On Storm Tossed Seas

Chapter 4: The Restricted Section

She watched the dot labeled Draco Malfoy for a few moments. He turned a corner and stepped into an empty classroom. He appeared to move to the window and stay there.

'Interesting,' thought Hermione. She watched the Map closely for a few moments, to be certain that no one else was near, before continuing her silent passage to the library.

Quietly, she pointed her wand at the door, whispered 'alohomora' and pushed open one of the heavy doors until she was able to squeeze through. With a gentle click she closed the door behind her. She took a deep breath and checked the Map one more time. No one was in that wing of the castle. She tapped the Map with her wand and breathed the words 'mischief managed'. The halls, rooms and dots of the Map faded.

She folded up the Map, stuck it in her robe and crept through the empty library to the Restricted Section. It felt as though her heart was attempting to break free from her ribcage. She took a deep calming breath, slipped the Cloak hood off, and pulled out her wand.

"Lumos," she whispered.

A brilliant light burst forth from the tip of her wand. She slowly moved to the back of the Restricted Section and began running her fingers along the spines. She wasn't exactly sure what to look for.

When she started to pull books from the shelves, Harry's Cloak kept getting in the way. Frustrated, she pulled it off, carefully folding it up and placing it on a nearby chair. Without the added hindrance, she was able to quickly remove books and skim through them with ease.

As she carefully replaced another useless, though interesting text, she heard a noise. With a gasp, she reached for the Cloak, throwing it around her shoulders, and put out her wand. Desperately, she tried to control her rapid breathing, finally clamping a hand firmly over her mouth to lessen the noise.

Tensely, she waited.

After what seemed like hours, but was really only seconds, she remembered that she had the Map. Retrieving it from her pocket, she carefully whispered the spell, and watched as the Map reformed the interior of Hogwarts. She carefully looked at the dots moving about.

Finding the library, she squinted in the low light and made out a name: Draco Malfoy.

Furious, she muttered, 'mischief managed', shoved the Map back into her robe, threw off the Invisibility Cloak, and marched quickly down the aisle. Turning, she ran into a surprised Draco.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed.

For a moment, Draco didn't know what to say, but he quickly recovered.

"I could ask you the same, Mudblood," he drawled, nonchalantly leaning against the edge of a row of books.

Hermione glared at him for a long moment, her cinnamon eyes flashing with anger.

"Well?" he questioned, a smirk painting his features.

With an annoyed sigh, she looked at him.

"If you must know, I am looking for more information about the Island of Malnese. Seeing as I couldn't find anything more in the regular part of the library, I figured I would look in the restricted section."

"Breaking rules? I wouldn't have thought that was your style, Granger," he replied. Secretly he was impressed. Hermione had always seemed like such a stickler for rules, he never would have guessed she had a bit of a wild streak in her.

"Yeah, well, that doesn't answer why you're here."

He looked at her for a long time before deciding to give her an answer.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you. I'm here for the same reason." He smirked at the surprise that flickered across her face. "What? Didn't think I'd be strolling around Hogwarts after hours unless I was up to something evil?"

"That's not what I was thinking," Hermione said, defensively.

"Yeah, right," he scoffed.

"You know, if you're here for the same reason as me, we might as well combine our efforts. Not that I want to be around you, but---well, it's a bit of an overwhelming job," she finished lamely, gesturing to the rows of books.

Draco looked behind her. He understood what she meant. The Restricted Section wasn't put in any particular order; made it more difficult for unauthorized students, such as themselves, to find things. He looked back to her expectant face.

"Well, I suppose we could work together, this once," he answered, feeling strangely happy when he saw a look of relief and--thanks?--spread across her face.

"Good. Okay, I have already looked through the shelves in the back two rows," she explained, pointing towards a dark corner. "Maybe we should start here and work our way back towards the two I finished?"

He nodded his assent and the two students, wands lit, searched the spines for the elusive information.

"Hey, Malfoy," Hermione quietly said, "I think I found something."

Expectantly, she moved closer to Draco, propping the book, ::A Curse Upon Thee::, author unknown, up on an empty shelf. Draco leaned closer to Hermione in order to read the text with her.

