Disclaimer: I own nothing but the glass of water on my desk, the CD in my
CD player and my love for Harry Potter fan fiction.
Chapter One: Midnight wanderings and unwanted discoveries.
Ron was taking an unhealthy interest in Harry's love life.
Probably because he couldn't get himself a girlfriend, Hermione thought viciously.
Ok, so she was slightly annoyed because she was trying to finish a potions essay but couldn't concentrate because of the random cries of 'No!', 'Really?' and 'Amazing!'
If Harry actually worked up the confidence to tell Ginny how he felt about her then maybe Ron wouldn't want to take such an interest and maybe she could actually get past 'The four main uses of Boomslang skin are...'
Harry and Ron quietened slightly after Hermione shot them a glare that could set paper on fire.
The three of them were in the Gryffindor common room; it was late so the common room was empty of all other Gryffindors.
She turned back to her parchment.
'The four main uses of Boomslang skin are...'
She sucked on the end of her quill.
She was just about to write the first use, when her train of thought; which at this point in time had been overtaken by snails it was going so slow, crashed into a brick wall at Ron's cry of,
"Susan Bones?! You have to be kidding me!"
Hermione threw down her quill with an irritated 'ugh' and stormed out of the common room without so much as a glance back.
"What's up with her?" Ron looked away from Harry at the sudden commotion Hermione was making.
"Dunno. Do you think we should go after her?" Harry pushed his glasses up his nose.
"Nah. It's probably that time of the month."
Hermione stormed quietly down the corridor, storming down corridors usually helped her get her anger out but she had to storm quietly otherwise Filch would be alerted, this ruined the effect somewhat but she had no other choice.
Her thoughts returned to the barely begun essay still lying on the desk in the Gryffindor common room. It didn't have to be in for two weeks, she could do it tomorrow.
She stopped in her tracks.
That had to be a first.
Hermione Granger did not put homework off until the next day. With another 'ugh' she continued with her stomp through the corridors.
She was so engrossed with her own thoughts she did not notice him sprawled on the ground until she was practically stood on him.
She was wondering what the hell Susan Bones had done when her foot connected with something, something that felt horribly like a body.
It was hard to see anything in the normally dingy corridors. It didn't help that this particular corridor had no windows and the last lamp had been a few feet away. It also didn't help that she was fighting the urge to scream.
Then the part of the brain that contains the common sense kicked in and yelled 'YOU'RE A WITCH!' at her.
Hermione fumbled in her robes until she found her wand.
"Lumos..?" It was more of a tentative question than a command. She was actually quite surprised when the tip of her wand lit up.
The surprise soon vanished and was replaced almost instantaneously by horror.
Why the hell was Draco Malfoy lying dead in a dark corridor?
The question sounded stupid even in her mind.
She nudged him in the stomach with her foot. Malfoy groaned lightly but didn't open his eyes.
Okay, not dead but almost unconscious.
She resisted the urge to nudge him with more force or prod him with her wand. He didn't look like he had been beaten up or cursed for that matter, he looked more like he had fainted.
But Malfoy seemed like the sort of person who simply did not faint. He seemed like the sort of person who didn't do a lot of things because of his reputation.
He also seemed like the sort of person who, if confronted with an unconscious person in the middle of the night in a dark corridor, would merely sneer and step over the person trying hard not to get his robes to touch them.
Or he was the person who did it.
Not the person lying in the corridor unconscious. It somehow didn't fit.
Hermione realised she was stood staring at him, her imagination running away with her. He was lying on his back; he must have fallen over backwards, probably whacking his head on the stone floor as he fell.
Hermione felt a pang of sympathy for him but quickly suppressed it, knowing that this was Draco Malfoy, the bane of Harry's life, ignoring Voldemort for the moment, and overall school bully. She wasn't supposed to feel sorry for him; she was supposed to feel smug that he had got his comeuppance.
Even if he was found half dead in a corridor.
There was something wrong with that logic.
If it had been Harry and Ron walking down this corridor they probably would have burst out laughing and wandered away, Ron probably kicking Malfoy before they went off to have more conversations about what Susan Bones did.
