Chapter 15: Questions and answers and unfinished sentences
Astoria let out a scream of horror that echoed in their heads and chilled their blood, but even then they couldn't look away from each other.
"What's happening here?!"
The real Daphne squinted her cat-like eyes and scrutinized her own image personified in front of her with a defiant look.
"Who the hell are you?" she spat, with an implicit threat in her voice that almost made Hermione shudder.
Almost, because fortunately Hermione remembered in time that any show of weakness in a situation like that could reveal her true identity… and it was better not to think about what might happen then.
"Who the hell areyou?" she mimicked, frowning as if she too didn't understand what was happening.
Astoria narrowed her eyes, evaluating the words of both women. At that moment, a flash of understanding crossed her mind as she looked at them alternately.
"It's clear that one of you is my sister, and the other is someone using Polyjuice Potion to impersonate her."
Yes, Astoria, very intuitive.
"She's the imposter," Hermione stepped forward, pointing accusingly at the real Daphne in hopes of causing maximum confusion. "What are you waiting for? Do something!"
Daphne took a step forward.
"Listen to me, Astoria. This cheap copy of me is trying to deceive us.I amyour real sister."
Astoria continued to look at them with confusion etched in her eyes. She didn't know who to trust. The two women in front of her were identical, and their voices resonated with the same intonation as her sister's.
"That's not true! I'm the real Daphne!" protested Hermione as she felt her transformation beginning to falter slightly under the pressure and the time that had passed.
"Calm down," she ordered herself. "You are a Slytherin. You are a Greengrass. Keep your composure."
Astoria, struggling with her own doubts, decided to test the supposed sisters.
"A moment ago, you asked me what this place was… If you're really Daphne, then…" she said, addressing Hermione. "How do you get here? You arrived unconscious, Neville brought you, but if you're my sister, you must know the way."
Hermione froze. She didn't know how to answer that; she hadn't even known of this room's existence until Astoria had told her that the Slytherin crew used it to practice dark magic!
She tried to evaluate her options quickly. The Polyjuice Potion had given her Daphne's appearance, but it couldn't replicate all her memories and knowledge. How was she going to come out victorious in this situation?
Then, miraculously, the answer echoed in her ear… Pansy Parkinson was giving her the necessary directions through the earpiece. Hermione just had to repeat the exact words she heard.
"The entrance is behind the hanging tapestry on the second floor of the dungeons."
"The one with the cemetery under the full moon," Pansy specified. "Come on, say it."
"The one with the cemetery under the full moon," Hermione repeated, regaining confidence as she saw she had managed to confuse Astoria. "The tapestry leads to a passageway several meters long that turns left before reaching the stairs that lead to this place," she added with the new information Pansy was providing her.
"That doesn't prove anything!" the real Daphne shouted. "It just shows that she could be any other Slytherin! But I'm your sister, Tori, you have to believe me!"
Astoria narrowed her eyes, and then asked:
"What was the name of our first pet?"
"Little Whiskers," Daphne answered confidently.
"Anyone could know that," Hermione intervened. "I'm sure I mentioned that name to…"
"Who is Astoria's best friend? Think, Hermione, think, damn it." But the much-desired name did not come to her mind. The truth was she had no idea who that girl's best friend was.
Luckily, before it could be noticed that she had run out of a satisfactory answer, Astoria, driven by the excitement of discovering the truth about who was the imposter and who was her real sister, asked another question.
"My last exam," she said, excited. "Tell me the grade of my last exam. I mentioned it to you a few days ago."
"And I was there to hear it," Pansy sang in her ear. "An eight point twenty-five. A rather shabby grade to belong to the honorable and wise house of Slytherin, if you ask me."
"An eight point twenty-five," Hermione repeated with a dry throat.
Then, in a blink, Astoria drew her wand and pointed it at the real Daphne. The latter looked at her sister with indignation.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Both began to argue at that moment, one demanding explanations on who she was and why she was impersonating her sister, and the other trying to make her understand that she was the real Daphne and that she should be pointing at the exact copy of her on the other side of the room.
Hermione took advantage of that moment of distraction to murmur a few words to Pansy.
"Things are getting ugly. There are wands involved."
"Hang on," Parkinson replied in a hurried manner, as if she were moving very quickly. "I've gone to get reinforcements. We'll be there in a few minutes."
"Enough!" Daphne roared, angrier than Hermione had ever seen her. Apparently, having her appearance stolen and her sister turned against her didn't sit well with her at all. "Why don't you lower that damned wand and ask her to show you hers? If she's me, then she should have it with her."
Hermione's heart skipped a beat, but she patted her robe as if looking for it.
"It's not here!" she shouted, feigning surprise.
"Of course it's not," Daphne added, and then she pulled it out of her robe pocket. "Because I am the real Daphne."
At that, as if the actress she didn't know she had inside her had awakened, Hermione closed the distance to Daphne and pushed her violently.
"You stole my wand!" she screamed, adopting Daphne's characteristic haughty attitude. "Give it back!"
Daphne returned the push, and Hermione grabbed her until they both ended up on the floor, struggling. The Gryffindor made sure to hit her head in the same spot where she was bleeding to make her bleed too, and then tried to keep her pinned as they rolled over each other until Astoria could no longer tell who was the Daphne she had found in that room and who was the Daphne who had entered there by her own foot.
Just in case.
But at one point, Daphne managed to break free from Hermione and stand up, putting distance between them.
