19. Chapter 19: Draco

To those who didn't understand the Pansy part last chapter, please read chapter 16. That should be a Draco POV. After reading it you will probably understand the situation better. :D

I already had an explanation for Hermione being with them in my head, but after reading all those people's reviews, wanting to know why she was at Hogsmeade with Draco and Blaise, the explanation seemed a bit weak... O.o But anyway, hopefully it will satisfy you guys for now... hehe.

BTW, credit for some of the ideas in the howler goes to Farangis. I read their fic, Owl Posts, and loved it!

& here we go...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

10 Ways to Kill Draco Malfoy

Chapter 19

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

DRACO

Phew. Blaise nearly saw through my deceiving spell, thanks to Granger's very un-Pansy-like behavior. But good thing she ran off before he could suspect anything. If he knew he'd been tricked... I shudder to think what he'd make me do. There are many ways of punishing someone who backed out of a dare, and I am pretty sure Blaise is familiar enough with the game Truth or Dare to know at least half a dozen of them.

I have a funny feeling though, that whatever he decides to do, the real Pansy will enjoy it very much.

I shiver, even though the Slytherin common room is very warm with its fireplace roaring with orange flames. Crabbe and Goyle are busy fighting over the last of the cookies some house elf had kindly put on a table, thanks to my polite request that they give something for those two morons to do while hanging around here. I mean, homework is out of the question. I doubt they could concentrate long enough to complete one paragraph of an essay.

Which is why I always tell them to bully a 2nd or 3rd year to do their essay for them. With their bulk and threatening faces, no younger witch or wizard can refuse them. If they do, they're in for a beating, something that those two are actually good at. Too bad they can never catch Potter... he always seems to manage to outrun them. The other two of the 'Golden Trio' don't run nearly so fast, but Weasley is pretty good at fighting. The other one? Under my special orders, they are not to touch her.

After all, she's mine to annoy.

"Draco! There's no more food left," Crabbe whines. I fling a cushion at him, and it hits him square on the forehead. Just as well I didn't throw a spellbook, or he'd be in the Hospital Wing, twitching, by now. Goyle laughs stupidly a few seconds after the cushion falls to the floor. Man, talk about slow.

"Blaise and I are going to Hogsmeade in an hour," I snap at him. "I'll bring you back all the sweets you want."

Crabbe and Goyle cheer. I roll my eyes. Honestly. Do they even have a part of their brain that doesn't think about food all the time? I suppose they must have both been Siamese twins joined by the head at birth, and when they were separated, the other twins got both brains. Crabbe and Goyle were left with a few stray brain cells, or so it seems. I open my Transfiguration book and flip to the more advanced spells, scanning the page for ones that turned things to their true forms. Maybe if I cast that kind of spell on those two, they might turn into gorillas.

"Yo, Draco. You ready to go?" Blaise's voice floats into my thoughts.

I look up and give him a killer smile. "Of course. I'm always ready to go." Which was true. I always wear designer clothes, even for casual outfits, and my hair always appears either tidy (when I bother to brush it), or messy. Girls seem to like the latter style better. Which is why I've given up brushing my hair until I wash it.

Blaise blinks and blushes. I groan and look away. He's a nice guy and all, but sometimes this whole bisexual thing really drives me nuts.

"OK, man. Let's go then." He makes his way to the entrance. I put away my Transfiguration book and follow him, giving one last glance at Crabbe and Goyle to make sure they aren't taking turns eating everything in sight. I still want to keep my owl, you know.

As we pass the library, something with brown curly-ish hair runs right into me. I am winded for a second, but quickly recover to see that the bumper is none other than Hermione Granger. "Ouch!" she complains, rubbing her head. "What was- oh... my God." When she sees me, her eyes grow wide. "Whoops."

I fold my arms lazily. "'Whoops' is right. What are you doing running around, anyway? Shouldn't you be in there?" I jerk my thumb over my shoulder towards the library.

She huffs indignantly. "I may be a bookworm, but I don't live there, you know."

"Where's Potty and Weasel, then?" I ask. Blaise looks at us interestedly, swiveling his head to look at whoever is talking.

Granger stops and glares at me. Then, she sighs. "I... don't know."

Doesn't know? They're her best friends, for fuck's sake! How can you not know where your best friends are? My hunch is that they're in the Gryffindor common room, looking for her. Though I can't imagine why they would think she'd be hiding there, of all places. "Riiiight."

"It's true!" she yells. Blaise looks alarmed and takes a step back.

I raise an eyebrow. "No need to get angry, Granger. Where do you think they are?"

"We were going to go to Hogsmeade right about now," she says, after a slight pause. "Maybe I'll find them there..."

I look over at Blaise. "Is Weasel's little sister there, too?" I ask her nonchalantly.

She narrows her eyes at me. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason," I reply innocently. Hmmm. So Ginny Weasley is going to be there with Potter and Weasley. This could be the perfect chance for Blaise to get his dare over and done with, if we get the timing right and find them. "Wait a sec. I need to talk to Blaise." Quickly I grab his arm and drag him over to one side, aware of Granger's hawk-like gaze. "Did you hear that? Ginny's going to be there. This could be a chance for you to kiss her in front of Potter and Weasley. For your dare."

