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Pansy's Volcano	By : Bluemidget57 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 206747 -:- Recommendations : 6 -:- Currently Reading : 8
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Pansy's Volcano
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Thirteen
- 14-Fourteen
- 15-Fifteen
- 16-Sixteen
- 17-Seventeen
- 18-Eighteen
- 19-Nineteen
- 20-Twenty
- 21-Twenty one
- 22-Twenty Two
- 23-Twenty Three
- 24-Twenty Four
- 25-Twenty Five
- 26-Twnety Six
- 27-Twenty Seven
- 28-Twenty Eight
- 29-Twenty Nine
- 30-Thirty
- 31-Thirty one
- 32-Thirty Two
- 33-Thirty Three
- 34-Thirty Four
- 35-Thirty Five
- 36-Thirty Six
- 37-Thirty Seven
- 38-Thirty Eight
- 39-Thirty Nine
- 40-Forty
- 41-Forty One
- 42-Forty Two
- 43-Forty Three
- 44-Forty Four
- 45-Forty Five
- 46-Forty Six
- 47-Forty Seven
- 48-Forty Eight
- 49-Forty Nine
- 50-Fifty
- 51-Fifty One
- 52-52
- 53-53
- 54-54
- 55-55
- 26
- 27
- 28
I am only playing with them�.

