Through the Looking Glass ~ COMPLETED

Chapter 12 ~ Draco Makes a Move

As Hermione left Snape's classroom on her way to supper, Draco Malfoy was waiting outside the classroom for her. He was in the same class and when he saw the witch get in line for extra credit with Snape, he knew something was terribly, terribly wrong here. No Slytherin had ever gone for extra credit with the Gryffindor head of house. It just wasn't done.

But yet, Granger had done it.

"Hey Granger," he said to her as she exited the class.

Hermione stopped and looked at him.

"What do you want, Draco?" she asked him, "I've got to get to supper. I don't feel like being leashed for lateness."

She continued walking and Draco fell in beside her, looking at her in amazement.

"What?" Hermione said to him as he stared, keeping in step.

"You never greet me like this. Usually, you tell me 'fuck off, Malfoy.' You never use my name, and you'd never let me walk with you. What's going on, Granger? Did you just sign up for extra credit with Snape?" he asked her.

"Fuck off, Malfoy," Hermione said, speeding up.

Draco kept up with her, grinning slightly.

"Not enough malice, Granger. That wasn't from the heart. Now, what gives? I see you're getting the cold shoulder from everyone, even your boy-toys Potter and Weasley. They're usual on your heels like guard dogs. They aren't even talking to you. No one is. And that's strange. It's like they're ostracizing you. And you not hexing me by now is totally out of character," he said to the witch.

Hermione sighed.

"Look, Draco, things are different, all right? Just . . . different," she said.

"I'll say. I can't believe you're being civil to me. Usually you wouldn't be caught dead talking to a Pureblood not in Slytherin, like Weasley," he said to her. "You don't even feel evil. Normally, you give off a very dangerous vibe. But I don't feel anything negative at all."

"That's because I'm not evil, all right? I'm . . . I'm not the Hermione you think I am. Listen, we're coming to the landing now, and I don't want to be seen talking to you, because . . . well the real Hermione wouldn't and I'm trying to fit in. Ask your Head of House, Professor Snape about me. He knows what's going on. Now, please, leave me alone," Hermione told him.

Draco hung back as she walked on to the first floor landing and down the stairs to the Entrance Hall.

What did she mean, the "real" Hermione? Was she someone else? She seemed to be. There was no way the Hermione he knew would walk and talk with him under any circumstances. She thought he was scum.

Draco turned back. He knew he had to be at supper, but he wanted to talk to professor Snape immediately. He could always get a pass from him to keep from being leashed or caned. He met the wizard walking up the corridor.

"Mr. Malfoy, you only have two minutes to get to supper. What are you doing still here?" the wizard asked him.

"I wanted to ask you about Granger. She told me you knew her . . . her situation. She's been acting strangely and so has all of Slytherin house. It's like she's being shunned," he said to Snape, who shook his head.

"That's not the Miss Granger you know, Mr. Malfoy. She's . . . she's from an alternate universe. There was a magical accident involving the Mirror of Noisreva, and she switched places with the Hermione Granger we're familiar with. She's a Gryffindor."

Draco's eyes went wide as saucers as Snape pulled a pen and a bit of parchment out of his inner robes' pocket and scribbled him out a note to get into the Great Hall sans a torture session.

"A Gryffindor? Why is she in Slytherin House then?" he asked.

"That's where the Headmaster put her," Snape replied.

"But . . . but she doesn't belong there. If she's a Gryffindor, she should be in our house," Draco said.

"I feel the same way, Mr. Malfoy, but there's very little we can do about it," Snape told him, handing him the pass. "It's just the way things are until she returns to her world."

"It doesn't seem right, Professor. A Gryffindor in Slytherin. They could hurt her. Parvati already tried to poison her this morning at breakfast. If not for Weasley, she'd be dead now," Draco replied, frowning.

"I think she'll be safe enough. They won't be able to get their own Hermione back if anything happens to her," Snape said.

"Only the ones who like her will want her back. She has a lot of enemies, sir, and not just in Slytherin. There's a couple of Ravenclaws who owe her, maybe even a couple of Hufflepuffs. Can't you do anything?"

Snape studied him.

"You've got wood for Miss Granger, don't you Draco?" he asked the Gryffindor, who colored.

"Since forever, Professor. I know this Hermione isn't that one, but . . . she's more accessible. I'm willing to take a substitution," the wizard said.

Snape shook his head.

"You know, Mr. Malfoy, I believe you have a touch of Slytherin in you, despite your bloodline. That is not the way we act in Gryffindor," he chastised him. "Now, get to supper and no more about Miss Granger."

Draco looked sullen.

"Won't you try to do something, Professor? Despite me liking her, she still needs to be in her own house," he said to the wizard.

Snape studied him.

"We'll see," he replied, frowning slightly. "Let me think about it a bit."

Draco walked off, heading down the stairs and hurrying to the Great Hall. Filch opened the door with a wicked smile, but Draco held up the pass and the wizard snatched it out of his hand, scowling blackly as he read it, then looked toward Snape, who walked past and headed down the corridor that led to the teacher's entrance.

As he walked, he idly thought about Draco's infatuation with the untouchable Hermione Granger, and the resulting attraction to her counterpart. He didn't blame him really.

Snape knew just how he felt.

Filch let out a growl at the blonde wizard and crumpled his pass in his gnarled hand.

"Come in, then," he snarled, disappointed his ass wouldn't be manacled to the wall.

