Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
"Ron Weasley, you are no longer in HADCOT"
The walk back out from the voting chambers was rather awkward. The Gryffindor team was divided and it was not until now that it had been obvious to who was backing who and who wasn't. The Dream Team was shattered into pieces. The once strong trio was now left to a duo. On one side walked the Dream Team, Harry, Hermione and Ron and on the other side, Ginny, Sidney and Anthony. The awkward silence between the two obvious groups was broken when Ron could not hold his anger any longer. He confronted Ginny by holding her back by the shoulders.
"What the hell were you thinking, Gin?! Going against your very own brother?! You should be supporting me in this game, not backstabbing me!" Ron shouted.
Ginny stared into her brother's eyes and grabbed his hands, throwing it off her shoulders.
"This is a game, Ron. In case you haven't noticed, it's a game or survival. Outwit, outplay and outlast are the three keywords here", Ginny replied.
"You should be backing me up and keeping me till the top three. You know how it should be, Gin. It's always been that way. Why did you betray me?!" Ron shouted even more.
Ginny pushed Ron hard against the wall and choked him with her arm. Sure, her brother was bigger and stronger but Ginny had enough in her to keep him there for a long time. It was about time that her ass of a brother got a bit of beating on his own.
"Don't you ever think that you are more superior than I am or I will personally see to it that we share no blood ties whatsoever. It's about time that things changed around here. It always has to be you three on the top, doesn't it? You three are the only ones controlling this game and everyone else is left to rot on their own. Well guess what people, we are not going to let you win", Ginny said, staring at her brother before looking at the flabbergasted Harry and Hermione.
Sidney and Anthony stood aside, smiling smugly. All three of Harry, Hermione and Ron were trying to comprehend the situation and towards why Ginny was acting the way she was. All of this time, she had been happy to let them through with lines and queues and games, why the sudden change? Ron was trying to get away from his sister's grip. Harry stepped forward, trying to reason with Ginny.
"What kind of a sister are you, Ginny?! Voting against your very own brother. That's pretty low", Harry said.
Ginny's eyes snapped straight towards Harry. Her anger just went up one notch.
"What kind of a boyfriend are you, Harry?! Cheating on your very own girlfriend. That's beyond low!" Ginny shouted.
Harry's mouth gapped open. Hermione looked down on her shoes, silent as ever. Ron looked like a goldfish gaping for air. Ginny glared at all three of the 'Golden Trio' before walking off. Sidney and Anthony followed her lead. Tears started to roll down Hermione's cheeks. She knew that it was true but all of this time, she had been denying it. Harry's eyes were trying so hard to explain the whole thing to her but he couldn't. Ron felt awkward in the sense that he was the middle person this time. Hermione couldn't look at Harry, before anyone could say anything, Hermione had already run off crying. Both Harry and Ron were left standing in the middle of the hall way.
"Aren't you going to run after her?" Ron asked.
Harry was too stunned to do anything. He just stood there, uncertain of what had just happened. The whole thing seemed too odd for him and too quick for him to comprehend. It was like a lightning just strike him.
…8…
Dear Contestant,
You will assemble with your team at 3 a.m. sharp at the Room of Requirements. Your supervisors on this task will be Professor McGonagall. I will need to remind you that you must be prepared to get yourself out of sticky situations and to practice navigational skills. A good memory would help as well in this task. Success comes with cooperation between the groups as it is after all a group task. Good Luck.
-Professor Dumbledore.
…8…
Did you hear, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger broke up?
Oh my Merlin, you're joking.
Apparently Potter and Granger broke up.
I heard that they broke up because he's gay.
No way, I heard that she's lesbian.
Of course not, it's because he's cheating on her with some hooch from Hufflepuff.
I heard that Ginny Weasley caused all this huffs.
So is Ginny Weasley the person that Harry cheated with?
"Oh for fuck's sake people! Don't believe everything you hear!" Ginny shouted out.
