AN: Listen folks… this story is weird but I'm not sorry.

PREVIOUSLY NAMED - Between the Depths of Reality

This is an AU/Non-canon and like most of my other AU stories, it's as if Voldemort's plans never came to fruition during the Triwizard Tournament in Goblet of Fire and Cedric never died. Mostly because FUQ that. Let him live! Anyway, I don't know how it all never happened precisely but at least this way none of our beloved characters had to have lived with the turmoil of the war clouding their minds. That's how it goes in most of my AU stories because I feel it makes as a great base for whatever off-handed shit you want to do with your plot, especially when you don't really want to include dear ol' Tom Riddle.

Caution: Naughty story, with crude language obviously. What else would I write?

The Priestess and The Knight
Chapter One
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September 9th, 1997: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - Scottish Highlands

Honestly, Hermione Granger didn't much like the idea of Tarot cards but not long ago, during the summer holiday she'd been coerced and persuaded by her twenty-three year old, Spanish-born muggle cousin Estefania (whom unfortunately had no idea she was a witch) to have her cards read for her in a spread.

It had all been just a silly little thing that Hermione eventually gave into when Estefania refused to take her pleas and cries of "No please, please don't make me," as an answer. Hermione knew Sybill Trelawney - the Divination professor - avidly used her deck of Tarots and referred to the specific, card-reading art as Cartomancy, so therefore she'd been totally reluctant when her beautiful and eccentric cousin surprised her with them on one of her prolonged stays in the Queen's Country. Estefania was dating a fine chap who lived in London so she'd frequent visits at her little cousin's during her time there.

"Actually Hermione, this one here is a really great School Year Spread I've been planning to do for you since I first saw it!" Estefania exclaimed to her seventeen-year old cousin. She was sitting on Hermione's queen-sized bed, holding open her spreads book and pointing to the one she'd been referring to. "It sounds very practical, no?" she asked, her blue-green eyes begging the curly-haired lioness to entertain her humors.

It was somewhat funny how Hermione seemed to be such a skeptic in that moment when truthfully she was far from that. She hadn't hated Divination or its many minor-subjects but rather, she wasn't a fan of the teacher, nor her methods. She'd have never gotten the kind of experience from the class she wanted if she'd decided to take it under Trelawney's wing.

"Well…" Hermione's nose was wrinkled in agitation, but she had to admit she actually was the smallest bit curious to know how the school year might go. Would it be exciting at all? The last few terms had seemed to go by with no sorts of enthralling adventures or challenging trials of any kind. Hermione couldn't deny she'd been rather bored, to say the least. She heaved a great sigh. "Alright, go on then. Show me this School Year Spread of yours." Estefania perked up immediately, sweeping her light-brown hair into a pony-tail and readying her station.

"Come here; sit in front of me. I'll deal the cards like this, watch." Hermione sat cross-legged on the bed and Estefania smeared her deck out in a large fan before her. "For this spread, you get to pick five cards. Now before you choose, allow the deck to… speak to you. Your very first hunches are the right choices."

"Oh-okay,"

After the five cards she'd picked were correctly placed, Estefania beckoned for Hermione to turn the first one over.

"The upright Ace of Swords," Estefania told her, referencing her book. "This one indicates there will soon be a moment of breakthrough for you, some sort of profound opportunity or new beginning full of endless possibilities. The Ace of Swords shows the double-edged sword with wreath and crown. It is said to represent possession of the wreath, which bares success and great achievement, and possession of the crown as a symbol for both royalty and the power to rule that comes with royalty,"

"Hm," Hermione hummed, unsure of what any of that had to do with her, except for the success part of course. Maybe the crown was supposed to be reminiscent of her Head Girl badge? She was recently anointed as the Head Girl, after all.

"Pick the next one," Estefania ordered and Hermione obliged, revealing the card beside the Ace of Swords. "Ooh, the Lovers!"

Hermione balked. "What... what does the Lovers card entail, exactly?" she asked carefully, definitely wishing she hand't agreed to humor her and Estefania was just snickering away.

"See here, that's Raphael. He's the angel of air, so naturally the sign from the zodiac which governs the Lovers card is Gemini. It's a symbol of balance and harmony manifesting within your soul from a grand union in a cosmic sense between two generally opposing beings. In a relationship, this means attractiveness, perfection, clear communication, confidence, trust as well as becoming each other's strength," Hermione was trying so hard not to laugh although now more intrigued than ever.

