Tutoring A Dragon

What's He Up To? A Bit of Music, and You're Fired!

Five hundred miles away, in a stone Manor that sat on a cliff, Lucius Malfoy sat in a chair, overlooking the white caps of the waves as they bashed against the rock. He stroked his beloved cat, Anubis, who sat on his lap.

"Soon, my pet," he murmured to the black cat. "Very soon, indeed."

He stood up, upsetting the contented cat into hissing. Striding over to the door, he thrust it open, and stomped out. He walked around the halls, tracing his fingers over the paneling. This...was supposed to be his. But then that... that... bitch had to have slept with his older brother! And they didn't even have the sense to use birth control! So, now, that disappointing little bastard he thought was his son turned out to be his nephew! His bastard father had kept it from him, his favorite! Lucius growled and tipped a vase off the pedestal it sat upon.

The Manor would be his! He would kill the bastard, and revenge himself against his sons-of-bitches brother and father. He would show them. Yes, yes, he would...

~*~

Back at Hogwarts, Hermione was introducing Draco to an entertaining Muggle song, I Believe In A Thing Called Love.

When it was playing, Hermione, Draco, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Padma were dancing like maniacs; maniacs who were bad dancers.

"That," gasped Draco, "is one of the worst songs in the world!"

"I know," said Hermione, still dancing. "But you must admit that it is one of the most sing able songs in the history of sing able songs. Just like 'I think I love you' by The Partridge Family."

"The who family?" asked Ron.

"The Partridge Family is a American Muggle music group," said Padma. "They sing these really cheesy but fun songs. You can always sing along to their songs." She grinned at Hermione. "Hey, I think I love, I think I love you. So what am I so afraid of? I'm afraid of love there is no cure for... Hey, I think I love you. I think I love you... So what am I so afraid of? I'm afraid of love there is no cure for..." Hermione joined in after Padma sang verse once.

"I love that song," stated Hermione. "I'd never tell any of my Muggle friends, because they'd think I was a geek, but I really love that song."

Hermione then wrote down the lyrics she could remember, and duplicated the paper.

"Ok, all together now," she said, handing out the papers.

"Hey, I think I love you. I think I love you. So what am I so afraid of? I'm afraid of love there is no cure for.... Hey, I think I love you. I think I love you... So what am I so afraid of? I'm afraid of love there is no cure for..." They all sang, until Professors McGonagall, Snape, and Flitwick came in.

McGonagall was wearing a red-and-gold dressing gown, Flitwick a dark blue dressing gown, and Snape was wearing one with pink bunnies frolicking over a lime-green pasture.

"Say one word of this," Snape gestured at the dressing gown, "and I will make sure none of you leave Hogwarts until you are twenty-five."

McGonagall looked at if she was smothering laughter. A few moments later, she spoke. "What, may I ask, are six students of different Houses doing in the Slytherin and Gryffindor Senior Prefects chamber after midnight? On a school night, what's more?" She glared at them, but her quick glance at Snape wiped the glare off, replacing it with a badly concealed grin.

The Heads of Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw looked at their students.

"And," added McGonagall, "Why were you singing old 'Partridge Family' tunes?"

"Well," started Hermione. "I introduced them to this song by The Darkness, and then Draco told me that it was stupid, so I told him about the history of sing able songs." She went on, telling her red-and-gold clad Head about what had transpired.

"While this is understandable, Ms. Granger," interrupted Snape," but could you please tell us why you lot are up so late?" He smirked greasily at them.

"Um..." said Hermione.

Draco cut in smoothly. "We were having an after-party, Professor," he said.

Snape crossed his arms. "Explain," was his response.

"Well, Hermione and I agreed to host and plan the Senior Prefect Celebration of a Job Well-Done Party. And, Hannah Abbot and Anthony Goldstein have it in for us."

"Mr. Malfoy that is entirely uncalled for!" exclaimed McGonagall. "You should not speak of the Head Boy and Girl in such disparaging terms!"

"Well, it's true!" protested Hermione. "You notice that they are the ones who get to deal with the inter-House arguments? And those happen about forty times a day! So, they most likely pared up what they thought were incompatible people together to show the Headmaster that it wouldn't work. Me with Draco, since it's common knowledge that we've hated each other since first year; Ron with Padma, when everyone who was here three years ago that he was a lousy date at the Yule Ball; and Pansy with Ernie, a Slytherin with a Hufflepuff, when practically everyone knows that they hate each other! If you use common deduction, you can see that it was all calculated, planned, and, as you can see, didn't work!" She blushed, seeing everyone looking at her. "Sorry. Draco, continue, please."

"As I was saying," said Draco. "And we decided to have a after-party. We invited Padma, Ron, Ginny, and Harry. We would've invited Pansy and Ernie, but they looked like they were wanting some..." he trailed off.

"Some what?" asked Flitwick.

He blushed. "Alone time."

McGonagall looked a bit flustered, but she maintained her calm. "Well, then. Mr. Weasley, Ms. Patil, go back to your respective rooms. Mr. Potter, Ms. Weasley, back to Gryffindor Tower now. Ten points from each of you. Do not maintain your 'after-parties' this long again, Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger, or there will be more than ten points at stake." She motioned her Gryffindors to follow her, and swept out of the room.

Snape glared at all of them, and followed, as did Flitwick.

"Well, g'night," said Harry and Ginny, running after McGonagall.

"Yeah, g'night," said Ron, following them out of the portrait.

"Good night, dears," said Padma. "Sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite..." She drifted sleepily after Ron.

Hermione turned to smile up at Draco. "Good night, my dear," she said sweetly.

"It won't be good unless I kiss you," replied Draco, before sweeping her up in his arms.

After a few minutes of this, Hermione pried herself away from her boyfriend, and went over to her staircase. "Good night, love," she called, and blew him a kiss.

"Good night," he called back. He turned, and went up his staircase.

Climbing into bed, he murmured, "Good night, indeed."

~*~

Monday, October 27th, four days away from the ball

Hermione woke up, eyes wide in fear. Only four days until the ball.

She sat up. "Oh, shit," she said, burying her face in her lap.

Getting up, she put on her uniform and went down to the common room.

To her surprise, Draco was already down there and doing her planned activity: Pacing.

She joined him, and paced for half an hour before she realized it was seven and they needed to get a move on and go to breakfast.

Tapping Draco's shoulder she smiled when he jumped. "C'mon love, it's time for food."

~*~

They walked into the Great Hall, noticing that Hannah Abbott and Anthony Goldstein were glaring at them from the teacher's table.

~*~

"I can't believe they ratted us out," fumed Hannah, attacking her hash browns. "I mean, even though it wasn't nice of us to do that to them, at least it resulted in them getting together! I don't see how we could possibly be punished for this as we inadvertently caused a great deal of inter-House relations!"

"You can be blamed," said Dumbledore, who was finished with his eggs sunny- side-up. "Because you did it to get out of your Head duties. That is unacceptable. You knew your duties when you accepted the post, but you somehow thought that you weren't expected to perform them. So, since you are apparently overcome with the duties that encumber these positions, you will be relieved of them after the ball is over." He smiled at them as if he hadn't just told them that he was going to disgrace them in front of the entire school. "Bacon, Mr. Goldstien?"