Author's Note: I have lost my book that has a bunch of planned notes for this story in it. How annoying. I'm just going to have to go wild. –Grins evilly-
Thanks to my beta, Max Ride Fan 13! This is our first chapter together!
Disclaimer: I do not own it. And the animal thing is Vitalya Belle's idea. So technically, I don't really own anything. Except my dignity! puffs out chest
When Hermione awoke, she found Blaise swearing colorfully about tigers. She assumed she was dreaming and this was pretty much confirmed when she looked into the back and saw a white tiger spread regally out the seat.
She pinched herself. "Ouch."
Blaise looked at her. "Shit."
She looked back at him. "What?"
He looked at the tiger. "That's Draco."
She looked at the tiger. And laughed. When she was done she looked back at Blaise, who didn't show any signs of amusement. "Oh my god."
"There was a note on the steering wheel this morning. I woke up to find the tiger sitting on the front seat, so I had to get it to move."
To: Bloody Fuckers
Draco is now a tiger. Good luck dealing with him until tomorrow morning.
Oh, he might be hungry.
Sheila and James
"Oh Merlin." She sighed and looked over at Draco, who could not have been a full grown tiger but still covered the entire seat.
"What do tigers eat?" Blaise looked at her hopefully and Draco snarled, causing them both to cringe away.
"I don't know." She said honestly. "Meat? They're carnivores."
"A tiger! Of all things." Blaise groaned and turned the car on. "I wonder how the other group is doing."
-
-
Harry was woken by a high pitched shriek and jolted awake. In one swift moment he'd whipped out his wand in front of him, jumped to stand up, hit his head on the ceiling and crash down into the space between the two front seats.
"What the hell?" He exclaimed loudly, struggling to get his limbs under control so he could stand up.
"Potter," Pansy said, breathing heavily. "Ronald is a dog!"
"Is that the only thing you can come up with? It was pathetic." He said, rolling his eyes. "You do realize I was sleeping? And why is no one driving?"
"No, he's a dog." She gestured wildly as he stood up as best he could in the car, and saw a Golden Retriever puppy sitting on the back seat, waving its tail excitedly.
"Ron?" He said and the dog barked, jumped off the seat and growled at Pansy.
"Stupid animal." She looked down at him in disgust. "They left us a note."
To: The Pansy Pickers
It is with our utmost delight that we inform you that your friend Ronald is now a dog. Good luck!
Sheila and James
"This is unbelievable." Pansy said, annoyed. "They turned Weasley into a dog!"
"Ron," Harry began tentatively. "Can you understand me? Er, bark if yes."
Ron let out a loud bark.
"Do you want anything?"
Ron was silent.
"If you need something, bark."
Ron stared up at him with blue eyes, the only sign that this was, indeed, their friend.
Harry turned to Pansy, who was watching his sullenly. "Do you want to drive?"
"No," she said rudely.
"Fine." He moved up to the front and started up the engine, wondering how far behind they were.
"I'm going to go watch in the others, this dog is creeping me out." Pansy had brought her Wcube, she'd suspected it would be good to keep an eye on the others. Of course, she hadn't known who the others would be. The House of Hell had been given its own channel because of its massive success, so during the day they played episodes from earlier days.
"Why?"
"He's staring at me." She moved to their room, the one that held the confession box but had enough room for the projection to fit in easily.
Harry laughed and drove in silence, wondering how Hermione was doing. The only reason he knew she was even still alive was their Wcube, but he suspected that if they annoyed her enough she could probably do both of her companions in easily.
This wasn't how he'd imagined his summer. True, spending the time with the Dursleys would probably have been nearly as bad, but the fact that they were constantly on camera killed any opportunity this was to get away from them. He'd imagined that Ron would invite him to the Burrow, he would go there at the beginning of August, and the time there would make the first month and week a bit better. And he'd also get to see Ginny…
A shrill scream made him jump, followed by the sound of a dog barking and bounding up to the front and then a wail. "It drooled on me!"
Harry could have sworn that the dog-Ron was laughing.