"This is ridiculous Steffi! You know very well I'm not in a relationship,"

"Ah yes, I know but like I said Hermione, this is a spread that predicts what's in store for you during the course of your term, not currently."

"Oh alright whatever," she seethed, still wishing she hadn't been talked into such whimsy. "Get on with it,"

"Well, this also says you might want to start making up your mind about what you want, or don't want in life, that this will perhaps be one of those pivotal moments where you figure out what your inborn philosophies are. It advises to stay as true to yourself as you can be, that way you'll likely attract more genuine people."

"Okay," Hermione gazed down, bidding herself to remember the suggestion. The next card was the one that lay in the middle. She flipped it.

"The High Priestess," Estefania breathed, fully interested. "For some reason this one is my favorite," she said pointedly, her eyes glittering and then she began her assessment from what it revealed in the book. "When you encounter the High Priestess, she is sitting between the pillars at Solomon's Temple. One is the pillar Jachin for Establishment and the other Boaz, as the Pillar of Strength. The pillars depict the duality of nature: negative and positive; good and evil; masculine and feminine. Centered within the two, the High Priestess serves as a mediator between the depths of reality. She stands as the third pillar - the path between. She believes there is always knowledge to be gained from both worlds,"

"Wow that's… profound," Hermione replied. "Does it say anything else?"

"It says a few things, but you're welcome to have a look at the book after. Are you ready for the rest?"

Hermione glared reluctantly at the last two cards at the top of the spread. "Alright," she turned the second to last over.

"Knight of Wands… I'm shocked these have all been upright,"

"What does it mean when it's upside-down?"

"When it's reversed, well it depends on the card. So far, you've picked some of the more thought-provoking ones I do tell you," Estefania relayed with seriousness and peered back down to her book. "Here, it says this is a great time for you to get away and travel. Right now, you should feel charged up and ready to take on life. An event you don't expect to happen will soon unfold therefore adventure, fun and self-discovery are at your door-step. In addition, you should try to balance your energy and enthusiasm with realistic views, using your knowledge and skills to keep yourself guarded and grounded."

"Huh," Hermione harrumphed, excited at the prospect of another enthralling venture or undertaking. "That doesn't sound too bad…" Would she, Harry and Ron get into some kind of trouble again? Things have been quiet for a very long time. It's been almost... too quiet, too quaint and safe. Something was bound to happen, surely.

"No not at all," Estefania responded and there was a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Oh right here," she was pointing down at the book. "It says there'll be an attraction between you and a mysterious individual, perhaps a stranger or someone you already know. Either way you will know pure bliss for the first time, and you will be able to see your true self illuminated from within them," Estefania was grinning all the while and instantly Hermione's eyes were rolling as she groaned, placing her hands on her hips haughtily.

"Now that Steffi is a load of bloody codswallop, isn't it? You're just making this shit up!" Estefania was heartily laughing, completely hysterical as she wiped a lone tear from her joy-filled, crinkled eyes.

"So sorry, I know how you are and I knew you wouldn't take it well so I..." she paused still chuckling and holding her tummy. "I don't know why I did that," she stopped herself and took a breath. "I just want you to keep your mind more open to the possibilities,"

"I do," Hermione replied. "I keep a very rational a-and logical mindset. Everything else you've told me from the book seems reasonable, so it was obvious that the last bit was a sham,"

"Yes, yes. You've got it all figured out, you always do," Estefania winked playfully. Hermione was about to object but she lightly 'booped' her on the nose and said, "Last card,"

"Okay," Hermione was ready to get it over with so she reached down and flipped the last one. Estefania gasped and Hermione read the card out-loud, shocked. "Death...!? Really…? Do-does it predict someone is going to die?"

"No! No, not really. Not always," Estefania was quick to comfort her. "It is just surprising, is all… It's actually a very sought after card but people often forget that. It's highly misunderstood, seeing as it is the most-feared card but despite all that the real meaning is the most positive of the whole deck. A major phase in your life is ending, and a brand new one will start. You must willingly welcome this change and focus on what is ahead of you. Where one door is closing, another opens. This is about a metamorphosis, transition or transformation of you and your life, usually for the better."

