Count Your Blessings

A/N: This is kind of a boring chapter, but there is a surprise at the end that I know everyone has been waiting for...muahaha. As for those who are wondering how it is possible that I can keep up with so many stories...I have no clue. I blame Pandora.com (an online radio) and its wonderful music. Ultimately, it's the music I listen to that gives me muse enough to write. I am quite busy in real life but I'm always running statistics and the like on my computer and you know if there's a computer there's internet...then there's wordpad and stories! Lol. I'm going to halt any new creations for the time being as I'm soaking up the entire DM/HG fiction board. Anywho, I hope this chapter is to your liking but the next one will be action packed (the story is coming to a swift defeating end! dun dun dun!)


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Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Lioness?
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“How could you give a student something so potent?” Hermione heard the stern voice of Madam Pomfrey clouded over as she stirred from her slumber.

“Ms. Granger came to me in the strictest of confidence,” she heard Snape’s soft, dark voice penetrate that clouded membrane blocking all noise.

Moaning softly, Hermione rolled onto her side and felt the warmth of the sun against her skin. Her eyes, crusted over from terrible sleep, fluttered open slowly as her vision cleared. Madam Pomfrey was hidden behind yards of black robes carried on Snape’s shoulders. However, Hermione could still hear the shrill intensity of her voice – enough to send anyone running away in fear.

“I should inform the Headmaster about this! It is unconscionable!” Madam Pomfrey said shrilly, “What if other students discovered this?”

“Other students have,” Snape said solemnly, “More specifically, my students.”

“W-what?” Madam Pomfrey sounded as if she stumbled back, hitting what Hermione assumed was her desk. “How did you find out? Who was it?”

“I’m afraid I cannot tell you,” Snape replied calmly despite Madam Pomfrey’s loud gasp of annoyance, “Not when Ms. Granger is with us.”

Like the rabid demon he was, Snape spun on his heel and looked at Hermione. She had tried to hide under her covers and eavesdrop but her head was splitting and she hardly picked up on what they said. Madam Pomfrey leaned over Severus and whimpered, rushing to Hermione with a basin and cloth.

“Dear, you’re awake,” Madam Pomfrey smiled sadly, sitting on the bed, “Don’t worry. We’ll fix you up in a jiff.

“Y-You know who poisoned me, P-Professor Snape?” Hermione asked, batting away the cloth as she sat up, “Who was it?”

“That is not for me to tell, Ms. Granger,” Snape replied, moving to the side of her bed.

“Why not? I have a right to know!” Hermione said angrily, “I spent almost a whole year under this…this curse and you know but you won’t tell me….why?”

“If you wish me to speak the truth,” Snape began, his dark eyes shifting to the entryway of the infirmary and back to Hermione, “I fear for my student’s safety if she is discovered.”

“So, it’s a girl? And a Slytherin?” Hermione surmised, propping herself up on her elbow, “That whittles down the list I suppose.”

“You heard nothing from me,” Snape snapped coldly, but in a harsh whisper, “I will leave you in Madam Pomfrey’s care. She knows the antidote you are taking and will see to it that side-effects are limited.”

“Side-effects?” Hermione looked to Madam Pomfrey and at Snape, but found where he was standing vacant.

Her eyes caught the glimpse of his cloak disappear around the corner. He was like a ghost in the way he moved and it was creepy. Hermione was pushed back against the cot as Madam Pomfrey hummed lightly, patting her forehead.

“Now, I want you to come to me every morning to take this,” Madam Pomfrey said, handing Hermione a small vial of brackish liquid, “Don’t worry if you feel a little light headed. If you do, then sit down and take a breath. This is designed to dilute the entire potion you have ingested during the beginning of the year. I also suggest you sleep here for the time being and take Sleeping Draught in order to keep your nights dream free.”

“Is that all?” Hermione asked, staring at the vial, “Just, light headedness and nightmares?”

“You might feel a bit feverish and agitated but that is to be expected,” Madam Pomfrey replied, patting Hermione on the top of the head, “But other than that, you are good to go.”