"Many dark and dangerous nights did I spend on the Island," the unknown author wrote. "I have seen terrors that only existed in my dreams, before now. In truth, I never believed I would get off that cursed place."

"Well, what do you think?" Hermione asked.

Before he could answer, they heard the doors to the library creak open, and the unmistakable mew of Mrs. Norris.

Without any thought, Hermione reached once again for the discarded Invisibility Cloak, darkened her wand, shut the book, and covered herself with the Cloak.

Draco watched her as she performed the motions, his eyes going wide when she apparently dissaparated. It took a moment before he realized that she couldn't have dissaparated, not in Hogwarts.

"Where did you go?" he hissed, while desperately looking for a place to hide in the wide aisle. He could hear Filch and Mrs. Norris getting closer. He almost screamed when he felt an invisible hand grab his arm.

The next thing he knew, he was staring into a pair of annoyed brown eyes. Before he could say anything, Hermione clamped one hand over his mouth and grabbed the front of his robe with her other hand. She began to pull him down the aisle. As they fled, he noticed that he was under something that resembled a sheet.

Hermione stopped her swift retreat when she reached a small alcove in the wall at the end of the aisle. Quickly she pressed herself and Malfoy into the too small space, never once removing her hand from Malfoy's mouth.

They had managed to get themselves settled thus, just as Mrs. Norris turned the corner at the end of the other aisle. For a long moment her lamp like eyes stared at the alcove.

"What is it, my dear?" Filch's gravelly voiced wondered. He came around the corner, lifted his lantern, and looked carefully along the wall. With a shrug, he continued to walk through the library, passing the alcove within inches of Hermione and Draco.

For fifteen minutes, the two students stood in the alcove, frozen like statues. Finally, the faint glow of the lantern disappeared with the metallic click of a closing lock. Draco and Hermione released noisy breaths.

Suddenly, it occurred to him, Filch and Mrs. Norris hadn't seen them. "How the hell didn't they see us?" Draco questioned.

"You have to swear to keep this to yourself, Malfoy, or I swear," she hissed. With that, she removed the sheet object from the two of them. When she did, Malfoy noticed that it wasn't a sheet, but rather an outstandingly beautiful cloak.

"Is that an Invisibility Cloak?" he breathed.

"Yes. But you have to keep this to yourself."

"How in the world did a Mudblood get a hold of an Invisibility Cloak?" he questioned.

With venom in her eyes, she answered, "It's not mine, it belonged to Harry's father. He got it from Dumbledore his first Christmas here."

"Really?" he asked, an evil grin spreading across his face.

"Damn you, Malfoy," she growled. "Look, it's not any of your business. Just forget the whole thing, okay?"

"Yeah, right, forget that Potter has an Invisibility Cloak? You must be kidding, Granger," he said, scornfully.

"Oh, sod off, Malfoy."

With that, Hermione grasped the book tightly against her, threw the Cloak back around her shoulders and disappeared. Draco could hear her moving down the aisle. He waited until her heard the sound of the door open and close, then he headed on his way.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Fuming, Hermione invisibly strode back towards the Gryffindor tower. Harry had trusted her to use his most prized possession, and she had been the one to share the secret with his adversary. She knew she had to tell Harry what had happened, and, hopefully, he would both forgive her and assist her in keeping that prat, Malfoy, quiet.

She reached the Fat Lady, opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, and audibly sighed.

The Fat Lady's eyes snapped open at the sound. "Whose there?" She looked around in surprise at the empty hallway. When no answer came, she settled back down letting her eyes slide closed.

Hermione was already halfway to the nearest flight of stairs when the Fat Lady asked her question. She would take care of this problem, tonight. Stepping quickly to the wall, she placed the book carefully by her feet, pulled the Map out of her robe, tapped it while muttering the spell, and slid to the floor.

Examining the Map, she saw that Malfoy had not yet returned to his dorm. He was, in fact, back in that empty classroom by the window. Normally the trek to that particular wing was wearisome, however, using the Map, she would be able to use a secret passageway, drastically shortening the length. Making certain that she knew the whereabouts of Filch, Mrs. Norris and Peeves, she pushed herself up, gripped the large leather volume against her side, and marched down the hallway towards the secret passageway.