There Hermione sat in her Head Girl chambers as she sentimentally swept her hand across the picture of the Death card in the spreads book Estefania bought for her. Yes, that's right. She'd been gifted a new copy of the Tarot reference text as well as her very own deck for her to learn and practice with. Hermione couldn't say she was absolutely dying to dive into the world of Cartomancy but still, she was glad she had the option if she so needed or desired.

Another benefit was that the other Gryffindor girls would likely think the cards amusing if she whipped them out some night on a weekend. Merlin knows how drab certain times of the year can get and a little mild entertainment never hurt anyone, right?

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September 28th

"Aye Granger,"

The tone of his voice was soft but somehow anxious. She'd barely recognized whose it belonged to. It made her uneasy. He'd never spoke to her so gently. In fact, he never chose to speak to her much of all really, not for the past few years. To Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger was just an irritating, swotty Gryffindor whom he paid no mind to, if he could help it. As far as she was concerned, she may as well have been invisible, save for being the Head Girl.

Hermione's keen amber-brown eyes flickered to the source of the unfamiliar sound and observed his nervous countenance. He kept looking over his shoulder as if he were being followed. Malfoy was almost deemed Head Boy but missed it by a mere point or two. Regardless, he was third in their class.

"Yes?" she replied slowly, putting down the thick tomb she was perusing. He might actually need something of importance, she could never be sure.

"Do you mind if I just… sit with you for a bit?" Draco asked unexpectedly and without waiting for her to answer he snatched up a chair and set it down, sitting directly beside her. Hermione snickered, trying to hide her obvious bewilderment.

"Clearly I don't have a choice," she quipped casually. Surprisingly, she didn't feel totally annoyed at his sudden presence. She was curious what, or who he was running from yet she had an educated guess, of course. Draco's grey-blue eyes twinkled with mirth, finding apparent delight in her sass and he leaned back in his seat, getting comfortable.

"No one's going to think I'm in here," he motioned towards the whole of the library. "I do study on Sundays but… the one searching for me knows I didn't carry my schoolwork with me, therefore why would I possibly have reason to go to the library?" Draco was chuckling lightly, proud of himself and his deduction.

"Too true," said Hermione, although she'd have liked to tell him that borrowing a book was always a possibility. "Except I don't see why you have to hide here with me, I mean really there's plenty of other tables and chairs for you to choose from,"

"That's sort of the point though. No one would ever suspect I'd be sitting anywhere near you Granger, so I kind of like my chances right where I am."

As insulting as it initially sounded, Hermione had to admit it was true. What reason did she have to get upset about that for? She'd prefer to not be associated with the Slytherin git either, as it were so he didn't have to be so self-righteous. He was forever going to remind her how lowly he thought her existence to be.

"A brilliant conclusion once again, Malfoy. Now if you have to sit there could you at least be courteous enough to stay quiet and just, I don't know behave...?" She stammered, apprehensive of his closeness. Immediately one of his silvery eyebrows rose, the corner of his lips tugging into an impish grin.

"You want me to behave miss Head Girl?" he queried her, entirely snarky. His eyes were gleaming violently as he suckled on his bottom lip all salacious-like. Hermione drew in a breath, feeling more bothered than she'd care to admit. "What pray tell, would you do precisely to uh, enforce this request of yours, hm?"

"You're joking, right?" Hermione let out an apprehensive giggle as she observed Draco's brows furrowed in a devil-like manner while he smirked at her and she felt her brain explode from the realization that somehow, she'd ended up in an alternate universe – one where Malfoy was literally flirting with her. She couldn't get ahead of herself though. Just because he'd thrown a sexually-charged comment towards her, didn't mean that out of nowhere he'd grown attracted to her. "I-I can't even begin to know how to respond to this ridiculous… whatever this is," she said sincerely, gesturing between the both of them. Have mercy, her heart was beating so fast. "So I'm going to choose to ignore it and ignore you," she clipped tightly and picked her heavy book back up, dipping her head down so he couldn't see her face. "Ridiculous," she muttered frustratingly for good measure. Why did he have to toy with her like that? He knew very well how devastatingly handsome he was; it was hard to look at him sometimes, not that she'd allow herself to fully acknowledge that. It was inconceivable to entertain such an idea, simply impossible.