Hermione frowned as she realised she was becoming annoyingly obsessed with what Susan Bones did. Not because she was jealous, she shook her head and ignored the voice in the back of her head that was contradicting her, of course not. Not because she felt left out either.
Hermione didn't know why she was trying to deny her own feelings about Harry and Ron to her own mind but was slightly disturbed by it so stopped thinking about it and turned her attention back to Draco Malfoy, who still hadn't moved.
She gave into temptation and prodded him with her wand. He didn't react.
She mused over taking him to the infirmary or finding a teacher to tell, it would seem rather suspicious though. Hermione Granger finds her enemy, Draco Malfoy unconscious in a dark corridor in the middle of the night and has no idea why he might be there. The teachers would surely believe that. And why was she out of bed? Because she couldn't stand hearing about Susan Bones' antics.
Damn. No more thinking about that. Who cares anyway? They're only teenage boys.
So, what to do? She couldn't pick him up. That was highly unlikely. A sixteen-year-old Hermione had no chance of picking up a sixteen-year-old Draco Malfoy who was at least six foot. Besides where would she take him?
Why should she even help him at all? He had only made her life hell for the past six years. He didn't owe her anything.
There was suddenly the sound of scuffling footsteps.
None of the students walked like that at night. Not if they didn't want to get caught.
Hermione clapped her hand over her mouth as a frightened 'eep' escaped from her lips. Filch was still quite far away so she wasn't in immediate danger.
What about Malfoy?
Barely thinking about the consequences she whispered, "Wingardium Leviosa" and took flight with Malfoy wobbling along behind her.
She couldn't just leave him there, she told herself over and over as she scarpered away in the direction of the Gryffindor common room. If Filch found him who knows what would happen. As much as Hermione hated Malfoy she couldn't bring herself to leave him in the hands of Filch.
Filch would probably feed him to Mrs Norris.
Or take out his insides and put them in jars.
Hermione grimaced; she was letting her imagination rule her brain again. Filch had surely heard her take flight and was probably chasing her. Well, more like waddling after her.
She skidded round a corner and saw the Fat Lady was in sight.
She was pretty sure that Malfoy had whacked his head on that last corner but there was no time to dwell on that.
She panted the password and climbed into the Gryffindor common room with Malfoy bobbing after her. She almost fell over as she barrelled into the room.
Fortunately Harry and Ron had gone to bed.
She concentrated on what to do with Draco Malfoy instead of feeling annoyed that Harry and Ron hadn't sat up waiting for her.
Hermione reminded herself that it was extremely lucky they had decided to abandon the best friend act for one night. It would be very bad, not to mention weird, for her to stumble into the common room with a comatose Draco Malfoy hovering behind her.
She hadn't actually thought what would happen if they were actually there.
Ron would probably burst into pleased chuckles and ask her what she did to him.
There was a thump and Hermione whipped round to see that her lack of concentration on the spell had caused Draco to be dropped onto the floor.
She fought a smirk. That wouldn't do much good for his recovery.
Hermione glanced down at him. The usual Malfoy smirk had vanished and he looked completely different. Maybe it was because the only times she had seen Malfoy was when he was sneering at them or scowling. One of the two.
She wasn't sure that the smirk ever actually left his face.
She couldn't just leave him in the middle of the common room floor. Well, she could, but she would have to be responsible to any ass kicking that happened to him as a result of it.
She would have to keep him hidden until morning. She wasn't chancing Filch again, or the Gryffindors. Hermione frowned as she realised she would have to wait until he woke up before she could do anything.
Swearing in a most un-Hermione-ish way she scooped up her homework and muttered the lifting spell again.
She dearly wished that someone would pinch her so she would wake up from this ghastly nightmare she seemed to have gotten herself into.
With her homework in her arms and a hovering Draco Malfoy trailing behind her, Hermione disappeared into her prefect's separate dorm muttering something about leaving Malfoy where he was for Mrs Norris to find him.
She was too kind hearted for her own good.
