"Either return to your common rooms or to the Great Hall. I will report you to Professor McGonagall later."
"Oh, come on, Hermione," pleaded Ernie Macmillan. "You don't have to report us to McGonagall," he insisted, indication his partner in crime, a pretty girl from Hufflepuff.
"Ernie, you know the rules as well as I do," Hermione snapped. "It is my duty as Head Girl to-"
"Fine. We're leaving. Thanks a lot," Ernie said coolly.
As the couple left, Hermione distinctly heard the words "bitch" and "lighten up" echo through the corridor. She fought back the tears that had been building up all night and continued on her pursuit.
After leaving Draco behind, Hermione had ducked into the second floor bathroom where she was met with two disturbances. Replaying the scene with Draco in her mind, she was suddenly faced with doubt and couldn't shake off the feeling that she had made the wrong decision. The second disturbance was Moaning Myrtle's unearthly wail that had sent Hermione running from the bathroom.
In hopes of squelching that nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach, Hermione had made it her mission to find every snogging couple in the castle and give them detentions. Thought she knew it was childish, she couldn't let anyone else enjoy what she couldn't possibly have.
It had been a few hours, and with every couple discovered, Hermione found it more and more difficult to silence her thoughts. Having reached the Entrance Hall, she decided to return to the ball for a final appearance and then retire for the night.
Then she heard it. Over the music came a muted crashing sound. It had come from the broom cupboard just off the Entrance Hall. It was the one place Hermione had not checked in her hunt of snogging couples.
Who would be thick enough to choose such an obvious place? Hermione wondered as she approached the cupboard. Shaking her head at such stupidity, she rapped on the door.
"Whoever's in there, open up!" she ordered.
She heard a few brooms falling and what sounded like two people whispering and shuffling around.
"Open the door!" Hermione repeated.
Greeted with silence, she grabbed the handle and swung the door open. Expecting to find another pair of 5th years engrossed in a tongue war, Hermione was momentarily stunned when she found Parvati Patil struggling to fasten her dress. And there was Ron, blushing furiously as he struggled with his zipper.
All three of them froze. Hermione studied Ron's flushed face and then Parvati's indignant stare. As each moment of silence passed, the tension built up. Hermione's throat seemed to constrict. She felt ill.
"Excuse me," she said in a she just witnessed on the other side. Her mind went into a haze, slowly processing what had just occurred.
"Miss Granger! A word!" Professor McGonagall called, her voice ringing through the haze. Hermione's eyes came back into focus.
"Yes, Professor?" she answered weakly.
"There's a rumor circulating of a costume contest," McGonagall stated sternly, "A contest that Headmaster Dumbledore or myself never authorized. Can you verify the rumor?"
Hermione forced herself to think.
"Yes, it's true, but-"
"Miss Granger, I gave clear instructions-"
"I know, Professor-"
"-Clear instructions that everything concerning the ball had to be approved by either myself or Headmaster Dumbledore-"
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Enemy Seduction: Dramione
FanfictionDraco and Hermione have been enemies for as long as anyone has known them. It's in their nature to scowl at each other as they walk down the hallways to Potions, or mock one another when they make a mistake. However, when Professor McGonagall assign...