It'd all been an accident, but since he'd sat down Draco found himself examining Hermione Granger more than he ever had since he'd known her. He'd only been kidding with her of course but just like his fellow classmates, Draco was a hormonal young man. In particular, Draco truly appreciated genuine beauty when he noticed it and in this instance he decided that the Gryffindor looked positively fetching dressed in her weekend garb.

She had on a crisp white jumper and a navy blue skirt that was much shorter than the black one she wore for the girls' uniform. There was a generous view of her expanse of long, golden legs and his mouth watered as he unintentionally wondered if her lush skin was as soft as it looked. Feeling his intense stare, her eyes peeped at him above the top of her book. The alluring flush that stained the apples of her freckled cheeks was enough to make it exceedingly difficult for him to swallow normally.

Hermione looked away quickly, anxiously and he opened his mouth, about to convince her that he wasn't just checking her out (even though he blatantly was) when he heard a distinctive voice a short distance away down the aisles. It was Astoria Greengrass questioning her peers and that was exactly who he'd been eluding in the first place. She was his betrothed; the pureblooded heiress, handpicked as his future wife to be and he wasn't thrilled in the least. Draco hadn't had a say in the matter whatsoever and since the official announcement was made over the summer holiday she hadn't left him alone. It didn't make a difference how pretty or refined or resourceful the little sixth-year was. For Draco, it was the principle of it all.

Life wasn't like the Middle Ages anymore. Normal people didn't use their heirs as pawns in a chess game and he wished it weren't such a big part of the pureblood elitist lifestyle. He should be able to have a choice and he didn't, being dragged into a marriage he'd realized he didn't want. When it really came down to it he'd prefer to marry for love, if he was ever blessed with such an unlikely scenario.

"This was fun Granger but I must bid adieu to you. I'm sure you're aware of why," he whispered to her as he got up from his seat and before Hermione could blink he was gone, stealthily twisting around the aisles and getting further from her – and Astoria.

Two minutes later, the youngest Greengrass sister was eyeing Hermione with disdain, tossing her pristine, golden-blonde locks over her shoulder. "You haven't seen my fiancé in here at all, have you?" she asked, grumbling in irritation. "I just have this bizarre feeling he's avoiding me," she was meek and pouty. Hermione felt a bit bad for her and against her better judgment, decided to say something in the form of comfort.

"Well I'm sure he's around here somewhere," she told her and Astoria was taken off guard by the kindness in Hermione's gaze. "Don't give up," Although Hermione didn't want to tell her that she'd seen him only moments ago. This would give Draco more of a head-start. Why she felt as if she must do that for him, she wasn't sure.

Greengrass had the audacity to look slightly offended despite how nice Hermione felt she was being towards the Slytherin girl. "Yeah sure, thanks," she responded, grimacing dismally and without another word she slithered away.

'That was all very odd,' Hermione thought and returned to focusing on her studies.

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October 3rd

Hermione was sitting in her Advanced Potions class, listening to Professor Snape drone on about the current lesson. Harry was in the chair next to her, jotting down notes. She hadn't meant to but not long after class begun, she stole a brief glance at Malfoy who was at the desk directly beside hers.

Gods, his skin really was the purest shade of snow white and the more she'd taken peeks at him, the more she was finding that it really suited him. His angular, chiseled jawline suited him now too, more than she thought before. His silvery-blonde mop skimmed just above his rainstorm blue eyes, which perfectly complimented each other. It was as if he were a life-sized portrait of an icy, frozen angel – like he was Jack Frost himself. Ever since that befuddling moment in the library the week before, Hermione had trouble keeping the ethereal-like Slytherin off her mind. Why did he seem so sad lately?

As if sensing her, his piercing eyes flittered right to hers and for a second she was a scared, meager rabbit who'd been captured by the great, mean wolf. Just in time to salvage her sanity Hermione glanced away, unable to keep her face from ripening to a reddened fig shade and Draco noticed. Oh, yes he noticed alright. Not once ever, had the Brightest Witch spared him such a look as that - not even at the library when he'd forced his presence on her.

Now, the curiosity and intrigue fully took hold of Draco from somewhere in his abdomen. It sort of felt like there was an invisible string pulling him towards Granger, as if he were magnetized and it was making him feel very strange. He was having a flashback of how luscious her lengthy, slender legs were under that navy skirt. He'd since pushed that from his mind but now he found the memory of that, and her charming chocolate eyes extremely difficult to forget.