Chapter Twenty Seven

Hermione passed the following week in a hazy confusion.
After their appointment was over, she and Draco had sat in the bar at the Felton Arms waiting for the other girls; Draco had convinced her that she should be adventurous and order a cocktail. When she protested, he had pointed out quite rightly that since she was already eighteen it was certainly legal in both his and her own worlds, and when she asked him how he knew her age and he had actually snorted. �Granger, those idiots you hang around with are loud enough to wake the dead! Did you honestly think we wouldn�t hear them singing to you all the way from the Slytherin table on your birthday? And that�s aside from the fact that our study looked like a florist shop for a whole week. Unlike those thick heads you call friends, I do notice what goes on around me.�
Hermione had glared at him, not sure if she wanted to make the effort to get annoyed on Ron and Harry�s behalf. Malfoy had certainly been improving by leaps and bounds over the past couple of weeks, but she supposed it was too much to ask that he include the boys in his new camaraderie. That thought led to other less attractive images of Malfoy treating Ron and Harry to the same type of friendship that she had enjoyed so much from him recently, and the attending squickiness of that whole train of thought led her to swallow back the innocuous looking pink beverage Draco placed before her with more speed than was probably wise.
The result of this foray into alcohol proved to be a very giggly Hermione, who was wobbling graciously as they boarded the coach back to Hogwarts. Padma, nursing a sense of responsibility to her twin�s house mate, gave Draco some very dark looks when she and the other girls returned to the Hotel and found Hermione sitting counting the stars on the door wizard�s robes, whilst the poor man tried to maintain his dignity as best he could. Draco was merely watching her thinking what an adorable little drunk she made, when Padma and Hannah arrived and tried to hustle her towards the coach. Pansy merely sniffed in Slytherin superiority, as if this just proved everything she had ever said about Muggles.
Draco had been suddenly apprised of the danger of losing his seat next to Hermione by the proprietary manner in which Padma and Hannah were negotiating her into the coach, and was quick to rush and assist them, thus ensuring his chosen place beside her. This time Padma planted herself on the other side of Hermione, leaving Pansy stewing across from them with Hannah.
He had picked up her hand as soon as the carriage began moving, and neither of them made any attempt to light their wands to illuminate the inside of the coach as they had the previous week. The other girls didn�t seem to think of it either and the journey was quiet, punctuated only by Padma and Hannah�s desultory conversation about the Hotel and their shopping. They tried to include Pansy, but she just ignored them and they soon stopped bothering; Hermione, they had obviously decided was too tipsy to participate, and Draco being a guy, too disinterested. This suited him fine as it left him free to concentrate on how Hermione was drawing little symbols on the palm of his hand and curling her foot around his ankle under cover of the darkness. Obviously it had been unwise to ask the thestrals to take the long way home with all these other people present, so Draco had to make the best of his opportunity while it was there.
By the time they had arrived back at Hogwarts, Hermione had sobered up sufficiently that embarrassment was the dominant emotion she was feeling. Even the knowledge that she had been playing footsie with Draco Malfoy in the dark paled in comparison to the knowledge that she had almost returned to school intoxicated. She fled very quickly to the Head Girl�s rooms, where she stayed until the very last moment before going down to dinner, unable to face Draco again that day.
By the time she had slept off her indiscretion and had to deal with a full day of classes, she felt marginally less embarrassed. She wasn�t even sure now if she really had slipped her toes up inside his trouser leg and rubbed them around his calves, or if she had just wanted to do that. That was the problem with the demon drink; it left you unable to separate fact from fantasy.
A brief consultation after the full prefects meeting on Monday night had led to a decision to ask Professors McGonagall and Sprout for some input, preferably concurrent with another session including the Sorting Hat. Although Draco had briefly suggested asking Snape, he hadn�t really been serious about the suggestion, and Hermione realised with something akin to shock as his face broke into a large grin, that he had only been teasing her, and that it had been happening a lot lately.
Hence the current state of confusion.
They worked hard on their seating plan, and actually felt that they might have created something which could work. On Friday night they conjured a holographic model similar to the one Pringle used in his office the first day, which Hermione had discovered in a text from the Home Economics section of the library (an area she had ventured into only very rarely) called Entertaining Pitfalls, and Spells to Avoid Them. The model had been left overnight and by the following morning all but one of the tables was till intact, and only three of the miniature guests were suffering from hexes.
Funnily enough, in all of the permutations of seating plans they had tried and rejected over the course of the week, one thing remained constant and that was the positioning of Hogwarts Head Boy and Girl beside each other, regardless of whom else came and went around them.
This Saturday there was no luxury of a coach to transport them to Hogsmeade. Although the 7^th year came with greater freedom to visit the village, on a day such as this when Dumbledore had additionally decided to give the whole school from the 3^rd years upwards permission to leave the school, it was expected that the students would reach Hogsmeade under their own steam.
Therefore, Draco was not privileged to accompany Hermione whom he had seen being dragged unhappily along by the two girls she had previously shared a dormitory with, and also Padma Patil and Ginny Weasley. He watched like a lovesick fool until she disappeared round a bend in the road and passed from his sight, then heaved a large sigh tightening his cloak and scarf before he turned back to the school to wait for Greg and Vince who really needed help dressing themselves so as not to turn up looking like overstuffed Christmas puddings.
He came up unexpectedly against Blaise Zabini who was hovering just behind him with a speculative look on his face. Blaise looked at Draco and then off down the road again. �What�s so interesting over there, Malfoy?� He asked curiously. �I thought you were trying to bore holes in the street you were staring so hard!�
�Just thinking about something,� Draco dismissed. He knew Zabini was very intelligent and also very observant. It would not do at all for someone like him to find out Draco was mooning over the Head Girl. In Zabini�s hands such a thing could just become a commodity to be sold to the highest bidder.
�Draco - about Pansy�s little charm,� Blaise began. �I thought you were going to deal -�
Draco had never been so relieved to see his two erstwhile friends strolling up towards him. �Where have you guys been?� He asked waving his wrist at them. �I thought I said 9.30; it�s nearly 10.00 now.� Vince and Greg both began explaining at once, and Draco turned and shrugged apologetically to Blaise, trying not to look too much as if he had just been rescued from a very uncomfortable situation. �Oh, never mind!� He said impatiently to his companions. �I�m getting cold standing here, let�s get a move on.�

**********************

Hermione trailed behind the Patils, Ginny and Lavender. Realistically she knew that this shopping expedition was necessary. She had not attended a formal dressy event such as the Yule Ball had been in 4^th since - well, since the Yule Ball in 4^th year! She had tried on the pale blue outfit which she had worn then, and been astonished at the changes in her body which she had barely noticed happening. There was no arguing with the fact that new robes were a necessity. The blue robe was two inches too short (was I really that small in 4^th year? I�m not very tall now!) and she didn�t even want to remember how her chest had looked spilling out over the top of the neckline. A sudden gust of wind and her nipples would have been on display for the whole school to see, and that would be a very revealing sight if she had to sit with Malfoy all evening!

