Love and Hate: A Dramione

Chapter 17

Genevieve Harrington was not impressed.

She thought that she had succeeded in putting Hermione Granger in her place. Now with the latest stunt, Hermione was once again the apple of Dumbledore's eyes and the center of Harry's attentions.

Genevieve knew going into Hogwarts that she would have to compete with the school's golden girl but she didn't think it would be that difficult. For the most part she was right. Anyone with eyes can see that Genevieve was leagues above Hermione. She was prettier, richer, smarter, not to mention a pureblood. But Genevieve also knew that the old coot preferred Granger over her. Fortunately, he had the stupid tendency to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and so was too nice to fight against the Board members when they gave Genevieve the Head Girl. Genevieve smirked. Dumbledore was too idealistic for his own good. Still, she would've liked the old coot on her side if only to have the whole school wrapped around her fingers. When he asked Hermione to go on the mission instead of her, Genevieve was disappointed even though she knew why he was wary of her. Not that Genevieve was eager to take on such a dangerous task – she just wished it didn't turn out so well. Now Dumbledore had renewed admiration for Hermione and Harry was once again interested in strengthening their friendship, leaving Genevieve to the wayside. This simply would not do. So Genevieve set out to reclaim her place at the top.

She knew the only way she could regain their attention was to do something as heroic as what Hermione did, but in true Harrington fashion, do it better. So she recruited Ron to help her. She fed him some story about how she was inspired by Hermione's bravery to try and help the cause (which he ate up like the good lapdog that he was) and they spent the days after Hermione's return in the library researching the possible locations of the remaining Horcruxes. Finally, a few days later she found out where two Horcruxes were. Turns out, Granger was on the right track with the heirloom idea.

When Hermione came back successfully with the locket, Genevieve decided to go and visit her uncle who had married a direct descendant of Helga Hufflepuff. What's more, they actually lived in Hufflepuff's residence, after her aunt inherited the estate as part of her dowry. It pays to have pureblood connections. It was too easy, really. Her aunt was a true Hufflepuff – loyal, kind...and extremely gullible. Genevieve mentioned something about wanting to learn more about the Founders of Hogwarts and her aunt eagerly jumped at the chance to show her the Hufflepuff family history.

Genevieve was getting extremely bored when near the end of the tour her aunt led her down into the cellar. The cellar itself was not spectacular. In fact, it looked like it hadn't been used in years. There were cobwebs and dust all around and Genevieve saw a pile of abandoned sacks in one corner. However, she could also feel the strong presence of magic pulsing around her, just out of reach. Her aunt walked over to a run-down looking cupboard. She opened one of the doors with a creak revealing Hufflepuff's cup.

"Oh Aunt!" Genevieve exclaimed in mock surprise. "Is that really – no, it can't be!"

"Indeed it is my dear," her aunt said with a proud smile. "Helga Hufflepuff's cup. It's been in my family for generations. Appearances can be deceiving. That cupboard might not look like much but it has the strongest protection charms you would ever find."

"Oh! Dumbledore would love to be able to see this!" Genevieve gushed.

"I'm afraid I can't take it out of the house my dear. Too precious, you see."

Genevieve hung her head down, faking disappointment. "Of course, I understand. It would just be so great – such a privilege to be able to bring it to Hogwarts. It would mean so much to everyone to see such an important piece of history, even for just a short time."

"Well," her aunt replied slowly. "I suppose one little visit couldn't hurt. Helga Hufflepuff helped build the school after all."

Genevieve didn't want her actions to be considered a "follow-up" to Hermione's so she waited until she had a lead on another Horcrux before letting Dumbledore know about the cup. Oddly enough, Ron was the one who gave her a big clue. Guess he wasn't completely useless. He was able to find the school's detailed blueprints which included all the enchantments that surrounded the castle. When Genevieve compared it to the drawings of the Chamber of Secrets (commissioned by Dumbledore upon its discovery so that they knew exactly what was in there) she noticed something very odd. With a triumphant grin she made her way to Dumbledore's office with Ron in tow.