As they sat in their Common Room later that evening, Hermione busied herself by reading The Daily Prophet, while Draco grew uneasy under Crookshanks' searching gaze.
"Will you call off that ugly cat of yours?" Draco said finally, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
Hermione lowered the newspaper and turned to look at Draco. "What has he done to you now, Malfoy?" she asked in exasperation.
"He's staring at me!" Draco snapped. Indeed, Crookshanks was sitting on the arm of the sofa, inches from Malfoy's face.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "You're such a ninny, Malfoy; Crookshanks can't hurt you!" She reached across Draco to give Crookshanks a pat. "You're scaring the big, bad Slytherin," she told her cat. "Can you find somewhere else to sit?” Hermione then went back to reading.
Draco could've sworn the cat rolled its own eyes at him before it jumped away from the sofa and sauntered off to lay on the rug in front the fireplace.
The clock on the hearth signaled it was time to start patrols. In unison, they stood up and made their way to the portrait hole. Draco gestured to Hermione to go first; she had only gotten one foot out into the corridor when Professor McGonagall appeared.
Hermione screamed.
"Really, Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall sniffed, folding her hands together, "it does no one good to be so jumpy."
Draco snorted gleefully; however, he quickly fell silent when Professor McGonagall's steely gaze rested upon him.
"I am here to inform you that patrols on the sixth floor are not necessary."
Hermione was confused. "Not...necessary? If I may inquire as to why that is?"
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, clearly embarrassed. "It seems Peeves has caused quite a bit of trouble for Mr. Filch this evening. Not only has Peeves set off a large supply of Dungbombs, he's taken Professor Binns test papers and a large quantity of marbles and has, er, scattered them everywhere."
Hermione clasped a hand to her mouth. "Oh, no!"
"Unfortunately, Peeves has now taken to pelting Mrs. Norris with spoons from the kitchen," Professor McGonagall continued, "So to keep students from becoming--how shall I put this?--spooned to death, I have blocked off the sixth floor corridor while Mr. Filch and the Headmaster attempt to bring things under control."
Hermione nodded, making a mental note to avoid the sixth floor at all costs. She wondered what could have possibly gotten into Peeves? Hogwarts' resident poltergeist was always just a little bit obnoxious, but tonight he was being downright sadistic!
Professor McGonagall nodded her good nights to them and went on her way. The Head Boy and Girl stood in stunned silence until she was out of sight.
Then Draco suddenly burst into fits of laughter. Hermione couldn’t help herself; she began to giggle also.
"'Spooned to death'?" Draco repeated cooly, giving Hermione a bemused look. "I think I'd pay real Galleons to see that.”
Hermione chuckled. "You know what? I think I'd be right there alongside you!"
There was a pause, as Draco caught the last of Hermione's words and realized their irony. Then the Head Boy and Girl collapsed into giggles; they chortled at the absurdity of the situation taking place up on the sixth floor and then the ridiculousness of their own situation.
After a few moments, however, Draco seemed to realize what he was doing and sobered quickly. Hermione, seeing the sudden change in Draco, stopped laughing immediately.
After a long, tense pause, Hermione coughed. "Perhaps we should start in the library?" she suggested.
"Why the library, Granger? Haven't you done enough reading for one night?" Draco folded his arms crossly. Hermione's chest tightened; she should have guessed the glimpse of a happier Draco was too good to be true.
"For your information, Malfoy," Hermione retorted, "the library is an excellent place for students to hide when they are out of bed past curfew."
Draco's bored expression changed to one of leering interest. "Really?" he asked. "How do you know that? Ever been in the library after hours with Hand-Me-Down Weasel?"
Hermione blushed and replied "No! But Harry--" she stopped, biting her lip. No one was supposed to know Harry had snuck in there during their first year while trying to find information on Nicholas Flamel.
Draco, however, took Hermione's sudden loss of words to mean something else. "Ah-ha!" he crowed. "The Mudblood and Scarhead snogged in the library! How very interesting!"
"It wasn't like that!" Hermione objected, her hands becoming fists. How could Malfoy's attitude change so suddenly? she wondered grudgingly. Hermione found she was irked--and didn’t like it.
The Head Boy threw his head back and guffawed. "Of course not! You probably bored him to tears with the complete history of kissing instead of actually doing it!"