“Er…thanks,” Hermione mumbled, pulling the cork from the vial. She sniffed it and cringed, plugging her nose before downing the entire bottle full. It slithered down her throat like phlegm and had a sour spicy taste to it, but Hermione felt a lot clear minded once her stomach settled.

“Hermione?” came a voice from the door, Theodore Nott. “You’re awake.”

“Hi,” Hermione said lightly, folding the sheets in front of her over her lap as he padded over to her, carrying a heavy mess of books.

“I thought, since you’ve missed Charms that I’d bring you the days work. I also took extra notes if you wanted to get them from me,” he said cheerfully, dumping the books onto her lap.

“Thanks, I’m glad some one is alright with me catching up on my studies. Ron and Harry keep saying I have a legitimate excuse not to do homework, but I say it’s rubbish,” Hermione shrugged, pulling through a folder that held Theodore’s concise notes, each labeled perfectly according to subject and text.

“No problem,” Theo replied, resting his hand on hers for a second before she glanced down and he pulled it away, “I should get going though. Don’t want to be late for Divination. Hate the subject but it’s funny to watch Trelawney flounder around.”

“Oh,” Hermione glanced down at her hand but smiled back at him, “Ok, thank you for bringing homework and stuff for me.”

“It’s nothing,” Theo replied, coming to a stand, “Hey, if you weren’t doing anything this weekend, do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?”

“I…uh…” Hermione looked away and brought her hand to her forehead.

He was being so nice, especially since that incident with Draco and Draco obviously had gotten over her. But was she over him? She didn’t know. She was too tired to think about it, and she didn’t want to.

“It’s ok if you don’t want to. I thought I’d offer,” Theodore shrugged, “Draco and Pansy are going to Madam Puddifoot’s for Valentine’s Day and he wanted me to ask Daphne but she’s quite boring.”

“Oh,” Hermione said again, glaring at the top of her text, “I don’t think it’s a good idea, Nott.”

“Theodore, or Theo. Nott is my father’s name,” Theo smiled at her, “It’s alright, you’ll probably be a little too tired anyway.”

He turned away and strode halfway down the room before Hermione called, “Wait.”

Theo stopped and turned on his heel, perking up slightly, “Yes?”

“I’d…love…to go with you to Madam Puddifoot’s…as long as I don’t have to look like…” Hermione shrugged, and darted her eyes away.

“You can wear a tea cozy for all I care, Hermione,” Theo smiled, “I’ll meet you in front of the Great Hall then?”

“Sure.” Hermione smiled at him as he turned and left, but her smile quickly disappeared.

She groaned and flung herself against the back of her cot, covering her eyes with the back of her hand. What was she going to do now? Just enjoy herself for the remainder of the year, stay out of trouble and avoid Draco as much as possible. If she were supposed to avoid Draco, why’d she agree to go on a Valentine’s date with Theodore Nott? Her brain is malfunctioning.


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He Who Sucks Dragon Bollocks
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“You what!?” Draco snapped, shoving his papers from the desk in the corner of the Slytherin common room, “Are you fucking insane? How could you do that?”

“Easy,” Theo said with a slight shrug, biting into a green apple loudly, “I just asked her.”

“I’ll kill you,” Draco snarled, standing up at this point, “I’ll bloody kill you!”

“Oh calm down, Draco,” Theo rolled his eyes and crossed one leg over the other, taking another bite, “She’s not going because she fancies me. She only said yes because I told her you and Pansy were going together.”

“But I’m not. I would never….” Draco stammered, gripping onto the edge of his seat, “You are meddling in something you shouldn’t, Nott.”

“Am I?” Theo asked in a matter-of-fact tone, “Then why are you sweating bullets? The last time I saw you so nervous you were talking to the bint from France. Fleur or whatever her name was.”

“I’m not sweating, I have a glandular problem!” Draco lied, sitting back into his seat where he buried his head in his hands, “You don’t get it, do you? She hates me and it’s best this way. I told you…”

“Yes, all about He-Who-Sucks-Dragon-Bollocks’ plan to kidnap and torture Granger,” Theo waved his hand dismissively, “You really think the Order would let anyone near her enough to kidnap her? Not to mention, she’s kind of scary.”