A/N: What do you think? Carry on? Obliviate? Read and Review! Constructive criticism welcome, flames don't make my writing any better!
Chapter One: Midnight wanderings and unwanted discoveries.
Ron was taking an unhealthy interest in Harry's love life.
Probably because he couldn't get himself a girlfriend, Hermione thought viciously.
Ok, so she was slightly annoyed because she was trying to finish a potions essay but couldn't concentrate because of the random cries of 'No!', 'Really?' and 'Amazing!'
If Harry actually worked up the confidence to tell Ginny how he felt about her then maybe Ron wouldn't want to take such an interest and maybe she could actually get past 'The four main uses of Boomslang skin are...'
Harry and Ron quietened slightly after Hermione shot them a glare that could set paper on fire.
The three of them were in the Gryffindor common room; it was late so the common room was empty of all other Gryffindors.
She turned back to her parchment.
'The four main uses of Boomslang skin are...'
She sucked on the end of her quill.
She was just about to write the first use, when her train of thought; which at this point in time had been overtaken by snails it was going so slow, crashed into a brick wall at Ron's cry of,
"Susan Bones?! You have to be kidding me!"
Hermione threw down her quill with an irritated 'ugh' and stormed out of the common room without so much as a glance back.
"What's up with her?" Ron looked away from Harry at the sudden commotion Hermione was making.
"Dunno. Do you think we should go after her?" Harry pushed his glasses up his nose.
"Nah. It's probably that time of the month."
Hermione stormed quietly down the corridor, storming down corridors usually helped her get her anger out but she had to storm quietly otherwise Filch would be alerted, this ruined the effect somewhat but she had no other choice.
Her thoughts returned to the barely begun essay still lying on the desk in the Gryffindor common room. It didn't have to be in for two weeks, she could do it tomorrow.
She stopped in her tracks.
That had to be a first.
Hermione Granger did not put homework off until the next day. With another 'ugh' she continued with her stomp through the corridors.
She was so engrossed with her own thoughts she did not notice him sprawled on the ground until she was practically stood on him.
She was wondering what the hell Susan Bones had done when her foot connected with something, something that felt horribly like a body.
It was hard to see anything in the normally dingy corridors. It didn't help that this particular corridor had no windows and the last lamp had been a few feet away. It also didn't help that she was fighting the urge to scream.
Then the part of the brain that contains the common sense kicked in and yelled 'YOU'RE A WITCH!' at her.
Hermione fumbled in her robes until she found her wand.
"Lumos..?" It was more of a tentative question than a command. She was actually quite surprised when the tip of her wand lit up.
The surprise soon vanished and was replaced almost instantaneously by horror.
Why the hell was Draco Malfoy lying dead in a dark corridor?
The question sounded stupid even in her mind.
She nudged him in the stomach with her foot. Malfoy groaned lightly but didn't open his eyes.
Okay, not dead but almost unconscious.
She resisted the urge to nudge him with more force or prod him with her wand. He didn't look like he had been beaten up or cursed for that matter, he looked more like he had fainted.
But Malfoy seemed like the sort of person who simply did not faint. He seemed like the sort of person who didn't do a lot of things because of his reputation.
He also seemed like the sort of person who, if confronted with an unconscious person in the middle of the night in a dark corridor, would merely sneer and step over the person trying hard not to get his robes to touch them.
Or he was the person who did it.
Not the person lying in the corridor unconscious. It somehow didn't fit.
Hermione realised she was stood staring at him, her imagination running away with her. He was lying on his back; he must have fallen over backwards, probably whacking his head on the stone floor as he fell.
Hermione felt a pang of sympathy for him but quickly suppressed it, knowing that this was Draco Malfoy, the bane of Harry's life, ignoring Voldemort for the moment, and overall school bully. She wasn't supposed to feel sorry for him; she was supposed to feel smug that he had got his comeuppance.
Even if he was found half dead in a corridor.
There was something wrong with that logic.
If it had been Harry and Ron walking down this corridor they probably would have burst out laughing and wandered away, Ron probably kicking Malfoy before they went off to have more conversations about what Susan Bones did.
