I'm sorry that this has taken me so long to post, I've been so distracted lately (my web page, not Diablo this time!)
that I've been putting this off. I also wasn't sure how I was going to do this chapter...I had thought that the Yule Ball
would be in this chapter..... I was wrong. :) But that's okay, we'll get there, I swear!

Their Room

by aleximoon
 
 

Chapter 12
Discussing the Ball
 

Draco leaned casually against the paddock fence and let his eyes wander bemusedly over the mix of Gryffindors
and Slytherins. He let his gaze linger on Granger, she was standing off to one side of the large clearing in front
of Hagrid's hut with Potter and Weasley. They weren't paying the least amount of attention to the half-giant as they
talked in muted voices to each other. From time to time one of them would glance nervously over their shoulder
to make sure that no one was listening. Granger looked back and her brown curls caught the bright sunlight. Draco
was surprised as the normally deep brown turned light and auburn. Not that he was at all interested in the surprising
array of color that Granger's hair had. She seemed to become aware of his interest and looked at him. Granger
seemed on the verge of smiling but changed her mind when he sneered at her.

A loud booming voice drew Draco's eyes away from Granger and towards the center of the paddock where Hagrid
had some great new monster.

"This 'ere 's a bezekiras. Watch it Finnigan, don' wanna get te close te it."

Draco snorted derisively; the creature resembled nothing more than a rather large lion. Unlike a normal lion though,
Hagrid's new 'pet' was brilliant and glowing. It's thick mane shimmered in the light and made looking at it almost
painful.

The bezekiras, which was sleeping at the moment, was at least seven feet long, and would probably stand more than
five feet tall. The great oaf was listing off all of its magical capabilities but Draco didn't really care. It was the last day
of class before winter break and all he really wanted to do was to stay warm and keep an eye on the amazing trio.

Thunderous barks snapped him back to attention as a large black boarhound flashed passed him. The brute that
Hagrid liked to call a dog easily jumped the fence and growled menacingly at the sleeping lion. The cat lazily opened
one eye and then stretched languidly. It surveyed its surrounding with vague interest. The dog gave a low growl and
moved towards the great feline. The cat yawned pleasantly and then swiped the dog across its long snout.

The dog gave a terrible cry and fled back across the paddock. The cat wasn't tired of the little game however, and
it quickly followed the large dog back over the fence.

Draco watched with growing interest as the large cat examined the surrounding students.

"Now y' ter all stay calm and don' go runnin around." Hagrid said quietly.

But like most animals, magical or not, the bezekiras could sense fear. It turned its large golden eyes upon
Longbottom and hissed. The idiot Gryffindor gave a hysterical shriek and turned to run towards the castle.

Draco felt himself break into a grin as the cat immediately gave chase, nipping playfully at Longbottom's heels.
Potter, always the hero, and Weasley bolted after Longbottom with their wands drawn. Hagrid was also in hot
pursuit. Draco's grin grew at the uproar. All of the Gryffindors were watching in horror while the Slytherins
were nearly overcome with laughter.

Longbottom disappeared over the hill and the class began to follow. Not wanting to miss out on the action, Draco
pushed himself away from the fence. He was walking towards Crabbe and Goyle when he stopped; a strange
sensation had just come over him. Not quite knowing what it was Draco paused to see if it would happen again.
Sure enough, he felt the odd feeling again, it was as if someone was calling out to him. He looked over his shoulder
but most of the students had left the clearing now and none of the ones that remained paid him any attention. He
felt it again, but it was stronger this time, more urgent. He turned and walked back towards Hagrid's hut. The
feeling was familiar but disturbing. He continued past the hut and looked around. Father back, set into the woods
was a small shed. He moved towards it slowly, and then stopped, something was watching him. But Draco couldn't
see anything except trees. He had just decided that he didn't really need to know what the strange feeling was and
that going back to the castle to enjoy a nice lunch would be the proper thing to do when a voice drifted over to him.

"Hold still Fang! I can't help you if you won't hold still."