Draco rolled his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair. He hissed as his forearm began to sizzle with burning pain. Theo quirked an eyebrow but Draco merely clenched his fist until he felt the pain subside enough for him to bare it.

“It’s burning again, Theo,” Draco whispered, finally causing his friend to sober up and stare at him wide eyed. “I keep waking up to excruciating pain.”

Draco leaned back and began to roll up his sleeve, revealing a pitch black Dark Mark worming its way over his left forearm. Theo’s eyes widened more as he stared at it, the snake moved ever so slightly almost as if it were trying to crawl out of his skin.

“Blimey,” Theo whispered, his eyes darting to Draco’s sweaty face.

Draco rolled his sleeve down and sighed, “He’s going to do something big and…I’m afraid we’re going to get caught up in it. People are going to die…”

“I thought that’s why you joined their little club,” Theo asked, leaning back while he tossed his apple into his hands, “I mean, because you want to prove you’re such a bad ass and stuff.”

“You wouldn’t understand,” Draco replied, shoving his seat back.

Theo’s hand shot out and grasped onto his forearm, feeling the dark magic radiate from his arm, “You don’t know the half of it. My dad is in Azkaban because of that monster and I’m not about to lose my best mate either.”

Draco knew how Theo felt about the whole Pure-blood and Death Eater thing. He was the first person to notice the substantial change in his friend – particularly because they had been friends since they were in their nappies. Theo had lost everything because of the Dark Lord but he wasn’t strong enough to fight or rebel against it. That didn’t mean he wasn’t intelligent – he merely played both sides cautiously, feeding the growing snake one rat at a time. Sooner or later, Draco believed, Theo would get caught in the snake’s grasp if he didn’t choose a real side soon. Draco was already caught and sentenced to death, but he didn’t really care. There wasn’t much worth living for anyway – all considering.

“Don’t get sentimental on me,” Draco laughed uneasily, pulling his arm free, “I have to go meet Pansy. She wants to discuss things…”

“Things as in shagging?” Theo asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Gods I hope not. I’ve given every excuse in the book short of I like cock but even then I think she’d like that,” Draco grumbled, ignoring Theo’s laugh.

“I could always make out with you in front of her,” Draco’s jaw dropped and Theo winked before laughing hysterically, “Gross! You actually considered it, didn’t you?”

“You’re tainting my brain,” Draco rolled his eyes; “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye lover!” Theo called out between tears, rolling his eyes as he stood and bit into his apple, gathering his notes and parchment.


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Tell Me Who Did it; it’s the Least You Can Do
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Hermione stood by the Great Hall wearing her usual jumper, jeans and trainers. Harry had something special planned for Ginny – which Hermione suspected involved ‘flying on his broom’ in the biblical sense. Ginny, of course, wasn’t very oblivious to how she spoke of things around Hermione that concerned her and Harry’s sex life. Hermione didn’t want to hear it most of the time but she endured it for the sake of their friendship. Ron had been trapped by Luna to go ‘Nargle’ hunting near the Shrieking Shack but the poor Weasley was still oblivious to Luna’s obvious attempts at getting him alone. If he knew, he was sure a good actor. And if she knew one thing, Ron Weasley was not a good actor.

Students passed her as she waited and waited. Maybe Theodore had decided against their ‘date’ or it was a massive joke. Ha. Ha. Not very funny. Crossing her arms over her chest, Hermione looked around and waited some more. She ended up sitting on the window ledge with one leg propped up in front of her and still no sign. Just when she was about to give up, she heard some one clear their throat behind her.

Jumping to her feet, Hermione swirled around with a large smile that faded instantly from her lips. Draco was standing there wearing a midnight blue turtle neck, obviously covering his scars, looking rather out of place. Hermione frowned and thought for a moment. It clicked and she groaned.

“Hi,” Draco said quietly, looking away, “I…uh…Theo told me to…”

“Yeah, I get it,” Hermione whispered, “I’m going back to the tower.”

“Wait,” Draco moved over to her, “Listen, Her-Gra-Hermione…This wasn’t my idea at all and I just wanted to tell you that?”