Hermione frowned as she realised she was becoming annoyingly obsessed with what Susan Bones did. Not because she was jealous, she shook her head and ignored the voice in the back of her head that was contradicting her, of course not. Not because she felt left out either.
Hermione didn't know why she was trying to deny her own feelings about Harry and Ron to her own mind but was slightly disturbed by it so stopped thinking about it and turned her attention back to Draco Malfoy, who still hadn't moved.
She gave into temptation and prodded him with her wand. He didn't react.
She mused over taking him to the infirmary or finding a teacher to tell, it would seem rather suspicious though. Hermione Granger finds her enemy, Draco Malfoy unconscious in a dark corridor in the middle of the night and has no idea why he might be there. The teachers would surely believe that. And why was she out of bed? Because she couldn't stand hearing about Susan Bones' antics.
Damn. No more thinking about that. Who cares anyway? They're only teenage boys.
So, what to do? She couldn't pick him up. That was highly unlikely. A sixteen-year-old Hermione had no chance of picking up a sixteen-year-old Draco Malfoy who was at least six foot. Besides where would she take him?
Why should she even help him at all? He had only made her life hell for the past six years. He didn't owe her anything.
There was suddenly the sound of scuffling footsteps.
None of the students walked like that at night. Not if they didn't want to get caught.
Hermione clapped her hand over her mouth as a frightened 'eep' escaped from her lips. Filch was still quite far away so she wasn't in immediate danger.
What about Malfoy?
Barely thinking about the consequences she whispered, "Wingardium Leviosa" and took flight with Malfoy wobbling along behind her.
She couldn't just leave him there, she told herself over and over as she scarpered away in the direction of the Gryffindor common room. If Filch found him who knows what would happen. As much as Hermione hated Malfoy she couldn't bring herself to leave him in the hands of Filch.
Filch would probably feed him to Mrs Norris.
Or take out his insides and put them in jars.
Hermione grimaced; she was letting her imagination rule her brain again. Filch had surely heard her take flight and was probably chasing her. Well, more like waddling after her.
She skidded round a corner and saw the Fat Lady was in sight.
She was pretty sure that Malfoy had whacked his head on that last corner but there was no time to dwell on that.
She panted the password and climbed into the Gryffindor common room with Malfoy bobbing after her. She almost fell over as she barrelled into the room.
Fortunately Harry and Ron had gone to bed.
She concentrated on what to do with Draco Malfoy instead of feeling annoyed that Harry and Ron hadn't sat up waiting for her.
Hermione reminded herself that it was extremely lucky they had decided to abandon the best friend act for one night. It would be very bad, not to mention weird, for her to stumble into the common room with a comatose Draco Malfoy hovering behind her.
She hadn't actually thought what would happen if they were actually there.
Ron would probably burst into pleased chuckles and ask her what she did to him.
There was a thump and Hermione whipped round to see that her lack of concentration on the spell had caused Draco to be dropped onto the floor.
She fought a smirk. That wouldn't do much good for his recovery.
Hermione glanced down at him. The usual Malfoy smirk had vanished and he looked completely different. Maybe it was because the only times she had seen Malfoy was when he was sneering at them or scowling. One of the two.
She wasn't sure that the smirk ever actually left his face.
She couldn't just leave him in the middle of the common room floor. Well, she could, but she would have to be responsible to any ass kicking that happened to him as a result of it.
She would have to keep him hidden until morning. She wasn't chancing Filch again, or the Gryffindors. Hermione frowned as she realised she would have to wait until he woke up before she could do anything.
Swearing in a most un-Hermione-ish way she scooped up her homework and muttered the lifting spell again.
She dearly wished that someone would pinch her so she would wake up from this ghastly nightmare she seemed to have gotten herself into.
With her homework in her arms and a hovering Draco Malfoy trailing behind her, Hermione disappeared into her prefect's separate dorm muttering something about leaving Malfoy where he was for Mrs Norris to find him.
She was too kind hearted for her own good.
A/N: What do you think? Carry on? Obliviate? Read and Review! Constructive criticism welcome, flames don't make my writing any better!