Draco sighed, "How can she be everywhere?"

Coming around the corner of the small shed he found Granger desperately trying to maintain a hold on the large dog's
collar. The dog was straining against her and the only reason why it hadn't already bolted back towards the hut was
the fact that Granger had some how managed to tie a rope to its collar and had wrapped the other end several times
around a small sapling. As it was, the young tree was almost bent down to the ground with the struggles of the dog.

"What are you doing Granger?" He asked coldly.

She looked up, startled, a small jar in her hands. Draco recognized it as a healing balm; it was the same stuff that
Madame Pomfrey always applied to his various Quidditch wounds. Granger was obviously trying to apply some
to the deep gash across the dog's nose.

"What does it look like I'm doing Malfoy," she snapped, affronted.

As she said this to him, Draco noticed that she casually edged behind the massive bulk of the dog. She had been
doing that a lot lately, always making sure that there was something tangible between the two of them. Draco figured
that it was for the best, he always got a strange feeling when she was too close, it made him nervous.

Draco heard a branch break off to one side of the small area that surrounded the shed. He strained his ears, trying to
catch another whisper of sound, but it was quiet; too quiet.

"Granger, I think we had better leave," he told her softly as he pulled his wand out.

"Why? And anyway, I'm not going anywhere with you."

Draco's eyes narrowed and he forgot about his rising sense of foreboding as she crossed her arms over her chest
and gave him her most disapproving expression. But the sound of another branch breaking, this time much closer,
reminded him of the approaching danger. Striding forward, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the dog.

"There's something out there Granger, we need to go." He told her fiercely when she tried to pull out of his grasp.

Granger looked at him, disbelief apparent, and then she glanced down at the dog. The boarhound had never ceased
its struggle for freedom. It looked up at her with large imploring eyes and then pressed it's ears flat to his head and
growled towards the trees.

Granger's eyes widened and then cast about the dark trees, looking for any sign of movement. Draco suddenly felt
soft warmth overcome him. Feeling more relaxed then he had in ages, he let go of her wrist. She turned and looked
at him questioningly. Her large brown eyes burning into his soul.

"Yes," he thought distantly, "it would be nice to just look into her eyes forever."

A deep drowsiness began to overcome him and a great desire to sit down and sleep rushed over him.

"Malfoy?" Granger's sharp voice brought him out of his reverie.

Draco looked around, he felt like a deep fog was passing through his head. He suddenly realized what was hunting
them.

"It's the manticore, Granger." He whispered.

"What?! That's impossible!" She told him.

But Draco wasn't about to argue; he had experienced those strange emotions before, right as he had let the blasted
thing out its cage. He grabbed her arm and pulled her after him, walking quickly back up the path, fighting the urge
to run. He didn't want to act like prey anymore than he had to.

"But Fang," she said.

"Leave the bloody dog!" Draco snapped, picking up his pace.

"I can't!" She wailed and managed to twist out of his grasp.

Draco watched her dash back down the path. He didn't know why he hadn't just left her already. If she was so
determined to let herself die, why should he care? But he did, and with a groan of frustration he ran after her.

Granger stumbled to her knees and tried to undo the knots that kept the dog stationary. Her hands were shaking
with rising fear and her fingers kept slipping over the ropes. The dog stood completely still, its hackles raised,
growling softly.

"Let me," Draco snapped and pushed Granger aside. He easily slipped the rope off the tree and jerked it hard to
get the dog's attention. The dog looked up at him and then started towards a large clump of bushes.

"Not now Fang!" Hermione hissed at the dog and pulled him by his collar.

Draco grabbed Granger's arm and pulled her to her feet. The bushes to his immediate right rustled and he could hear
a low growling. With the dog bounding ahead of them, they raced back up the path, no longer caring if whatever it
was would give chase.