-
-
"This is really not funny, Malfoy. Get the hell off me." Hermione said in an annoyed voice. For the third time in an hour Draco had decided to crawl onto her, it didn't matter where she sat he had somehow gotten there. There was much exposure of his claws and he opened his mouth quite a lot, showing her his teeth.
"Do you think he can hear us?" Blaise asked, sparing a glance at Draco. "You don't think they just replaced him with a tiger, do you?"
"I don't know. I don't see how they managed this without us noticing." She frowned at the tiger, "I wish I could talk to the other group. I didn't think to bring my Wcube, did you?"
"No." He shook his head. "Neither did Draco."
"This is so annoying. I feel really isolated-ew that's disgusting!" She exclaimed as Draco opened his mouth and allowed some saliva to drop onto her bare calf. "Get off!" She pushed the half of the tiger that could get on her lap off. Draco snapped his teeth at her and she did her best not to flinch.
"Very impressive, Malfoy. If you ate me you would be arrested, not to mention how disgusting it would be." She smiled at him as he growled and moved to the back. Thankfully the cars had been enlarged inside so she could walk with only having to bend her head. The boys were all taller then her, and had to crouch down a bit, though. "Blaise? Could you stop at the next place where we can shower, eat and use the loo?"
"Yeah. What do you think we should feed Draco?" He looked over at the tiger.
"I didn't ask him." She grabbed her laptop and cell phone, and then holed herself up in the confession box. She turned on her laptop and looked up. "Oh…hi. Yeah, Malfoy is a tiger. I have to say, I was expecting a ferret."
She looked around the small room in interest, waiting as her laptop loaded her settings. "You have no new messages." She read and sighed, "I was looking for something from Jacob. Wipe those incredulous looks off your faces, people. Yes, I do have a boyfriend."
Later that night, when Lavender and Parvati were watching the show, they would turn to each other. "Oh my god, she really does know everything." They would look back to the Hermione on the screen with mouths open in awe.
She looked down at her phone. "Should I call him? No? Yes? God, where are Lavender and Parvati when you need them? No, I shouldn't. If he heard Malfoy in the back…I wonder how Harry and Ron are…"
She picked up her cell phone and dialed Harry's number. If no one answered she would try Ron. "Hello?"
"Harry? Hi!" She said brightly.
"Hermione? How are you doing?" He sounded a bit tense, but she missed that in her excitement.
"Fine. Malfoy is a tiger."
"Not a ferret? How disappointing," he laughed. "Ron is a dog. More of a puppy, really."
"Aw." She smiled, "I still wish my parents hadn't agreed to this. I was so angry when I found out I was with Malfoy and Blaise."
"I know, actually. I watched your meltdown."
"How?"
"Pansy brought her Wcube."
She was startled into silence. "You know everything we've done?"
"Only what they put on the show."
"Oh."
They were both silent and Hermione remembered their last encounter with shame. "Harry?"
"Yeah?"
"About the last challenge… I'm really sorry. I shouldn't taken advantage of you."
"Yeah, you shouldn't have."
"I really am sorry. I'm no sure why I did it." She looked down at her jeans capri pants and smoothed down a crease.
"I was hoping that Malfoy was dead and you were channeling his spirit."
"No such luck," she said gloomily. "But what about the real Malfoy?"
"Could've been a hologram." He laughed and whatever he said next was drowned out by a 'bloody hell' and an enormous roar.
"Oh dear. Listen Harry I have to go, I'll talk to you later okay?"
"Sure." They both hung up and she looked over to the wall in front of her. "Malfoy, always the drama queen."
She moved to the door and called out through it." Blaise, if you are alive tell me now!"
"I'm alive. Malfoy just threw a temper tantrum."
She opened the door and slipped out. "Malfoy do you want something?" She looked at the irritated tiger. "Give me some sort of sign-not a roar!-that you can understand me."
It blinked at her.
"Malfoy," she said in exasperation. "I didn't know it was possible to make any more stupid. Now I know-just turn you into an animal. I need a sign."