"Are you alright?" Harry Potter asked her then, just loud enough for everyone in the general vicinity to hear and Hermione thought she might faint.

"I-I'm fine Harry, just a tad warm," Hermione relayed meekly, undoing the button to her school cloak. "Is it a little warm in here to you?" she pulled off the garment and set it across the back of her chair.

"Hermione, but we're in the dungeons…" Harry was puzzled, mainly because she really did look overheated.

"I know that," she seethed. "I'll be alright. Just... a girl thing," Hermione sent him a convincing expression and Harry chose not to dwell on it, for he was very uncomfortable.

Malfoy on the other hand was cracking up laughing in his brain, trying not to snigger out-loud. He could tell Granger was getting all hot inside. She'd inspected him so intently and now she was all sweaty and bothered? Draco knew the tell-tale signs and when she'd looked at him just now, she liked what she saw. She had to have. He wasn't usually mistaken about this sort of thing. How could he find out if his hunch was correct?

Severus Snape – unsure of why he was interrupted – stated, "Miss Granger, is there any good reason worth telling the entire class why you and Mr. Potter are so rudely muttering during my lecture?"

"Apologies sir, it won't happen again." Hermione responded, feeling extremely sheepish.

Harry nodded and said a light, "Sorry,"

Snape's onyx eyes swirled with hostile animosity but nevertheless, he continued on with his droning. Hermione was relieved, wiping the sweat beaded at her hairline.

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October 30th

Strictly for her own entertainment, Hermione decided she'd draw herself a weekly Tarot reading. She stood in her dormitory, rummaging through her trunk to retrieve her deck and spreads book. For All Hallow's Eve tomorrow she was planning on showing her Gryffindor pals the kit and seeing if they'd like her to try to analyze some spreads for them.

Efficiently, she smeared the cards out in a big fan much like her cousin had and with undisturbed concentration, Hermione picked the card that seemed to speak to her the most.

To her shock it was the Lovers that greeted her for a second time, upright again too. "Why?" she asked no one in particular, holding the confusing card up to examine it. Quickly, she flipped through the pages of her reference book. "Temptation, sensuality… the zodiac sign which governs this card is Gemini, so naturally Raphael, the angel of air comes to bring balance, mental clarity and communication… in the cosmic sense, this is symbolic of a grand union between two opposing forces…?" as she read it out-loud she couldn't help but think back to the silvery ghost-like boy from her rival house, Slytherin. Not that she wished for something to happen between her and pureblooded Draco Malfoy. Besides, the card could mean anything really; it didn't actually mean she'd acquire a lover. It was only a silly prediction, just a trivial game. It held no real sustenance, no truth.

And she would keep telling herself that until she started believing it.

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November 7th

It was a Friday afternoon in Professor McGonagall's Advanced Transfiguration class. The woman was already in a flippant, no-nonsense mood and it was making the entire class feel unpleasant. Any other time, Hermione looked forward to learning about this subject from her beloved Scottish teacher but on this day something was amiss and Minerva was exuding an extra callous disposition. It was rubbing off on everyone.

"For this project I'd like you to work with one other person," she told them and as soon as everyone started looking around the room for the person they wanted to team up with, McGonagall snipped at them, "And your partner will be of my choosing this time, so you can stop searching for your friends," Minerva's eyes lit up with a bright idea and the room crackled intensely with an air of impending doom. "In fact, I'm going to pair you with a person you wouldn't even normally talk to, someone you likely wouldn't be happy to work closely with on a project. It keeps it rather interesting, doesn't it?" The two dozen or so students of the class – a healthy mix of not only Gryffindors and Slytherins, but Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs as well – now stared around at each other all nervous and skittish-like.

For whatever reason today, McGonagall was especially intimidating.

"Theodore Nott!" she screeched and the boy – who'd been turned around, gazing at Daphne Greengrass sitting at the desk behind him – almost jumped out of his chair, facing forward to Minerva standing there with her hands on her hips. "None of you Slytherins will get lumped together, oh no. I'm mixing up the Houses, therefore Mr. Nott? I pair you with… Ronald Weasley."

"Ugh, no…!" Ron wailed indignantly. They were both on their House's Quidditch teams. Ron was the Keeper on Gryffindor and Theo was a Chaser for Slytherin. They hated each other.

