27. Chapter 27: Hermione
Because it was requested, I'll give you guys an estimate of how many chapters are left. It's approximately 3-4 chapters for each method of murder (XD), and there's 3 methods left, plus a few chapters to sum it up, and maybe an epilogue (maybe)... I'd say there's a good 10 chapters left, give or take a chapter or two.
drunkonlife: Lol, I used to be as clueless about all these acronyms on FFnet as you... Ahhhh, the good old da-
-Is smacked-
Random voice: Get on with it!
Me: Sorry! X.x
OoC means Out of Character. :) Sorry for the randomness... I'm writing this at 11:15pm... so tired... I think I got the flu. :(
& bwhahahahah...
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10 Ways to Kill Draco Malfoy
Chapter 27
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HERMIONE
I think Ron's onto something.
After all, I know it was him who saw me sitting with Draco. Hopefully that's all he saw... I mean, if he tells Harry, then I'll be in for a big, totally unnecessary lecture about how Draco Malfoy is vermin and how I shouldn't be seen closer than 5 metres from him, let alone hang out together.
But still... it's not like I intentionally stalked him and pretended to casually walk up to him to talk. It was a coincidence. Surely he'd understand that much.
Maybe I should have given Draco a few kicks and punches for good measure.
No... I probably couldn't, even if I tried. We've interacted so much because of my plans that it's getting harder and harder to perform them to him. But last night, I steeled myself and poured the Mandrake Potion into his goblet anyway.
I was almost relieved when it was Goyle that we saw twitching on the ground, not the blonde. Seeing his ugly mug never gave me more joy before. Actually, Goyle's face has never given me a spark of pleasure to look at, so this was a great achievement.
The strange thing was, after Prefect Duties that night, Ron had been sent to the Hospital Wing, where we are right now. I don't know what happened, but I do know Draco was with him. Maybe they were attacked by someone? Nah, that couldn't be right. Hogwarts is a apparate-free area, so a mad axe murderer couldn't have just appeared out of nowhere. And the reason that Madam Pomfrey was told, by Draco - Ron falling over - seemed unlikely as well. One of his eyes is swollen and there are various cuts and bruises on his face, and all over him.
That only leaves one thing.
Draco and Ron fought each other.
"Madam Pomfrey, when Dr- Malfoy brought Ron here, was he in bad shape too?" I ask, carefully helping to apply healing balm to Ron's arm. He grunts in pain as I spread the ointment into a cut that is deeper than most, near his shoulder. "Your fault for 'falling down'," I scold him as he tries to twist away. The reason why he hadn't completely healed was that last night, his body had concentrated on mending the broken ribs that he'd acquired.
She looks thoughtful. "Now that you mention it... yes, Mr Malfoy didn't seem too well, either, but he didn't have any serious injuries, so I managed to fix him up quite easily."
That must be it. Ron's expression is one of horror. "How did you know?" he whispers. "What made you ask that question?"
I roll my eyes. "You look beaten up to me. It's not that hard to tell, Ron. I mean, how many poor, unfortunate people get broken ribs when they trip over?"
Ron grins. "I guess you're right." He sighs, looking at me from the corner of his eyes. "We got into another fight. It started from a argument, as usual. He was a bit pissed off that I'd given Blaise a good beating-" I notice that he left out the part, in the fight with Blaise, where he got pummeled. "- and decided to get revenge. Of course, I was unprepared, so..."
I leave Ron exaggerating his story of last night to Madam Pomfrey, who is preoccupied with a pile of papers on her desk. Occasionally she gives a nod or a 'really, dear, that's lovely'.
So Draco beat up Ron. At least he had the decency to bring him to the nurse, but then again, he was a Prefect. If Draco hadn't he'd probably have lost his privilege over all the other students.
Selfish git! And here I was, thinking he could be trusted and might actually be friendly. Damn him!
