Acid Pop Junkies

Chapter 3- In Which Draco Plays God

Makes you sick, makes you ill,
makes you cheat, slipping change from the till.
Had it up to the gills... makes you cry while
the milk still spills. Ain't it just a bitch? What a pain...
Well it's all a crying shame. What
left to do but complain? Better find someone to blame.
     -Get Over It, Ok go

    "No Harry," Hermione commanded.

    General confusion settled upon all the teens in the room. Malia looked up at Draco questioningly. He just stared right back at her mismatched eyes morosely. Honestly, he didn't have all the answers. Holding onto Harry for support, Hermoine Granger drew herself up as best she could. She was an absolute mess to say the least. Signs of mourning were apparent in the way she didn't stand up to full height, the way her face was blotched and how her clothes were wrinkled and tie undone. Still grasping Harry's steady arm, she turned to everyone in the room.

    "We have to go back to the school. For o-obvious reasons."

    Draco pushed himself in front of Dante.

    "Well perhaps you might enlighten us as to what these reasons are. Apparently you're the only one who took the "what to do in case the world's population dwindles to six" class."

    Mourning was no excuse for poor leadership.

    "That's just it, there aren't any more survivors." Tears filled her eyes and she turned to Harry and bit her lip before speaking.

    "Ron, oh God Harry Ron..." Harry avoided her watery gaze and wiped his eyes in a mediocre attempt to control himself in front of Granger.

    "Yeah, thought about that quite a lot already," was all Harry could manage. Hermoine then proceeded to plunge her face into Harry's shoulder in a fit of uncontrollable sobbing. Most people in the room were giving off the distinct feeling of awkwardness. Pollocks coughed and turned around to look at the dull surroundings of the post office as if they were all seven wonders of the world. Draco knew he was beginning to cry also. Understandable for someone in his position, but Draco was in that position, as well as Dante and Malia.

    "What heartless bastards we are," Draco murmured almost wonderingly.

    Is that what they were, or was this perhaps the only situation in which they could be brave or maybe even fearless? Draco had to admit he preferred the latter. Dante turned to a pile of letters and picked one up.

    "Well well well, I wonder if Sarah Connors at Ottery St. Catchpole is hot. Sorry, was hot."

    Harry gave him a threatening glance. Through it all Draco stood his ground, his mind racing.

    "How can you be sure we're the only ones left?" He stared at Hermoine, trying to force her into answering his question. She didn't return the gaze, only lifted her lips to Harry's head and whispered something into his ear.

    "She, Hermoine says we have to go to the castle so we can discuss things." Harry said shakily.

    "Why should I have to take orders from a common Mu-" Draco was cut off by Harry's sullen but fierce tone.

    "Don't even say it Malfoy. No one is taking orders from anyone. But if you want your question answered you'll come."

    Malia and Dante's hands intertwined, and they looked at Draco for consent. They would do what he did. Regardless of their questions. Draco nodded quickly. They followed as predicted.

    As Draco exited the building, he became chillingly aware that night had finally descended upon them. They had no lamps. Another thought hit him full force and made him look at each of them in turn. Did they have their wands? After the shock of the potentially light shedding thought wore off, Draco realized how stupid it was. Of course they still had their wands, no inanimate objects were affected, only humans. Still, Draco checked his pocket for his wand. It was there and the reassurance allowed him to catch up with the others. Thankfully, there was a full moon that night, and the moonlight was enough to light their path. They reached the castle in a remarkably short time. The entire group halted at the immense oak doors of the great hall simply looking at each other, waiting for someone to step forward and open the door.

    Surprise, surprise- Harry opened the door. Draco told himself he would have if no one volunteered, but Rocket was in his way. Harry and Hermoine led the pack, almost running and looking straight ahead obviously sure of where they were going. The rest followed at the same pace with their heads down, trying not to look at the familiar decor. A flash of green and silver from a banner brought back the pride he had always felt for his house. And now it was more important than ever. Draco was left with only two other Slytherins. Dante and Malia had outstanding Slytherin traits, but somehow they didn't quite possess the most important virtues. And there were three Griffyndors. Three for three, a horrible mix.

    Finally the group reached the famed painting of fruit. Harry tickled the pear and they entered the kitchens. As the smell of food invaded Draco's senses he fell prey to the ravenous hunger he had experienced before. He nudged Malia and Dante and motioned for them to follow him to the cupboards. The three opened them and began rummaging.

    "Stop! Come now, people, we have to talk. This is important." Harry urged.

    Malia and Dante stopped and turned back to Harry. Draco gave them both furious glances.

    "You can eat later." Harry added.

    Draco knew this was directed at him.

    "I don't know about you, Potter," he drawled. "But I usually put possible starvation in front of heart- to- hearts."

    With that he swiped the nearest box of biscuits and ate them contentedly as he sat down at a large pine table with the others. It was circular and rather large. King Potter and the knights of the cheap, slightly oval table. Draco thought to himself disdainfully.