"Mr. Weasley! I do not care for any kind of objection or outburst. I don't want to hear a peep from the entire lot of you! Do I make myself clear?" her thick, Scottish-brogue was fumigating with anger and the rest of the class nodded their heads and replied with a solemn, "Yes Professor".

McGonagall continued on, pairing Pansy Parkinson with Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom with Tracey Davis, Lavender Brown with Daphne Greengrass, Seamus Finnegan with Blaise Zabini and... was the Professor putting all of the Slytherins with the Gryffindors just to spite them? 'No, no, no…' Hermione whined in her mind as the number of Slytherins and Gryffindors were dwindling leaving only her and… NO.

"...and let's see, Hermione Granger, you're with Draco Malfoy."

NO!

Abruptly Draco stood, causing Hermione to stand as well and the both of them knocked their chairs about in the process, causing quite a bit of commotion.

"I don't want to work with her," Draco found himself spewing viciously, but wasn't sure of any good reason for his refusal. He was aware that he was deliberately disobeying McGonagall and that he was being rather stupid but pitifully, he wasn't able to control himself.

"Hmph," Hermione harrumphed haughtily, crossing her arms. "Likewise," she huffed, in total disbelief of herself. She glared daggers at him and he was glowering right back, his lip upturned in feral disgust.

"That's it, then: twenty points from Slytherin and twenty points from Gryffindor. To make further an example, Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy I give you both detention tomorrow morning," Hermione's jaw hovered open; she was positively mortified. What had she been thinking? She hadn't been, strictly caught up in her frustration over the sodding buggar. McGonagall gave her a look that said she'd expected better from the Head Girl.

"But its Saturday," Draco argued. "I have Quidditch practice?"

"Fine," Minerva replied, her mouth set in its usual straight line. "Then you're both to report to me here, tomorrow afternoon right after lunch, no more 'buts'. Does everyone understand now how serious I am about you all getting along?" she questioned the class, perusing the tables as she peered deeply into the eyes of her students. "Not only have we long forgotten the ideals of House unity, becoming each other's bitter enemies but most of you are of age now and I expect you – as respectable young witches and wizards – to be mature enough to work civilly around those who you may not like. It's what we have to do as adults. Are there any questions?" The class was silent and some of them shook their heads. "Good. For the remainder of the period, I want everyone to look through your textbooks and pick five to ten different enchantments you haven't yet learned and would like to master. Write a list of them. If you don't complete it by the end of class then I expect you to finish it for homework and bring it next time, where you'll sit with your partners and decide on the two spells you want to work on together. I'll give you until after the New Year to become experts on the spells you chose."

-~-~-~-~-~.~-~-~-~-~-

November 8th

Hermione trudged her way to the other side of the ground floor of the castle, utterly dreading her detention with Malfoy and McGonagall and just dreading this assignment all together. As she rounded a corner, she came to the entrance of the Transfiguration Department and inside was her Professor, whom taken on her Animagus form of tabby-cat. The feline was purring as her greenish-yellow orbs sharply surveyed Hermione while she grabbed a seat close by.

Three minutes went by and Draco – who was still in his Quidditch gear – finally made his appearance. Hermione noted that he hadn't been at lunch and presumed that Slytherin's practice must have run longer than expected. He walked towards the front of the room, about to pull a chair at the desk behind Hermione's when McGonagall transformed back into her human-self, scaring the daylights out of Draco and stopping him from taking a seat.

"You were just on time Mr. Malfoy. Now, I'd like for you to stand up Miss Granger because you're both going to follow me to where you'll be carrying out your task,"

"Um… task?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"Why, yes Miss Granger. You didn't think you were to just sit here all afternoon and study, did you?"

Hermione was frowning but remained obedient. "Of course not Professor," she relayed and she swore she could actually hear Malfoy grumbling in his own head.

They exited the Transfiguration Department and went straight up the Grand Staircase, past the library and onward towards an unknown destination. "Professor McGonagall?" Draco began and Minerva peered back at him, adjusting her spectacles. "Could you at least tell us where we might be headed?"

Minerva chuckled to herself and told them, "To the top of the North Tower, up the Divination Stairwell to Professor Trelawney's classroom. I'm sure you're familiar, despite not being enrolled in her classes the last few years?"

