And here is the next chapter!!! Look, only like a week later, aren't you guys proud of me? Grin A session will be coming in a few chapters, and a flashback or two will get worked in, I miss them. The song is "Did You?" By Hoobastank Anywho, enjoy!!
Lone Wolf55: Thanks J Yup, an update real soon, I'm so happy!! Hehe :D
Cinnamon Angel: O like you're one to talk!!! Lol. I could be working on OC stuff smirk Hehe, they are kinda like us, huh? Yeah, sure you do, you act it so well :p
HPFreakOut: Thank you very much J I'm glad you like it J Yup, never know with our dear arch nemesises. I can't wait to have some fun with them. And here's some Draco for you J
Crystallized Snow: My thoughts exactly :-D
Hottennispro88: Hey, thanks for the review on my OC fic too J And here's my update, only a week later, tis a miracle J Yup, I'll check out your fics, I love finding new ones.
Celebrean: Aww, thanks!!! You gave up sleep for me? I'm so flattered. I hope you like the new chapter J
Disclaimer: If I had Draco, do you really think I'd be here typing? 'Nuff said.
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Hermione leaned up against the stonewall and shivered, "And we couldn't have found a comfortable place to meet because…?"
Did you say everything you could?
Draco shrugged, "You have another place we could be sure not to be found?"
They were in the deserted hallway Hermione had found him in that day she let her emotions lead her. They decided that their meetings had to be totally secure. It simply wouldn't do to have someone discover the twistedness that was the entire situation. What these meetings would accomplish exactly, Hermione had no idea. But she wasn't backing off, not now.
Do the things that you thought you would?
Giving up the idea of a nice, warm fire, she asked, "Have you figured out whether to tell Snape or not?" Not having an opinion herself, it was up to him.
Draco sat on the floor and stretched, "I'm not sure. It seems like he should know, since he's orchestrating this whole thing, but…"
"Professor Lupin is involved too", Hermione pointed out, "If Snape has any problems, I'm sure Lupin will talk to him".
Did it ever occur to you that this could be your final day?
"Well if we do tell him, it should definitely be in the presence of Lupin. That way there'll be someone to defuse the situation, just in case".
Hermione looked at him, "Would Snape really hate the idea of a Gryffindor being involved so much?"
He lifted his hands in confused, "To be honest, I don't even know what he's thinking. He's a very strange man".
"Gee, really? Could've fooled me", she rolled her eyes.
"I think I liked quiet, studious Hermione better", Draco retorted with a glare.
"Oh, shush. Let's go over the facts. Voldemort wants you to be his successor, you don't want to be. In order to prepare you for this prestigious position, he has decided to train you. And by train, he means torture. Lucius is all for this and is making everything 10 times worse. Meanwhile, Snape and Lupin are also training you, to defeat Voldemort. And none of the DeathEaters have any idea Snape is a spy… Am I right so far?"
Did you go where you wanted to go?
"Pretty much. Training the Snape was okay, better than with Voldemort in any case. We didn't do anything big, really, Lupin said he wanted to wait for something", Draco recalled.
Hermione chewed her bottom lip, "Any idea what that something is?" He shook his head, "All right, hopefully it'll be good news".
"What's that again? I've forgotten".
She nudged him with her foot, "None of that now. The key is to stay focused". Hermione really wasn't listening to herself. She was instead trying to figure out just how she was going to help. The whole conspiracy was so large, what could one young witch do? Draco sighed next to her and she stared at him for a moment.
Learn about what you wanted to know?
Maybe that's all she had to do, keep his mental health there while Snape dealt with the physical. She could do that… if she didn't kill him, that is. Draco may not be Voldemort II, but he could still be bloody annoying. Suddenly, Hermione realized he'd said something, "Sorry, what was that?"
Draco looked up at her with an aggravated expression, "I said any luck with the library?"
Impersonating him, she lifted an eyebrow, "And tell me when between detention last night and today I would've gone to the library".
"Well you do kind of live there, don't you?"
It's for the good of mankind, good of mankind… "I do not live there, Draco! I do have friends who require some amount of my time".