Looking back over his shoulder, he could just barely see the creature lunging after them. Half hidden in the deep
foliage, only flashes of golden brown fur and one glimpse of the scorpion tail, told Draco that he had been right about
what it was. He was trying to figure out how long they could run before it caught them, when Granger suddenly pulled
him hard to the left. Stumbling he caught himself before he could trip over his own feet and let her pull him through the
thick trees. She stopped so suddenly that Draco almost ran into her. Before him stood Hagrid's hut.

Even though he could still hear the manticore quickly approaching, he still had his Malfoy pride to think of.

"There is no way that I'm going in there!" He told her firmly.

Granger glared at him over her shoulder and then jerked him hard into the room. He fell down onto the floor and
turned quickly, he was only able to catch of a glimpse of the manticore in a great leap before Granger slammed the
door shut. There was a moment's pause and then a great force struck the door from the other side. The whole hut
lurched. Draco glanced nervously around himself, wondering how sturdy the hut was. Another great bang shook
the hut, but it remained intact.

They sat silently at the wooden table, watching the door of Hagrid's hut. Fang was hunched over in a corner, his ears
pressed back against his head, growling softly at the wall.

"How long do you think we'll be in here?" Draco asked finally.

"How should I know Malfoy?" Granger snapped ill temperedly.

"Well you seem to know everything else mud...Granger." Draco muttered.

Granger didn't seem to have noticed his slip. She stood up and moved quietly to one of the windows and glanced
around.

"I don't see anything, maybe it's gone away?" She looked over her shoulder at him hopefully

"Damn it Granger, get away from the window, you're only tempting it."

She pointedly turned her back on him. Draco stood up and started to walk to her when the beast made another
attempt at the hut. Granger gave a quick scream as the manticore attacked the window. She swiftly returned to her
seat and tried to regain her breath.

"Told you so," he said.

"Hagrid must have some enchantments up on the walls to keep that thing out." She said, ignoring that.

Granger stood up and moved over to a wood cupboard and took out a massive teakettle and two teacups. Draco
watched as she busied herself by the fire. She absentmindedly tucked a curl of dark hair behind her delicate ear and
hung the kettle above the flames. Draco felt an odd twisting sensation deep inside him, for a moment he thought that
she was almost too pretty to look at. She glanced back at him, her amber eyes sparkled with the firelight, they were
still filled with fright but a glint of anticipation was beginning to form there. Draco felt his mouth go suddenly dry.
Looking away he glanced around the small hut.

"Why would anyone be willing live here?"

"I think it's cozy," Granger told him mulishly.

"Oh wait, I'd forgotten, you like to spend your summers at Weasley's too. This would seem to fit your tastes quiet
nicely."

Granger flushed and then leaned towards him and said in a low, dangerous voice, "I pity you, you've never been in
a nice house. You've always been in that cold Malfoy Manor that you love so much. One day you'll realize that
money and power don't add up to much when everything around you is cold."

She poured out the steaming tea into two cups before sitting down. She raised the cup to her lips her fingers clenched
it tightly. Draco just stared at her in shock. She was right of course, and that was the problem. How could she be so
right about everything, how could she just know by looking at him. The only thing that he ever truly cared about was
the manor. The great old house that would one day be his, the home that he had been raised in. She was right though;
it had been cold there.

"I...I'm sorry, Malfoy, I shouldn't have said that."

Surprised, Draco looked up at her. She was rubbing the tips of her fingers against the edge of the table nervously.
"I shouldn't say things like that." Draco smirked at her; she rolled her eyes and continued, "Yes, even to you."

Draco leaned back in the wooden chair, which he had to admit was rather comfortable, and let his smirk deepen.

"So Granger, looking forward to your date with Potter?"

Granger choked on her tea and looked up at him in astonishment.

"What on earth are you talking about Malfoy?" She asked.

"The Yule Ball, Granger, you really should pay more attention." He told her sardonically.

"I'm not going with Harry."

"What? Don't tell me that you actually told Weasley yes? The stupid git has nothing to offer, I mean, did you see the
dress robes that he wore last year?" Draco spluttered; the idea of Granger going with Potter seemed more acceptable
than her going with Weasley. At least Potter was famous.