"Ron," I declare. "I'm going out. Harry and I'll visit you later, I promise." The reason Harry's not here right now is because, being the Gryffindor Quidditch team captain, he has to oversee all of the practises. Of course, Ginny's in the team too, so it's almost like multitasking (even though boys can't multitask, but they can try) for him; flying around on a broomstick whilst occasionally swooping next to your girlfriend and giving her a quick snog, at the same time looking around for a gold glint in the air. Phew.
"W-wait! Where are you going?" I hear Ron's voice faintly behind me as I sprint out the door. "Where's my goodbye kiss? You're so cruel! I'm dying here!"
I roll my eyes in spite of myself and keep running. Gosh. A large amount of boys I know always seem to think they are God's gift to women and expect random kisses every now and then to keep their ego boosted. Well, I certainly am not going to inflate Ron's already-ginormous ego any further.
Now, now. Where could Malfoy be hanging around? It is a Saturday, just after breakfast. He could be still in his common room but that's unlikely.
"Hey, get your bloody team off the court! It's our turn to practise. You've been hogging the pitch for the last few days!"
I turn towards the Quidditch pitch, where Harry's voice had come from. A group of scarlet-robed figures are floating at one end of the pitch, while the other bundle of people with green robes swoop around the goals of the other side. Harry is at the head of his team, looking furious and shaking his fist at the leader of the Slytherin team, who is also about a metre in front of his group, lounging lazily on his broomstick.
I roll my eyes again. Typical Draco. I climb over the gate and land lightly on the other side, too lazy to unlatch the gate.
"If you need proof, then here," Draco flies over easily and shoves a slip of paper into Harry's face. Even from this distance I can see the green tint of the paper and know that it is a valid permission slip. "Signed, Professor S. Snape. That enough? Or do you want me to ask him personally - and bring him here to order you to let us play here too?"
"This is beginning to feel really familiar," Harry mutters. "Like that time when Flint was hogging the pitch from Wood... and he had a slip too. Malfoy's every bit as arrogant and snotty as he was..."
Draco leans forward towards Harry. "Pardon?" he asks politely, pretending to dig out his ears. "Maybe I heard wrong. Arrogant and snotty, did you say?"
"I think you heard right," I say loudly, waving up and Harry, who looks delighted and a bit relieved to see me. Another person to back him up. "And that's an understatement."
The blonde looks down at me, surprised. Then, a smirk graces his lips. I can't help but stare at them as he speaks. Oh my God. What is happening to me? AHHHHH! Unfortunately, because I can't read lips, this means that I didn't catch a word he said. "Come again, Malfoy?" Better not call him by his first name, even though I'm used to it. Harry might throw a fit. E.g; why are you friendly enough with Malfoy to call him by first name terms blah blah blah.
Draco scowls. "Oh, for fuck's sake. Never mind."
"Don't you insult my friends," Harry whispers in a dangerous voice. Oh. Obviously, what Draco had just said had insulted some of us - me, Ron, Ginny, Neville, etc. Good thing I didn't hear it, or I might get spurred on to perform ever-more deadly plans on him.
Not that the one I have in mind isn't nasty enough. I mean, OK, a few insults here and there isn't enough to provoke me, but beating up one of my best friends? That is just unforgivable. Something has to be done to teach him a bloody lesson.
--- Plan 8: Push Malfoy off the Astronomy Tower
When: Sunday night
Why: For beating up Ron! How could he? That bastard!
How: Lure him up to the tower, talk about the weather and nonchalantly push him off the edge of the top platform. Good thing it has no safety bars, only a few metal slots for telescopes, so that they can be easily fitted in any direction. Which means, a great chance to push him off without too much struggle!
"Ohhh, I'm scared, Potty," Draco hisses back, amused. "What are you gonna do?"
"Why you little-!" Harry finally loses his temper and his face begins to turn red.
I wave frantically at him. "Don't! Ignore the ferret scum. He's just baiting you!"
"Sticking up for your pathetic friends, are you?" Draco sneers at Harry, before looking over at me and rolling his eyes.
I can see that Harry's fuse is about to blow. Already Georgina and Heather are pulling Ginny back. She is bright red and seems to be struggling to land a blow on Draco's smug face. I don't blame her. In her place, I'd probably be doing the same thing... well, maybe.