At that same second, Madam Pince was on her tail. Everyone in the library looked at Ginny as she burst. She glared at all the girls who were just making a fuss out of nothing. She has had enough with all this idiotic girls with their gossiping skills. Sure, she was angry at her brother the other night but it was partially her fault that the two had broken up. Well, officially broken up anyway. A part of her felt that she was helping Hermione while the other part of her felt that she had betrayed her friend. She felt responsible for the end of the so called 'greatest wizardry couple'. Madam Pince had demanded that Ginny left the library. Either leave or use the private room that had someone else in it. Ginny looked at her homework list and took the second option. The private room was what the librarian would call heaven for researchers and students who were engrossed with their studies.
Madam Pince hardly let anyone into the room except for special occasions and if she was truly aggravated but saw that the student needed the library to work. Ginny got her stuff and went straight away to the private room which was situated behind 2 different portraits just a couple of steps away from the 'Restricted Area'. When she got in, she didn't expect the person in there to be Draco Malfoy. He was engrossed in his own pile of work that he had not notice the redhead walk in. Ginny didn't know what to say to him. She just placed her things down on the table and started working, hoping that the silence would be enough to help her finish up her work and hopefully, not distract Malfoy from his own work.
She couldn't help but stare at him a little. It was incredibly fascinating how Malfoy was so elegant even in the way that he worked. His handwriting was neat and each word was perfectly cursive. Each line was straight and each letter was perfectly scribbled. The way he read the books was elegant. His eyebrows would knit together every time he couldn't understand a term. It was just so perfect. Ginny smiled as she saw him work through.
"Take a picture, Kitten, it might just last longer", his voice snarled.
Ginny snapped out of her trance and blushed.
"I'm sorry, I was just fascinated", she said, quickly grabbing her quill and parchment.
"Since when did you find me fascinating? As I recalled properly, you found me incredibly nosy and in despicable", Draco said, sneering.
Ginny felt as if she had lost her cool. The way he spoke sounded so perfect and calm. His eyes wandered around her features. She could feel his eyes studying the curves of her body as if he was undressing her with his eyes. She felt naked in front of him. Shivers ran down her spine. In a quick and swift move, he stood up and walked to where she was standing.
"Why the silence, kitten? I thought you were a pretty feisty speaker?" he asked.
His fingers reached out to untie the ribbon that was holding her hair together. She could feel his hot breath on her next and his chest pressing against her back. She felt her whole body melt as his lips descended to the back of her neck. It was sheer seduction.
"What are you doing this weekend?" he asked.
Ginny's eyes snapped open.
"What?"
She turned around to meet his eyes.
"I asked what are you doing this weekend", he repeated.
"I do realize that you asked me that, you git! Why?" she asked.
"Well, I would like to ask you to join me on an outing this weekend", he said, calmly.
Ginny was smirking. She found it hilarious. A Malfoy asking a Weasley out on an 'outing'. It was funny. She couldn't help but cover her smile and laugh behind her hand. It was just too much for her. Here he was in all of his high and mighty, asking her out. She never thought that it was possible. Sure, they made out and messed around but going out? It was funny.
"Are you kidding me, Malfoy? You're asking me out on a date?!" she asked, trying to breathe from laughing too hard.
When she looked at Malfoy, he was being dead serious and he didn't appreciate being laughed at.
"Do I look like I'm kidding to you?" he asked, face straight.
She stopped laughing and smiled.
"Alright, I'll go on your little outing. I shall meet you at the Hogsmeade pathway at 12. Be there, if you're late, I'll leave", she answered.
Ginny picked up her things and silently left the room. She had not known what she was thinking but whatever that made her said yes was happy on the inside. Draco Malfoy was had a small smile on his face as he went back to his homework.
…8…
The HADCOT contestants gathered in the room of requirements. The numbers became less and less as week by week went by. The Gryffindor house was shaken. It was now 3 against 2 but it was not an individual event this time, it was a 'group' event and that meant that the group had to work together to get points for Gryffindor. That was not an easy task when your whole team is against each other. Harry and Hermione stood apart from each other. Anthony stood on his own while Ginny and Sidney stood together. It was obvious to everyone that Gryffindor was going to lose this event. It took about a few minutes before Dumbledore himself, came out with the same twinkle that he had always had. Someone else joined him; they were unknown due to their hidden cloak.