She quickly reached the 13^th century knight and muttered the password as written on the Map. A portion of the wall quietly slid open, and Hermione passed through the hole, turning to make sure that the wall would close on its own. As it did, she pulled her wand out to light her way before once again turning to march towards the other end, pausing long enough to place the increasingly heavy book carefully against the wall; she could come back for it later.

Reaching the end of the passageway, she carefully reexamined the map, checking to make sure that the hallway she would be entering was still empty. Placing her hand on a clearly labeled stone, she pushed gently, and entered into the hallway. The wall silently slid shut after she passed through and she returned her now dark wand to her robe pocket.

Though the passageway had shortened her trek, she still had to move through three different halls and down two long flights of steps, carefully hopping over the number of false steps before she was standing in front of the classroom. She looked down at the map; Malfoy was still in the room.

"Mischief managed," she whispered, folding the parchment before stowing it in her robe. Then, she froze. What was she doing here? She had no desire to see Malfoy. It wasn't as if they weren't going to be spending more than enough time together in the next eight months.

She moved to the other side of hallway, sliding into a sitting position against the wall. 'I'll just sit here and see how long he stays,' she decided. However, as this thought crossed her mind, she found herself once again standing in front of the door, this time turning the handle. She pushed open the door, and slid in, quietly closing the door behind her.

Draco was sitting in the window seat across the bitterly cold room. His arms were clasped around his drawn up legs, his chin resting on the top of his knees. He was gazing so intently out of the window, that he apparently hadn't heard the door. Hermione stood for a long moment, watching him. She shivered slightly as a bone-chilling cold crept beneath the cloak and her robe. As she continued watching Malfoy, she saw him shiver ever so slightly.

She found herself mesmerized by him. The light of the nearly full moon shone on him giving him an ethereal glow. How she'd never noticed his handsome features before astounded her. Of course, he looked vastly different without the constant sneer on his lips. He looked almost sad, Hermione thought. She almost chuckled out loud at that thought. Malfoy, sad? The very thought was laughable. Ice water ran through his veins, not the blood of a normal person. It seemed impossible that he could actually have feelings. And yet, she couldn't get past the sensation that he appeared to be truly sad. She moved silently past the rows of empty desks, and paused next to his shoulder.

"Hey," she finally managed to sputter.

Draco turned his head, pulling out his wand in a fluid motion.

"Lumos!" he said, looking for the intruder. He didn't see anyone.

Hermione suddenly realized that she had forgotten to remove the cloak. Sheepishly, she pushed back the hood and unclasped the front, placing the discarded item on a nearby chair.

As Hermione appeared before him, he stared, slack-jawed. "What in the world are you doing here?" he asked, unable to hide the amazement in his voice.

"I--" she paused. She couldn't tell him about the Map; he already knew too much.

"Following me, Granger?" he smirked.

"Wh--, no! I---" she again faltered, she didn't want him to think that she was following him, but it was preferable to the alternative. "Fine, yes, I was." She forced the words to exit her mouth.

"So, you couldn't resist my charisma?"

"Yes, that's exactly it, Ferret Boy!" she snapped.

"Hey, careful there, Mudblood. I thought we had ourselves some sort of truce."

"Yeah, well, I'm calling it off for now," she flared.

"Good, I would prefer to call you Mudblood. It fits you so much better than Granger," he laughed derisively. "I'm glad to know that you have realized your own mistake in ever suggesting a truce. You obviously realize that Mudblood is much more descriptive a term for you."

Without thought, Hermione's hand rose and slapped Draco, hard, across his cheek. The slap echoed sharply in the cold, empty room. He was not prepared for the slap, but managed to keep the shock of pain from showing in his eyes.

"What the hell was that for?" he demanded, as he grabbed her wrist before she could repeat the action.

"Let go of me!" She attempted to twist her wrist from his grip.

"Not until you tell me why you did that," he growled, tightening his grip against her struggle.

She stopped her struggle and met his steely glare with her glistening one. She had been wrong, ice water did flow through his veins. Draco felt another strange pang in his stomach when he saw the tears, and let go of Hermione's wrist. She rubbed her bruised wrist with her other hand, and fought to bite back her tears.

