A/N: Not that I expect a lot of people to be reading this story during the holidays, but I was able to find some time to write a semi-long chapter that I'm excited to post. I hope that you all enjoy it. I felt it was time for a little comic relief…I hope you find it amusing.
Once again, I am the only one here to read this. Forgive any blatant errors and please feel free to point them out. Thanks.
Happy holidays to all…H_HrFan
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Doth My Eyes Deceive Me or is That Really…
When the last of Trelawney's image disappeared Hermione began to think about Cho and what role she could possibly have to play in all of this. I've never been scared of her. She thought. I can't think of a reason to fear anything about her. What could it be?
Hermione jumped as the door slammed against the wall behind her.
"Damn it, Cho!" She yelled as she spun around. "You scared me. What's your problem?"
"So. You've done it again, have you?" Cho sneered.
"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked.
"Mother. Where is she?" Cho asked.
"She's gone." Hermione said. "And she's not your mother. Stop calling her that."
"Never mind what I call her." Cho said offhandedly. "Gone? Just like Millicent, I suppose?"
"Yeah. Gone. Just like Millicent." Hermione mocked.
"Why didn't you tell me yesterday Millicent had gone?" She asked.
"I did tell you she was gone. What's your problem anyway?" Hermione said, frustrated.
"You said she was gone, not that she was gone." Cho said her voice rising.
"Gone. Gone. What difference does it make? It's the same thing. What the hell is wrong with you? I would think you'd be happy to know I'm figuring this out. The sooner I figure it out the sooner we can both get out of here. Isn't that what you want?" Hermione asked, amazed at the sudden change in Cho's behavior.
"What do you know about what I want? What do you know about getting out of here? Haven't you figured it out yet? The last thing I want is for you to get out of here." Cho said vehemently.
"Have you lost your mind?" Hermione asked. "What's going on with you? Tell me then, what do you want?"
"I'll tell you exactly what I want." She said. "I want you to pay for what you've done to me…"
"Wha…" Hermione stopped, stunned.
"Oh yes, Her-my-oh-nee, I want you to pay." Cho said as she brandished her wand and pointed it at Hermione. Hermione had no time to react before she heard her softly speak an incantation.
A strange feeling came over her and she felt as though she could no longer control her own thoughts or actions. She looked at Cho's smiling face and found herself awaiting further instructions.
"The spell you're under will last for five hours. At the end of five hours you will be yourself once again. You will remember everything that you've done but you will not remember having been under a spell. You will believe that you did it of your own accord, you will not remember my speaking to you at all." Cho said. "Great spell isn't it?"
"Great spell." Hermione repeated, trance-like.
"I've been working on this for a while Her-my-oh-nee. Now I have you right where I want you for as long as I want you. I've been waiting a long, long time for this. Since you're here to be Cinderella and you have yet to experience what that's like, here's what you'll do for me today Her-my-oh-nee…" Cho said laughing.
"What do you want me to do?" Hermione asked.
"First I want you to prepare my dress for the ball tonight. Someone special will be there and I want to look my best for him. Then, you'll run my bath and when I'm done you'll do my hair and makeup and help me to get ready. I will be the most beautiful at the ball and won't it be ironic that you, the one for whom the ball is for, will be the one to make me so. In the meantime, you will continue the work you started and did not complete yesterday. You will finish cleaning this house. Do you understand? You will be so busy doing what I want you to do that you will have no time to think about how to get out of here or to get yourself ready for the ball." She said.
"Yes." Hermione said. "I understand."
"Let's go." Cho said, leading the way toward her bedroom. When they entered she showed Hermione her dress. "There are some things that I want changed and you'll change them for me." She said.
"Yes. I'll change it." Hermione said.
"This ribbon, remove it and replace it with this one and pull the waist in a little tighter. When you're done with that I want you to shine my shoes. I want to be able to see myself in them." Cho said. "I'm going to the kitchen for food. I'll be back soon and I expect the dress to be completed and for you to have picked up where you left off in your cleaning last night. In fact, before you leave here, clean this room. Then, when you've completed that you may go and continue last night's work."
"Complete the dress. Clean your room. Begin cleaning where I left off last night." Hermione repeated.
"I will find you when I am ready for my bath." Cho said.
"I will be ready." Hermione said, returning her attention to the dress.
"Very well. I'll be back." Cho said as she headed out the door and toward the kitchen.