He smirked, "Oh yes, the wonderboys. How are they taking to you being away so much?"
Did you ever really give something back instead of always taking it?
Thinking about it, Hermione frowned, "Not well…", she shook herself, "We're not supposed to be talking about me".
"I don't have much else to tell you, Detective Granger".
"The sarcasm? Not much fun anymore. But if we're done, then let's get the hell out of this cold corridor, hmm?"
Draco stood and gestured with his arms, "Lead the way".
Did you find what your looking for?
Hermione did so, muttering about arrogant Slytherins and something about pink hair. Draco decided to ignore that last bit and instead wondered how he was going to explain the alliance to Snape. Would be an interesting conversation…
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Hermione couldn't find her friends anywhere. They weren't in the common room, the library, she even checked the infirmary. Annoyed, she wasn't paying attention and bumped right into the Headmaster.
She blushed, "I'm sorry, sir. I was looking for Harry and Ron and became distracted".
Did you get your foot in the door?
Dumbledore wore his customary smile, "No harm, Ms. Granger. I believe you'll find your friends in Professor Snape's office".
Hermione's eyes widened and, unthinkingly, said aloud, "What did they do now?"
"I assure you they're not in trouble. It's more of a…meeting than anything else. Go ahead, I'm sure they wouldn't mind you joining them".
Rather confused, Hermione bade farewell to the Headmaster and made her way to Snape's office. They were in there… but not in trouble…and holding a meeting. What the devil did that mean? Finally, she arrived and knocked on the heavy door.
Harry opened it, wearing a huge grin, "Hermione! We were wondering where you were, come in".
Even more perplexed, she complied and looked around the room. It all made sense when she saw the thin man sitting at Snape's desk, "Sirius! Hello! How have you been?… Considering, of course." She smiled at him, happy to note that he was looking so much better than that fateful 3rd year.
Sirius smiled back, "Hello Hermione. I've been very good, thank you, and yourself?"
She nodded, "The same… how are you here?" What would cause him to come out of hiding? Hermione knew he liked to visit Harry, but the risk was so huge.
Can you look at yourself and feel proud of all the things you've done?
"I've been asked by Dumbledore to help with a project, so I'll be spending a good deal of time here", Sirius informed her.
She looked at Harry, who was almost bouncing with happiness. It was so wonderful to see, her friend had become so withdrawn. This was understandable, but it made her nervous. To see him acting like the Harry she used to know made her grin as well.
"You should hear some of his stories of where he's been hiding, 'Mione", Ron spoke up animatedly, "They're brilliant".
"I can't wait", Hermione answered, but her mind started to turn. Sirius was there to help with a project… Lupin was here… Lupin said he was waiting for something, could it be possible… No, Sirius and Snape would never work together… Would they? "Sirius", he looked at her, "What's the project?"
Did you inspire the ones that you knew?
He shrugged, "Nothing important, helping Snapey out with some defensive stuff for the school. Can't be too careful nowadays".
She looked at the older wizard carefully, trying to detect something. His face was blank, but the fact that he mentioned Snape was just too big of a coincidence. Hermione put the thoughts away as Sirius launched into his next story. She would have to talk to Draco very soon. Until then, she could sit down and enjoy the tales.
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Make a difference to those who knew you?
"Professor Snape, we have another person involved in this little scheme now. It wasn't on purpose, but Granger is so curious and went digging. I suppose it's not as horrible as it could be, I don't think she'll tell anyone. And I guess it can't hurt to have one more person on our side. I know she's a Gryffindor, but we can ignore that under the circumstances, I think. Anyway, she already knew, so there really isn't much choice, don't you agree?" Draco spent quite some time trying to find the right way to put it. Yes, that sounded very good, he concluded, very rational. He'd decided not to include the whole connection aspect, thinking it would be best to hold off until they had some sort of explanation. Now he just had to find the professor.
He wandered around the grounds for a while, putting off the inevitable conversation. Finally, though, it could be avoided no longer and he went to Snape's chambers. His bangs on the door were harder than he meant them to be. Part of him hoped no one would answer, explaining Hermione was hard enough to do to himself, never mind the 'evil' Potion's master.