    "Well," Hermoine began with a odd smile. "I suppose it's time to explain why we're here. You must understand, I only know a little, so we're going to have to figure ot the rest on our own."

    Nobody spoke.

    "All right then," Hermoine continued. "It's actually quite simple." She was obviously regaining some of her composure. "The one thing we all have in common is the fact that we were all in Dumbledore's office when Malfoy killed the Phoenix."

    Draco opened his mouth in indignation, but Pollocks spoke before he could.

    "Is that it? You don't have any other theories?" Pollocks had a tendency to be even more of a know- it- all than Hermoine.

    "Well... yes." Hermoine blushed. "I bet Dumbledore put protection spells all over his office."

    "Figures, the old git didn't bother with the rest of the school." Dante said lazily. Harry looked ready to kill. Hermoine took the floor once again,

    "Anyway, there will be plenty of time for us to figure things out and find a reversal spell." Draco noticed she faltered when she said those last words. "There are others aspects we need to confront. We've unwillingly become the one society in the entire world and we need to be able to function properly."

    "Really, well it sounds interesting." Pollocks replied.

    Draco zoned out of the intensely boring conversation at this point and suddenly became aware of what he was eating. They were animal crackers. Being Muggle food, Draco had never seen these and allowed himself an amused chuckle. He picked a gorilla out of the box. This one's Potter, because he's an ugly prat.

    Hermoine said something rather puzzling to Pollocks and the real Harry Potter scratched his head in confusion. Draco laughed coldly. He then picked a camel. This is Rocket, because he looks like he's retaining water.

    Draco continued this way for each member of the group until he had everyone except himself. Hermoine was a lion, Dante was a zebra and Malia was a tiger. He arranged the biscuits in a circle much like the way they were sitting now.

    "Your statement is contradictory to your previous theory," Hermoine accused Pollocks.

    So sorry Rocket, Draco thought as he flicked the camel off the table.

    "I don't understand," Harry said.

    Uh oh. Foiled by Darwin's theory. Draco bit the head off the gorilla and set it back in it's place. He spotted Dante playing footsie under the table with Malia. And God smote all sinners, he thought dramatically as he brought down both fists on the tiger and zebra with a bang and a crunch.

    Everyone at the table stopped talking and looked at Draco who was smiling gleefully at his little game until he saw the others. He immediately retracted his fists and gave them all poisonous glares.

    "So! What have you found out? Or did that incredibly tedious debate result in nothing?" he said as he swept the remaining crumbs off the table.

    "We've made some basic rules for our new... er, arrangement," Hermoine said. "And since you three obviously weren't listening, you can just look at the list." The bushy haired girl slid a sheet of parchment over to the Slytherins. Draco looked at it warily.

RULES FOR NEW SOCIETY

1. NO fighting.

2. All members must stay in the same vicinity as each other.

3. Stay healthy.

    Draco sopped reading at looked up at Hermoine.

    "Stay healthy? What the hell kind of rule is that?" Hermoine glared at him defensively.

    "It means no unhealthy activities like drinking or smoking. We have to be careful until I can learn some medi-wizard skills." They all heard a loud smack as Dante's chair fell back. Draco bent over him. Dante stared up at the ceiling, eyes wide and said,

    "My cigarettes, I have to smoke, the nicotine has me in her smokey seductive grasp. I can't stop."

    Draco pulled him back up.

    "Those are the rules, I suggest you keep reading, there are more." Hermoine said icily.

4. NO reckless use of magic.

5. All unavoidable arguments will be settled by a jury.

6. No more last names. All members will be addressed by their first names.

     ie; Malfoy is an asshole.

     Draco is an asshole.

    "Number six has to be the most idiotic rule of all," Draco fumed. "Do you even know his first name?" he said as he pointed to Dante. Hermoine blushed.

    "Um... no." Dante smiled at her wickedly.

    "It's Ben, Ben Dover." Draco tipped his chair over.

    "Arrrgh!" Dante shouted.

    "If you can't handle it, maybe you should start your own society, Draco." Harry mocked. Draco was seething.

    "Maybe I will, it'd be funny to see how miserably you shits would fare without me." Harry laughed at him.

    "Yeah, but it would be even funnier to see how you build a society without the girls."

    "You bastard!" Draco yelled.

    "Tsk, tsk Draco, anger is a weakness." Dante grinned at his own wit.

    "You know what else is a weakness?" Draco hissed acidly. "Your weak knee." Dante backed away cautiously.

    "THAT'S ENOUGH!" Hermoine screamed. "You people are just like children!" Harry smiled with satisfaction. "You too Harry! You can't go five minutes without trying to kill each other. Now I know we're Griffyndors and you're Slytherins, but you have to understand Hogwarts doesn't exist anymore. We shouldn't be making those distinctions." Draco grimaced. Hermoine caught sight of his expression. She took a few steps closer to him until her face was mere inches away from his. Her velvety brown eyes staring down his calm gray ones.