Hermione gritted her teeth; Malfoy was deliberately baiting her. "Let's just go, Malfoy," she said tersely, trying to move away from their portrait hole.
Draco allowed Hermione to lead the way, his howls of laughter echoing throughout the corridor.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Where have you been?" Ginny nearly shrieked, pulling off the invisibility cloak when Luna came waltzing down the hallway. The redhead had been standing outside the library for nearly ten minutes! she could have been looking at the books inside if Luna hadn't taken forever and a day!
Luna pretended to dust her hands. 'I did say I would take care of Peeves, Filch, and Mrs. Norris, did I not?' she smiled knowingly. "They ought to be busy for quite some time."
"What did you do?" Ginny looked at Luna in wide-eyed wonder.
"You'll see," Luna replied vaguely. She looked at the closed library door. "I see you haven’t opened the door, Ginevra. What was keeping you?”
Ginny growled, suddenly wanting to smack Luna. "I was waiting for a Crumple-Horned Snorkack to walk by," she retorted sarcastically.
Luna began looking up and down the corridor interestedly. "Really?" she asked excitedly. "It would be a long way from Scandinavia! Do you suppose it could have gotten lost?"
So much for thinking she was anything like Hermione! Ginny groaned inwardly. The redhead pulled out her wand and instructed Luna to do the same. Luna tugged at the wand behind her ear and pointed it at the lock on the library door.
In the distance, they heard a faint crash, then the echoes of Peeves cackles filtered toward them.
Ginny desperately wanted to know what was going on, but helping Hermione was her top priority. She and Luna tapped the lock and whispered "Alohomora".
The door creaked open and the girls made their way through the silent, darkened library, using their lighted wand tips to look at the rows of leather-bound volumes.
Ginny thought they should look in the Restricted Section, but Luna held her back.
"It's best that we don't," Luna said simply.
"Why, Luna?" Ginny queried. "Those books probably hold the best information--information we need! I don't want to be sneaking around the library any longer than necessary, you know."
Luna shook her head with a vague smile. "No good can come from those books right now."
So Ginny decided to search the rows that were not restricted.
They came across something titled 'Counter-Spells For The Clueless' almost immediately. Ginny excitedly pulled the tome down and scanned through it.
"'To pull apart any two objects that won't quite budge after being stuck together,'" she read quietly to Luna, who was peering at a book about Aquavirious Maggots, "'one can use one of two simple charms: "Seorsum" or "Scindola".' Hmm. Do you think one of these could be the one?"
The light from her wand lit up Luna's eerie white smile. "One means 'apart' and the other means 'separate'."
Ginny looked back at the page she'd read from. "Why, yes, they do!" She snapped the book closed and placed it back on the shelf. "Luna," Ginny asked suspiciously, "did you know those spells all ready?"
Luna nodded, replacing the volume she was perusing.
"Why didn’t you just tell me what you knew and saved me the trouble!” Ginny ground out. “We would not have had to go prowling around in the dark looking for something you already knew!”
“But, you did not ask me for that information," Luna replied serenely, before turning back to the books on the shelves.
Ginny growled and made to wring Luna's neck, but suddenly the door to the library creaked open.
Instantly, Ginny and Luna put out their wands and scurried under the invisibility cloak. They moved further back along the row, until they backed up to the window. The girls listened as the sound of two voices--one male, one female--floated toward them.
"Malfoy and Hermione," Ginny whispered, her voice barely audible; Luna nodded, understanding.
They watched in horror as Draco and Hermione paused at their row. Draco looked unseeingly at them and for a moment, Ginny's heart leapt to her throat; what if Malfoy could see them? After what seemed like an eternity, Draco and Hermione moved on, still talking in low tones.
Ginny was too scared to move; she put a finger to her lips indicating she and Luna should remain quiet. They moved forward along the row at a snail's pace until they were nearly out in the main aisle.
Ginny leaned forward in an effort to ascertain Hermione’s and Draco’s whereabouts; Hermione was coming right toward her!
She moved back so suddenly, that Luna stumbled up against one of the bookshelves. The noise caused Hermione and Draco to pause; the Head Girl narrowed her eyes and peered down the row.
"Do you see something Granger?" Draco asked lazily "Wait. Let me guess: you've spied the one book in this place that you haven't read yet. Is that it?"