"HADCOT contestants, it is a great pleasure to see you bright and cheery in the early hours of morning. Some of you may have assumed that our task today will be done here in the Room of Requirements. I would say that it was a half right guess. Before I give you any further instructions, I would like to introduce you to my hooded friend here, Lady Hermosa. She will be your guide to the task", Dumbledore said.
The students all turned to look at the hooded person. They were curious and intrigued to why she was not revealing herself.
"Professor, why is she having her hood up? We can't see her or recognize her. How would that help us?" Blaise Zabini asked.
The hooded woman lifted her arm to reveal her hand. The students gasped. The hand had no flesh, only the sickening look of bones. Then, she pointed her finger to the walls and a flame spelt out a message for her. Everyone turned their heads to read the message.
I am known as the guardian of the Hermosa forest, one of the most mystical forests in the wizarding world.
I will be bringing you into the forest for the HADCOT task.
"Your task is to retrieve 2 very important items. The first item is the Tear of Hermosa and the other is the blood of Hermosa. These two items are found deep within the forests. You will have to work together as a group to retrieve the items and let me reinforce the words 'work together'. If anyone were to get lost in the forest, you will never come out. Follow the instructions properly and get the items. The first house to bring back the items, wins the task and gains 350 points", Dumbledore explained.
Dumbledore waved his arm and 4 envelopes appeared in front of the students. Lady Hermosa stood behind Dumbledore and laid her hand on his shoulder, telling him that she has more to say to the students. Then, she pointed her finger to the walls again.
The forest has many spells and curses for the unwanted intruders.
If you wish not to be cursed or attacked, behave yourself and kill nothing in there.
Take a mental picture and leave only foot steps or else, you will be followed by unwanted spirits.
"Before you open your envelopes, I shall have to tell you that the first part of your task will be done here. Lady Hermosa will transport you to the forest once you've finished the first half of your task. Now, you may open you envelopes", Professor Dumbledore said.
The students opened the envelopes and read the information provided.
You will rearrange the puzzle and your map of the forest alongside with the clues to retrieving the items will be revealed.
When you are done, show it to Lady Hermosa and you will be taken to the forest.
In the forest, you will only be allowed 2 items, your wand and the map.
From there on, you will have to figure your way around.
All four teams grouped together and matched up the pieces of the map. Each piece of the puzzle revealed something about the items that they were retrieving. The groups began to see that the items were not of literal meaning. The Tears of Hermosa and the Blood of Hermosa were actually leaves of two different plants that lived in two different conditions. The Tears of Hermosa is from an incredibly tall tree that is inhabited with Nymphs while the Blood of Hermosa is from a plant that resides in the depth of the swamps which are full on unpleasant creatures which lurk in the murky water. Once the map was done, the contestants were disappointed in the sense that it was not as clear as they had wanted it to be. The only things that were in the map were the points that they will have to cover before arriving at where the plants are. There was no indication to what they will go up against in the forest.
One by one, the groups were transported to the Hermosa Forest by Lady Hermosa. She said nothing and left no clues for the groups to follow. She only pointed to the entrance and watched the groups go into the forest. By sight, the forest was incredibly beautiful. By feelings, it was not the place to be for a picnic. The different cries and calls heard were enough to scare a full grown giant. The Gryffindor team was the second to enter the forest after the Ravenclaws. The Slytherins came after and the Hufflepuffs behind them. Each team had to follow their maps to get to the trees. Gryffindor had no sense of communication in the team. They followed the person holding the map, Sidney. Neither one of them wanted to talk to each other, so they followed Sid blindly into the forest, hoping for the best. Hermione was not as resourceful as she usually was. Harry was not as initiative as he usually was. The group had already fallen apart. No matter how fast they get the item, they will not succeed in the task. Without cooperation, the team was doomed to fail. When they got to the tree that bears the leaves to the Tears of Hermosa, Anthony had accidentally awaken the Nymphs who were in a blissful slumber. That had caused the whole group to be attacked viciously by the little creatures. Finally, Hermione performed a stunning spell which stunned the Nymphs for a good amount of time for Harry to go retrieve the leaves. When they got away from the tree, all five of them had bruises and scratches on their arms.