As Draco sat down at the table next to Crabbe and Goyle, who were already stuffing their faces, he looked over toward the Slytherin table at Hermione's back. She had plenty of space on either side of her, and had her plate tucked very close to her body as she ate.

Apparently, she'd learned something this morning.

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As she ate, Hermione was thinking and thinking hard. Neither Professor McGonagall nor Tom Riddle had said anything further about her getting back to her own world. It didn't take her long to figure out that she needed access to the Mirror of Noisreva. Possibly, her counterpart had figured that out too, and would be trying to get through herself. But they needed to both be in the mirror at the same time.

The easiest way to accomplish that would be to have the mirror placed in her bedroom, where they would both retire to at night. It should be an easy matter to recreate the situation that caused the exchange in the first place. She would ask professor McGonagall about making the arrangements right after she met with professor Snape.

Hermione was right that nothing had been done. And purposely so. Her tale had sparked the Headmaster's curiosity about her world and his counterpart, Lord Voldemort, who he understood had several hundred witches and wizards at his beck and call. They were all Purebloods too, basically his slaves. Tom had a lot of power at Hogwarts, but not absolute power. He was wearying of his role as Headmaster, and he knew McGonagall would gladly disembowel him to take over the position, if she thought she could get away with it.

Hell, she could have the bloody job if he could find a better situation. He was also weary of fighting Lord Bedaubs Mule as well. His counterpart would get along with him just fine and run the wizarding world any way they liked. Join forces. Become fuck buddies. He didn't care. He wondered about the current Headmaster of Hogwarts and how he felt about the ongoing war. He bet the man was as weary as he was.

Hermione Granger would be an excellent pawn if he played his Snap right. He would help her get back, but only if she carried a message from him to her version of Albus Dumbledore. A message and a plan, otherwise, he would destroy the Mirror of Noisreva, and Hermione would remain in this universe until the day she died.

Tom Riddle certainly knew how to create incentive.

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Hermione spoke to professor McGonagall after supper, requesting her to ask Tom Riddle if the Mirror of Noisreva could be moved to her private room.

"Ready to leave us so soon, Miss Granger?" Minerva purred at her, her dark eyes washing over the witch. She looked so much like her Hermione, the one she engaged from time to time.

"Yes, I am. I'm not welcome here, and I'm sure you're aware of that. I'm not a Slytherin and someone in this house hates me enough to want to see me dead," Hermione said to the witch, who flicked a hand at her carelessly.

"We all need a bit of challenge in our lives, Miss Granger, it makes them . . . sweeter," the witch purred.

"Mine is sweet enough without extra death threats. I have enough where I come from, believe me. But will you ask him?" Hermione requested again.

"Yes, I'll ask him," Minerva replied.

"Good," Hermione said rising, pulling out a pass, "now I have to go. I have an appointment for extra credit with Professor Snape."

Minerva sat up straight in her chair.

"You have an appointment with . . . with Professor Snape for extra credit, Miss Granger?" the witch asked her.

"Yes, that's what I said. Why?" Hermione asked back.

"Oh. I was just wondering if he divulged the nature of the extra credit work you would be doing?" Minerva asked.

"Ah, no. He just told me my mark would be based on what I decided to do. He said some assignments are as short as five minutes, and others can take up to an hour. I imagine the longer it takes the more credit you get," Hermione said.

Minerva smirked.

"Yes, it works something like that. Now, run along, Miss Granger," she said with a smile that rather disturbed Hermione. It looked quite predatory.

Hermione left Minerva's office.

"Work hard!" the Potions mistress called after her, then broke out in cackling witch's laughter.

"Oh, would I like to be a fly on the wall when he hands her the 'extra credit list,' she chuckled.

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Hermione made her way down up to the Entrance Hall. Of course, Filch popped out of nowhere, but . . . she had a pass.

"Damn that Snape. He's been spoiling my fun all day," the wizard snarked, hobbling off to see if the hunting was better in the dungeons.

She ascended the marble stairs and walked down the first floor corridor to the Transfiguration classroom. Professor Snape was sitting at his desk, waiting for her. He stood up when she entered.

"Ah, Miss Granger. I thought you might have changed your mind about the extra credit," he said to the witch.

"No sir," Hermione replied, entering the classroom and walking up to the desk, "I told you I wanted to bring up my counterpart's marks. I haven't changed my mind about that."

Snape studied her for a moment.

"Very well, Miss Granger . . . if you would just follow me," he said, walking around the desk and past her. Hermione looked after him, puzzled.

"Where are we going?" she asked the wizard.

"Extra credit work isn't done in the classroom, Miss Granger. There is another more comfortable area, one with the proper . . . accouterments," he responded.

"Oh. All right, then," Hermione said, following him out of the classroom and to his office. She looked around.

"There aren't any desks here," she said to him.

Desk? She wanted to do it on a desk? Hm. Maybe she had a schoolgirl fantasy. He could accommodate her, definitely, since he also had a schoolgirl fantasy, involving one Hermione Granger.

"A desk can be arranged," he said, pulling on a torch. The wall on the right side of his desk slid up.

He gestured to the opening.

"After you, Miss Granger," he said.

Hermione hesitated then walked through, followed by the wizard.

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A/N: Okay, now we have two discontented individuals in this story. Our Snape and the alternate Tom Riddle. Interesting. Oh Hermione, Hermione, Hermione. Shouldn't your spider sense be tingling or something? Lololol. Thanks for reading