Disclaimer: From the beginning to the end, all the original characters and settings belong to J.K.R. I'm just exploring for the sake of my own sanity.


Summary: "Remember when I told you I'd read her mind? I saw something peculiar. Bella," she went on urgently. "I think there's a possibility she could be— she could be a venor floccus." AU, centred around Hermione Granger, a very best friend of Draco Malfoy, back when she was just a fifteen-year-old kid dealing with her inner demons, trying to deny the growing interest in a mysterious Bellatrix Lestrange.

Pairing: HG&BL /femslash/

Rated: M/MA for future chapters

Warning: I'm bringing such a slow burn your hearts are going to suffer in agony. I also want to point out I'll try to keep the original characters as much authentic as I can, but because the events take place in a completely different dimension, some of them just have to differ at least a little.

Changes worth mentioning: Hermione's grandparents, Eleanor & Victor Watson were muggles. Their firstborn child, Jean, is a witch, married to a muggle, a policeman, John Granger; that being said, the girl is a half-blood. The purebloods, however, don't see any difference between muggle-borns and half-bloods.

She is a Ravenclaw student that has no relation to Harry Potter & Ron Weasley other than sharing a few classes with them.

Lord Voldemort is an unknown term—no man with such a name exists in this particular AU—or does he? *evil grin*

Beta Reader: Irymia


CARPE NOCTEM / YOU KNOW AWFULLY WELL ABOUT REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY / CH.1

"So tell us, Weasley, what is it that you can smell again?" Professor Snape asked, making all the Slytherins chuckle in spiteful joy.

It was one of those potion lessons students of the fifth year shared together. They were standing around a cauldron, inhaling the steam coming off of the pearly surface of Amortentia.

"Silence!" The wizard's eyes flashed with glee as he raised his voice. "We won't be able to guess his love interest if he doesn't give us a clue, even though I think I might get the name right on the first try," he finished maliciously.

Ron, too embarrassed to say a word, kept his mouth shut. He wasn't really keen to give the professor any more chances to humiliate him. It was already too bad as it was because Snape was obviously planning on milking even this tiny bit of a presumption for all it was worth.

"If I heard correctly, you said books," professor narrowed his eyes as if trying to put one and one together, "and... since you're not particularly bright," a new wave of laughter followed, "plus, considering your stuttering anytime Granger asks you something, I think we all know who it is that you love," he emphasized the last word casually and smirked as the mass of green roared with mirth.

Turning his gaze towards a pretty girl standing by her Ravenclaw's classmates, he added, "Miss Granger, you must be flattered."

Hermione's face turned the colour of a ripe tomato. She furrowed her brows, ready to say something, but a dark-haired boy with round glasses was the first to react.

"Why don't you tell us what it is that you can smell, professor?" he asked cheekily, earning a few gasps from the students. Snape's pallor turned grey and it was clear the young wizard had crossed the line.

"Potter, why don't you tell us how it feels to lose fifty points by asking stupid questions?" he let out slowly, making all the Gryffindors murmur in protest.

Harry, ready to push his luck once again, opened his mouth, but Ron nudged his arm. "Let it be, mate," he muttered, still red. Surprisingly, the black-haired boy took his advice but still gave the professor an angry look.

Hermione, who was watching the scene with the same embarrassment as Ronald, couldn't decide whether to admire Harry's bravery or feel sorry for his dullness. Sure, it was very nice of him to stick up for his friend, but having to deal with the angry professor wasn't much of a bright idea.

She did not know what to make out of Ronald's Amortentia either—it was most probably just one big misunderstanding. They didn't even belong to the same faculty—talking to each other only during classes when working in groups; however, it was true he often lost his voice whenever Hermione looked at him…

She gave the poor boy a searching look, but her train of thoughts got interrupted by Snape's voice announcing the homework.

"...I expect to see all the essays on my desk on Monday! The same applies to you, Potter, don't go thinking everyone's in awe of you because of your little scar," professor called out, looking for another reason to strip Gryffindor of a few points. The end of the year was close and he was trying his best to secure his faculty a victory. He was so eager to win he had granted ten points to Goyle for the answer he didn't even get correctly.

Harry, perfectly aware of Snape's intentions, only bit his tongue, leaving the classroom as soon as the class ended. Hermione too, having no desire to stay here any longer, grabbed her stuff and swiftly walked out of the potion room.