Blaise nods. "Sounds good. But Hogsmeade is huge. Where do you think they'll be?"

"Just hang around Three Broomsticks. They're bound to go there. Too cold not to." I straighten and turn back to Granger, a big grin on my face. She looks frightened. I quickly wipe the grin off and replace it with a smirk instead. She sighs in relief and looks normal again. "Right... Granger, we're going to Hogsmeade too. If you want to... uh, come with us, you can. Just don't get in the way."

"Eh?" Blaise exclaims. "Why is she coming? I thought you hated her."

I clamp a hand over his mouth and shove him back. "Shut up! I just feel sorry for her, that's all. If you open your big mouth and say something like that again, I'll Spellotape your lips together," I whisper into his ear. He nods furiously and I let him go. He staggers around, gasping for breath like a fish out of water.

Hermione - no, Granger, giggles and then stifles her laughter. "Why are you letting me come with you?" She smiles. "And have you thought about the fact that I might not want to come?"

I shrug as coolly as I can, but inside I am rather pissed off at being rejected by a girl. A bookworm, at that. God. Embarassing. "If you don't want to come, I'll just go and tell your friends that you ditched them and are wandering around, giggling, with Pansy's gang," I sneer.

"What!" she shouts. "I'd do no such thing!"

"Oh, but Potty and Weasel don't know any better. After all, it looks like you've been fighting, haven't you?" I smirk as she gapes at me. Obviously my words have struck a nerve and, most likely, were true. "Don't tell me you've really been fighting?" I flick her hair. She flinches and takes a step back. "So much for the Golden Trio. At this rate, you won't last very long."

Granger grinds her teeth. "OK, you got me. I'll come." She mutters under her breath about something that sounds like 'blackmail', and trails along beside us. People who are passing by goggle at the scene; Hermione Granger, walking alongside Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini. And plus, we aren't even screaming insults at each other. A nice change, in my opinion. I am sick of getting sore throats whenever I come in screaming vicinity of her.

We arrive in Hogsmeade half an hour later. Granger shivers and draws her cloak tighter around herself. I bare my teeth at the howling wind and immediately it calms a little bit. Blaise stares at me in wonder. Granger just edges away. "What?" I say irritatedly. "Not my fault even the wind is afraid of me."

"I don't know what kind of wizard you are, but you sure are influential." She looks over at me. "Must be the dragon blood. I heard dragons can command the elements."

I am surprised that she knows that fact. No, wait - I'm not surprised. This is Hermione we're talking about here. No doubt she knows stuff like that. "Hm. Maybe." I glance at Blaise, who is walking beside me silently. Now that is amazing. Usually Blaise is a chatterbox; not as chatty as chatterbox women, but pretty talkative for a guy. "Where to, Blaise?"

He looks up. "Three Broomsticks. Isn't that what you said?"

"Oh, yeah. OK. Three Broomsticks it is." I ignore Granger, who rolls her eyes at my apparent forgetfulness. Bloody hell, I just wanted to play nice and ask for someone else's opinion, and she takes it the worst possible way. I'm not old and bald yet. My memory hasn't started failing me.

A few moments later I push open the door to the bar. Madam Rosmerta spots us and gives me a dazzling smile. "Oh! Mr Malfoy. How nice to see you again. Please take a seat." A familiar looking head is turned away from us, but there is no mistaking that red hair. I smirk. Is Weasley trying to hide from us?

"Good day to Miss Granger and Mr Zabini, too! What would you like, you three?"

At this sentence, The Mysterious Redhead turns around sharply, his eyes wide. "Hermione!" Granger looks amazed and, after giving me a look that I suppose was thankful, joins her friend.

"Surprised to see her with us, Weasley?" I drawl after I tell Rosmerta what drinks I'd like. "Didn't think we'd sink as low as to hang out with her, did you?" Suddenly I feel a sharp kick to my shins. Fucking hell! That hurt. I glare at Granger, who 'hmphs' and looks away. Goddamn that woman. If she wasn't so... so likeable, I'd have taken care of her ages ago. Being a good kisser also makes me hesitate to punish her too badly.

After Granger and Weasley leave, I nudge Blaise and nod towards the table Weasley and Granger sit down at. He cranes his neck and looks over to see Ginny Weasley, seated opposite Potter. He grins. "Great. This should be easy. Come on, Draco." He grabs my wrist and pulls me over. I shudder slightly at practically holding hands with a bisexual boy, but endure it in a very Malfoy manner.

As we arrive at the table, a series of event happen very fast; Granger and I exchange a few words, and before any of them can realize what has happened, Blaise grabs Ginny and kisses her full on the lips. Weasley swears and attempts to strangle Blaise, but Granger breaks it up. Throughout the whole time, Potter doesn't do much except gape and stand up a few times. Hah! What a coward. Doesn't even have the guts to stop a guy kissing his girlfriend.

