Disclaimer: JKR is the rightful creator, owner, puppet-master to all the following characters, and I have merely taken them on an illness-prevention run to ensure their fictional health. I earn nothing from this but kind words from strangers. Hopefully.
A sequel to Foreseeable Options, so you should probably read that first. Please. Also, I know I said this might take a while, but I was spurred on by all the positive reviews. And now I can hardly stop- LeGaspe!
Tottenham Court Road, 1997
The Wedding was officially ruined, Hermione thought sadly, hoping that all the guest and family they'd left behind at the Burrow would be alright. There was nothing they could do, with the Death Eaters after Harry, and so she'd Apparated to the most random location possible, ending up on Tottenham Court Road with Ron and Harry stumbling beside her. Thankfully, she'd repacked the blue beaded bag just that morning after having a sensation that not everything would go to plan.
Now, the trio found themselves wandering down the street, Hermione being propositioned left, right, and centre by lecherous workmen thanks to the pretty red dress she'd worn to the Wedding. Really, she shouldn't have been surprised; Ron had liked it, Viktor had liked it, heck, even Harry had noticed for a split second before Ginny had completely taken over his mind.
"Here, this looks safe enough." She interrupted Ron, before he got them into real trouble with the workers by defending her honour. Herding them both (Harry was under the invisibility cloak) into the café, she indicated a booth and they sat, ordering drinks to appear somewhat less suspicious.
Ron offended the waitress in record time, but Hermione barely noticed as she reflected on the Death Eaters who had arrived at the Burrow. She was telling herself that she was merely being alert, but deep down she knew that she had been looking for him. That same Death Eater who had cornered her in the Department of Mysteries in Fifth year, that same man who had twisted her values so easily – Antonin Dolohov. Unfortunately, or fortunately, she hadn't spotted him, and the trio had disappeared safely from the chaos, but still Hermione couldn't keep her mind off the wizard.
Two workmen lumbered in then, though the witch didn't look up immediately. Ron was finished with his drink and watching, and Harry was an invisible surprise for any attackers, so she was less worried about her slow reactions. At least, she was until a familiar scent wafted towards her, an intoxicating combination that caused fear and lust in equal amounts.
The movement of the two disguised workmen was encumbered by Harry's quick wand-work and Hermione was knocked out of the way of a vicious purple curse by Ron, as a quick duel was fought. The slighter Death Eater had been hit by Harry, but he was struggling against the huge blond fellow who had already hit Ron. With a calming breath, she sent her best Petrificus Totalus at him and the enormous man toppled over. Harry smiled gratefully.
"Quick, lock the doors! And get the lights and blinds." She instructed, freeing Ron shakily. She was sure that the other Death Eater was Dolohov however she was torn about approaching him. He might well be stupefied, but he was still very, very dangerous, and she had no idea how he would react to seeing her again.
"What do we do with them?" Ron interrupted her thoughts, rubbing his sore wrists and neck.
"Well, we can't kill them." She answered quietly.
Ron grunted. "They'd kill us in a heartbeat. They've already tried."
"No, I agree." Harry interjected. "It'd make us just as bad as them. Hermione, can you perform any memory charms?"
"I haven't done anything like this," she said slowly, causing the bespectacled boy to frown in disappointment. "But I know the theory. Help me get them out the back and then go clear up the inside – and I mean make it as if we were never there."
The two boys did as they were bid, levitating the limp bodies out the back door, grateful for the cover of darkness and Hermione sat to do what she had promised. With a deep breath she went to work on the unknown Death Eater, successfully Obliviating all traces of their meeting from his mind. It hadn't taken long.
Dolohov was another matter. She stared at him for a long moment, feeling the resurgence of anger, fear and lust, and the subsequent sense of betrayal to Harry for the last. She knelt next to the prone form and propped him up against the wall in a crude sitting position. He had the beginnings of a beard, only a light shadow really, that gave him a more rugged appearance. She reached out tentatively to cup his cheek, and his eyes flickered. Hermione's heart almost stopped, and she didn't move for a second as she tried to settle her breathing.
Using a modified Petrificus, she cursed the Death Eater so only his head could move, and whispered 'Muffliato' before reviving him completely. His eyes shot open, darting about to catalogue his immediate whereabouts. They paused on her.
Hermione's chest rose heavily in her nervousness, the red dress inviting him to take in her cleavage and handsome figure. She wet her lips, slightly surprised that he hadn't automatically tried to curse her wandlessly in her optimistic bravado. His eyes hadn't been removed from her, but their expression had lost a certain amount of the guardedness that was visible before.
