she, Harry, Draco and Snape sat back down. The last thing she needed right now was for Ron to get pissed off and stop talking to her and Harry, as he was undoubtedly going to do. He hadn't understood why Harry had told him to shut it, and now that Ron was angry it was going to be a long time before he listened to reason. Not that Ron would want to spend a lot of time with her while his least favorite classmate—if not least favorite person—was tied to her wrist…
"Ginny will know what to say," Harry told her, reaching over and taking her hand.
Hermione smiled at him gratefully as she laced her fingers with his. Thank the gods for Harry; he was always there for her, always trying to cheer her up.
"As I was saying," Dumbledore said quietly, "the solution will most assuredly be found, but it may take some time. Therefore, we shall have to make a few arrangements."
"Such as?" Draco said, considerably calmer now that Snape had tried to comfort him. Even if the professor was upset with him, they were still on the same side, and that had always meant a lot to Draco.
"Your classes, for one," Dumbledore said.
"How long do you expect this to last?" Hermione said in alarm. "I mean, can't we just… be excused for a few days or something?" The look on her face made it clear that she wanted no such thing; it was a mark of the seriousness of the situation that Hermione would request to be let out of classes.
"I do not know how long this predicament will endure," Dumbledore told her gently. "It is best to try to spend your time the way you would normally, or as close to it as possible. We shall rearrange your schedules to make certain you can make every class and allow you to still complete your respective prefect and Head Girl duties."
"Where will we sleep?" Draco demanded. "How will we use the bathroom? Where will we eat, for crying out loud?"
"I am afraid it would not be prudent to dine at the Slytherin table," Dumbledore said, "so you will have to take your meals with the Gryffindors."
"That's not fair!" Draco said sulkily, but he knew damned well that no Slytherin would take kindly to having Hermione in their midst. Hell, there were very few Slytherins who wouldn't hex her for approaching the table, especially now that the war had isolated Slytherin so severely.
"Fair or not, it is necessary," Dumbledore replied. "As for where you will sleep… I suppose we shall have to remodel a guest room."
"Hogwarts has guest rooms?" Harry repeated in surprise.
"Hogwarts has sixty-seven guest rooms," Hermione said automatically.
"Then why didn't Beauxbatons and Durmstrang stay in the castle?" Harry asked.
"They never have, traditionally," Hermione explained. "They were a tad too worried about sabotage and espionage regarding their champions for the tournament and as such remained out on the grounds. Hogwarts did the same at Durmstrang or Beauxbatons. That's part of why they don't just Floo or Apparate into Hogsmeade and just take a school carriage onto the grounds, and why they don't bother with Portkeys; their travel vehicles double as accommodations. When Hogwarts is a visiting school, we travel in—"
"You know, Granger, you don't have to show off about everything," Draco interrupted rudely.
"Shut up, Malfoy—"
"Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, please," Dumbledore interrupted. "There are guest rooms in Gryffindor tower—"
"Where?" Harry interrupted.
"Across from the fireplace, hidden behind that one tapestry of the Gryffindor lion," Hermione told him. "Every common room has them."
"You want me to stay in Gryffindor tower?" Draco demanded shrilly.
"You want him to stay in Gryffindor tower?" Harry repeated, looking just as stricken.
"You want him to stay in Gryffindor tower?" Hermione whined.
"You want him to stay in Gryffindor tower?" Snape added, trying to fight off a laugh.
"Indeed I do," Dumbledore said calmly. "There is no reason to put you in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, and Slytherin is out of the question, given current events. I do not think it wise to put you elsewhere in the castle, either, and most of those rooms do not have private baths, anyway. Now, has anyone seen the chain?"
"No, I don't think so," Harry said. "I couldn't see it until Hermione got up, and that was after everyone left."
