7title: Décalcomanie
pairing: Dramione
notes: as I said last chapter, this will be a multi-chapter fanfic, but since the chapters can stand-alone, I just marked the story as "complete" though I'm iffy about it now. I might get rid of the "complete" status, but I don't know yet.
notes: on another note, now that I've named this after the MAMAMOO song, every time I listen to the song, I picture Hermione dancing it instead. WELP. Anyone else a MooMoo?
Décalcomanie
Getting more and more drunk with the mood
Our eyes are meeting
Even the flowing silence is sticky
It's about to explode between us
Draco doesn't know if this counts as paranoia, but ever since he's spilled his guts out to Granger in the sixth-floor boys' bathroom, every time he looks over his shoulder, he half-expects Dumbledore to appear behind him with some rare spell to disintegrate him. Okay, sure, the old coot probably wouldn't do that, but paranoia makes one think of the craziest of things.
Speaking of crazy, spilling his guts to an obvious member of Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix may not have been the brightest idea he's ever had. And this great idea of his is probably the reason why he's sitting in the headmaster's office with Snape glowering in the background and the aforementioned muggle-born witch fidgeting in the chair next to him.
Of course, she blabbed. Of course, the little goody two-shoes blabbed. Anything for the greater good, right?
He swallows nervously. Surely, the headmaster wouldn't kill a student, right?
"Stop looking at me like that," Granger snaps. "I didn't say anything to anyone!"
"Hard to believe, Granger," he snorts in the same snappish tone. "Were you scared of the big bad Death Eater after he cried on your shoulder?" He tries to conceal the deep breath he takes to calm himself. In his moment of vulnerability, he had trusted her. He should've known better.
"Oh, would you both just shut up?" Snape drawls, the annoyance in his monotone evident, as he pinches the bridge of his hooked nose. "Neither of you tattled on the other, but you're both to blame for not even casting a silencing charm while you had your little heart-to-heart chat last week. What do you imagine would have happened, had the wrong person were to have overheard you?"
His sneer alone is enough to chastise both Draco and Hermione, the latter pointedly staring at her hands while the former glared and folded his arms like an impudent child.
"Luckily for you both, I happened to be in the vicinity and came up with a valid excuse as to why every single boy had to run all the way down to the fifth floor to empty their bladders. And luckily for Gryffindor House and you, Miss Granger, I didn't dock any points or all your housemates would have started asking you what it is you had to do in the boys' bathroom."
The brunette witch turns an embarrassing shade of pink, obvious even with her head down.
"So, why are we here then?" she asks blithely, mustering a glare at the greasy-haired professor. Suddenly, the glare disappears underneath shocked worry. She jumps from her seat. "You're not going to obliviate me, are you!?"
Draco wonders again for the hundredth time why he didn't cast the spell himself. He should have obliviated her — why didn't he? Why couldn't he? His fingers tap his wand. He could obliviate her right now, and no one but Snape would be the wiser . . . unless, of course, the bloody git tattled to the headmaster. But that would be impossible — the unbreakable vow should prevent Snape from running to Dumbledore or any member of the Order.
"Sit back down, Miss Granger. Do not insult me with that thoughtless accusation," Snape barks. "That's something only a bloody Gryffindor would do without even considering the possibilities bringing you into the know would entail."
"Possibilities?" Draco raises a thin eyebrow.
Snape looks as though he's ready to roll his eyes. "Draco, as much as you may despise her for being Potter's friend and for her besting you in your classes, even you have to admit it's no joke when someone dubs her the brightest witch of your generation."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Granger asks, trying to figure out why Snape hasn't threatened her to keep quiet about what Draco's told her.
Snape sighs, rubbing his forehead. "Perhaps, I may have miscalculated your intelligence, Miss Granger."
Granger seethes under the insult, narrowing her eyes.
"If both you children can't come to the same conclusion Dumbledore and I have, then I'm afraid it's not just going to be one of you who'll be obliviated." Snape almost smirks when both Hogwarts students grow silent. "Let's clear the air, shall we?" He leans against the wall. "What you both know is that Draco has been assigned on a mission by the Dark Lord to kill Dumbledore, the only wizard the Dark Lord has ever feared. What you both don't know is that Dumbledore already knows about all this."
"Then why isn't the old coot doing anything to stop me!?" Draco jumps to his feet. He had already known it was a long shot to successfully complete his mission, but if Dumbledore already knew... Is the old man just messing with him?
Hermione watches quietly, the clogs in her brain turning. From his outburst and from what he's already told her, it's clear to her that Malfoy doesn't want to go through with his mission. She know this — Malfoy himself, his unwillingness to follow Voldemort and his desire to protect his mother — will be vital to the order, but what she doesn't know is how to best use that information.
Her stomach does a small flip. After what he's shared with her, she doesn't want him to become a tool for either side, but it's inevitable that Malfoy will have to choose where his allegiance truly lies. She just hopes the side he chooses isn't the one against Harry — she won't be able to do anything for Malfoy, should he go against her best friend and the Order.
For a short moment, she contemplates bribing Malfoy with some sweets — he does have an abnormally large sweet tooth, and there's probably a bunch of muggle desserts he's never tried before. She would have laughed to herself, had Snape's next words didn't have the same impact as an unforgiveable.
"Dumbledore is dying."
Snape's words steal the air out of her lungs, and her mind is surprisingly empty for once. When she glances at Malfoy, their eyes meeting, she knows he's thinking along the same lines.
"But without Dumbledore..." her voice trails off. She doesn't have the heart to finish the sentence.
"Without Dumbledore, you two will have to step up," Snape finishes, looking more serious than either Hermione or Draco have ever seen. "After all, if everything was left to Potter and Weasley, the world would basically belong to the Dark Lord." His hooked nose wrinkles at the very thought.
ending notes: DA-DA-DUM! Yeah, I ended it on a really cheesy note, but I promise the next few chapters will be epic. (Well, I think they'll be epic. I don't know about you guys, hee-hee.) Hoped you enjoy! Please leave reviews!