It merely blinked at her and she rolled her eyes at Blaise. "A sign, Malfoy. I need a-"
She was interrupted as he roared, blinking rapidly. "Oh. The sign in a blink? Okay, erm, blink for yes."
He blinked.
"You want something?"
Blink.
"Food?"
Blink.
"We'll get it when we can. What do you want, erm, raw meat?"
Blink.
"Ew. Okay, do you want something else?"
Blink.
"Water?"
No blink.
"Erm…sleep?"
No blink.
"Do you want to be let outside?"
Blink.
"Okay, so…Blaise?"
"Yeah, I'll pull over. It's lucky no one lives around here."
Hermione opened the door to the car and Draco bounded of it in a flash of white and black. She didn't have time to ask if he would come back before he was across the field and into the thin forest. "He'd better not hold us up too much, the other group only has a dog."
She didn't, of course, know that they were having pretty big problems of their own.
-
-
"Ugh! It peed on me!" Pansy was screaming outside their car. Harry had pulled over as she had begun to cry, whether from anger or humiliation he didn't know, and they'd been there for seven whole minutes.
"Calm down Parkinson. Just change your pants." Harry snapped as he watched the hysterical girl.
"I don't care about the clothes! I care that Ronald Weasley has peed on me!" She glared as Harry laughed. "Where is that stupid dog, anyway? I want to give him a good kick!"
"I dunno. Ron?" Harry called. There was no dog in sight. "Uh oh."
Pansy let out a terrific screech that reverberated in the air.
-
-
"Why did your parents want you on the show?" Hermione asked Blaise as they leaned on their car, waiting for Draco to return.
"I can't imagine why anyone's parents would. Have you spoken to yours?"
"Sort of." She replied, "I suppose Sheila and James turned on the charm. I really hope they don't watch it, that would be embarrassing. Do you want yours to?"
"How could your parents watch it, it's a wizarding station." He asked and he shrugged.
"I think it was installed, I'm not sure." She didn't have time to ask why he had avoided answering her questions when she heard a scream. "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah… It sounded like… no, it couldn't be."
"What?" She asked, looking intently at him.
"It sounded like Pansy."
"You don't think they could be around here?" She looked around wildly, wondering if Harry, Ron and Pansy were just through the small forest. Before she could ponder this anymore Draco pranced out of the trees and across the field, holding a bloody carcass of an animal. She felt nauseated as he drew near, but her blood ran cold as she saw the general shape of the animal was a dog. Or a wolf cub. Something small in a dog like form.
What if the other group was just across the forest and Draco had snatched up Ron? What if he was eating Ron right now in front of her? She hastily dialed Harry's number on her cell phone with shaking hands.
"Harry?"
"Hermione? Hi."
"Harry what does Ron look like as a dog? Is he with you right now?"
"Hermione what-"
"What does he looks like?"
"He's a Golden Lab, I think. No, he's not with us."
She gasped, it might be him! The animal's fur was indistinguishable now. "Oh no oh no oh no-"
"-oh wait now I see him. He just came through some trees."
Hermione nearly cried, her relief was so overpowering. "Oh thank Merlin. Bye, Harry!"
"Hermione what's wron-Pansy don't do th-"
Blaise was watching her, amused as she leaned back on the car with a hand over he heart, taking deep breaths. "You thought Draco was eating Weasley?"
She didn't answer, thinking of the last time she'd been so scared.
-
"Harry? Harry!" She screamed, coughing as smoke was inhaled through her lungs. "Harry?"
A hand grabbed her arm and she shrieked, her voice lost amid the screams echoing through the cave. She shook the arm off and whipped her wand around, nearly crying as she met Harry's eyes. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it, trying to fight their way through the crowd of black cloaks and smoke. She tried to be grateful for the smoke, if it weren't there they would be in plain view of the numerous Death Eaters around them.
"Where's Ron?" He shouted to be heard and dread pooled in her stomach.
"He's not with you?"
"No." They both looked at each other in intense horror and ducked as a flash of red light flew towards them.
"Ron!" She shrieked desperately. "Ron where are you? Ron!"