"Is everyone alright?" Sidney asked, truly concerned for his fellow team mates.
No one replied but they gave him a reluctant nod. It was sheer insanity that the Gryffindor team had refused to speak to each other in the task as it was the most vital element to winning the task for Gryffindor. The pride of the students in the team was shameful. It took the team a long time before they got to the Blood of Hermosa. Sidney had gotten them lost in the forest and no one would go up to help him even though they knew how to. Finally, Ginny took over the navigation of the map and somehow got Hermione to help her with the bearings of the forest. Harry was reluctant to help but he knew that if the whole team were to be lost in the forest, there was no way that they could get out.
"Look, we have to stop this silent treatment. We are in a dangerous forest to not work together and solve it", Ginny said.
Both Harry and Hermione looked at each other, before turning to look at Ginny.
"Ginny's right, we should work together and leave our problems outside the game", Harry said.
"Yes, we should", Hermione answered as well.
From then, the team worked out a tracing spell to bring them back to where they were before they had gotten lost. Ginny's navigational skills alongside with Hermione's broad knowledge of bearings brought the team to the designated plant. The guys worked on distracting the other creatures or casting a silence spell to make sure that they do not provoke anymore creatures. When they got to the swamp, it was far too foggy to see anything and by the sounds of the place, it was filled with the unknown.
"What do we do now?" Anthony asked.
Hermione looked up at the map and picked up on a small clue. The dot where the plant was on some sort of a little island. The whole team looked around just to spot a little ground in the middle of the swamp. The looks of the swamp was not too inviting. The guys came up with the idea that they apparate themselves to the island to retrieve the item. It was a good idea but only one person would be able to apparate there because the island looked more of a stump than an island. It looked too tiny and the smallest person on the team was Ginny. So, Ginny apparated herself to the little stump to get the leaves of the plant only to find that the plant was on quicksand grounds.
"SHIT! PEOPLE!! HELP!!!! It's QUICK SAND!!!" She shouted.
Sidney and Harry immediately performed a spell to prevent Ginny from sinking in to the sand. Ginny quickly grabbed the leaves and apparated back to where the rest of the group was. It was then that the group realized that they were surrounded by swamp trolls. All five of them took out their wands and began fighting the trolls. Anthony was just about to perform the killing curse when Harry stopped him.
"We can't kill the creatures! This is a mystical forest, the creatures are protected by the magic in the forest!" Harry shouted.
"What do you propose we do?" Anthony asked, fighting off the trolls.
"I'll perform a distraction spell, everyone run at the count of 3", Hermione said.
The group prepared themselves to run.
"One…"
"Two…"
"THREE!"
The Gryffindor team sprinted as fast as they could to get out of the forest. Sidney had conjured a direction spell to lead them out of the forest. By the time they got out, all of the other teams had already completed the task and they were the only ones who looked tired and beaten up. Ginny gave the items to Lady Hermosa and slumped down on the ground with the rest of her team mates. Lady Hermosa took the items and swirled them all in the air. A bright light began to form around her and in a flash, Lady Hermosa was no longer of only bones. She turned out to be an extremely enchanting looking woman. She had a glow around her which gave her that touch of elegance and power.
"Thank you all for retrieving the items. The winner of this task is Slytherin! Congratulations!" The Lady said.