Hermione made the changes to the dress, shined Cho's shoes, and cleaned and dusted her room just as she had been instructed. When she finished she left to begin cleaning where she'd left off the night before. She had been working for a little over an hour when Cho found her.
"I'm ready for my bath Her-my-oh-nee. Prepare it for me. Be sure to use the lavender scented soap. You'll find it on the shelf above the bathtub. I like a lot of bubbles and the water to be a little on the hot side. I'll be in my room waiting. Come for me when it's ready." Cho instructed.
"Yes, Cho." Hermione said as she headed toward the bathroom to prepare the bath.
Hermione prepared the bath and found Cho in her room waiting. Cho checked the time. "Two hours remaining dear Her-my-oh-nee. I will look for you in one hour so you can assist me in preparing for the ball. Be sure you have not gone far." She said.
"Yes Cho. I will be waiting nearby." Hermione replied.
One hour later Cho called for her and she met her in her room. "We have only one hour before the carriage arrives to take me to the ball. There's no time to waste. I want to look perfect. Start with my hair." Cho instructed as she sat down at the vanity.
Hermione began to comb her hair. When her hair was partially dry and flat against her head she combed it back and began to braid it while intricately weaving ribbon throughout it. Then she pulled the braids and remaining hair into an elegant bun in the back. When she finished Cho already looked beautiful.
"Now you need to do my makeup. Only a little. I prefer it to be light. As you can see, I don't need much." She said as she admired herself in the mirror.
"All right." Hermione said as she began to add light touches of makeup to Cho's already beautiful face.
Cho was pleasantly surprised as she looked into the mirror. She couldn't remember ever looking quite so beautiful.
Hermione unzipped and removed the dress from the hanger as Cho removed her robe to step into it. The dress was a lovely shade of yellow that complemented her skin color perfectly. Hermione thought she'd never seen anyone so lovely and told her so.
"Thank you." Cho said smugly, eyeballing Hermione in her ragtag dress. "It's good that one of us looks ready. Now help me outside to the carriage. The timing should be just right. Just as the carriage is pulling away, you should be coming out of the spell. You'll be yourself again as you watch me leave. By the time you get yourself together I will already have the attention of the one I seek. Exciting isn't it?" Cho said.
"Exciting." Hermione repeated. She helped Cho into a cloak and walked her outside where she assisted her into the waiting carriage. Just as the driver was pulling away Hermione shivered as the spell began to wear off.
"How did I get here?" She wondered aloud.
She looked up as she heard the familiar voice of Cho speaking to the driver. "Wait. Stop." The carriage stopped and Cho looked out the door toward Hermione. "Come here Her-my-oh-nee." She called.
Hermione shook her head and turned to walk toward Cho. She rolled her eyes and spoke softly to herself, "Now I remember what I'm doing here." She looked up at Cho as she reached the side of the carriage, "What do you want?" She asked abruptly.
"Oh. Her-my-oh-nee. What's wrong? I just wanted to thank you for your help in getting ready and to remind you that you have so little time to get ready for the ball yourself. I wouldn't recommend wearing that to meet the Prince." Cho said looking at Hermione's housedress. "Let's go." She called out to the driver, laughing all the while at Hermione as she stood staring at the rags she was wearing.
"Bloody hell." Hermione said. "Now what am I going to do?"
Her first thought was to go to Cho's room to see what other dresses she might find in there; hoping there was something that she could wear. When she tried the door it was locked. Cho had placed a spell on it and without her wand there was no way for Hermione to get it opened. She checked both Millicent and Trelawney's doors as well and discovered the same thing: locked.
Frustrated she took the long climb upstairs to her own room. She took a hot shower and looked once again in the wardrobe she'd found there. The dress that hung there was old and the color had long since faded. The white in the dress was now a dingy brown from years of accumulated dust. She took the dress from the hanger and began to shake it. As the dust began to fly around she started to sneeze. Not a good idea. She thought as her eyes began to water.
Frustrated, she sat on the bed. Her eyes were now red and watery and she had nothing to wear to the ball. She began to think about the story of Cinderella. "That's it!" She said laughing. She smacked herself on the head as she put on the old dress and made her way downstairs; not really caring how she looked because she was about to meet her fairy godmother.
When she got to the bottom of the stairs she ran for the door. She thrust it open and ran out into the warm night air. Not really knowing where she was going, she subconsciously ran to wherever her legs would lead her. When she reached a clearing she stopped. This is the place, she thought. Where is she? It's getting late and she should be here.