"Y-yes," he said. "Hasn't she been away on holiday recently?"

"It's not a holiday exactly, but more for research purposes," replied McGonagall. "Professors Sinistra and Firenze have been taking over for her but she just owled the other day saying she'll be returning sometime next week."

"Uh… okay, but what does this have to do with our detention?" Draco pressed and Hermione didn't know why she was surprised at his boldness.

Also, she'd never cared to examine him up close in his Quidditch uniform before but right then, she decided he looked rather scrumptious in his green and silver jersey with the black soft pants, as well as his gloves, arm-guards and leg-guards. He sort of had the appearance of some type of warrior... except for the fact that he was Malfoy. Hermione had to ponder why he still had his gear on. Wouldn't he have wanted to get it all off as soon as practice ended? Not that she minded, really. She liked to look at him in it. He seemed so rugged.

McGonagall kept walking, a smirk on her face but without looking back she said, "Ever since she left we've intentionally left the classroom untouched. It's been… over a month now, so you can imagine the dusty, ruddy state it must be in. I've got the tools and supplies waiting there for you. You're to clean the whole room – top to bottom. I want it sparkling pristine and smelling positively fresh! And neither of you are allowed to leave until it's all spick and span, do you hear?"

"Yes ma'am," they both grimly responded in unison as they climbed yet another staircase.

-~-~-~-~-~.~-~-~-~-~-

It'd already been an hour and Hermione and Draco had barely spoken two words to each other. The tension was liable to kill them both. In the last twenty-minutes Draco had neatly set aside everything that was inside a bookcase at the corner of the room. It'd initially been full of books, artifacts and sculptures but after prompting the shelves, the large cabinet was empty with the exception of the layered dust. It was apparent that the classroom wasn't kept very clean to begin with, the grime clearly ignored for far longer than the duration of Trelawney's trip.

Hermione had been perched on a ladder over eight feet high for most of their time in there. She'd been cleaning – shelf by shelf – the long, floor to ceiling bookcase that took up one of the walls. That day she'd worn a pair of form-fitting, black cigarette pants and a really soft, lavender sweater that highlighted her collarbone. At lunch, Ginny even complimented her on her outfit choices. Hermione had also left her curls down and all around, she felt very comfortable. She felt like herself.

However she was in denial, lying to herself saying that it was merely a coincidence she'd worn such a cute combination of clothes on the same day she was forced to spend detention with the seductive Prince of Slytherin. She'd say she had no one at all to impress but on a subconscious level, she'd secretly chosen to wear a flattering jumper and tight-fit trousers that were appealing to the eye in hopes that she might be considered by him.

She suspected it worked because Malfoy was at a table, absent-mindedly polishing a random vase and his stare was not fixed on the prop he was dusting but on the curly-haired witch high on her pedestal. He saw her giving him a quizzical glance and he accidentally tumbled the vase (which thankfully wasn't made of breakable material) to its side on the table, causing a loud symphony of clinks and thuds. Hermione tried not to giggle as he cursed at it, struggling to stand the offending piece of art upright before moving on to the next eclectic object.

'Damn it all,' Draco was fuming inside. He'd just looked like such an idiot, caught in the act of openly gazing at her. He wondered if she knew that yes, he was absolutely memorizing the curves of her round, attractive arse. Draco had a good view from on the ground, after all. Prior to his attentions of the bookcase and objects, he'd stripped himself of his gloves to better handle the equipment, and he didn't really know why he hadn't done that sooner. He hadn't gotten a chance to bathe, and perhaps he just felt… comfortable in his full-Quidditch uniform. Nevertheless, he'd still kept his arm and leg-guards on.

Awhile later the Head Girl was done with the tall bookcase, traversing down the ladder and Draco was unable to refrain from gaping. "What…?" she asked him when she got to the bottom, feeling uneasy.

"That was awfully quick Granger," he told her, noting how fast she'd been at cleaning all the shelves. "I don't believe you didn't use some sort of magic,"

"Malfoy," she admonished. "McGonagall took our wands. How would you expect me to do magic without that?"

"I suppose you could use wandless magic, no?" Malfoy surmised smartly and she let out a derisive snort.

"Oh, so then do you mean to tell me you think I actually have the, ahem… capabilities to perform such a self-involved, complex art?"