Hermione flung her arm out and swung it all around. Ginny held her breath and flattened herself against Luna, not caring that she was nearly crushing the poor girl.
"Are you waving at the book, Granger?" Draco asked, incredulously. "It's not going to wave back, you know," he added sarcastically. "Why don't you come down here some other time and make a proper introduction? It's not as though the book will be taking a vacation any time soon."
Hermione, annoyed, elbowed Draco. The Head Girl and Boy and continued on until they reached the library doors. At last, the two left, leaving Ginny and Luna to breathe sighs of relief.
"Come on!" Ginny exclaimed, pulling Luna along. "We’ve got to catch them and perform the spell before it gets any later!"
They raced to the door, but opened it very slowly to avoid the loud creak it usually made. Once it was open enough to slip through, Luna headed out first, gesturing to Ginny to move left.
The two girls moved quickly but silently through the corridors until they spotted Draco and Hermione going into an empty classroom. Ginny saw their chance; they would hit Hermione and Draco with a spell when they exited the room.
They skittered over to the door and flattened themselves against the wall.
Ginny and Luna then poked their wand tips out from under the invisibility cloak and waited.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Doesn't seem to be anyone in here," Draco frowned in annoyance.
"I know that," Hermione retorted. "Someone’s following us, so I thought coming in here would give us some time."
"Time for what?" Draco seemed confused. "And who are you talking about?”
"Time to come up with a plan," Hermione sighed, pulling out her wand. "Perhaps you ought to visit Madame Pomfrey and get your hearing checked. Didn't you hear someone walking along the corridor behind us?"
"No." Draco was looking at Hermione as if she had just spouted nonsense.
"I thought I heard something in the library," she told him, "but now I'm positive that there is an out-of-bed student prowling around Hogwarts."
Draco rubbed his hands together gleefully. "Perfect." This might be his chance to give detentions to and take points from one of the two people he hated most: Potter and Weasley.
Hermione seemed to sense what Draco was thinking; she shook her head. "Sorry to disappoint you, Malfoy, but I don't think it's Harry or Ron. I distinctly smelled lemons whilst in the library; that's usually a feminine scent."
Draco's face fell; he had so hoped he could take Potter or Weasley down! "Was it Madame Pince's perfume?" he asked instead.
"Madame Pince wears something that smells a little like peppermint," Hermione stated matter-of-factly.
"Peeves?" Draco knew he was grasping at straws, but honestly didn't care; he was still hoping Hermione was wrong and the culprit turned out to be one of her male friends.
"He's still on the sixth floor, remember?" Hermione said. "Nearly Headless Nick told us so." Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington was the Gryffindor Ghost whose head had not been severed properly, thus gaining him the name 'Nearly Headless Nick'.
"Right." Draco was still unconvinced.
"I can think of one person," Hermione suddenly piped up; her tone was one of disgust. "Your girlfriend, Parkinson. She's been out to get us all day. I wouldn't be surprised if she was out there waiting for us to come out so she could hex us."
"First of all, Pansy is not my girlfriend, Granger,” Draco growled. "How dare you imply such a thing? Secondly, Pansy may be annoying, but she certainly wouldn't have the brains pull a stunt like that."
"How little you know your friends, Malfoy," Hermione retorted. "And how dare you imply that Ron is my boyfriend." The fake smile Hermione flashed made Draco’s scowl deepen even further.
"Whatever, Granger," Draco spat. "If it is Pansy out there, then let's confront her."
"I'm surprised you want to give another Slytherin a punishment," Hermione said lightly.
"At this point, I don't care who it is," Draco snapped. "I just want to get tonight over with so we can try to figure out how to break this bloody spell."
Hermione snorted, but did not reply; she wanted to be free from Draco too, but her first priority was to find out who was lurking in the corridor...
~*~*~*~*~*~
He appeared out of nowhere. Ginny had glanced over at Luna, yet when she focused once more on the classroom door, the Headmaster was there!
Ginny's heart lurched and her blood ran cold. Hurriedly, she and Luna pulled their wands back under the cloak. How did Dumbledore appear so quietly? Ginny wondered, her mind racing. I thought Apparating in the castle was prohibited! The redhead made a mental note to pay closer attention to her surroundings.