~~~Harry~~~
Harry couldn't place his sudden apprehension. For some unknown reason he wasn't nearly as comfortable with the fairy godmother part of the book as he thought he'd be judging by the cover. It wasn't so much the words in front of him as a feeling that something, somewhere wasn't quite right…
"Be careful." He whispered softly to no one in particular.
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Hermione sat down on a wooden bench and in her frustration she placed her head in her hands and began to cry. She didn't know what to expect but she was sure that she wouldn't get out of this place without making it to the ball and she couldn't go to the ball like this. Her head jerked up at the sound of a voice. Did someone just warn me to be careful? She wondered.
Her eyes were watery and her vision slightly blurred but the sight before her took her so much by surprise that she started wiping her eyes again and again as she tried to determine if it was real.
Then she began to laugh: hard. She was sure she had finally lost her mind. What she saw was a mirage…it had to be. There was no way that what she was seeing was real.
"Think this is funny, do you?"
"Don't tell me..." she barely managed to say through her laughter. "you're my…"
"Don't say it. Don't you dare say the `f' word."
Hermione couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so hard and her stomach was beginning to hurt. "You're my…" She choked out as she held her stomach.
"You heard me. You are not going to like what happens if you dare to say the `f' word."
Hermione couldn't stop herself, "Don't tell me you're my fairy god`mother'!!!" Tears were streaming down her face now and she was having trouble catching her breath. She looked up at him again and made a concerted effort to regain control of herself.
"Oh. That's rich. I'm happy to see you find this so amusing." He said sarcastically.
Still laughing she said, "I'm sorry. It's just…it's just…this is too funny!" She tried to take a few quick, deep breaths before continuing, "I mean, I've been surprised by the people I've seen until now, they were most definitely the least I'd expected to find, but you…you take the cake. You are definitely the very last I'd expected to see…especially in this role. Not to mention those clothes."
"Well laugh it up while you can, Mudb…"
"Now Draco," she interrupted, finally regaining control of herself. "The fairy godmother was there to help Cinderella. Not call her nasty little names. Let's not go there. Although…" she stopped as if re-thinking what she was saying, "that is the most predictable thing that's been said to this point."
"What am I doing here Granger? What the hell is this?" He said, disgusted.
"I have no idea Malfoy." She said, automatically reverting to the name she'd always called him. "I'm learning all sorts of new things here. Apparently I'm some kind of Cinderella or something. I don't really understand it. First there was Millicent Bullstrode and Cho Chang, then Professor Trelawney, and now you. I have no idea what's going on."
"Cinderella?" Draco said. "Who or what is Cinderella?"
Hermione looked at him, surprised that he didn't seem to know what was going on as the others had. "She's part of a fairy tale." She said. "You really don't know why you're here?"
"No. I think I must have missed that memo." He drawled.
"Oh. Talk about rich." Hermione said. "Guess you should have paid more attention. Maybe then you wouldn't be the fa…"
Draco put his hand up to stop her. "Don't repeat it." He warned.
"If you don't know what's going on, how did you know about the `f' word? Why couldn't I say it when you first saw me."
"Oh. That. When I was on my way here I heard someone laughing. They were saying something about…well…the `f' word. I blocked the rest out and found myself here. Somehow I just knew that was what you were trying to say." He said as he shivered slightly at the thought of being called a fairy anything.
"You don't know who Cinderella is either?" Hermione asked.
"Sort of." He said. "Isn't she the one with the glass slipper or something?"
Hermione laughed. "Yes, the glass slipper or something, that's her. Anyway, there are lessons that I've been learning since I've been here but I can't imagine what you might have to teach me. Maybe you're just here to lighten things up…you know, a little comic relief."
"Oh, yeah. You can always count on Draco Malfoy for that now, can't you Granger?" He said. "Comic relief…humph! Doesn't that story have a Prince or something? Not that I want to end up with you, but I think I'm much more suited to be the Prince. Not…not…" he stumbled and waved his hands about himself, "this." He said, disgustedly.
"Well at least it's only tights and a ruffled shirt. Oh, and nice plume you got there." She said, looking up at him and laughing. "It could be worse you know?"
"Oh, really?" He said. "How so?"