A beguiling smile formed on Dolohov's sharp features. "You've grown." He murmured casually, sounding almost fond, as if he was arriving for a nice dinner, rather than lying in a dirty back alley, unable to move. "But where are your little friends?"
She didn't answer, but he saw her eyes dart momentarily to the building.
"Ah," he said, understanding. "What a smart girl, distracting them…"
His velvet tones gave her pleasant shivers, drawing her in like a moth to the light.
"Tell me, Hermione, did you miss me?" He asked with a positively predatory expression that went straight to her core.
"What have you done to me?" She whispered back, the sensation of self-loathing rearing its head before his lustful gaze beat it back down.
"Nothing – I intrigue you, just as you intrigue me."
A pause.
"Red suits you. Bold, fiery," he continued, still smiling. He raked his eyes over her figure once more, "Alive."
"Have I invaded your dreams, Hermione?" He asked, her first name falling from his lips like the devil's incentive. "You've been in mine. Come, sit closer."
His voice was so compelling, and she moved unashamedly to straddle his hips, her red dress splayed over his immobilised legs.
"I mightn't be able to move, but I can still feel." He breathed in pleasure as she settled against him, hands resting against his torso. Gazing at the brunette witch, aware of the tentative feelings hovering about her, Antonin whispered encouragement, "Forget everything; give in to sensation."
It was all the invitation Hermione Granger needed.
Her hands clenched the fabric of the t-shirt roughly in response before sliding up his body to his neck as she leaned in to close the distance between them. It was hungry and fraught on both sides, desperate and deprived at the same time. Dolohov bit down on her lower lip, and she gasped into his mouth, her hands tightening in his hair. Her own lips busied themselves across his jaw and towards his earlobe and neck, suckling and nipping at his flesh as he murmured devious fantasies in her ear.
He was the devil to her Eve, a temptation too strong and enticing to release.
She rocked her hips against him, trying to alleviate the pressure building there, making the Death Eater hiss.
"Let me touch you." He requested of her, meaning for her to relinquish the binds of the Petrificus curse.
She pulled away, a troubled expression forming on her face as she shook her head, curls bouncing. "I can't." She replied in a cracking voice. "I can't trust you not to hurt us."
He smirked.
"I do not need a wand, or a voice to cause damage." The wizard reminded her, clearly referencing his spell at the Department of Mysteries. The effect was instantaneous. Hermione's face went pale and then assumed a fearful, angry expression, and she pushed off him, wand out, standing to increase the distance between them.
Dolohov was unmoved.
"You're glorious." He breathed reverently. "Do what you will, little witch."
Hermione faltered, lowering her wand as she looked sadly at the would-be lover. "I wish you weren't here to murder us all."
"Not all." He corrected, and she smiled bitterly.
"No; not all." She agreed, half-heartedly. "At least, not to your lot, it isn't."
Looking directly at him, she added, "I'm going to have to Obliviate you, you know."
He shrugged, only saying, somewhat cryptically, "All's fair in love and war."
"You're right, by the way." Hermione said quietly as she gazed at him, letting out a sigh. "You do intrigue me."
Then, with an apologetic look that he seemed to absorb, she knelt back down beside him and pointed the wand at his temple, doing her best to ignore the pale blue eyes that were fixed on her face.
"I won't knock you out, so you'll get to wake up the brute when everything settles again. Your wand is in your pocket." She told him as dispassionately as she could. He didn't respond, not that she'd expected it. "Obliviate."
The blue eyes that haunted her dreams and daylight hours lost their focus and he slumped. The delay allowed her to remove the other spells and return inside to Harry and Ron, who had done an admirable job, she saw, and then fought off a wave of guilt for what she'd willingly done outside with Dolohov.
"Alright, let's go." She forced herself to move forward, not to dwell, and held out her hands, ready to Apparate once more.
Despite the guilt, she thought privately that she didn't regret what had happened, and neither did she regret leaving a faint memory of a girl that coincided with pleasure within Dolohov's mind. He would not have seen them, just like the other Death Eater, but he would have a separate memory of several moments with an unfamiliar girl in a red dress.
The crack of Apparition rang out and the trio vanished into nothingness, leaving behind one dazed wizard and one who still lay unconscious.
End.
Hmm. Our little miss is troubled. Hermione was the 'instigator' (sort of, anyway) in this one. Speaking of 'ones', there will be one more. Two at most, but likely it'll be one. I hope this one meets your expectations (and I hope you like how I'm using actual instances where they've met)!
Please, read and review like a responsible reviewer.