She whirled around, Harry's hand slipped from hers as she frantically searched for her red headed best friend. "Ron!"
Harry's voice joined hers and then let out a shout. "Ron?" She whirled around in time to see a red head in a black cloak fall to the ground, from a green flash of light.
"Oh my god!" She screamed and stumbled forward. Harry darted through the crowd and they fell to the ground, the confusion and magic around them lost as they fell beside the lifeless figure. "No!" She cried, shaking as Harry stared in horror, tears pooling in green eyes.
"Harry? Hermione? What are you doing we have to go!" Hermione whirled around and screamed. Ronald Weasley stood behind her, covered in soot and barely recognizable because of the dirt in his hair. They scrambled to their feet as shock coursed through her body. Ron was alive? Who was on the ground?
It didn't matter. It wasn't Ron.
-
"Granger?" Blaise was waving a hand in front of her face and she started. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." She felt tears on her cheeks. "I'm fine."
"You thought that Draco ate Ron."
"Yes." She answered even though it hadn't been a question. "I was so scared."
"I noticed," he said wryly. "Do you really think they're that close?"
"I don't know." She wiped her sleeve across her face. "Harry said Ron came out of a some trees," she gestured across the field to the forest, "you heard a scream that sounded like Pansy and we would be able to hear them if they were through it."
"That means we have to hurry if we want the advantage, which we do. The most we can stop for now is a trip to the loo and some food." He looked quite glum as he said this and she resisted the urge to snap at him.
"Right. We should go now, then."
Draco had finished ripping apart his food and was strolling towards them. She had the intense urge to hex him for causing her so much fear, but instead just opened the car door and closed it behind him.
"I really thought it was Ron." She told the confession box. "I was so scared. I thought I had lost him. It was irrational, really. We don't know if they're even on the other side of the forest. I feel stupid now, of course."
She laughed and left the room in a better mood then she'd been in for awhile. "If Malfoy had really eaten him I would have screwed the show and done the worst thing I could with my wand." She smiled evilly, her eyes narrowed and cold and her mouth curved into a smirk.
A few viewers shivered.
"Why are you and Malfoy friends, anyway?" She asked and sat down beside him in the front.
"Why wouldn't we be?"
"How can you still be friends with him if he's an arrogant little-"
"Do not finish that sentence." Blaise said in a low voice. "Draco is my best friend and you would do well not to insult him in my presence."
"Really?" She asked skeptically. "He's your best friend? So are you overjoyed to live with him this summer too?"
"I would have anyway." Blaise said harshly. "My parents disowned me last year before Christmas and Draco offered me a room in Malfoy Manor. That is my home now. The only things I have are the things I had before and enough money to get me through school and started in the world, a parting gift from my mother because she couldn't bear to let her only child die no matter what kind of horrible thing he inflicted upon himself." He spat the last few words out quite bitterly.
"That's horrible…" She whispered and didn't have the heart to ask him why.
"That's life." He snapped and pulled into a parking lot. "We'll eat here. And make it fast."
They used the bathrooms in the small coffee shop and ate a quick lunch. Within ten minutes they were leaving, with Hermione driving, Blaise sitting up near the front and Draco curled up in the back. She drove in silence for awhile, but found it a bit tense and began small talk about neutral things that wouldn't lead to dangerous territory.
He moved to the confession box for awhile, and Hermione watched as the forests transformed into rolling hills, then farms and began to become urban. She honked her horn in annoyance when a car cut her off to turn left at an intersection, and turned right to the other way.
She wouldn't figure out it had been The Pansy Picker's car until after the show was over, and that they had both driven in opposite directions to reach the same destination. She might have found this metaphorical, but was more concerned with her cell phone ringing and answering it without hitting the five year old going crazy on her tri-cycle while her annoyed mother chased her down the street.
"Hello?"
"Hi Hermione." Her heart skipped a beat and sped up.
"Hi Jacob. It's so good to hear from you." She grinned widely and steered the car with her other hand. "How are you doing?"
"I'm okay, I miss you already." He removed the phone from his mouth and called something to someone near him.
"What?"