Climbing the stairs from the Dungeons, she heard a familiar voice behind her. "Hey, Granger, ready to get married?" Draco jogged after her, joining in.

"Stop it!" She shook her head, not really in a mood for his teasing.

"Honestly, I had no clue! Just imagine, tons of ginger babies running down your garden, asking for food! Isn't it cute?"

Hermione shot him a dirty look but instead of striking back, she just lengthened her steps.

"What? It's funny! The Ginger boy is in love with you!" he said laughing and pushed some first grader passing by just because he could.

That made Hermione stop and turn to him. "Why did you do that?" she snapped indignantly, but since he didn't answer and only kept smiling annoyingly, she just sighed. "Draco, you know we're friends, but sometimes you're being such a giant arse it hurts my whole being!"

Her statement had no effect on him though, only made him smirk wider. "Weasley and Granger, sitting in a tree—"

"What are you, four? If I didn't know you, I'd say you're jealous." She decided to change the strategy because her intention to lead a mature conversation didn't seem to work.

"Yeah." She tilted her head as his smile faltered.

"Oh, please! I'm not jealous, don't you see I only want you to be happy? You and him—it's a perfect match. On the other hand, you and me—that would never work. I'm not into relationships." He winked at her and shrugged. "Sorry to disappoint."

"You know awfully well about reverse psychology, don't you?" Hermione turned away from him, the left corner of her mouth lifted in amusement. She started walking toward the exit, leaving Draco behind, but he made his way back to her in a second.

"What did you say to me? Don't use your muggle vocabulary on me, Brain!" he said in an exasperated tone.

"It's not a muggle term... and stop calling me Brain!" she snapped, slowly losing her patience.

"You should be flattered," he said, mimicking Snape's voice.

"Would you shut up already?!" Hermione hit his shoulder.

"No."

"Do you want me to hex you?" she asked, reaching into her pockets.

"Are you trying to threaten me?" Draco laughed but decided to end his little teasing game as Hermione raised her eyebrows in one final warning.

"Fine." He put his hands up as a sign of surrender. "Merlin, you're so uptight these days, Granger... What's gotten into you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hermione replied flatly, avoiding his eyes.

"Well... whatever." Fortunately, Draco decided not to pry and changed the subject instead. "Listen here, mother asked me to invite you over for the summer vacation."

Hermione choked on the air halfway through her lungs. "Sorry?"

Draco only rolled his eyes. "It's not a big deal. I've always had people coming over, it's usually Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini, but the two morons cannot make it this time."

"But... how... when?" Hermione stuttered, paralyzed.

"When what, Granger? When did I tell my parents I befriended a mud— I mean a half-blood?"

She was in so much of a shock she didn't even flinch when he almost said the word. Since they had become friends, Draco was trying his best to avoid saying anything offensive regarding the blood status.

"Well, long story short, I pretty much explained the whole thing to them. Father wasn't thrilled, mind you," Draco admitted, his ice-cold eyes focused on a huge window that was channelling the late afternoon sun rays into the room. "But mother took it quite well. So well, she agreed to have you over."

"She agreed?" Hermione emphasized the last word, not really sure what to make out of it. "It wasn't her idea then? But you said—"

"No, it was mine, actually," Draco said simply as if it was nothing.

Hermione couldn't believe her ears. This snobby boy who wouldn't even look in her direction without pretending to be throwing up— he did—

"Draco, I can't express how much this means to me, but— I don't want you to get into trouble with them!" She breathed out heavily.

"Don't worry about it, just say you'll be there. I cannot spend another summer listening to Zabini's stories about his mother anymore. He's got issues."

Hermione only raised her eyebrows and laughed.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Draco asked and frowned.

"It's nothing, I'm just so proud of you," Hermione confessed and suddenly threw her arms around him, catching the blond boy off guard.

"Granger, what are you doing?" he whispered in a shocked voice. "We're in the middle of the corridor."

"I don't know. I'm just," she let go of his unresponsive frame, straightening her robes, still smiling. "I'm just flattered," she said finally, imitating Snape's voice the same way Draco did just a few minutes ago.

The corners of his mouth lifted.

"Come on, or else Weasley might get jealous." He joked and playfully nudged her arm.

"You're hopeless." Hermione shook her head as they made their way out of the castle.


I really hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'm aiming for a few background ones so please, bear with me... until next time!