"HOW DID WE GET TO CHAPTER FIVE SO FAST?"
They sat huddled in the cold living room. It had their things in it but…the place reeked of unfriendliness, mildew, and deteriorating house elves. Sure enough for the fifteen of them, this old abandoned castle was home now, and they all shared unhappy thoughts about how the photos were extremely misleading. They all felt used, but some whined louder than others. Hermione glanced around at the walls and the old furniture covered with thick sheets of cloth. She spoke roughly, surprising all of them "I want you to leave - every one of you. Go to the Burrow, or Grimmauld place, or the Leaky Cauldron or wherever, but don't come back for a week" none of them moved a muscle; they just stared, waiting for anything similar to a higher executive order. None came, and hers was only amplified as she chased them out with a flock of chattering little canaries.

Blaise and Draco stood behind her, grimacing for the impact of what appeared to be a hurricane of female bad mood. To their surprise, she turned to them chuckling. Taking her wand out of a little holster on her thigh, she paced the room, drawing wide circles in the air and siphoning scum off of the walls. "I'm so glad they're gone. I can't take much more complaint, whether it be silent or voiced loudly" she sighed and smiled the two "So I suppose the least we could do is to clean for them, I can already see some of them regretting their decisions, and we can't let that happen," she reached to touch Draco's cheek, for he had begun to frown a bit "Don't fret, instead take a closer look; this is mostly a thick covering of dust and solitude. It won't be so difficult to take care of if we work cleverly". She reached for his arm and rolled the sleeve up to his elbow, patting the bare skin delicately and grinning, "All the better for cleaning!"

So for the next several days they worked; tirelessly, unceasingly, miserably; but by the time they were done, the castle was in ship-shape. Draco, craving fresh air, had gone outside to see to the overgrown mess of what was once magnificent landscaping. Blaise took both the first floor and the top floor, blasting away at years of scum and dust that lingered upon the Lord and Lady's Bower, the rooms for accommodating, and the Great Hall. Hermione settled herself onto the ground floor, taking time to explore as she cleaned, and finding herself quite interested in the buttery, bottlery and kitchens. Over the course of the next few days, they felt like they were flying through their work. The two had the oddest feeling that Hermione had played some games with time to help them get through their chores; though when questioned, she only flashed doe eyes and a smile. Que sera sera; who cared if she meddled with the fabric of the universe and all of creation, as long as they didn't spend more time cleaning than was abso-lutely necessary?

When the others arrived one by one, they found that the three steadfast cleaners had become zombified loungeabouts. Though they were dead tired from working, the fruits of their labor were obvious. It may have been a rather small castle, maybe more along the lines of a large villa or family compound, but castle it was; it was as bright and merry, as regal and grand as it must have been hundreds of years ago. They fluttered from here to there, awestruck by the difference. After a bit of exploration, they all surrounded the three busy-bees near the couch. Harry settled back on his ankles "I really don't know what to say…this looked like it should have been condemned decades ago, and now it's just about the most lovely place I've ever been to!" everyone else let out a whoop of agreement, and after more exuberations of gratitude the rest of them ran off to claim the best south-facing rooms.

The loungeabouts took the others' departure as a sign to get moving. With a hint of discretion and nonchalance, the three snuck up a floor and into the Bower, closing the door behind them with quick whispers of Alohamora and Homenum Revelio . After ensuring privacy, the three of them slumped into a heap onto the bed. They weren't as exhausted as they had acted in front of everyone else, in fact, they felt very chipper. Crackling noises and sparks shot off around Hermione, and her features seemed to shift "Oh, I'd just gotten used to not wearing it, that was such a nice break" she rolled over and rose up onto her elbows "tell me Draco, doesn't your face hurt after just the few hours now?" he chuckled and nodded. Blaise ran a knuckle over his cheeks, trying to get a bit of sensation back, "So guys," he shot out "how much longer do we wait?" they all grimaced, each of them had been avoiding this conversation.

An hour or so later, everyone met in the living room, happily sharing news of their explorations. There were chairs and sofas enough for all; no one was demoted to the floor. They sat happily chatting away for hours. At one point someone suggested they go outside, and so they did. The grounds were one of the most impressive things about the whole estate. Rolling hillocks, orchards, patches of forest, and a small pod dotted its magnificent landscape. Retreating to the courtyard, those who hadn't seen it yet gasped in amazement. A fountain sent a spray of water arching into the sky, to fall back again in thousands of little droplets. Benches were here and there, placed in key spots to view the fountain, or the flower beds, or the sunset, or the spectacular topiaries. They watched the sky pinking together, and as it turned orange they headed inside to go their separate ways.

This chapter was kind of boring…I hope you liked it more than I did…thank god it was so short…

You remember the question at the beginning of the chapter. The answer is, surprisingly, not simple laziness. I tried several times to revamp this story, but I never had a real plot in mind, just an extended situation. I remembered recently that although the story was relatively stagnant before, it was chapter upon chapter (15 or 16?) of comedic s=gold. Not the best, sophisticated comedy, the stupid funny. That's the kind I'm good at. But this time around, there is a lot more plot and a lot less of the funny...so I'll work on that. In the meantime, trust me, this story is going somewhere (eventually), and I think you'll all be rather surprised!