"Oh," he laughed, "Nothing. What's doing on with you?"
She glanced back at Draco and he snapped his teeth at her. "Oh nothing really, I'm just driving."
"Where are you?"
She laughed, "I don't know."
"Lost already? Not a great start." He laughed and she blushed pleasantly.
"I may have been a bit sidetracked." She said, glancing again at Draco and thinking about all they'd had to do.
"Really? What were you thinking about?" He sounded flirtatious and she realized with embarrassment he thought he meant by him.
"The only thing that's really been occupying my mind lately." She said evasively, hoping he thought she was trying be mysterious and would drop it.
"Really?" He said and she could practically hear his smile, which made her yearn to see it. "I'm honored."
"What are you up to today?" She swiftly changed the topic.
"Nothing much. Andrea's got a bunch of friends over and I'm trying to work, which is nearly impossible with the racket they're making." He said and she heard someone talking in the background.
"Who's that?"
"Some girl named…erm, Michelle?" Hermione heard a girl raise her voice, "It's Lucy!"
"Oh, yeah. It's Lucy."
"Cool." She said, "What are you working on?"
"Managing and financial stuff." He said dismissively. "What are you working on?"\
"Driving."
"Ah. Very difficult, isn't it?"
"Not really." She smiled and then her eyes widened as Draco opened his mouth. "No," she hissed at him. If tigers could smirk, he would definitely be smirking. "No!"
"Hermione?"
Draco was opening his large mouth again and was going to let rip a magnificent roar. "Look I'm really sorry Jacob, but I've got to go. One of my roommates is having a tantrum!" She'd already turned off the phone before the last few sentences and closed her eyes as Draco let loose a roar.
"Malfoy! Do you want to be discovered?" She snapped at him jerking to the right as she inched over the yellow line in the middle of the road. He moved off the couch and moved towards her and settled with resting his head on her arm. She softened immediately. "You're much nicer as an animal."
Absently she stroked his soft fur, she imagined was quite like his silky blonde locks of hair. Maybe it was even softer as it normally was, maybe when he was sleeping she should stoke it. Just once of course, stroking Malfoy's hair would be… She jolted out of her thoughts and removed her hand from the tiger's fur. Oh dear. She was so tired she was now thinking about touching Draco's hair. It was quite disturbing, really. No matter how soft it was. Is. Could be.
"I will never do it." She told herself out loud. "No."
With one last glance at Draco, who was watching her with those amazing silvery depths of eyes, she focused on driving and not on the young man who was her rival. Sort of.
-
-
Before she knew it, it was night and they were driving in the dark. The snacks she had bought them the other night had sustained both her and Blaise, but they had to make a short stop for Draco to eat something (they figured whatever he could scrounge up in the wilderness with whatever hunting skills he possessed would be better then what they would find).
"Hermione, do you want me to take over?" Blaise sat down in the front and looked over at her.
"No, no I've got it. It's only nine o'clock." She said and smiled at him.
"Sure." He sat back and stared out the front of the window.
"So…" She began awkwardly. "The confession box is actually pretty useful, huh?"
"Yeah." He smiled a bit. "Good to get out feelings but bad because the rest of the world gets to hear it, too."
"Yeah…" She sighed and looked at the lights she could see in the distance. "I talked to Harry today."
"That's great."
"He said they're doing pretty well. Pansy brought that stupid Wcube-"
He shot her an amused glance. "It wasn't stupid when Dumbledore gave them to us. What did you say again? 'Even if the Ministry supplied them, it should be an honor because Dumbledore approves? Oh, and we should consider ourselves lucky that we have some sort of alternative entertainment other then being arrogant pricks?'"
"That was before they stuck us on this." She said miserably, that had been exactly what she'd said. "I don't see why out of everyone who would have loved to be on this show, they chose the six people who would hate it."
