LOVE SPELL

By: angelheatherfin

Chapter 1: Aphroditos

"Thanks Harry! I promise to return it, first thing tomorrow!" The brunette ran down the spiral stairs with the cloak hanging down. "And do please tell Ravius he's in prefect duty tonight!" She smiled as she left the common room.

It was another trip to the restricted section of the library for Hermione, thanks to the ever useful invisibility cloak of Harry. Well, in today's trip, it was just Hermione. Hermione, and her cravings for new and fresh knowledge. She ran her fingers to the spines of old and dusty books. "Animagus Ambition" She read the titles, "Ye Warlock of Westwick Widowie, Auror Nightmares, Poison Potions"

She took out a couple of books, read a dozen, and eventually memorized a hundred. Then she took a notice, her watch read '12:43 pm.' Hermione sighed, ´Just one more book and I'm done...'

She went back to the shelves and decided on what to read last, of course it has to be the best, for it is the last. She can't decide on which book to read, but then something caught her eye in the middle of dark room.

This one took her eyes off the others, it had golden letters imprinted on the cover, it scintillated under the light of the moon, and it read "Magic of the ancient gods"

As Hermione approached nearer to the book, she can see butterflies coming out of it, and drips of water flowing out from one of its pages. It interested Hermione more than she was before, the book itself was magical.

Hermione gently ran her fingers across its fine detailed cover, it was gold and rubies, sapphires, emeralds and everything that was precious. She took the heavy-looking book from its podium, the book was surprisingly feather light. The brunette sat on the nearest chair to her, and putted it on top of the table. She watched as the vines go slowly back inside, the book's cover changed, it looked new and much beautiful, but it had an aura of antiquity and magic, really old magic.

She opened the page where the water seemed to come from, "Poseidon..." Hermione read. The whole chapter was filled with lots and lots of spells she never had heard before, all were related to water. "Maybe I can use some of these" she thought.

Next, she flipped to the page where the butterflies came from, "Artemis..." was the chapter's title. It was an obvious thing that all the spells was about animals, "this will help Hagrid a lot!"

"Athena…"The goddess of wisdom, "Maybe Ron can help himself with some of these". She smiled while in thought.

Hermione flipped on to the next chapters, there were Apollo, Hera, Zeus, Hermes, whom she was named after, even Hades, which Hermione dreaded to have read, for the chapter was filled with tons of killing curses and soul capturing spells, which she knew the ministry never heard themselves. And so the list goes on.

The bookworm closed the book; she thought she had read everything. So she stood up and decided to make her way back to the common room, but then she smelled something: cologne, books and apples. She looked back; the book was open at its centrefold, "Aphrodite..." The fine cursive read.

Hermione went back to the seat, spells for beauty and spells for love...? Was that even possible, spells for love definitely goes against the law of magic for wizards, fairies and even genies! 'One cannot make a person fall in love with magic; obsession can be, but never love!' She scoffed.

But still, in the whole of this book, this interested Hermione the most. Love spells definitely had a wide range, from love shared as friends, Amigus Amora. Love shared as a family, Familia Amora, and a lot more. But Hermione had the last as the most puzzling, a spell for true love, or Aphroditos.

"Aphroditos...also known as Aphrodite's curse" She read, it said that this spell is what goddess Aphrodite used for matchmaking, the spell which Cupid has on his bows, it was the most powerful, but definitely the most wonderful curse. It grants the caster the heart of whom the spell hits, only once this spell can be used by a wizard in his or her lifetime, but one should be cautious of its effects because it will never be reversed, never be broken and never be destroyed.

'May one know on whom to use this, for the one who was magicked will forever love the caster...' Were the last words Hermione read, making her way back to the common room, with new things in her mind, but one reigned superior, "Aphroditos"

"Hey, Hermione! Hermione!" Ron cried out, his shout heard from across the corridor.

"Wh-what?"

"We were asking you what..." Ron's voice stopped, seeing Hermione was letting her eyes wander off again, like if she was watching something from a far.

"Hermione! Hermi-" Ron tried catching her attention again. But Harry nodded that he shouldn't.

"Hermione, is there something wrong?" Harry gently asked his best friend, a little bit concerned and worried.

"No, nothing's wrong" Hermione gave a small smile; she had been thinking of it again, hasn't she? She asked herself.

"Well if you say so." Harry smiled back. "Maybe, we'll just meet you back at the Great Hall, okay?"

The brunette smiled as a response, and watched the two walk off to their class, then losing the smile right after.

Another morning without the two, she sighed. If only Professor McGonagall didn't require her to have at least a free period each week. But at least, she has time to investigate the spell that had bothered her for days, Aphrodite's curse.

'Aphrodite's curse... none... Aphroditos... none... Magic of the ancient gods... none!? How is this possible!?' Hermione was surprised; she can't find anything, not even one from what she had read. What if it never existed, but just a mere dream or a hallucination? She asked herself. But she knew it wasn't a dream, she knew she was conscious and awake when she read it, but where could this book be?

"Good morning, Madam Pince." Hermione greeted with a pleasant smile.

"Good morning, Hermione! You've come at the right time! I've got a shipment of new books at my office, there's a lot about the latest discovery of the ancient-" Hermione gave her a not-now smile.

Madam Pince returned it with a smile of understanding "Ohh, then what can I help you with, darling?"

"Well.., I need to go to the... restricted section... to get a... book..." The brunette anxiously asked.

"I'm sorry, dear. But you know the rules..."

Hermione bit her lip, now how is she going to do this now? "Thank you, anyway."

"Hermione!" Madam Pince silently called her as she was walking away. "I could get the book for you, if you want."

The brunette's eyes widen, "Thank you, Madam Pince!" then walking back to the counter.

"So what's the title of the book?" Madam Pince smiled.

"ummm... Magic of the Ancient gods..."

Hermione watched the librarian's face change from a smile to a puzzled look. "Magic of the Ancient gods...? Never have I heard of that book." she accioed the list of books, "Really, I haven't, in my entire 20 years!" she scanned the list, "Sorry darling, but there's nothing here, let me check again" Hermione waited for 30 minutes, she watched the witch by the counter check again and again, walking back and forth from the restricted section. She was hopeless. "I'm sorry but there's no Magic of the Ancient gods in here, darling..." She gave Hermione a small smile of apology.

'How's this possible!? Was it all a dream!? Was I imagining spells which never existed!? I was stressing over things that never actually existed?!' Hermione mentally shouted at herself at the corridors. She peeked out of the window. "Omorfoserena" she casted one of the spells she read from the 'non-existant' book, which according to it, this was a joint spell made by Poseidon and Aphrodite for mermaids to look beautiful. Hermione saw nothing happened. "Musica Itema" she casted unto one of her books, a spell which can turn an item musical. Nothing happened... again

Hermione gave out an "Arrrggghhh!" It was all a fake, a fraud to her, she knew it. It was a dream, a mere fragment of her imagination. 'So maybe, if I do Aphrodite's curse, nothing would obviously happen' she mocked, then drawing her wand out.

"Aphroditos!"

Hermione's eyes widen as a red spark was suddenly released by her wand, it travelled fast and hit a misplaced mirror, then bouncing from the corner to one of the other corridors.

Hermione chased after spark to where to it went, or may God forbid, who it had hit. She turned her heel and saw..."Ohh Merlin..." Hermione gasped.

"'Morning Granger" a familiar blond smirked.