"Then I think it best to keep it a secret. If asked, you shall tell everyone that you are being forced to spend time together as part of the punishment for… let's see, what would be a good excuse? Ah, I know—an elaborate, ongoing prank war." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as Hermione and Harry blushed and Draco rolled his eyes. Snape smirked. "An invisibility spell on the chain should keep anyone from finding out… Severus, would you do the honors?"
Scowling, Snape got up and tapped the chain with his wand. It appeared to vanish, but both Hermione and Draco could still feel the metal cuffs upon their wrists.
"Now then," Dumbledore said, "I'm afraid I have urgent business to attend to. I'd advise you both to walk and sit as close as you can, so that no one becomes entangled in the chain. Miss Granger, I believe you can show Mr. Malfoy your new room… I'll have Dobby redecorate it and move your things. The password for the wall is 'friendship.' Tell it to the portrait on your door also, and then change it to one of your choosing."
"'Friendship'? Can't we change it to 'love and bunnies'?" Draco muttered irritably.
"Why, that's an excellent idea, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said, smiling benignly. "I'll have it changed before you arrive." He paused. "One more thing—I do hope that you will use this opportunity to get past your… current feelings for each other. Do make an effort."
No one in the room took that seriously, probably not even Dumbledore.
"'Love and bunnies?' Good one, Malfoy," Hermione said rudely as she and Harry followed Snape from the room, Draco a bit more reluctantly.
"Oh, shut up, Granger," Draco snapped as they rode the spiral stairs downwards.
"Make me, Malfoy," Hermione retorted.
"If you insist—" Draco reached for his wand, only to look up and find Harry's wand two inches away from the spot right between his eyes. Snape conveniently hadn't noticed, and was now walking ahead down the hall, not looking back. Glowering, Draco took his hand from his wand.
Harry, Hermione, Draco and Snape approached Gryffindor tower and stopped outside the Fat Lady's portrait. "You will be all right from here, won't you?" Snape asked Hermione. "I don't think I could stand being around so many Gryffindors at once."
"Yes… I suppose we'll have to… ah… stop… you know…" Hermione said, trying to find the right words to convey her message without coming right out and saying it.
"Yes, of course… temporarily," Snape said quickly. "Good-bye, Miss Granger—and I'm warning you, Draco, you had better behave yourself."
Snape swept off down the hall. Harry, Hermione and Draco watched him go, none of them very eager to enter the common room.
"This won't look too weird," Hermione muttered sarcastically to Harry, glancing at Draco.
"You two go straight to the room, I'll tell everyone what happened—or most of it, anyway," Harry told her, putting his arm around her and giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze.
"Don't order me around, Potter," Draco snapped.
"Fine, Malfoy," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "You stay in the common room and have a nice long conversation with all your favorite Gryffindors, how's that?"
Draco glared at him but didn't argue. The three of them turned to the Fat Lady.
"Password?" she said, giving Draco a suspicious look.
"Odiamos serpientes," Hermione said.
"What the hell? What kind of password is that?" Draco demanded.
"One that a Slytherin wouldn't figure out," Harry said coolly as the Fat Lady swung forward.
Harry climbed through, then Hermione, and finally Draco. The silence was more complete than it had been in the Great Hall during the repeated phrase spell fiasco. No less than thirty people were sitting in the common room, and every last one stared in open-mouthed shock.
"What?" Draco said defiantly.
Hermione swallowed and turned to Harry. "Is it too late to just cut off his arm?" she whispered.
End Notes: I'm dedicating this chapter, and the whole story, to Freyja SilverWillow, who is not only one of my closest and coolest friends but also a damn good author. I suggest that EVERYONE go read her fics; even if you don't like the categories she writes in, I can guarantee that you'll love her stories. "The Prank War" probably would have died off completely long ago if it hadn't been for her—most of my ideas in later chapters come from Freyja, and they're some of the better parts.
Well, thanks for reading, y'all, hope you like this.
A note about relationships: Final reminder, this will be a HG/DM story, will NEVER be a HG/SS story, and will contain bits of HG/OW and possibly HG/HP.