    "Say it Draco, I know what you're thinking, so just spit it out." She showed no inclination towards moving and Draco didn't want to lose this fight so he stood still.

    "No?" She said sweetly. "You've said it so many times before, why stop now?" Draco stayed under control.

    "Draco Malfoy," she said. "I don't care how pure your blood is, I still hate you. I've hated you since I first saw you, you're a miserable bastard. It probably has something to do with those saintly, pureblood parents of yours. But you know what? It doesn't matter anymore because we've all become a billion times richer, and your parents aren't here to tell you which people are better, so for now we're equals. Got it?"

    With that she turned around and walked swiftly back to Harry. He smiled at her tenderly. Draco stood in the same spot, fists clenched and vowed silently to get revenge. To avenge his dignity, the dignity of all of pureblood and the name Malfoy. But for now, he would become a prestigious member of this makeshift society. They wouldn't think much of him, until he had them. Malia and Dante had resumed their perverse games and Pollocks let out an enormous yawn.

    "I suppose we should all get a little shut eye," Hermoine suggested.

    "Yeah, let's go to the common room." Harry replied. Draco stepped into the spotlight.

    "I don't think that's wise. We should all sleep in the same room for the first night. Just to make sure no one runs off." He grinned. Hermoine turned to Harry.

    "He's right." Harry nodded and they all headed to Slytherin house. Draco found the place of entry, a large, ornate tapestry bearing an unknown coat of arms. Draco pushed his way to the front.

    "Welsh Green."

    As Draco uttered the secret words the tapestry rolled itself up and the cold stone wall behind it opened up, making awful grinding sounds as it did so. Draco stepped inside without a word. They all stood in the common room, the Griffyndors marveling at the differences in decor. Malia and Dante trying to start a fire without the help of a house elf.

    "Oh honestly!" Draco snarled. He nudged them out of the way and started it himself with the use of a simple charm. He looked at the orange flames roaring and crackling and shook his head. He pointed his wand at the fireplace a second time.

    "Vertusco!" Draco commanded and the flames slowly turned vivid green. Dante and Malia nodded in accordance. Pollocks looked like a dog with it's tail between it's legs. Draco smiled. He couldn't blame him, he was in the domain of his enemies. Except for Malia. Pollocks caught sight of her and went red. Malia was talking to Dante with a fiendish smile on her lips. She touched Dante's arm as he said something funny. One of her mannerisms Draco had learned to recognize. He could probably recognize every Slytherin in his year solely by their mannerisms. Not to mention several annoying Griffyndors. Hermoine and Harry became tired of admiring the surroundings.

    "So where are we sleeping?" Harry asked. "There are no beds in here."

    "You figured that out all on your own?" Dante muttered sarcastically. Draco ignored him.

    "We're going to the boys dormitories. Follow me."

    He led them up the spiraling staircase. He opened the door and strode in casually. Malia and Dante immediately headed to Dante's bed and started a fierce pillow fight. Draco lay spread eagled on his own bed, relishing the smooth velvet blankets. Suddenly Harry's face loomed over him.

    "Ahh!" Draco yelped.

    "Um, Mal- Draco," Draco picked up on the disgusted tone Harry used when he used his name. "There are only five beds in the room." Draco sat up.

    "Well, Granger can take one, Rocket, the other and there's a lovely window ledge over there, Potter. Feel free to open the window if it gets stuffy and if someone starts poking you in the night, just roll over and it'll go away." Hermoine looked at him disapprovingly.

    "Don't be silly, since this was your idea, we'll draw Gobstones."

    She took out her wand and made a small purple drawstring bag appear in front of her.

    "Ladies first," Draco sneered. Hermoine put her hand in the bag and pulled out a dark, glossy stone gingerly.

    "It's black."

    She sighed happily and picked the nearest bed, Crabbe's. Malia went next and pulled out a black stone as well. She picked Dante's and looked at him teasingly. Draco plunged his hand into the bag before anyone else could and came up with a relieving black stone. He took his rightful place on his own four poster. Dante picked a black stone and chose Klaus Montague's bed. It was down to Harry and Pollocks. Pollocks reached into the bag and pulled out a deep green stone.

    "Oh, no. Please, I can't sleep on the floor, I might get pneumonia, or double pneumonia. And this is a dungeon! I could grow some kind of fungus!" Pollocks pleaded.

    "You are some kind of fungus." Dante retorted.

    "If you absolutely must, you can pick who you want to share a bed with." Draco reasoned. Pollocks looked at each of them in turn.

    "Ok," he sniffed pathetically. "I'll suh-sleep on the floor. Can I have a pillow?" Someone threw one at him. "Ouch! Thank you."

    He then settled onto the stone floor and luckily for the others, only whimpered a little.

    "Ahh!" Pollocks screamed. His face was covered in ink. "You didn't say the Gobstones were loaded!"

    Everyone in the room stifled laughter except Draco. Eventually they all quieted and just before Draco dozed off he heard a voice. He wasn't quite sure who said it, or what it was, but it sounded like...

    "Goodnight."