Gryphon's Wings and Crocodile Tears

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of these characters or places; they belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. It’s her world; I just play in it.


Chapter 8-Childish Games


The next morning Ron clawed his way from the bedding of his four-poster bed and stood glaring at the prostrate form of Harry, who blinked his green eyes blearily at the redhead. Ron smirked triumphantly at Harry as he made a move to the doorway of their dormitory. He began to turn the knob when he was struck from behind with the most unpleasant sensation. “Inlingo!” called a familiar voice from behind him.


Ron turned to see Harry with wand in hand and a strange look in his eyes. He found that he was unable to protest, his tongue frozen in place and it seemed that his feet were subject to the same restrictions as his tongue. His expression grew, if possible, more dark and furious, he was sick of Harry’s childish games.


“I’m glad that you’ve elected to tell Hermione, I don’t want to see her upset. Sometimes the truth is overrated, but it’s your call. I guess you like to be the one who makes her cry. And it’s not like I’m doing anything wrong, as we were never officially together in the first place.” Harry lowered his wand and when Ron found that he could move once more he turned from the room and without another word he ran down the spiral staircase and into the common room.


Hermione was sitting by the fire knitting some of her hideous creations designed to free unwitting House Elves who were sent to clean Gryffindor Tower. Little did she know that she’d been unsuccessful in this attempt at liberating these proud creatures, and worst they actually thought ill at the very notion of being freed. She was attempting to teach Ginny to knit; it was not a pretty sight.


She and the others present in the common room looked up at the commotion that Ron made as he thumped down the ancient stairs. He made a beeline for Hermione by the fireplace and would have made a very impressive entrance, had it not been for Lavender who stepped between them at the last moment. It seemed like this was a last ditch effort to keep any measure of happiness from Hermione.


“Ron, I really need to talk to you,” she whined with an oily and disturbing ease that made his skin crawl. Did she honestly think that this was the kind of behavior that would help her case right now? She couldn’t possibly be that thick.


“Listen, Lav I don’t know what the hell I was thinking dating you in the first place. Now if you’d be so kind as to leave me to my business I have something of importance to say to someone of importance to me.” She gawked at Ron, how could he have blown her off? She ran off to breakfast crying.


Ginny was shocked to see that after such a bold statement her brother marched fervently the lonely corner where she and Hermione sat knitting. There was something dangerous in the look of those gold eyes as they flashed at her before coming to rest on Hermione. “I have something to tell you and it’s very important.”


“I, um, I have some homework to finish,” said Ginny as she took off like a bullet, her destination: as far away from Hermione as possible. If Ron was about to do what she thought he was, then there could be no place on the grounds that would be far enough away from Hermione to escape her wrath.


Hermione stared at him for an amount of time that felt to Ron like an eternity, she was carefully gauging the urgency of what he was about to impart to her, before she answered him coolly, “Well, go on Ronald, I haven’t got all day you know.”


Ron shuddered; the only other person who could use his unabbreviated first name and garner that reaction was his mother. He tried to shake the feeling off before continuing with his thoughts. Harry wandered lazily down the stair and fixed him with a grin that seemed to sap all of the willpower he’d built up in order to perform this grim task. He turned to Hermione and said, “I am sorry. I’ve been the biggest idiot in the world these last few weeks. I know you won’t ever take me back, but I love you. I just thought that you should know.” It was a weak finish and he knew it. Worse with a single glance, Harry had undone his plan to tell her everything.


“Apology accepted, and you are right, I’ll never take you back. I am glad to be able to talk to you again, how I’ve missed you!” The genuine affection in her tone removed any residual sting from the words as they fell from her mouth with seemingly unstoppable force.


“Hey Ginny, did you hear that? Ginny?” She surveyed the common room quickly. She’d been so shocked to see that Ron actually wanted to talk to her that she hadn’t seen the redheaded witch slip away hastily.


“I think she said that she had some homework to finish or something…” Ron said lamely.


Harry smiled from his corner with all the smarmy grace and attitude of Draco Malfoy, he too could have the world on a string if he so chose. Hermione waved cheerily at him as he winked at her charmingly, he passed she and Ron and exited the room bound for breakfast.


As soon as the portrait hole closed he ran right into a very nervous Ginny. “Did he?” She gulped.


“No, I don’t think he will.” Ginny relaxed visibly, she nearly floated to breakfast on Harry’s arm.


Draco had arrived uncharacteristically early for the morning meal, he would never dream of being the first one to set foot in en empty hall, it was not how he’d been raised. In the Malfoy bloodline the term, “fashionably late,” was nothing short of a social commandment. So he resolved to lurk in the shadows and catch some unwitting student, hopefully a Gryffindor, doing something that violated some school rule or a personal confidence.


His unwavering luck rewarded him with just such a catch only moments after he’d taken his place skulking in the shadows outside the Great Hall. He was positively beaming when he heard that all too familiar voice carried to him on echoes accompanied by another voice, a voice that didn’t belong to the first in such a manner. This was delicious to Draco’s noxious sense of humor.


“I think you are worrying too much. Neither of us is doing anything wrong. You don’t have to be so afraid of her, I’m not.”


“Well, she’s really clever and quick with that wand of hers, maybe you should be a little afraid of her. Hermione is not one to play games with.”


“I still think that you are worrying too much. Now give me some sugar before breakfast.” He leaned down and kissed the short redheaded witch passionately. The two of them nearly jumped out of their skins when they heard the cold and malign laughter that was emanating from the shadows next to them.


“Come out from there you coward!”


“That’s a very interesting way to spin this Potter. Because from the looks of things, you are the coward. I knew that there had to be a streak of yellow running along your belly, I just couldn’t prove it before now. The famous Harry Potter, scared of a little mudblood girl.” Draco drawled as he stepped into the light that flooded the corridor.


Harry angrily raised his wand at the blond wizard and would have performed a few choice curses if Professor Moody hadn’t come ambling into the midst of the almost-fray, “It might look to an outside observer that there is some kind of a disagreement here, is that so?”


None of the three students moved or spoke, but Draco fixed Moody with an insolent stare that was nearly acidic enough to melt his robes.


“Well, good. Best be off to eat then.”


Moody moved into the Hall in front of the three students and Malfoy let the couple enter ahead of him. Though he as not fool enough to try anything more with Moody and that cursed magical eye of his so close at hand he smiled, satisfied with the notion that he’d found the perfect fodder with which to destroy Hermione.