Damn. That sentence would have been much easier to say a few months ago... but now, I'm not so sure.
"You bastard!" Harry yells, and starts to bend down onto his Firebolt to accelerate. "You just wait! I'm going to come over there and skin you alive! And roast you over a open fire for the whole world to see!"
Um... Harry? If you did that, I think that the girls would not be very pleased. But of course I don't say this aloud, or I would be the one at the end of Harry's screaming right now.
Draco cocks an eyebrow and smirks in that sexy way. Oh Gods. I have to look away - or else I might suddenly do something stupid... like what Harry and Ron nearly did when they first saw the Veelas. Urgh. That wouldn't be very nice.
"Come get me, Potter."
The chase is on. Harry streamlines himself and hurtles towards Draco, who quickly spins out of the way and accelerates himself. Soon they are nothing but scarlet and green blurs around the pitch. After a while, they slow down, both evidently getting a bit tired. However, both are also too stubborn to give up, and Harry nudges his Firebolt, while Draco does a figure eight on his Firewhiskey, a new broom that had just come out. It isn't really an upgrade to the Firebolt; that broom is simply too good to be upgraded just yet. More like a much better version of the Nimbuses. Much, much better version. It practically matches the Firebolt in both speed, endurance, control and all the other things that Firebolts are so special for, and popularity. There's so many debates in the smaller columns of the Daily Prophet about which broom is better that hardly anyone, except for broomstick or quidditch fanatics, reads them anymore.
"Get-back-here! Malfoy, you slimy git! Wait til I peel you alive..." I barely hear Harry hiss through gritted teeth. I break out in giggles. At that moment, the aforementioned ferret sees me laughing and raises an eyebrow.
"Something funny, Gran- ARGH!" Apparently, seeing my face made him lose concentration and he bursts into one of the stand-towers. There is silence for a few seconds as we all register what happened. Even Harry stops to look at the gaping hole in the thin cloth. Everyone's face is in shock, and Ginny stopped struggling long enough to strike a very odd pose, in which her arms are being pulled back by her fellow Chasers and her mouth is a wide 'O'.
"... hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Just as suddenly, he zooms back out of the same tower, making yet another huge hole in the cloth. Bits of blue cloth cling to his clothes as he crashes through. "Watch out!" he screams, until he looks right in front of him.
At me.
"FUCK!" Draco yells. "DAMNIT! Hermione, why'd you have to be in the way?" Too shocked to do anything, I nod my head like a broken doll. "DUCK!" Too late. He pulls the broomstick beside me and falls off. The Firewhiskey spirals off into the distance but comes whirling back, stopping slowly near the goals behind Harry's team.
However, we are not so lucky. Draco's leap - well, fall, to avoid hitting me and making a human pancake out of my body - yes, yes, very sweet, isn't it - meant that he landed on top of me. We roll to the side for several rotations, from the force of impact, until we stop. With me, grabbing him very tightly, on top of him.
"Oh my God, Hermione and Draco are hugging each other tightly!"
"And Hermione's on top! Rawr! Never knew she was the dominant type."
The comments make my face flush crimson, and I would jump away from him, if I could. But no; Draco just has to keep holding me for all it is worth, as if he is deliberately trying to fuel the whisperings. "Let me go," I say quietly, grinding my teeth. "Harry's here. You don't want to make this public just yet." Suddenly I realize what I just said. "Oops. Scratch that."
He smirks his famous smirk that somehow, strangely, I am beginning to find very comforting. "So you're admitting we have a relationship. Fast mover, aren't you?"
I resist the urge to roll my eyes and fail.
Just then, hands grab me around the waist and tug up. Surprised, Draco lets me go, and I find myself thrown into Harry's arms. There is a shriek that sounds suspiciously like Ginny. I glance over at her sheepishly, and mouth the words it's not like what it looks! I swear!
Harry seems quite flustered to be so close to me. "S-sorry, 'Mione," he says rapidly, babbling a little. "I just wanted to f-free you from Malfoy and-and-and then you kinda got thro-thrown back to m-me so I'm sorry sorry..." OK, babbling a lot.