�You really must let us guide you this time,� Lavender was insisting as they walked towards the village. �That blue dress was okay for a little girl, but you�re an adult now. So don�t be afraid to show it! With your colouring, I think you should be wearing green. It will bring out the highlights in your hair. Parvati and I are going to do your hair -�

�But -� Ginny protested, for she knew she had done an exceptional job for the Halloween Ball. Hermione let their arguing wash over her. She had lost track of the conversation with Lavender�s colour selection. Green, she thought Slytherin colours - Draco�s colours. Do I want to be that obvious? Will he understand what it means? Do I even know what it means? Does it actually mean anything at all? She shivered with the implications of what she was considering.

They had to see Pringle again at 1.00. That should give her time with the girls to choose an outfit. Would she be able to look him in the eye this afternoon if she had a set of green robes in her shopping bag; robes that she had purchased specifically to send him a message? She was still pondering this dilemma when they arrived at Gladrags. Parvati shook her head at the other girls. �Not here,� she said. �It�s too obvious. We know a place round the corner which most of the Hogwarts students haven�t found yet.� She looked furtively around as if expecting to be followed and when she decided there were no spies about, she led them down a narrow side street until they came to a halt outside a small boutique which hardly seemed big enough to contain the five of them, let alone a sales staff and a clothing range.

The twins noticed the other girls eyeing the storefront doubtfully, and tugged them forwards. �Don�t worry,� Padma said cheerfully. �It�s like the Tardis - much bigger on the inside.� Hermione, being the only person to understand the analogy, raised her eyebrows and pushed the door open.

***

Somehow, Draco lost Vincent and Gregory. He had briefly caught sight of Hermione being ushered along the street by her Gryffindor girl friends, and had been unable to concentrate on anything else until she disappeared down a side street. When he shook himself out of his daydream, the other boys had also vanished. Familiarity led him to suppose he would find them either in Zonko�s or Honeydukes. He sighed at his inability to focus around the Head Girl and marched off to try the joke shop; unfortunately this resulted in him walking past the Post Office just as Pansy came out.

Her delight at catching him alone knew no bounds, and before he could even muster up a protest, she had caught hold of his arm and was dragging him along behind her babbling excitedly about getting a man�s opinion about the robes she had in mind for the Social evening. Nothing he said made any impression on the girl�s determination to drag him into the robe shop with her, and he was just about to dig his heels in and refuse to proceed a step further, when he realised that her destination was not Gladrags as he had previously assumed, but another store he was unfamiliar with. The one and only boutique situated on the side street Hermione had disappeared down earlier.

The possibilities were tantalizing; without Pansy though, he had absolutely no excuse to enter a ladies clothing store. With Pansy, however��well, the opportunities were endless. He picked up his pace, and was actually leading Pansy by the time they arrived at the storefront.

�Go and pick out something, Pans,� he directed quietly. �I�ll just sit on one of these chairs here and you can nip out of the changing rooms and show me.� Pansy looked beyond delighted that he was being so cooperative, and rushed off happily to do his bidding. Even the discovery around the first rack of robes, that the despicable Head Girl was also in the store could not dampen her glee.

Draco however, had totally forgotten Pansy the minute she turned away. He chose a seat close to the changing room doors, obviously placed for long-suffering wizards to sit as they waited for their partners to parade in front of them for approval in succession of gowns. He decided to cast a distracting spell around himself; he knew that this would avert the Gryffindor girls attention away from him as if the chair was still empty, but since he had told Pansy he would be there she would be immune to the charm.