"Remind me to show you the cover of the book when we get out of here. You can see for yourself." She said. "Let's just say that in all the versions I've read, this role has never been that of a fairy…OOPS! Sorry." She said, laughing at the look on his face at her use of the `f' word. "Well, its never been that of a god`father'. Be thankful you don't have the wings and the sparkly dress. Although I have to admit it would make the moment that much more memorable."
"Am I the only one with a wand here, Granger?" He said, assuming she'd take the hint.
Hermione laughed again. "Okay. Okay. I get it. I'll stop."
"So tell me what I'm doing here." Draco said.
"You're supposed to be getting me ready for the ball. The job of the godmother…" she said, pausing to check his reaction, "or god`father' in this case… is to arrange a carriage for transportation and a dress for the ball."
Draco's smiled deviously. "You mean to tell me that my job is to get you dressed for the ball?" He said.
Hermione jerked her head up and looked at him, her eyes wide. "Not exactly." She said slowly. "You're job is to magically transform what I'm wearing into something else…something beautiful. Your job is not to dress me. That's something that I believe I'm quite capable of doing myself if it came down to it."
"Even after all this time you still know how to take the fun out of everything, don't you Granger?" He said.
"Yeah. I try, Malfoy." She replied. "Anyway, are you ready to do this?" She asked.
"Do I have a choice?" He replied.
Hermione laughed as she suddenly remembered the movie version of the story. "Do you know the incantation?" She asked.
"The what?" He asked, confused.
"The incantation. The song. Bipppety-bobbity-boo." She said, trying hard not to laugh.
"Boopity-hippity-who?" Draco asked. "What the hell are you talking about Granger?"
Hermione laughed. "Nothing. Never mind. I'm just kidding. It's just…it's a song from the movie Cinderella. It's what the godmother sings when she's transforming the pumpkins and stuff for Cinderella before she goes to the ball."
"Oh. Right. Well, if that's what we need, you got the wrong guy. All I can do is this…" He said as he waved his wand and a beautiful carriage appeared before them.
"Well, okay." Hermione replied, obviously impressed. "Looks like we won't need the song then."
"Like that?" Draco said smugly.
"Yes. Looks like you did learn something in all those years at Hogwarts. If nothing else, I'm impressed by that!" She retorted.
Draco frowned. "All right Granger, what's next? You know what? Wait a minute. I've done something for you. It's time I did something for me." He said as he waved his wand toward himself. His clothes transformed from tights and a ruffled shirt to a well-fitting pair of jeans and t-shirt...his hat just disappeared. Hermione had to admit that he looked pretty good.
"Okay now. Are you ready?" She asked.
"Can you give me a minute?" He said. "I'm admiring my work here. I look damn good, don't I?"
Hermione laughed. "Sure Malfoy. Damn good. Can we get moving now? At this pace the ball's going to be over before I get there."
Draco took one last appreciative look down at himself. "Well, you have to admit, I am definitely more Prince material." He said. He looked at her and saw she was getting slightly impatient and since this was supposed to be about her he caved, "All right. What's next?"
"Well, there should be someone to drive the carriage. Oh…and…I don't suppose it would hurt to have some horses to pull it either." She said a bit sarcastically.
"Oh. Yeah. Guess that should have come standard with the carriage, huh?" He said as he waved his wand and produced four of the most beautiful horses Hermione had ever seen.
"Wow. You're certainly doing great so far." She said. "You're a natural at this fai…god`father' business." She said smiling.
"Well thanks. It's great to know I have something to fall back on if my life's ambition to be an exotic, nude dancer doesn't work out." He cracked.
Hermione laughed again. "Okay. Well now I need a driver and a dress."
Draco waved his wand again and produced a driver for the carriage. "One down."
"One to go." She said, hoping he'd get to it quickly.
Draco looked at her and raised his eyebrows. "Now for the dressing." He said.
"Malfoy?" She said. "What are you thinking? Be nice…"
Draco laughed. "Nice. You want nice?" He said. "Here you go." He waved his wand and Hermione squealed.
She looked down at what she was wearing and made a move to cover herself. "DRACO MALFOY!" She screamed. "Fix this!"
She was dressed in a tight micro-mini skirt, knee high boots, and a tight sleeveless shirt that left her midriff bare.
Draco laughed. "What's wrong with it Granger." He said. "Your legs aren't half bad, you know?" He looked at her appraisingly. "Nice stomach too."