Dumbledore wasn’t known to anger easily, but what would the Headmaster say if he discovered Ginny and Luna standing under Harry's invisibility cloak nearly two hours after curfew?
Wait a moment, Ginny told herself, we're invisible! What am I worrying about? She glanced at Luna, who's luminous features appeared unfazed by Professor Dumbledore's arrival. In fact, Luna looked as if she were about to shout out a greeting to the Headmaster!
Ginny made a 'don’t-you-even-think-about-it' face and shook her head once; Luna retaliated with a look that clearly questioned Ginny's sanity.
Less than five feet away, the Headmaster peered all around him, clasping his hand behind his back. He cleared his throat; at that moment, the classroom door swung open.
Ginny and Luna watched as Hermione, followed closely by Malfoy, rushed out into the corridor, shouting, "Show your--Ahhh!"
Hermione stopped short, causing Draco to bump into her. The Head Girl and Boy stumbled, but Dumbledore's quick firm grip on Hermione's elbow halted their fall.
"P-Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione squeaked. "I'm sorry, sir; we thought you were someone else!"
Draco's gaze snapped to Hermione's face; it was obvious to Ginny that he didn't like being lumped into the word "we".
Dumbledore chuckled, righting Hermione, then releasing her arm. "I have been thought of as being many things, Miss Granger, so I suppose a generalization rather than a specification is a compliment?"
Beside Ginny, Luna snorted lightly; the redhead grimaced at the blonde girl, taking note that Dumbledore's eyes shifted briefly in their direction.
Not good! Ginny panicked; she was going to kill Luna...!
"I have been searching for the two of you," Dumbledore told Hermione and Draco, looking meaningfully at them. "I wanted to inform you that the, ah, situation on the sixth floor has been taken care of.”
"If I may inquire, sir," Hermione asked quietly, "What happened? Professor McGonagall mentioned Dungbombs and...spoons?” Beside her, Draco rolled his eyes and snorted.
"Ah, yes," Professor Dumbledore nodded. "It seems a student deliberately gave Peeves a few choice items and said something rather naughty to get him riled enough to cause a bit more havoc than usual."
"In other words," Draco drawled, his eyes showing nearly no emotion, "a particular pupil pissed Peeves off."
Ginny's eyes went round and she looked upon Luna, impressed.
The Headmaster's eyes lit up; "A very good use of alliteration, Mr. Malfoy," he said with a nod of his head. "I must remember to relay that one to Madame Pince."
"No offense, sir," Draco continued, "but our patrols are over now, so would you mind if we...?" He gestured in the direction of their Common Room.
"Of course, of course," Dumbledore stepped back and allowed Draco and Hermione to pass. However, when they were only five feet away, Hermione stopped in her tracks. She whipped around, extracting a muffled "Hey!" from Draco.
"Professor Dumbledore, sir!" Hermione stated loudly, looking anxiously at the Headmaster.
"Miss Granger?"
"I wouldn't ask this if were not important, however--"
"The privacy issue?" Dumbledore finished for her, his tone amused. Hermione nodded, and surprisingly, Draco did the same.
"I know we are on punishment," Hermione began, "but honestly, Professor, I...I mean we," she gestured to herself and Draco, "need a bit of time to care care of some things and I refuse--and I am really sorry to say it like that, sir--to do those things with him," she jerked her head and thumb at Draco, "right next to me!"
This time, Ginny snorted. She quickly covered her mouth, but everyone was looking in her direction.
Hermione narrowed her eyes for a split second, while Draco simply looked puzzled. Dumbledore, however, looked as though he were about to laugh heartily.
After a handful of heartbeats, the trio continued their conversation.
"I understand your dilemma, Miss Granger. I am only sorry I did not think of that before," Dumbledore said slowly. "I am only human, after all, and prone to mistakes--despite what some people would like to believe. Please accept my apology--and my eagerness to correct the situation."
Draco's gaze snapped to attention; he looked hopeful. "Are you going to separate us, sir?” Hermione, Ginny noted, looked quite eager also.
Dumbledore hesitated briefly before answering, "Yes and no."
Draco immediately became suspicious; he hated when the Headmaster spoke in cryptic tones. "What does that mean, Professor?"