"For your information, I'm not going with Ron or Harry."

"You don't have a date yet?" Draco couldn't hide the shock in his voice. Even if she was a Gryffindor, she was still
rather pretty, and fairly engaging to speak to as well.

"Actually, I'm going with Dean." Granger looked away from him.

Draco thought quickly, trying to remember who he was. A memory of a tall boy in Potions came to him.

"Thomas? You're going with Thomas? He must be at least two feet taller than you. I'll bet he can't dance either, he
looks awfully gangly."

"I like Dean, and he's not gangly." Granger retorted. "Who are you going to the ball with anyway?"

"I'm..." For a brief moment Draco saw himself walking through the doors into the Great Hall with a beaming
brown-haired girl holding his arm, her light airy robes flowing along her curves as she turned to smile up at him, her
warm amber eyes melting something inside of him. "Pansy, I'm going with Pansy."

"Oh," Granger said. Draco thought that she looked almost crestfallen but the look was gone so quickly that he
couldn't tell.

They lapsed into silence after that. Draco was pondering what it meant to think of her as his date to the ball. He
hadn't lied about going with Pansy; the idiot girl had pounced on him the moment that he had left the hall after
Dumbledore had made the announcement. Draco had agreed to take her, she was the most attractive girl in the
Slytherin house and she did enjoy stroking his ego, which he found very pleasing. But when Granger asked
whom he was taking, he had thought of her. And it had seemed so normal, so natural, so right.

Granger stood up and started to rustle through the cupboard once again, she emerged with a small plate of rock
cakes. Making a face, she closed the cupboard door and a small slip of parchment fluttered down to the floor.
Frowning, she set the plate on the table and picked up the piece of paper. Draco glanced at it over her shoulder
as she sat down. The untidy scribble hardly made sense at first. The parchment scrap was covered in little
doodles and marks. It took a moment for Draco to realize that it was a shopping list.

"Just some code that oaf must have made up." He said.

Granger glanced at him quizzically.

"You know, short-hand? Lucius uses his own variation. Quicker way to write things down, of course, he was more
interested in the fact that it took much longer to figure something out if you didn't know his personal short-hand."
Draco leaned back in his chair with a satisfactory smile, he had figured out Lucius' special code before he could
write in cursive.

Granger looked up at him when he spoke and then back down to the piece of paper. Her eyes widened and she
seemed to speaking to herself, under her breath. She stood up so suddenly that her chair fell over and she almost
upset the teakettle.

"That's it!" She cried, brandishing the piece of paper in front of him. "That's why it didn't make any sense!"

"What?" Draco asked startled.

"This is it! They're in code!" Granger was virtually jumping up and down with glee.

"What? What's in code? Granger, what are you talking about?" Draco stood up because having Granger bouncing
around above him was making him uncomfortable.

"His books, O'Leary's books. The one's that are all numbers? They must be in code!" Granger really was jumping
up and down now with visible delight.

And then Draco understood what she was talking about it. And it made sense; of course, the books must be in
some sort of code. Why he hadn't though of it before rather annoyed him. Meanwhile Granger had rushed to the
door, with her hand on the handle she turned back to him.

"Come on! We need to go to the library!"

Draco realized what she was about to do and crossed the room in a flash. He caught her wrist and pulled her away
from the door before she could open it. Granger stumbled back and fell into Draco. As if of their own volition his
arms circled around her. She stiffened against him and then relaxed. He helped her straighten up but didn't let go.
He felt his heart start to beat wildly and he pulled her closer to him. She tilted her head up and he pulled her even
closer and leaned down.

"Hermione! Just what do yeh think y're doin?" Hagrid's voice boomed through the hut.

There was the a moments pause while Draco just stared up into the swarthy face of Hagrid realizing for probably
the very first time just what being a half-giant meant. An image of a large black boot smashing down on his head
flashed through his mind. Granger suddenly jumping away from him brought him out of his daydream. She was so
intent on extricating herself from him that Draco almost lost his balance.