Why was he saying that in a question? Did she expect it to be a question or what? No, he had been a prick to her for the past month and she wasn’t having it. She didn’t need him anymore and she…she couldn’t handle seeing him for extended periods of time anyway!

“Right, well. Happy Valentine’s Day,” Hermione nodded, turning to walk down the corridor.

“Hermione,” Draco called out, running to her, “I can’t be friends with you. I can’t be anything with you. Isn’t it obvious that we’re not fit for one another?”

“No,” Hermione said quietly, “It’s not. It’s your own perception of what you think we ought or ought not to be.”

“You’ll get hurt and I can’t protect you,” Draco said in almost a whisper, “I want to protect you but…I can’t.”

He wanted to gather her up in his arms so badly, clutch her to his chest and never let her go. Gods, what is he doing or thinking? He was dangerous, too dangerous for her and she would always be in danger. Not until one side won and even then, he couldn’t guarantee that he’d survive long enough to protect her. He knew what he wanted to do. Run to Hermione, grasp her by the back of her head and press his lips onto hers. He wanted to taste her sweet kiss, her warm flesh against him. Her body move against his, hands in his hair. He wanted to hear her whisper his name, tell him she loved him, and that he was different. He wasn’t just a Malfoy. But that was stretching it, wasn’t it?

Draco scratched absentmindedly at the scars littered across his neck. No one but Theo had seen them, and even then Theo would never speak of it to anyone. No one in his house, or outside for that matter, knew about it. They just figured he had done some new high end fashion from Paris or some deal like that. Not even his parents knew – Snape wanted him to tell them but the last thing he wanted was to tell his father he saved Hermione from Greyback. Especially considering it was their task to kidnap her in the first place. No, Theo was his only confidant, he knew Draco had a little bit of a temper during the full moon and helped him cope with the anger issues he faced. For once in his life, he was glad to have a friend, a real friend.

“I don’t need anyone to protect me, Draco,” Hermione replied, breaking him from his concentration, “I don’t need anyone anymore. Professor Snape gave me the antidote to the potion I took earlier this year so…all better.”

She waved her arms about in a lazy fashion, dropping them like dead weights to her side. In reality, she wasn’t better. She wanted him to soothe her and make her feel better. Everyone was oblivious to her real feelings and she had to admit, she was a damn good actress when need be. Her heart was heavy, she was grouchy, and she wanted, for once, to feel wanted not because of her genius but because they wanted her. At one time, she thought Draco wanted that but in the end it was the fact that they could shag their brains out that consumed their ‘relationship.’

“Oh,” Draco nodded, looking down, “I figured. You know. Uh…well…”

Hermione nodded awkwardly and looked around, both their hands moving to one another but falling to their sides limply.

“I’m not angry at you,” Draco said unable to bring his eyes to her, “For the whole Greyback thing. I would’ve done it again…even if we weren’t…aren’t…together…together.”

“I’m glad,” Hermione replied softly, shoving her hands under her arms, “Well, have a nice day. I guess.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to go to Hogsmeade? We can go to a bookstore or…something.”

“I thought you just said we couldn’t be friends,” Hermione asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Oh, yeah. Right,” Draco nodded, stiffening, “Right. Well.”

“Well,” Hermione repeated nodding again.

“Bye,” Draco brought his hand to her arm and patted it before moving slightly.

“Bye,” Hermione whispered, biting her bottom lip. “Draco?”

“Yes?” he looked too eager and answered far too quickly but he didn’t care.

“You know who slipped me the potion don’t you,” Hermione mused, watching his eyes dart around, “Tell me.”

“Er…” Draco flushed slightly, “I don’t know, I mean you’re cured so…”

“Just tell me,” Hermione said, “It’s the least you could do.”

She knew she wouldn’t be angry with him about it. After all, she had fallen in love and out of love so often with him. It was an experience she would always remember, even if she wanted to bash his head in from time to time. Not to mention, she had figured he had to know because…well…girls basically told him everything in hopes of trying to get into the sack with him and this would be a heavy piece to hang over him for awhile.

Draco cleared his throat, “Pansy Parkinson.”