"Heh well, you are a bit self-involved and you're unnecessarily complex as well, aren't you? So I should assume it might be easy for you," he quipped all nonchalant-like. He was cunningly more fast with his wit than Hermione would've liked to give him credit for.

"Ugh," she gagged, repulsed at his smug expression. Hermione carried on, dusting her way towards the door to Trelawney's office. Draco let her be for now, figuring he'd got her knickers twisted up nicely with that one and completed stacking the random trinkets in their respective places on the shelves.

Hermione was overcome by a sudden curiosity as she went to clean the trimming around the wooden door, thinking back to her deck of Tarot cards and the mysterious meanings behind her readings. The titillating window of opportunity piquing her interest was too much for her to handle and feeling riveted, she twisted the knob, opening it.

Draco wasn't going to say anything but then he did, hesitantly following her inside the professor's office, one that very few had ever been in. "You know, McGonagall didn't say anything about cleaning in here."

"I know," Hermione said, shrugging. "I'm not in here to clean," a mischievous gleam twinkled in her pretty cinnamon eyes and Draco was struck mystified.

"Why did we come in here then?" he wondered, secretly kind of hoping she wanted to jump his bones.

"I just wanted to see…" she trailed off, tracing circles upon the surface of the bluish crystal ball sitting on the desk. Draco laughed with a cynical-type brash in his voice.

"Okay. You've seen it Head Girl, now let's get back to work. Despite what you may think, I'd really prefer not to be stuck in this tower all bloody day with you," he heckled her, yet Hermione wasn't listening to him. Her once bright stare was eerily cloudy and misted over as she peered straight into the large, translucent ball. She couldn't believe what she was seeing - horrors of an unfathomable nature. "What?" asked Draco, stepping forward. The forlorn look on her face was giving him the total creeps. "What do you see?" She didn't answer him, lost in the depths of the vision portrayed before her inside the crystal. Draco tried but he could not for the life of him, see what she saw. Then, Hermione seemed to come out of her stupor – almost collapsing beneath her feet. Thankfully Draco had immaculate reflexes and instantly caught her. "Oh shite," Draco grumbled, holding her up by the shoulders. He was actually concerned. "Are you alright? Granger, what the hell did you see? Your eyes were stark-white!"

Hermione struggled finding the words to convey what she'd just saw but before she could speak, out of nowhere – on a table adjacent to them – a gigantic, ancient-looking text flew open by itself. The two seventh years turned to inspect the unforeseen disruption and felt puzzled that an otherwise inanimate book could move on its own (unless of course, it was similar to the Monster Book of Monsters; vicious and alive). Draco released his grip on her and very cautiously, they went closer to the baffling object.

Once directly in front of it, Draco flipped a few pages back and forth. "The pages…" Hermione mumbled sadly.

"It's… completely blank." Draco exclaimed like it wasn't obvious.

"Does it have a title?" she queried, going to the front cover of the heavy tomb. No, it didn't seem to. She went back to the first couple pages, then to the last. Nothing was written anywhere. "Did you -" her eyes flickered to his in paranoia. She'd heard a strange scratching noise.

"Me…?" he asked, his voice squeaking. "How could I have done something like this? You really are a right nutter Granger,"

"No, no. Not you," she tried to tell him. "The book, the book it's…" but she was horrified as the scratching got louder.

"What is that?" Draco wailed, finally hearing it. His eyes were now wide with trepidation, wholly alarmed by the bizarre noises. Then – without warning – an all-consuming, purple light sprang forth from the center of the ancient tomb and engulfed them both in its warm, lucid essence. They were both screaming, terrified for their lives as their bodies seemed to shrink and they were literally pulled right into the empty pages of the book. With a surrounding, loud thump the large book closed itself shut and the two students were gone to the world as they knew it.

-~-~-~-~-~.~-~-~-~-~-

AN: I meant to tell you guys – since yesterday, I'm officially 2 weeks without a cigarette! I'm 29 and I smoked for about 14 years. I feel so much better and healthier since I've stopped smoking and I can't wait to notice more benefits as time goes on.

Another thing: most of the inspiration I got for the tarot cards I received from labyrinthos online just search for tarot card meanings and it pops up.

Any who, I really hope you liked the first chapter and thank you so much for reading! Please let me know what you think so far in a review! Cheers :0)