"Why did you do that?" Draco asked again, this time without malice in his voice.

"Because, I'm sick of your insults. I am just as good a witch as you are a wizard, and yet, you are so caught up in your stereotypes that you can't even acknowledge that." She lost the battle with her tears as one slowly traced along the contours of her face. She stepped back from the now standing figure of Draco and slumped into one of the chairs in the classroom. "I have never done anything to so deserve your hatred, and yet, that's all I ever get from you, hatred." She buried her head into her hands as the tears broke forth in earnest.

Awkwardly, Draco watched the shaking form of Hermione. He felt the desire to comfort her, the urge to wrap her protectively in his arms, but fought it. Hesitantly, he reached out a hand and placed it gingerly on her shoulder. Violently, she shrugged off the offensive hand, sniffled back her tears, and stood, lightening flashing in her russet eyes.

"Don't you ever touch me again, Malfoy." Turning on her heel, she stormed across the room, slammed open the door, and moved into the hallway. Distractedly, she marched up the first flight of stairs, forgetting to skip the false step. She felt the floor give out beneath her, and a scream escaped her lips. The ground rushed up to meet her, slamming unyieldingly against her lower jaw. She heard a splintering sound and felt pain flooding through her face.

Whimpering, she grasped the edge of the adjacent step and tried to extricate herself. The intense pain was unbearable. Her hands were beginning to slip. The world was spinning, and she was hearing voices call her name. No, one voice; a familiar voice. She felt someone grip her arm just as she passed out.

Draco struggled to hold onto the now unconscious Hermione. With all the strength he could muster, he worked to pull her out of the hole.

"Damn false step," he muttered, as he finally managed to pull her out. He lifted her limp body into his arms, almost stumbling backwards. Once he had regained his balance, he quickly started towards the hospital wing. Glancing down at Hermione's face was enough to cause even his strong

stomach to feel nauseous. Her jawbone looked as if it had shattered into hundreds of pieces. Blood was coursing from her nose, mixing with the blood on her malformed chin.

Pausing in his headlong rush, he placed her on the stone floor, ripped a strip from the hem of his robe, and tried to stem the flow of blood. It wouldn't do any good to take her to Madam Pomfrey if she bled to death first. Satisfied that the flow of blood had slowed enough, he carefully scooped her back up and continued on his way.

Barreling through the doors, he yelled, "Madam Pomfrey! Quick, I need your help!"

The bustling figure of Madam Pomfrey rushed from her office, eager to reprimand the student who dared to raise their voice in her shrine. Before a word could be uttered, she saw Draco Malfoy standing before her, terror in his eyes, holding the limp form of a grotesquely deformed Hermione Granger.

"Mr. Malfoy," she breathed, finding her voice, "what happened?"

"She slipped through a false step. Help her," he pleaded, his voice cracking.

Recovering from her momentary lapse in training, Madam Pomfrey swept down upon Draco removing Hermione from his arms. She quickly laid the prone girl on one of the many crisp, white hospital cots. Muttering under her breath about how many times she had told Headmaster Dumbledore to fix those false steps, she began her ministrations. Draco stepped back, anxious to not be in the way, and watched as Madam Pomfrey cleaned up the blood, removed dangling teeth from Hermione's mouth, and began to examine the full extent of the damage.

"Mr. Malfoy," she said.

Draco's eyes shifted from Hermione to Madam Pomfrey.

"I need your assistance, please."

He nodded and stepped towards her.

"Put a hand here and here," she said, placing his hands on each side of her head, before rushing off to retrieve a potion from her storeroom.

Gently, he held her head between his hands. Unbidden, a tear trickled out of the corner of his eye, and fell onto Hermione's forehead. He watched the tear land, and jumped back. A feeling of horror overtook him. What was he doing here? She was just a Mudblood. He was being trained to desire this type of pain for a Mudblood; to cause this type of pain. His father, what would his father say? He continued to back up.

"Mr. Malfoy? What's the problem?"

He snapped his head around and saw Madam Pomfrey staring at him, a bottle held in her hands. He narrowed his eyes at her, turned away from Hermione and bolted from the room.