Did you finally figure out what it is that makes us who we are today?
But an answer came, "Oh, hello Draco". Snape was surprised, but not disappointed. He had to seek out the boy anyway, to tell him about Black. He didn't guess it would be a fun conversation, but the damn Marauder was in and there was nothing anyone could really do about it. Severus suppressed his bitterness and invited Draco in.
As soon as Severus shut the door, Draco started, "Professor, I have to talk to you about something. An unexpected…element has come into our plans. I didn't mean for her to find out, but the girl is so curious and went around asking things and saw me after the training session and really, what could I do?" His figurative mouth dropped, it came out so very jumbled, not like the speech he had practiced. Draco sighed, nothing to do now but watch Snape try to fit everything together.
Don't waste another dayThe Professor just stared at him, not having expected the sudden announcement. Girl… curious… training session… he pieced things together in his mind, "You're talking about Ms. Granger?" Draco nodded, "And she knows…"
"Pretty much everything", Draco stated.
"I see", Severus massaged his temples. Black first, now Granger. It didn't really bother him that she knew, but he was slowly being drowned in Gryffindors! "Does she understand the risks involved? That just knowing can be dangerous?"
"Oh I've told her everything, she won't give it up", Draco told him ruefully.
You know I know where you get one"All right, this is manageable. We'll have to meet with the Headmaster and get everything squared away", he looked at the boy, "You don't mind her being in it?"
Draco shrugged, "I don't know, you kinda get used to her".
Leaving it at that, Severus sat down and waved at Draco to do the same, "As it happens, I have a bit of news for you as well. There's someone else who's going to help with your training… Sirius Black", he failed to keep his voice civil when saying the wizard's name.
"What?!" Draco jumped up, "The convict?"
"Sit down", Severus waited until he did so, "It would seem Black is innocent. Dumbledore trusts him and felt his knowledge would be useful. I know it's hardly an ideal situation, but I have to admit we need all the help we can get at this point".
Don't waste another dayDraco let all the information sink in. Sirius Black, the infamous murderer… innocent and helping him to defeat Voldemort. It was way too weird. Lucius had always laughed extra sadistically whenever Black was mentioned, but Draco just attributed it to the man's naturally twisted nature. He stood, "Okay… I'm going to go… walk."
Severus nodded, "I'll get a meeting with Dumbledore at some point and come to collect you and Ms. Granger then".
Absently, Draco nodded back as he walked out of the chambers. It seemed that every time his mind was almost adjusted to the situation, something had to go and throw him off again. He hated the constant feeling of imbalance. It would be nice to have control again. He would… someday.
To do anything you haven't done"There you are!" Someone hissed.
He turned to see Hermione coming out of a dark corner and raised a brow, "Hiding?"
"Waiting for you! I wanted to know… has Snape said anything to you about someone else being involved in this whole mess?" Hermione asked, pulling Draco into the corner too so no one would overhear.
"Actually, yes", His light eyes narrowed, "Apparently Sirius Black is going to be my new mentor".
(Did you?)
Did you always give it your best?
"I knew it!" Hermione exclaimed, then covered her mouth, not having meant to be so loud. She continued, quieter, "I knew it was too coincidental".
"Obviously I'm missing something here", Draco complained.
She laughed, "You'll understand soon enough, I'm sure. It's a bit of a long story. So you talked to Snape?" She jumped topics, "Did you tell him?"
(Did you?)
Is there anything you regret?
Draco forced his mind to follow her new chain, "Yeah, he said it was 'manageable'. Was pretty calm about it, actually, surprised me. Though I guess he was just preoccupied with the Black issue. In any case, he said he'd schedule a meeting with Dumbledore for all of us. Induct you to our little club".
"That works. I've got to get back, but don't worry yourself about Sirius, he's a good guy", and Hermione took off, leaving Draco to wonder just how she would know that.
(Did you?)
If you could have another shot at it all would you do it just the same?