Snake Charmer

Hermione was doubled over, laughing with her head resting on her mom's seat in front of her. Even Mr.Granger had to laugh, looking behind his seat at the two teenagers, one of which wasn't used to flying...on a plane.

Draco had always been on the pale side, but Hermione was certain that he had never been this pale before. His eyes were looking down at his feet in effort to seem unafraid. His hands were gripping the arm rests for dear life, while he continued muttering insults in a shaky voice at Hermione next to him. The other passengers on the flight were giving looks of sympathy to Draco, and the flight attendant had even given him a bag of peanuts and had been patting his back like a little child.

Hermione had never been afraid of planes. She traveled often, and it was fun to watch someone who played Quidditch to be afraid of flying. She studied Draco's ragged breathing and constant muttering with interest. It was nice to watch him get a dose of fear now and then.

"Need a bag in case you get sick?" Hermione pulled out a small plastic bag, offering it with a false smile. Draco didn't protest and grabbed the bag, lurching as the plane took off. Hermione began to laugh again, and cracked open a book to read. It would be a long flight after all, and talking to Malfoy was impossible to do, even if he did stop throwing up.

"Hey Ginny, I met the new DADA teacher. She wanted me to tell you to wait a little longer, the nutter." Ron plopped down onto Ginny's bed; happy that he could get away from his nagging mom ("did you OWL results come?"). Ginny, who had hardly any time to think about Ron's words, simply stared at him.

"Ron, what the hell are you talking about?"

Ron rolled his eyes. "I just told you that the new DADA teacher's crazy, that's all. She looked like a really old canary...those bright robes, yuck."

Ginny sat up, now interested. "She told me to wait a little longer? What for?" Her eyes grew big. "She sounds like a Seer!"

Ron's jaw dropped. Seers were very eccentric people, and O'Connor was blossoming eccentricity. "She certainly wouldn't surprise me if she was. She mentioned never teaching before."

Ginny grew serious. "I've read up on how to become a professor at Hogwarts for this year's OWLS. It had an endless list of requirements, one being that you had to have gone through three years of additional training after school. If she is a professor now, then she should know everything about the training. I'll ask her tonight. Is she staying?"

Ron shrugged. "I guess. She brought a huge bag with her, I wondered if she was moving in for a bit. She didn't say she was part of the Order." Ron watched as Ginny's eyes grew wider, as though seeing something for the first time. "What?"

Ginny blinked. "It's nothing." She got up to leave.

"It's something! What do you know, Ginny?" Ron grabbed her by the collar of her robes, lifting her tiny frame back into the room. Ginny shook her head.

"I'm not aloud to say, but I think it's about the prophecy." Ginny's voice had dropped to a whisper. Ron grabbed his wand, pointing it at Ginny.

"Don't make me do this!"

"Please, Ron! We're not allowed to do magic outside Hogwarts." With that Ginny left the room, rolling her eyes in exasperation. She would figure out who this woman was tonight, after putting an Extendable Ear into her room.

It was night, and Draco couldn't sleep. It wasn't the airsickness, but just thoughts running through his head.

Dumbledore hasn't told him anything about what he wanted to give him. Draco was convinced it was something to do with muggles, otherwise why would he want to give it to him after staying with Granger a whole summer? Draco shivered. He didn't like what Dumbledore was doing. It felt as though he and Hermione were puppets, and Dumbledore was a little child bashing their heads together, forcing them to "kiss"...

"Shit," Draco rubbed his eyes in disbelief. He was going crazy. How would his parents feel if they knew he was actually sitting in this muggle bird next to a Mudblood and surrounded by about twenty more? Sick. They would cry, stomp about and throw up all over him. Hell, Draco would too.

Hermione stirred a bit, the book slipping off of her lap onto the floor. It was a miracle Granger hadn't talked to him since take-off, and it made him feel more relaxed now that she was asleep. Hermione's head rolled towards him dangerously, and Draco scooted over in his chair, revolted as her hair fell into his eyes. Finally, with one small moan Hermione's head was resting on his shoulder lightly.

Draco gave a small gasp and pushed her into the window on the other side of her. Hermione's head hit it with a thunk, and she woke up.

"How's the plane treating you?" she muttered, rubbing her head sleepily. Draco relaxed a bit, resting his head on the seat in front of him.

"Better. I just can't sleep with all of these bloody muggles nearby. You included. Can't you keep your frizzy hair to yourself, or does it overcome the people sitting next to you all the time?"

Hermione grinned lazily, picking up her book. "Good thing I slept well, otherwise I think I'd deck you one."

Draco rolled his eyes, digging into his carry-on that Mrs.Granger insisted she filled with snacks and the like. Digging through them, he pulled out his wand. Hermione snapped to reality.

"What the hell, Malfoy?" Draco pointed his wand at her. Hermione stiffened. This was it. His plan all along...

"D'you know what the age restriction in the U.S is?" he asked eagerly, his eyes lit with excitement. Hermione frowned, but relaxed a bit when he lowered his wand.

"Of course...I was asked to do some magic at the wedding even. The age limit is only until age sixteen, and even then your OWLS cannot have any unacceptable marks. I figured I was safe."

"Well, my dad already knew my OWL results. I got all Outstandings." Hermione snorted.

"Did daddy help you with that one, then?" Hermione felt Draco's wand prod her in the ribs.

"I'm not a prefect for nothing." He put his wand away finally, and Hermione felt as though she would be forced into a duel with Malfoy.

"What are we doing, Malfoy? Are you here to kill me? Is that what your daddy wants?" The howler had hit almost every nerve imaginable. Hermione caught Draco's eyes, and neither parted from the other's gaze.

"I don't need to tell you a damn thing, Granger."

"I understand now. Harry and the others will be there to fight, if you do anything that stupid." But Hermione was shaking, her voice cracking into a high-pitched whimper. Draco smirked.

"Potter and I have never dueled properly. Tell him to come and get it, if he's so hell-bent on killing the Malfoys." Draco leaned back into his seat, closing his eyes. "I realize now that your voice is the only thing that can put me to sleep, which seems to be the only way to ignore you."

Hermione was staring out the window, her thoughts lingering on the image of Lucius blasting apart her house. She will not let anything happen to her family. She would have to keep Draco in check, until he gets his ruddy package at the end of the summer and leaves her home for good.

Dumbledore himself was having trouble falling asleep. He had been up most of the night at a conference with the Ministry officials, all who were shaking in their boots at the thought of Voldemort.

The main issue was the stability of Azkaban, which was a mini war area on its own. With the Death Eaters escaping effortlessly, it would not be long before Azkaban is taken over as an enemy base. It was only the beginning; rumors of Hogwarts being a target were floating around as well.

Albus poured over a report that had just flown in regarding the death of Narcissa Malfoy, who was murdered only an hour ago. He had seen it coming, but didn't have the time to warn the woman. Not that his warnings would have mattered. She had gotten herself into this mess when she married Lucius, who undoubtedly did the crime. Draco would have to be informed of course, which may put a damper on his plans for the boy.

"Will he use this the way I intend him to, I wonder," Albus looked over at Fawkes, who had just blown up in a puff of smoke, "I hope Hermione can win him over, otherwise this wand won't be put to a good use."