Instead of answering immediately, Dumbledore removed an odd-shaped pink box from his robes. He shook it lightly and a quartet of small shiny red dots fell into his hand.
"Red Hots!" Hermione smiled, recognizing the Muggle candy at once.
Dumbledore held out his hand. "Perhaps some sweets will make you feel better?"
Draco sneered at Dumbledore. "No thank you, sir; I don't eat Muggle candy." He turned his face away from the Headmaster.
Hermione looked at the Red Hots longingly and said, "I doubt very much my parents would like it if I ate candy; they're dentists, you know." Beside her, Draco made a scoffing noise.
"Ah, my dear Head Boy and Girl, you really ought to take these," Dumbledore said shrewdly; he thrust his hand closer to Hermione and Draco, who looked at each other in curiosity, then hesitantly took the tiny candies and popped them into their mouths. At once, each yelped and fell away from one another.
They stared, shocked and facing one another, looking down at themselves as though unable to believe what had just happened.
"I'm free!" Draco whooped and spun around happily. Hermione stood openmouthed for a moment, then a huge grin spread across her face.
I’m free! she thought, stunned. Was this a dream?
Draco, however, decided to take this opportunity to run like mad; he wanted to get away from Granger as quickly as possible and put as much distance between them as he could manage.
However, he didn't get far; about fifty feet away, he was jerked back--and as though an invisible hand snatched the waistband of his pants beneath his robes--Draco was thrown onto the ground.
Hermione, despite herself, gasped and guffawed loudly. Even Luna and Ginny couldn’t help but let one or two chuckles escape their lips. Thankfully, Hermione laughed loud enough to mask the invisible girls' giggles.
"That wasn’t normal Muggle candy, was it, Professor Dumbledore?” Hermione asked smothering a grin and wanting very much to point and howl with laughter, but restrained herself; she didn't want to give Malfoy any more reasons to be cruel to her.
"I think Mr. Malfoy has just discovered the uniqueness of Seorsum Drops," Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his blue eyes. "They allow the two of you to be separated for a while, a few hours I believe. In the meantime, you cannot stray far from the other.”
"For a while?" Draco echoed stupidly, straining to sit up. "You mean we have to go back to being stuck together?" There was a note of panicked desperation in his voice.
"Of course, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore replied. "I was very serious when I told you that both of you needed to learn a lesson."
"Will we have to eat the candies every time we want to be separated?" Hermione queried. She hoped not--she could just imagine Draco wanting to eat the whole box at once.
"Yes," Dumbledore responded. "Two candies are all you will need for an eight hour period. At this time tomorrow you will need to take them again to separate for the evening--and every evening, until you discover how to separate yourselves."
Draco looked hopeful. “What if I were to take more than two?” Hermione rolled her eyes upward; of course Malfoy would ask that.
“Not a wise idea, my young friend,” Dumbledore said slowly, turning the box over to Hermione. “You would not feel well at all and would have to see Madame Pomfrey.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing she couldn’t fix.” Draco shot back smugly; Hermione wanted to smack him. Dumbledore, however, peered imposingly at him over the top of his half-moon spectacles.
“I’m certain she could,” the Headmaster replied lightly, “but I doubt very much that your bowels will thank you for it.”
“My bowels? Oh.” Draco groaned, watching Hermione pocket the candies as she bit her lip to keep from snickering.
“Sir, you haven’t answered the one burning question: the restroom?” Draco grumbled. “What shall we do during the day?”
“Ah, yes,” Dumbledore nodded. “I suppose I will sound crass, but do the words ”keep your legs crossed” mean anything to you?”
Ginny and Luna exchanged an amused glance; simultaneously, Hermione gasped in horror.
“You can’t be serious,” Draco muttered, knowing full well that Dumbledore was.
“Any concerns you have regarding that issue ought to be taken care of in the evening whilst you are separated, am I making myself clear?” Dumbledore peered at them over his half-moon spectacles.
Hermione nodded deftly, then turned and moved down the hallway; Draco, not wanting to be dragged down again, followed in pursuit. "Thank you, Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione called over her shoulder as she disappeared around a corner.
The Headmaster chuckled and put the candy box back into a pocket of his robes. He then cleared his throat again, looked directly at Ginny and said:
"Hello, Miss Weasley; I see you've borrowed Harry's cloak."