"Do you remember our childhood in the backyard of the mansion?" she said to Astoria, breathing heavily. "Do you remember what we used to do to escape mom's etiquette lessons? We used to hide in the hedge next to the pond to watch from a distance as mom searched frantically around the mansion. We laughed non-stop when we saw her through the windows going from room to room. Then, we would sneak away to explore the forest next to the guest house. Ask her," she continued, gesturing towards Hermione with her head, "about the secret code with stones we invented to communicate. Come on, tell her to explain it."
Hermione held her breath, trying to invent anything that could save her deception. But both she and the real Daphne knew she had lost.
Astoria looked at Hermione suspiciously, waiting for her answer. After a few seconds of silence, Daphne continued with confidence.
"Look into her eyes, Astoria!" she exclaimed. "The eyes never lie. The real Daphne Greengrass would never have doubts about her own childhood."
Astoria frowned, increasingly convinced that something was wrong.
"Of course I don't have doubts! And of course I know the secret code with stones we invented!" Hermione intervened, trying to divert attention and hide her lack of knowledge.
But then, Astoria's wand pointed at her.
"Everything she said about escaping the etiquette lessons and hiding in the bushes is true, but we never had a secret code with stones," Astoria said harshly.
Daphne smiled, victorious.
Damn it, she had set a trap.
Hermione's transformation was rapidly deteriorating under the pressure of the questions and Daphne's certainty. She felt the blood bubbling in her veins and had the sensation that Daphne's skin was slowly blurring over her own. With no other option, Hermione made a risky decision.
She was about to attack when Snape appeared on the scene followed by Pansy.
The professor pointed his wand at them, although that gesture was unnecessary as his mere presence had already calmed the waters. Without saying a word, he examined the place, frowning at the sight of two Daphnes before noticing Neville, who remained apart in the same place Astoria had ordered him to stay.
The professor headed there and began casting some counter-spells to free him from the enchantment placed on him.
Meanwhile, Pansy looked at both Daphnes and whispered through the earpiece:
"I have no idea which one you are, but you need to get out of here immediately if you don't want to receive a severe reprimand for illegally transforming into another student. And don't drag me down with you when they pressure you to reveal the names of your accomplices."
Of course, the use of Polyjuice Potion was absolutely forbidden at Hogwarts. And, of course, Hermione Granger didn't want to stay there to receive an immediate expulsion.
So she managed to slip away when no one was looking and ran and ran until she exited the passageway she had described earlier thanks to Pansy's help. With her heart still racing and her hands trembling, she headed towards the upper floors of the castle. She needed a shower urgently. A shower to wash away the guilt of all the questionable things she had done since that damned punishment.
But before she could get too far, someone grabbed her arm from behind to stop her.
"Daphne."
Hermione exhaled.
It was Malfoy. He was back.
"Draco," she murmured.
"Come," he said, gently taking her hand and leading her to a secluded spot. Then, in a soft voice, he added, "We need to talk."
But after looking directly into his eyes, and despite everything that had just happened, she couldn't stop thinking about one thing. One single thing. About what he had gone to the Muggle world to do.
"Did you do it? Did you find someone to…?" she asked then with a hoarse voice, unable to complete the sentence.
Something inside her squirmed uncomfortably at the thought of him in the bed of a faceless girl, touching her naked body and burning with pleasure as they had sex, but another part of her was dying to know if her idea had resulted in something positive and the curse had finally gone.
But soon she realized that something wasn't quite right. His dark circles were still deep, and his shoulders still hunched with fatigue and pain. He didn't have the cast though.
"It's not what I wanted to talk about. But no, I didn't do it."
Hermione couldn't believe it.
"Because of their Muggle status?" she asked, incredulous. Had he not found any girl worthy enough for him just because they didn't have magic running through their veins?
His gaze darkened.
"It wasn't because of that," he replied, and in his voice, she could hear a hint of indignation. "Blood status no longer… no…" he murmured, unsure how to continue. Hermione could hear a "doesn't matter to me" in the air. Was that possible? "Never mind. The point is, even if my life is at stake, I… I couldn't take advantage of an innocent girl this way. It's cynical and abusive to levels even I can't reach."
That sudden display of humanity made Hermione unable to resist the urge to caress his cheek with her fingertips, amazed by his words. He would rather die than deceive a young woman into getting pregnant against her will. That was so… honorable…
Draco grabbed her wrist and moved it away from his face.
"Daphne, on the walk we took yesterday… I tried to tell you something, but I couldn't find the courage to do it."
Hermione remembered the moment she had seen them walking by while she was with Krum in the café.
"You see… I…" he continued, clearly struggling to find the words he needed to say, "I think we should end this."
"What?" Hermione murmured.
"Daphne… you know I love you, and you'll always have a special place in my heart. But you turned your back on me at one of my lowest moments just because I had to be around Granger all the time." He paused for what felt like an eternity. "If you had stayed, if you had supported me… but you didn't, Daphne, and she… and I… I think…"
"I think I've fallen in love with her," the air around them whispered. The words remained unsaid, but they were understood, materializing between them one way or another.
Hermione jumped into his arms and melted into a desperate kiss that lasted as long as it took Draco to come to his senses and push her away by the shoulders.
But then, the girl he found in front of him wasn't Daphne, but Hermione. For a moment he was confused, but the desire to taste her again took over before he could ask anything, and placing both hands on her face gently, he drew her towards him again to kiss her.
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