He was still congratulating himself on such a cunning plan when the object of his thoughts advanced on the changing rooms being trailed by the Brown girl. They both had an assortment of robes draped over their arms, and Lavender was saying bossily, �You have to come out and let me see you in all of those robes, Mione. Don�t even think of rejecting something because you think it shows too much skin. Parvati and I are going to have the final say in this! There is absolutely no point in arguing with us!�

If it wouldn�t have given away his presence, Draco would have cheered the girl�s instructions. What a piece of luck! He thought he heard Hermione muttering as she entered the cubicle, �Resistance is futile!� in a sarcastic undertone, and his grin spread even wider as he recognised the Muggle culture reference. He was so glad he had charmed that dvd player in his room, and even happier that Hermione seemed to have the same taste in movies that he did.

Pansy was taking an eternity to find something she liked, for which Draco was enormously grateful. He had known she was an indecisive shopper, having been tortured into accompanying her in the past. Now, it seemed like a Godsend that she was still burrowing around in the racks, giving him leisure to watch as Hermione spun out of the changing room first in a deep violet outfit which showed her assets off very well, and caused uncomfortable tightening in his fly area. This was rejected by the panel of judges, although Draco was moaning internally No, what�s wrong with it? The second choice, in a midnight blue colour also contributed to his rising temperature. It was very demure in front, but after being dismissed by the panel it was revealed when Hermione turned back into her cubicle, to have a deep V back which plunged so far down that he could see the elastic of her knickers. Draco bit his lip until he drew blood. Even he could see what was wrong with that one; he would have felt like he needed to stand behind her all evening so that none of the other men present could look at that which belonged to him.

Hermione emerged next in a dark green velvet outfit, which seemed to shimmer as she moved. The neckline was modest yet till showed enough of her cleavage to leave him as hard as a rock. It was fitted in to her waist then swirled out into a full skirt. As she stood before him and her friends and twirled around, he could see that there was a slit in the skirt which showed a considerable amount of bare leg, and he clenched his teeth together so as not to let out a moan. Somehow, looking at her wearing his House colours was one of the most erotic things he had ever seen. That one. Pick that one! He thought urgently.

Lavender and Parvati were silent; Ginny Weasley raised a red eyebrow, waiting for the verdict and Padma just rolled her eyes. The decision was removed from them however, when Hermione announced in a voice, which bore no discussion. �You can stop thinking now. I�m going to have this one; you were right Lavender. I fancy something in green this year!�

Draco almost choked and gave away his presence. He could hardly believe she had said that, and with such an expression on her face also! From her words, he could infer that Lavender Brown had suggested she wear a green gown for the Social, but the secretive smirk she wore as she made her pronouncement just begged for him to hope that she meant something more by those deceptive words. The Weasley girl seemed to give her an odd look also, but said nothing, and Lavender finally pronounced. �No, I think you�re right actually. That colour does wonders for your hair. When Parvati and I have finished with styling it, nobody will recognise you.�

The decision being made, the girls dispersed back into their cubicles, and not a moment too soon, for Pansy finally found something to try on herself. She had a liking for pink in all of its shades, which was unfortunate as the colour did little for her own pale features and tended to make her look drawn and washed out. Draco waited until the Gryffindors had exited the changing area and made their way towards the till, before he removed the distraction charm.

Pansy emerged from the changing room in her first outfit, and called excitedly to him. �Draco, do you like this one on me?� She was twirling in front of him, and as she spun away he took the chance of glancing over to the cash desk and found Hermione staring back at him, an alarmed look on her face. He winked at her, knowing that she was desperately trying to work out how he had gotten into the shop without her noticing him. They might have stayed staring at each other until the sun went down if Pansy hadn�t chosen that moment to smack him lightly on the shoulder and ask in a louder voice. �Draco - what do you think of it.�

He made a suitably vague comment and she went to try on the next outfit. By the time he felt safe to search out Hermione again, she had paid for her purchase and was gone.

*****

Their meeting with Dilman Pringle was irritatingly busy. Draco had found Mr Pringle waiting in the lobby for them when he arrived - ten minutes early, hoping to catch a few private words with Hermione before they had to make for Pringle�s office. Hermione came through the revolving doors right on time and pinned a smile on her face as she joined them.

