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------------------------------------------------------------Ammunition-----------------------------------------------------------
Hiding, when it wasn't a game, can never be read as a sign of courage.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I'm in Slytherin, Draco thought bitterly to himself.
Malfoy was hiding in the Heads' Common Room. Not the kind of hiding where the person hides behind a couch and the seeker tries to find him. No, the kind of hiding where the person is hiding from undesirable circumstances. Undesirable circumstances that included a certain Hermione Granger.
He glanced at the clock above her door for the second time in one minute. Nope, it still hadn't changed. It still read six o' clock, which gave him exactly fifteen minutes until she was back.
He wondered over to the big window, and leaned his forehead against the cool glass. The setting sun cast beautiful shades of pink, orange and yellow across the clear sky.
Beautiful, he thought.
The thought made him think of her and he definitely wasn't too keen on taking yet another trip down Regret Avenue.
He lightly banged his head on the window repeatedly, causing it to vibrate uncomfortably from the unexpected force. He was trying to clear his mind, his attempts, futile.
His eyes swept across the Black Lake and caught the movement of one of the Giant Squid's naked tentacles waving in the air. This elicited many amused laughs from the couple of sixth years scattered across the grass. Several of them - girls mainly - were enjoying the sunset, basking in its beauty.
And then came into view a sight that tickled both his delight and disappointment. Hermione, her lovely chocolate brown locks dancing around her face, was making her way up to the castle's big doors, and on either side of her, Potter and Weasel.
Jealousy dripped like acid through his body, and his hands clenched of their own accord as he watched her link arms with her best friends, laughing at some joke that Weasel had cracked.
He wanted that. He wanted to be the reason for the laugh that bounced on her lips. He wanted to be the reason for a smile to light up her angelic features. He wanted to be the one that could go on bold adventures with her, battling whatever demon they faced. He wanted to be the one that she could talk to 'til the wee hours of the morning without getting bored.
He wanted to be the one.
His gaze snapped into focus, and realized too late that the trio had already disappeared into the castle. Five minutes left.
He sighed heavily, his warm breath misting the window so that his perfect view of the sky was now obscured.
He hurried to his room, and shut the door behind him, just in time to hear her clock growl like a lion.
She was here.
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Hermione climbed through the portrait hole, her eyes darting immediately to Malfoy's door.
Closed.
Of course. He was still ignoring her. But she thought that he would have gotten over it by now. It had been, what - three days? - since the episode had occurred.
Frustration hooked her nerves in a tight noose. It was one thing to ignore her, but another to completely avoid her. What was he getting at? Did he think that if he had to look at her, his mind would become corrupted?
But no matter what he thought of her, no matter how much she repelled him, she couldn't stay away from him. Not anymore ... Just goes to show what a small, mind-blowing kiss could do to you.
Even though there was a solid door that separated them, the tension in the air was almost palpable. She dropped her bag on the couch, and decided to head out to the place where she was most happy. Well, second most happy. Now that she knew what being with Malfoy was like - in the complete, non-platonic way... She stopped herself short.
That's not going to be happening again, Hermione. Say hello to reality.
She went to the library.
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Ron was glad his voice had gone back to its normal volume, and that his partial deafness phase was over. Thank Merlin for that. It had been a really embarrassing couple of days.
Ron figured that the Restricted Section in the library was designed specifically for people like him. People who end up taking books out of there, unbeknownst to anybody, and who end up messing up the instructions, meeting near-fatal consequences, and then vowing never to return to the Restricted Section in the library again.
But then again, people like him almost always had a backup plan; a Plan B.
Ron wandered over to the Charms Section in the library, trying to make it look natural. Walking around a room which was so quiet you could practically hear the silence disturbed him. He was used to ... well, quite the opposite. With a big family like his, what else was to be expected?
He whistled a soft tune, but stopped when he caught the glowering look of a fifth year sitting at a table a couple good feet away.
Entering the Charms Section, he was met by a staggering number of shelves that were stacked with books right to the very top. Well, he most definitely had a long evening ahead of him. He fingered the spines of the books closest to him, checking to see if any of them felt right. Some people go on and on about a certain sense of just knowing.
A title, Spells for the Mentally Retarded, caught his attention, and he extracted it from its place effortlessly. The age-old dust floated up and wedged itself in his nose. He let out a loud sneeze that startled many, causing a lot of them to spill their ink bottles. The library felt as though it would catch alight from all the heated glares that were sent his way.
He sheepishly turned back to his book, and opened up to the first page. He laughed at the hilarious picture there, and soon got himself absorbed in the book.
"Ron?" an uncertain voice said.
Ron whirled around, shocked at the sudden voice. So shocked, in fact, that he dropped his book. He quickly reached to pick it up before Hermione could see it. He stuffed it in the shelf behind him, and casually leaned against that shelf (effectively hiding the book), acting as if it were his favourite pastime in the entire world.
"Hermione! What can I do for you?" he asked, faking pleasant surprise. Hermione, of all people, was not supposed to be there.
Hermione blinked away a look of uncertainty, which was soon replaced by surprise. "I thought it was you! You had your back turned, and there are a lot of people who have red hair just like yours, and a lot who have the same height, and a lot -"
"Plan on getting to the point soon?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, and then said, doubt filling her tone, "A library, Ronald?"
Ron shifted his weight, looking really awkward, and said, "Yeah, I, uh, sometimes, come to the library to do, uh -" he spotted a girl writing, "-writing! Yes, writing, that's it." Ron wanted to congratulate himself on his close save, when he instantly regretted saying it.
Hermione looked suspicious. "Writing? What writing?"
"Er, I write the odd poem or two."
"Then what are you doing in the Charms Section?"
Trying to find something. "On a break." He made his sentences sound abrupt, so that she got the message.
"Oh, okay then. Well, I'll be off. Need to do some work for McGonagall." And she walked away. Smart girl, that Hermione. Ron smiled.
He located his book, and flipped through it, in search of ammunition. Harry loved using that word. Ron had no idea what it meant, but he felt it was right to use it now.
Tossing the book aside, he focused his attention on another one, Wizard Tricks. He flipped through this one as well, but still reaped no results.
An hour passed, and the library was about to close. His eyes fell on a book that was bright pink and stood out amongst all the others, for obvious reasons. He brought it down and discovered that it was untitled. Once in his hands, the book flipped by itself to a page that was entitled Soapy Mouth. When he found he wasn't interested in that one, the pages flipped to another, Unstoppable Handstands. Ron imagined Malfoy doing handstands, but the idea didn't really appeal to him. The pages flipped yet again to another page, Insultus Momentus.
Hmm, not bad, Ron thought as he read through the short description of what the spell did. Not bad at all.
He had what he wanted. His ammunition.
------------------------------------------------------------to be continued---------------------------------------------------------
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