When Hermione asks for an explanation, I proceed to tell them about the dare. Blaise grins triumphantly from behind me. I resist the urge to give him a black eye, his smile is so infuriatingly smug. After I am done explaining, I smirk at the shocked group and pat Hermione on the cheek. Believe it or not, she looks pretty even when she is angry. Unusual. Most girls turn to fire-breathing dragons when they lose their temper. "Come on, Blaise, your dares are done. Let's go back to Hogwarts. It's getting a bit cold out here."

She gapes at me. "Who gave you the the authority to touch me and then just leave?" she shouts at me as I push open the door. I turn back to give her one last smirk before heading outside and closing the door behind me. I start laughing as I imagine what Potter must be feeling, and give Blaise a pat on the back.

"Good job, Zabini. Can't wait to see Potter at class tomorrow. He's gonna explode!" I chuckle.

Blaise looks proud of himself. "She wasn't as bad as I'd imagined. Maybe next time I'll come back to her," he says.

I laugh. Looks like I'll be getting plenty of entertainment to watch in the next few weeks. There's Hermione Granger, who owes me for taking her to Hogsmeade; Ron Weasley, who'd be hunting Blaise and I down for kissing, and daring the other to kiss, his little sister. Most of all was Harry Potter, who'd probably murder us at any given chance. After all, who didn't know the Boy-Who-Lived's crush for years and years? "Good boy. I'll be looking forward to that."

At dinner, after my own owl delivered a few reminders from my mother, a school barn owl soars towards my table. In its claws is a blood-red envelope, which it drops in front of me. Several Slytherins nearly recognize this as a Howler. I puzzle over the possible senders and come to the conclusion that it could be none other than Potter. Quickly, I rip open the Howler as it starts burning at the corners and prepare myself for the loud voice, similar to the one Weasley had been forced to hear in his 2nd year.

What I hear, instead of making me frightened, nearly makes me pee my pants with laughter. Obviously, I don't actually wet myself. That would shame the family reputation.

"FORMER MASTER DRACO MALFOY! HOW DARES YOU DARE MASTER ZABINI TO KISSY-KISS MISS GINNY? SHE IS VERY ANGRY AND SO IS MASTER HARRY POTTER! IN FACT, DOBBY HEARS THAT MASTER POTTER PLANS TO TAKE REVENGE ON YOU! HE SAYS HE SHALL CUT OFF YOUR BALLS AND FEED THEM TO THE THESTRALS! HE ALSO SAYS HE WILL SLICE OPEN YOUR BOWELS, TAKE OUT YOUR HEART AND THROW YOU TO THE GIANT SQUID! MISS HERMIONE AND MASTER WEASLEY WARNS YOU TO WATCH OUT, BECAUSE THEY KNOWS MASTER POTTER IS ANGRY ENOUGH TO DO ANY OF THESE THINGS! LASTLY, DOBBY HEARS THAT MASTER HARRY SAYS 'SCREW YOU'!"

The whole hall erupts into laughter. Dumbledore looks faintly amused, but I can see that McGonagall doesn't see the funny side of it. I am howling with laughter, so hard that tears are streaming from my eyes. Oh yeah? If Potter tried to do anything to me, he'd be the one fed to the Giant Squid. I glance over at the Gryffindor table and spot Potter growing crimson, but looking at me very defiantly. Granger is spluttering on her pumpkin juice. I don't think Potter is the one who told Dobby to say these things. I wonder who it is.

However, it seems 'Harry's' revenge is not yet done. A second Howler is delivered as the first one curls up in flames and turns into ash. The owl holding it again drops it quickly in front of me and soars away, hooting in a frightened manner.

"DOBBY REMINDS MASTER MALFOY AND MASTER ZABINI THAT MASTER POTTER ADDS, 'AND I DON'T MEAN THAT LITERALLY, SO GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER! ANYWAY, I KNOW YOU'D RATHER SCREW EACH OTHER!'"

Again, the hall starts laughing, however this time not many people are laughing because most of the girls are all sighing pitifully. I slap the table and the Slytherins, and some people closest to our table, fall silent. Some of the smarter women recognize this as a sign that I am not really gay, and that crap was just something that someone invented to embarass me. Potter now has his head in his hands, but I can see he is laughing. Granger is being smacked on the back by Ron, who is grinning at her. Somehow, at this sight, my hand clenches. I don't know why, though.

Blaise looks rather happy at the prospect of screwing me, but I smack the back of his head and he quickly puts an offended expression on his face. Gods. I hope he doesn't get any funny ideas.

What was that person thinking of, using Dobby, of all creatures, to record a Howler? Most likely they don't want to let the whole school know who they are. And it has to be a person Dobby knows well and obeys without question.

Since it isn't Potter, and I doubt Ginny would do anything of the sort, that leaves two suspects: Weasley, and Hermione Granger.

It'll be fun torturing the latter one into confession, and as for her punishment? I can think of many, many ways - not all of them painful.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lalala... there's chapter 19. Hopefully now you get why she was with them. And Draco actually let her! Heehee.

OK... I wasn't sure what I was thinking when I wrote the Howlers. Dobby? -Grins- I guess I was going for a bit of extra humor. I dunno what I'll do for Draco torturing Hermione, though.

Please review. :D Thanks very much.