"Hagrid, thank goodness you came back!" Granger's nervous voice was several octaves higher than normal.

Hagrid moved quicker than his bulk should have allowed and yanked Draco off the ground, his large fist grasping the
collar of Draco's robe.

"What do yeh think y're doin w' er?" His was voice low and menacing.

"Hagrid, please, it's not what it looks like!" Granger's now shrill voice pleaded. "The manticore was here, it was
chasing us, we didn't have time to make it back to the castle."

Draco fell to the plank floor as Hagrid released him. Gasping for breath he looked up as Hagrid turned to Granger.

"Yeh sure 'ermione?"

Granger nodded and Hagrid brushed past both of them and leaned next to the fire. With a few muffled words there
was a sudden burst of light and the fire seemed to become transparent, the headmaster's office could be seen through
the swirling smoke.

"Professor Dumbledore? Can yeh hear me?" Hagrid called into the flames.

"Yes Hagrid?" Dumbledore's face appeared in the flames.

"Yeh were right, it came back, chased 'ermione an' Malfoy into mi hut."

"I'll be right there Hagrid, wait for me please." The Headmaster's face disappeared.

Draco pulled himself up and glanced quizzically at Granger. She shrugged mildly and they just stood watching
Hagrid. The half-giant was digging through a large trunk that rested at the foot of his bed. From it he pulled out
a large crossbow and then a bundle of cloth that he unrolled across the old quilt to reveal several bolts tipped in
a substance that made Draco's eyes widen in surprise.

"Those aren't, they can't be, dragon teeth?" Granger whispered.

Draco smiled to himself; she was remarkably smart, once you got past the bossy know-it-all of course.

"Aye," Hagrid replied as he began to examine each bolt, there appeared to be seven of them.

Draco was amazed that Hagrid had such things, it was very hard to come by dragon teeth, they were exceptionally
valuable. The teeth of an adult dragon are nearly as hard as diamonds; they're meant to cut through anything. Lucius
had been very proud of small knife that was tipped with a tiny tooth and here, this oaf, had a whole quiver's worth.

"Are you going to kill it then Hagrid?" Granger asked weakly.

"Aye, if we can catch it." He told her. "I know that yeh are for most magical creatures rights, but this one mus' be put
down, as much as it pains me. It won't leave yeh alone if we don'."

"What do you mean it won't leave us alone if you don't?" Draco asked.

"You see Mr. Malfoy," Draco spun to see the headmaster standing in the door with Professor Snape a step behind
him. "The manticore is known for it's viciousness, but most people are unaware that the manticore rarely lets its prey
get away."

"You mean," started Granger but the Headmaster continued.

"Yes Ms. Granger, I had a small hunch that your manticore might remain within the vicinity of the grounds in hopes of
continuing his meal. And now, Severus, would you please escort them back to the castle? Hagrid, you and I shall go
take care of this."

Draco had little time to argue as he soon found himself walking back up to the castle with Professor Snape and
Granger. Professor Snape said nothing to either of them and was acting quite putout about his job as guardian. Once
they were through the great doors Professor Snape stopped.

"Now, Ms. Granger, I suggest that you head to your common room, the same to you Draco."

"But Professor, Malfoy and I were going to go to the library." Granger said quickly, Draco could still see the
excitement in her eyes.

"Don't you think that you and Mr. Malfoy have spent quite enough time together today? My what will people say?" Professor Snape said harshly.

"It wasn't her fault Professor," Draco defended before he could stop the words.

Professor Snape spun around to look at him and Granger too seemed shocked. Draco fought hard to keep his face
from going red and without another word, turned and headed towards the dungeon.
 
 
 

**The Bezerkiras is a creature taken from the AD&D monster manual, in case any of you were wondering. Magical
Beasts just didn't have what I was looking for. There will be another chapter, please Read & Review!!!
 

Back to Chapter 11
Chapter 13