…8…
Ginny had met up with Draco for their date in the morning. He accompanied her to several places in Hogsmeade and he had not once made a move on her. He was a true gentleman which was something that she had not expected. She noticed that everything about him was up to perfection. The way he led her as they walked was sleek and extremely elegant. She thought that it was rather funny for a slimy asshole to be such a charming Sex God. Ginny knew that deep inside of her, she was happy but she was also confused at the same time. She could not help herself but think that there was something more to him only feeling attracted to her. Realistically speaking, a Malfoy and a Weasley would never get along. It has been in the books for centuries that the Weasleys and Malfoys do not mix although they are the two oldest pure bred wizarding families. They were meant to hate each other, scream at each other or kill each but ironically, they were on an 'outing' which was really bizarre. Absolutely everyone who saw them, looked at them strangely. Draco was oblivious to it but Ginny felt incredibly uncomfortable with the death glares that the other girls have been shooting her the whole entire day. By the end of the day, the two walked back up to the pathway that led back to Hogwarts. Ginny couldn't help but wonder about Draco's motives.
"I sense that you are troubled", he said, looking at her.
Ginny looked back at him, wondering how he knew.
"Why do you say that?" she asked.
"You've been fidgeting the whole entire day as if you've been touched by the devil", he said.
"Well, you are some sort of a devil, Draco. Can you blame me for twitching?" she answered, with a teasing smile.
Draco grinned at the girl's humor. He reached out for her hands and kissed her knuckles before looking her in the eye. There was that sense of magnet that pulled the two together before their lips finally touched. The moment his lips captured hers, all sense and sensibilities flew out of her mind. She was powerless against him. All that she knew and all that she felt was him. For the whole entire time, he had been patient and gentle with her. He was indeed the perfect gentleman. Throughout the whole date, he had not taken any sort of advantage over her. All he was really doing was taking her out on a simple and yet, innocent date. The way he kissed her this time, was by far the most gentle and the most enticing kiss ever. He did not seem like he had just wanted a shag, it was far different to that. When they finally broke for air, their foreheads were still touching. They were both out of breath. His eyes seemed so sincere, Ginny was lost for thoughts.
"Why did you choose to take me out today?" she asked.
He stepped back and held out on of his hands before turning it and somehow managing to whisk out a dark red rose. He slid it behind her ear.
"Because you're the only who understand what its like to control and be controlled", he answered.
She had a questioning look on her face. He took her hand and led her back to Hogwarts grounds.
"You're a mystery to the male population of Hogwarts, kitten. Every guy in school wants to get into your pants and claim you theirs. We've all noticed how much change you have had in the past few years. Don't you notice everywhere you go, there is some guy who hoots at you or screams your name in an orgasmic manner", he said.
"That doesn't explain why you would want me, Draco. Why would you want to tarnish your prestigious Malfoy name with a Weasley's?" she asked.
He turned around to face her before reaching out to caress her cheek.
"I'm not after the shag, kitten. I'm after something else", he whispered.
She couldn't help but be hypnotized by his eyes. His silver eyes which were so soulful at that time.
"What are after?" she asked.
He leaned forward and placed a small kiss on her shoulder and neck before whispering in her ears.
"I after your bitterness. The same hatred that was in your eyes when you confronted your brother, Mudblood and Pothead. I've seen how you changed around them. Always acting as if everything was fine between them and you but I know, you are bitter with them. You have the shell of a warm hearted girl just to cover up that ice queen that resides in you".
"What do you gain from this all?" Ginny asked.
"Nothing at all".
"Then why do you make me feel as if I am worth something to you? Why are you playing with my emotions as if you care for me?"
Draco saw the emotions in the girl's eyes. He knew that she hated how he was reading her like a book. She was caught off guard from her act.
"Would you believed me if I told you that you do mean something to me? Would you have believed me if I said that I am only protecting you from yourself?"
She had no answer for him. Her heart and her head were not corresponding at the same time.
"Then, why do you have to make me fall in love with you?" she asked, out of desperation.
It took him a bit for him to answer her. He tipped her chin upwards to face him and just before he leaned down for the kiss, he whispered the words into her ears.
"I'm only seeking redemption, love. I never asked for you to fall in love for me or for me to fall in love with you".
Those were the only words that she heard.
I never asked for you to fall in love with me…
Or for me to fall in love…
With you…
...8…
A/n: Hehe, evil huh? I'm so sorry for not updating but I'm pretty sure that you would understand how it is in being a senior student in school going up against all of the wickedness of exams and school. Give me some time and I eventually get to it! Thank you so much for reading and review!