Listening on a secret meeting

Hermione was almost at the Shrieking Shack again when she could make out that there was a cloaked figure leaning against the wall. This wasn't good... She wouldn't be able to make it into the shack unless they left. She stayed low in the underbrush, crawling on her belly to get closer, hoping to be neither seen nor heard.

There was the sound of a sudden explosion, and the figure jumped, turning quickly to the chimney. Stepping around the corner was Pansy Parkinson, who was evidently not surprised by the figure.

"Good evening, Draco," Pansy said, coolly.

"Pansy! I said if we were going to do this, we had to do it quietly!" The figure pulled back his hood to reveal the pale, blond head of Draco Malfoy.

"Come off it, nobody noticed last time I had to break that chimney open, and it's the only way I can get into Hogsmeade, now."

"Oh yes, Astoria told me all about your Hogsmeade ban. But how did you manage to find this?"

"The mudblood Granger showed me the passage last week."

Hermione couldn't make it out, but she could hear the tone of suspicion in Draco's voice. "She told you willingly, did she?"

"Well, not entirely, but that's not important right now. Do you have the potion?"

Draco sighed. "Yes, here." Hermione could just make out Draco pulling out a flask. It had a soft, warm glow in the dark. "You'll want to put this in a proper cauldron as soon as you can. It's enough for three doses, so you and the others should be able to use it. But you still haven't told me exactly what you want it for." He pulled his arm back as Pansy reached to take it.

There was a brief silence as Hermione panicked. They were technically on Hogwarts grounds again. Does this mean that the protection charm would keep Pansy from telling Draco?

"It's actually entirely dependent on the mudblood-"

"Pansy, do you still have to use that word? We lost the war. There's no point anymore."

There was another pause. "Ugh, fine. It's up to Granger if we use it or not. I promise we won't do anything without Granger's consent. Does that work for you?"

"Well... Fine." Hermione could see the flask change hands. "Now, unless you have anything else you want to talk about, I'm going to head back h-"

"Actually!" Pansy interrupted, "There is something. You spent a year in the room of requirement, right?"

Draco's sigh was audible. "Yes, I did, but after what Crabbe pulled, it probably doesn't work anymore."

"Oh, but I think it does. See, Millicent was up on the seventh floor today, and she found soot footprints going from a blank span of wall to where the entrance to Gryffindor Tower is."

Hermione's heart stopped for a moment. If they knew she could go there... That could mean problems.

"Well... If the room does work, Fiendfyre would still have some sort of permanent damage, so I'd guess that's where those footprints came from."

"And how do we get in there to see what the mud-Granger is up to?"

"Well... It depends on if she closed the loopholes. All she'd have to do is need a place where she can do whatever she's doing without being found, and it would work perfectly for her. You'd have to know what she's trying to do to even hope to get in the same room." Malfoy was sounding a little apprehensive. It almost sounded like he was worried that Pansy was planning **** on Granger more than anything.

"I see... Well, thank you for the potion and information, Draco. Oh, and Daphne wanted you to take this to Astoria." Pansy's voice had gotten much colder. Hermione could see Pansy shoving a letter towards Draco. "I hope you're happy with her."

There was an awkward silence before Draco spoke again. "Thank you. And I hope you're happy with where life takes you." Pansy looked on as Draco turned and began to walk away. Once he had left the boundaries of the shack, he turned on the spot and vanished.

Pansy looked down and sniffed. She then turned around and crawled back through the hole in the chimney.

Hermione laid there, naked for a while. So... The Slytherins figured out that she could use the Room of Requirement in only a few hours after she started to use it. That was concerning since they might try to keep her from using it to be clothed. She'd have to come up with a convincing lie.

And what's more, three doses of polyjuice. It seems that whatever story the Slytherins gave to Malfoy involved all three girls taking a dose, instead of just two doses being needed. Hermione shuddered. What if they decided to give Hermione a dose with cat hair after the tasks were done? They had spoken about wanting her to be a pet after all...

More thoughts and fears filled Hermione as she made her way through the hole in the chimney and headed back through the tunnel up to the school...