"Malfoy. Stop playing around. I can't go to the ball like this." Hermione cried.
"Come on Granger. You'll get the Prince's attention in that getup for sure. Isn't that what
it's all about?"
"Draco Malfoy, if you don't fix this, I swear I'll find you when I get my wand back. Put me in a real dress." She looked at him and he was still smiling. Her eyes begged, "Please." She said.
"Oh. All right. Once again…there goes the fun." He sighed.
"Thank you." She said.
"Color choice?" He said. "Fashion for women is not exactly my thing. Although, if you don't mind my saying, you did look quite good in that periwinkle color you wore to the Yule Ball during fourth year."
"Now tell me how you knew that color was periwinkle. For a guy who's not into women's fashion or colors, you're awfully aware of the names for them. Periwinkle is not exactly the most common name for that color...most men would say `blue'." She said laughing.
"Yeah…well…" Draco cleared his throat. "I thought we were in a hurry here. Are you going to pick a color or what?"
She looked at him again and for some unknown reason she decided to put her trust in him. "Surprise me." She said confidently.
"Surprise you? Are you sure about that?" He said. "You didn't exactly like my last surprise remember?" He looked her up and down once again.
Unembarrassed this time she surprised them both by her next words. "I trust you."
"Damn." He said. "There you go again. How am I supposed to have fun when you say stuff like that?" He raised his wand again and spoke an incantation as he waved it at her.
Her body spun in an uncontrollable circle as light fell around her, encircling her. When she stopped she slowly opened her eyes. She stood before a full length mirror and what she saw before her astonished her. "Oh my…" She began. She stopped when she looked up at him and saw the smile on his face. "I don't believe it. How did you…I mean…" She stopped when she couldn't find the words.
"You're welcome." He said.
The dress was made of the lightest blue satin. It was long with just the perfect amount of lace in the bodice and the skirt. There were five silk buttons down the front of the bodice. Her hair was pulled up beautifully with ribbons that matched the color of the dress and her makeup was just light enough to highlight her features perfectly. She felt like one of those elegant women in the old movies that her mom liked to watch. She'd never felt so beautiful.
"Have you forgotten something?" He asked looking down toward the ground.
"No. You didn't." She said, her excitement building. "I thought that was only in the fairy tale."
"Isn't this the fairy tale?" He asked.
"So I've been told." She said as she looked down at her feet and saw the beautiful glass slippers that adorned them.
"Any changes?" He asked. "You need to get going, remember? Unless, of course, you'd rather stand here and admire yourself while your future moves on without you."
Hermione looked up at him sharply. "So you do know what's happening, don't you?"
Draco nodded. "Some of it." He said. "I know that you'll never get out of this nightmare if you don't go. Your future awaits."
"Thank you, Draco. When I said I trusted you I didn't realize that I really trusted you. Once again it would appear that I have been wrong about someone. I'm getting used to that now, you know?" She said.
"What? The great Hermione Granger?" He said. "I don't believe it! What's the world coming to when people such as yourself are admittedly wrong about something?"
"Don't push it Draco." She said. "I do plan to get out of here, you know. Don't make me regret placing my trust in you. You are very much aware of what I can do with a wand."
"All right. All right. You need to get out of here." He said, reaching forward to open the door to the carriage. "Let me help you."
"Thank you Draco. I mean it." She said sincerely.
"Just get out of here…" he replied, "before I give you a tail or horns or something."
Hermione climbed into the carriage and as he was shutting the door she put her hand up to stop him.
"What is it now Granger?" He asked.
"Isn't there supposed to be some warning about midnight? Does that happen in this version?" She asked worriedly.
"I don't know. Maybe I missed that memo too. Why don't you try getting out of there by the last stroke of the clock at midnight?" He said.
"All right. Thank you, again." She said as she settled herself on the seat. "I never would have believed that the most fun I'd had in…months, probably…would be with Draco Malfoy."
"Goodbye, Hermione." He said softly.
He closed the door and she rode away without thoughts or words, to the castle where she hoped her prince would be waiting…
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A/N: Stay tuned…we're nearing the end of Her-my-oh-nee's fairy tale. I hope to have more time to write in the next few days. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I look forward to reading your reviews. I ask that if you enjoyed it at all, please leave a review no matter how short…they are incredibly motivating and I love reading the different views of the readers. It also helps me form the stories. Great ideas come from readers…
Thanks again. Happy holidays.
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