"I can answer that." Blaise said easily. "I thought it was obvious. Because we hate it we'll create the most chaos. They're hoping we'll fight, and that there will be some sort of romance between the members. Specifically you and Draco, which everyone seems to have conveniently forgotten is really far-fetched. Obviously because none of us want to be on it, it gives appeal. Hence, The House of Hell. Makes sense, yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Do you think you're next? Or me?" Blaise asked her and she looked at him in confusion. He jerked his head back at Draco and understanding dawned on her.
"Oh, I don't know. Honestly, I'd rather not do it at all." She didn't look at him as she continued. "If I was a animal, you and Malfoy could do whatever you wanted with me."
"We wouldn't." Blaise said calmly. "You'd be surprised how much influence I could have in Draco's life if I wanted."
"Hmm. Enough to make him not be a Death Eater?" She looked over and regretted the question as his face closed off.
"Why are you asking me this on a national show?" He hissed, though the cameras no doubt caught it.
"It slipped out." She snapped back defensively. "Sorry."
"Right." He said sarcastically and they were silent again.
"Does he have the same influence in your life?"
"Probably me. He doesn't really exercise it." Blaise said softly. "Again, you'd be surprised."
"I am. I thought part of being a Malfoy was seizing power and losing control." She said and again regretted saying something mean about Draco.
"Really?" Blaise snapped angrily. "Did you ever think that part of being a Granger was being muggle? No magic? It seems you're the first of your entire family."
She was struck dumb for a minute and then forced out an apology. "I'm sorry. He's your friend but he's…he's also my enemy."
"So was I." Blaise retorted, "You don't insult me all the time."
"You never did anything."
"How do you know? You think I told all the Slytherins to cut it out when they made fun of Gryffindors? Do you think I told them to shut up when they all called you a mudblood and insulted Potter? Do you think I never once said anything bad against you?"
"Not to me…" She said quietly, feeling wounded.
"So if Draco never insulted you, you'd try and be friends with him? Look, Granger," the bite in his voice made her eyes swell with tears. "If you can't get along with Draco or at least try then there is no way I can even talk to you. I haven't insulted Potter or Weasley yet, so will you grow up?"
She slammed on the brake and opened the door furiously as hot tears filled her eyes. "I'm going to bed. I don't care whether or not you drive, but do not speak to me again tonight."
She went around to the back and pushed Draco, trying to get him off the seat. "Get off the goddamn seat!" She said sharply and he growled at her, but complied. Snatching up a blanket from her bag and a pillow, she curled up on the seat and tried to fall asleep. It wasn't until her eyes had dried and her heart had calmed that she began to drift off.
It seemed that no matter what, she just couldn't win with these two. Any progress she could make with Blaise was set back by Draco, even if he himself didn't do anything and she couldn't even make progress with Draco.
This show was turning out to be the worst thing that had probably ever entered Sheila and James's minds. She was so sick of not seeing her parents, Jacob, Andrea, Ginny, Harry, Ron…everyone. She smiled faintly as she thought of Jacob, wondering what his lips would feel like on hers. Soft and warm. He probably kissed gently. Unless things got passionate, but she was definitely not ready to think about doing anything too passionate with him now.
Something was under her hand. It was soft and warm, and she smiled. "Malfoy, I definitely like you better as a tiger."
She drifted so sleep with a smile, thinking about Draco's hair.
Author's Note: There we go. The end is sort of weird and abrupt, sorry about that, but I couldn't think of any way to end it and it would've just gone on and on. This will be the last update until exams are over, they start next Thursday. I apologize, but I've been working hard to finish this chapter and not leave you high and dry.
Hmm. What else? Well…I have a new three part story up if you're interested. It's slash, so if you don't like that sort of thing steer clear of it! LOL. Um… yeah. I can't think of anything else to say.
Oh! Who do you want to be next, Blaise or Hermione / and Harry or Pansy? I'd love to know! If there's any specific reason, let me know! Plus, any ideas you've got I'd love to hear.
Oh, and I REALLY want to know if you would be interested in an interlude chapter somewhere in here about how the viewers respond to it, and stuff like that. I was thinking about doing one (probably not around now, of course) and even if you don't say you want me to, I'd probably do it anyway. XD. So if you do, please tell me so I know people are interested. It always helps!
Review review review!