I break away quickly. "You know Ginny's going to kill you, right?" I murmur from the corner of my mouth, whilst maintaining the look of a forgiving maiden. "I think I heard her screech when you grabbed me."
"Damn," Harry groans, putting his head into his hands. "So I didn't just imagine that scream. It was her."
"Hey, isn't anyone going to help me up?" Draco says pathetically from the ground. I glance around, surprised that the girls hadn't rushed to help him, but soon see what they were busy doing. Because none of the Slytherin team were girls, that only left the 3 on Harry's team - Ginny, Georgina and Heather. The latter two were restraining a yelling and cursing Ginny, who I can't tell if she's screaming at me or at Draco. But seriously, it wasn't my fault, so I don't see why she'd be screeching at me...
While thinking all that, I walk over absently to Draco and hold out an arm. "Here, ferret. Don't do that again, 'k? This is what'll happen to you." I lean closer. "And you just fought with Ron... you must be hurting all over."
His face pales. "You know?"
I snort. "Obviously. I know enough to understand that you started a fistfight with Ron, whom came out worse, and you very nearly left him for dead - if you weren't concerned about you bloody badge." I'm exaggerating a bit here, but I'm sure he knows what I'm getting at. Or else the fight knocked him silly.
Not a good thing. Not at all.
I mean, who else will be the person who I can constantly bicker with, without a reason?
"If I don't keep the badge, mother would go into depression," he mutters. "I'm the only thing she can be proud of at this stage."
Something 'ping!'s in my chest cavity. I'm guessing I just felt a tingle of pity for the poor guy. No! That's not right! This is Malfoy we're talking about here.
Alright, alright. I admit it. That excuse is getting invalid. Draco Malfoy is the one I have the most fun with, sometimes...
But still, he beat up Ron! That's an awful thing to do, and I shouldn't be feeling pity for the beater. He doesn't deserve it! It's the beatee, lying in the Hospital Wing, that needs my pity... or my care... or, at least, my attentions.
"Run along now, Malfoy," I say loudly. In a quieter voice, in response to his appalled expression, "I'll see you later. We'll talk tomorrow night. Look out for an owl from me."
He looks up at me questioningly, but I shake my head and push him away. "Alright then," he says, playing the part of an offended egotistical male perfectly. "Stupid Mudblood. Thinks she can boss me around... hrm, I'll show her..." Personally, I think he's showed me, more than required, that he likes to be the dominant 'bosser-arounder' - in all kinds of situations.
"Yeah, sod off, Malfoy," Harry adds. "Finally. We can practise in peace."
Draco's team looks amazed that he backed off so easily, but I suppose that, from the way that they followed without protest, even they thought that being chased on a broomstick - a Firebolt, of all brooms - by Harry Potter, yougest Seeker in a century (another title to add to his growing collection), crashing through a stand-tower twice and falling off a broomstick is enough to discourage someone from practising in that area after all that happened.
What a fun day. Now all I have to do is perform my next plan... without chickening out.
Maybe I should put a few mattresses underneath, just in case he goes 'splat'?
Ew. Now that just brought some gruesome mental images to my mind... I really shouldn't have thought of that.
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Yes, yes, I know that 'Come get me, Potter!' line was dripping with sexual innuendo - and yaoi, too - but I couldn't help it. I just imagined Draco looking so damn sexy while on a broomstick, doing that 'come - bring it on' hand movement and smirking. Ahhh... -Fangirl sigh- So secksy. XD
Mmm... maybe I should do a fanart of Draco in that scene... hmmm...
Oh yeah, and for those who haven't visited this place yet: http / www .contraveritas. com / why. php It has several essays/proof of why Draco/Hermione could possibly be canon... just take away the spaces, and hopefully it'll work! YOU MUST GO VISIT! It is teh cool! Especially the proof that D/HG exists in the book - most of you D/Hr shippers/fans who have read the whole series probably haven't even realized some of these scenes. I certainly didn't, and I even got my friend to lend me all three movies just so I could search for Draco and Hermione scenes. :P