Pringle finally decided that he liked their seating plan, and moved on to the menu. He took them to the kitchens and produced aprons, which he told them to wear. He then set them to slicing vegetables and left them in the hands of the head chef, telling them it would be a good experience to find out exactly how a kitchen worked. Draco, who had never so much as had to boil water for himself, looked horrified, but eventually managed to cut his share into adequate pieces without drawing blood after Hermione hissed at him to imagine he was in Potions dicing ingredients.

By the time Pringle collected them from the service of the chef, quite a large contingent of the 7^th year had found its way down to the hotel to examine the venue for their entertainment. Blaise Zabini was just exiting the bar area, followed by Vince and Greg whom Draco still had not yet managed to hook up with since Pansy had abducted him from outside the Post Office. Parvati Patil and Longbottom were also admiring the lobby area, and they began to make their way over when they spotted Granger.

Blaise arrived first. �Spectacular place, Draco,� he said cheerfully. �You look a bit flustered. Everything ok?�

Draco scowled and didn�t seem to be planning an answer, so Hermione chipped in. �Oh, we just had to spend an hour in the kitchens helping the chef prepare dinner. It was part of Mr Pringle�s learning experience.�

Blaise smiled politely, �Hello, Hermione,� he said smoothly. �Did Malfoy really attempt cookery?�

�Oh, absolutely,� Hermione replied eagerly. �Believe me, you don�t tell Dilman Pringle no!�

Draco�s scowl grew deeper. Since when was Blaise on such friendly terms with Hermione? Since when did he start calling her by her first name? And when had Granger become so chatty with the other Slytherin boy?

These questions were destined to remain unanswered, for by then Parvati and Longbottom had reached them and they drew Hermione away with them unapologetically. As she followed her friends, Hermione turned back and said, �Goodbye Blaise, Malfoy.� She nodded at the other two silent Slytherin boys. �Goodbye, Gregory, Vincent,� she added, and was gone.

Draco glared at his friends. Blaise merely smiled calmly, whilst Vince and Greg wore identical confused expressions. �I didn�t even think she knew my name,� Vince muttered at last, and Greg added enthusiastically, �Yeah, that�s neat isn�t it? The Head Girl knows who we are!�

�What the Hell just happened here?� Draco demanded at last, wondering why he felt like he was the only person missing the punch line of a joke. �Why do you lot all suddenly seem to have developed a fan club for Granger?�

Blaise leveled a calculating look on the Head Boy. �We haven�t done any such thing,� he stated firmly. �We�ve just decided to try this inter-house unity thing that Dumbledore wants, so we figured we might as well start at the top. I happened to see her in the corridor on Thursday and Greg wanted to ask her if she�d ever seen a real kangaroo, so we stopped and had a nice chat. It�s nothing sinister. You�re working with her all the time anyway - surely you�ve realised she�s not that bad by now?�

Draco tried not to choke on his response and mumbled something to the effect that it could have been worse, before announcing that he was going back to Hogwarts to practice Quidditch. He was fully aware that his behaviour was odd bordering on suspicious, but the sight of Hermione in that dress followed by his inability to find a moment alone with her, and now crowned by Blaise�s new camaraderie with her which no one had thought to mention to him, had made him very out of sorts, and he needed to escape before he did anything else to pique his cunning housemate�s curiosity.

***************

Hermione was sitting in her old dorm room, with her back to the mirror. She was not at all looking forward to this evening�s experiment. She had exhausted her goodwill quota with the shopping trip this afternoon. She really did not want to be sitting here this evening letting Parvati and Lavender experiment with new hairstyles for the dinner party.

Unfortunately they had caught her at a weak moment when her schizophrenic mental voices were arguing about the motivation behind the green dress, and she had nodded absently before her brain engaged and registered exactly what she had agreed to. Otherwise she was sure she would never have allowed herself to be manipulated into this position.

Lavender turned her away from the mirror announcing that she wasn�t to look until they had finished. The mirror was silenced by a binding spell so that it could not make any comments, and Hermione - if not actually happy to let them play - was at least willing. Lavender and Parvati were both pretty girls, with seemingly good fashion sense, so where was the harm, except to her homework schedule?

Hermione was unable to prevent her thoughts from drifting off towards Malfoy with nothing more academic to occupy her mind. What had he been doing in that store with Pansy, she wondered? Pansy had been an even bigger bitch than ever before since revealing some of her inner thoughts to Hermione that day in Herbology when she asked for the Head Girls assistance in spying on Draco. Once or twice recently, Hermione had only just barely managed to avoid getting a sharp nip from the Venis in class, and the smirk on the Slytherin girl�s face would have alerted her to Pansy�s involvement, even if she hadn�t already been on the lookout for her to try something in retaliation for Hermione�s refusal to help her get Draco back.

Did this morning�s shopping trip mean that Pansy was succeeding? The older witch in Hogsmeade was history now�had Draco told Pansy about her transfer also? Hermione wished she could think about something else, but the soft chattering of the other girls was not sufficiently interesting, and her mind stubbornly refused to be diverted.

�Hermione, this is going to look so cute!� Parvati gushed, momentarily breaking into Hermione�s brooding as she tugged particularly hard on a stubborn curl, causing Hermione to yelp out in pain. �Ooh, sorry, Mione,� she giggled circling her fingertips over Hermione�s scalp in an effort to soothe the sting. �You�re going to love what we�re doing here, though!�

�Yes, you�ll knock Malfoy�s socks off!� Lavender agreed happily, and Hermione choked on a breath.

�What? No! There will be no removal of socks, or any clothing.� She spluttered. �You better not be doing this to try and impress some boys. I didn�t ask Ron to give me space so that I could go chasing off after someone else. Not even Malfoy! Especially not Malfoy! Why are we even talking about Malfoy?� Then she worried if maybe she might have objected too strenuously and inadvertently added more fuel to the fire. Damn, stupid guilty conscience. Stupid overreacting! she cursed inwardly.

�No - don�t be silly Hermione!� Parvati protested. �We just thought that Dumbledore would probably expect you to be sort of like the hosts of this evening, and we all know whatever Malfoy turns up in will probably have cost more than everyone else in the school paid for their robes - put together. We just thought you should look like a million galleons, too!�

Hermione immediately felt bad that she had misjudged their motives, and then miserably aware that her unwarranted outburst had given them plenty of food for speculation. She had to distract them. Throw them of the scent� �Oh, that�s so cunning of you!� She exclaimed, wincing inwardly. �I hadn�t even thought of that. You are so right; I wouldn�t want the - the fer- ah - Malfoy showing me up in front of the Ministry and Governors.� She grimaced again; in her own eyes all she seemed to be doing was digging a bigger hole for herself to fall into. Had they noticed that she had stumbled before finally being unable to call Draco ferret, which had previously been her favourite epithet for the Head Boy?

She resolutely relaxed into their hands and forced her thoughts away from Draco Malfoy. She did not, she absolutely and utterly did not care why he had been in a witches clothing boutique with Pansy pug-face Parkinson. She did not.

�Nearly done,� Parvati said, interrupting her thoughts. She was massaging Hermione�s head with her fingertips. �Just wait till you see it!� Hermione thought her head felt very light, and wondered if it was the magic of Parvati�s hands; she did give very good massages, everyone in Gryffindor agreed on that.

Lavender spun the chair around and Hermione caught a brief glimpse of chestnut curls laying on the floor out of the corner of one eye. �Voila!� Lavender cried, as she positioned her before the mirror. Hermione just stared in shock at the girl looking back at her from the silvery surface. All of her hair had gone; the curls and frizz which had plagued her so throughout her whole life were strewn at her feet, and her face was framed with a halo of even tighter corkscrew curls.

Draco Malfoy would definitely be knocked off his feet. He would be rolling around on the floor in hysterics.

Hermione screamed.

****************

Thank you for your patience whilst I was away. I am back now in my own house although the aged parental unit has accompanied me. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed again!! Updates will continue to be slow and spaced out until the end of this month.
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Pansy's Volcano