AN: I've updated the Author's Notes in the first chapter. Please read them, I forgot some important details. Ta.
AN2: Hasn't been beta read but I checked for typos quite thoroughly. If any remained then my apologies. (Please let me know if my unbeta'd stories are not up to par language-wise.)
Chapter 2: Seeking Minerva's Attention
One week later...
"Ginny... I don't think this is going to work." Hermione began to protest when the redhead revealed the details of her plan.
"Of course it will! If anyone can pull it off, it's you! Why wouldn't it work?" Ginny asked, her tone and expression sceptical.
"Ginny, I can't hex myself and then tell Minerva that it was someone else!" Hermione exclaimed.
Ginny, misinterpreting her friend's concern, crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave her a flat look. "Well you've already broken your promise not to tell anyone that she finally confirmed the rumours. I reckon another little fib won't hurt?"
Hermione let out an exasperated sigh. She wasn't at all happy about being reminded of breaking a promise to Minerva. "That's not the point, Gin! What would I do if she wanted to see my memory?" Seeing Ginny's confused expression the brunette hastened to elaborate. "Dumbledore has a Pensieve remember? If I tell them that someone attacked me they'll want to see my memories regarding the incident."
"Oh!" Ginny frowned, trying to think of a way to overcome this particular difficulty.
"What if you couldn't see your attacker?"
"What?"
"What if you said you only heard the incantation but you were hexed from behind?" Ginny clarified.
"Gin, Harry said that the Pensieve doesn't work like that. It will be my memory but they won't be completely restricted to seeing what I saw. And besides... even if I said that I still can't hex myself..."
"All right. So I'll do it." The younger witch replied casually.
"What, you'll cast a spell on me?" Hermione asked incredulously. "You can't do that Ginny! You could even be expelled for that!"
"Only if I get caught." Ginny answered with a cheeky grin forming on her lips. "Think about it Hermione. All we need to do is stage it carefully. I could borrow Harry's cloak. That way there'll be no trace of me in your memory." Ginny explained with a victorious grin. "We just need to make sure McGonagall is near so she'd be the one to find you rather than Snape." The redhead couldn't help but giggle at Hermione's horrified expression.
After a moment the brunette witch spoke up. "That's easy. If you're going to nip Harry's cloak you might as well 'borrow' the map too."
"Nip it?" Ginny asked, frowning. She would have preferred asking for it, in case Harry needed it as well. "Why can't I ask him to lend it to me?"
"Because our professors aren't stupid, Gin. If an invisible person attacks me Dumbledore is bound to ask Harry if he hasn't lost his cloak recently." Hermione replied in a matter-of-fact tone. The answer, however, only served to confuse Ginny even more.
"So? All the more reason why Harry should know about it. That way he can back us up!"
"Still, I'd rather he didn't know about it. Not yet anyway. He has enough on his mind, I don't want to burden him with this as well."
"How about a Disillusionment Charm then? Or an Invisibility Charm?" Ginny tried negotiating. She really didn't like the idea of taking Harry's cloak without telling him. Hermione thought about it for a moment but eventually shook her head. "That won't work Ginny. You can't hide the map if you only turn yourself invisible. And turning the map invisible would kind of defeat its purpose..."
Frowning harder the younger witch sighed. Dropping the issue of asking or not for the time being, Ginny summed up the planned action."So then... I 'borrow' the cloak and the map. We wait until only McGonagall is close by, I cast the spell on you, run off and then it's up to you." By the time she finished she felt quite giddy. She was a true Gryffindor, just like her brothers, and for the right reasons she was always willing to risk being caught breaking the rules.
"That sounds very nice Ginny... but we still haven't figured out which spell to use. We can't just use a simple Vanishing Spell. Minerva's giving me private Transfiguration lessons because I'm so ahead of the others that the in-class tasks are hardly challenging for me. She'll wonder why I didn't just transfigure some clothes for myself." Hermione reminded her friend. She was rather annoyed at herself for not being able to come up with a spell her transfiguration professor wouldn't find suspicious.
"See, I've been thinking about that." Ginny replied almost instantly. She was rather proud of her idea and secretly she was very pleased with herself for thinking about it. "What if we used two simple spells instead of one complicated spell?"
Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. She couldn't see how using two spells would convince their professor that she couldn't break it on her own.
"I was thinking of the Imperturbable Charm." Ginny carried on with her explanation before her friend could object. "I thought it would work because if I vanish your clothes your wand falls to the floor. And... well you've been through a lot more than most of us, but that doesn't make you a trained Auror. I'm sure McGonagall wouldn't find it strange if you were more interested in your lack of clothing than in your wand's whereabouts." Ginny had tried to explain her whole idea in one go, not wanting to give Hermione a chance to object before she could finish. However, she ran out of breath far too soon, but to her great surprise Hermione didn't say a word. She had a curious expression on her face. "Anyway. This is where the Imperturbable Charm comes in. Your wand is on the floor, and if someone casts that charm on you, you won't be able to pick it up. And I don't suppose McGonagall expects you to be able do wandless magic, right?"
Hermione was completely speechless. She stared at her friend in silent wonder, all the while racking her brain for a possible mishap, but she could find none. She had to admit that Ginny's idea was absolutely brilliant. 'Why didn't I think of that?'
"Ginny, that's bloody brilliant!" Hermione said finally, smirking as she saw the girl's barely masked pride at outwitting her. "Although I would like to add that I actually CAN do wandless magic."
"WHAT?" Ginny yelped rather loudly.
"Nothing major though." Hermione hastened to add, not wanting to ruin the redhead's triumph completely. "So far the only spell I've been able to do without a wand is the Levitating charm."
Ginny arched an eyebrow, amused at Hermione's modesty, but she was still impressed with her. Only a dozen or so witches and wizards were known to be able to do wandless magic. The two witches spent the remaining time before dinner trying to figure out how to borrow Harry's cloak and the Marauder's map without anyone seeing them.
Hermione silently thanked every deity she could think of for allowing her to fall for someone who was known for her punctuality. She knew that the strict Transfiguration Professor always began her rounds exactly the minute curfew began. She also knew for a fact that the corridor on which Minerva's office was would be completely deserted long before curfew. Not many of her peers would dare to risk angering Minerva McGonagall.
What neither girls had thought of was that the hallways of the stone castle would be freezing at night, especially in Hermione's state of undress. She still couldn't remember when she allowed herself to be talked into this ridiculously insane idea. She was shivering in front of her beloved Professor's office without a stitch of clothing on, her body only covered by a floating piece of a curtain that was 'accidentally' lying on the floor in the hallway, most likely torn off by Peeves.
Hermione didn't have to wait more than five minutes, she didn't dare to come sooner lest someone other than Minerva should find her, yet she was chilled to the bones. She also hadn't anticipated the fact that the cold would interfere with her ability to do wandless magic. 'Damn cold... Minerva... what the hell's keeping you so long..'
After the piece of cloth hiding her from view nearly dropped to the floor Hermione closed her eyes, putting more effort into concentrating on the Levitating Charm. Not wanting to expose herself to anyone who might accidentally wander into the hallway, Hermione was concentrating so hard on the charm that she failed to hear to barely audible creak of Minerva's office door.
The older witch stepped out of her office, ready to make her rounds. Due to her Animagus traits her eyes had no problem adapting to the dark corridor and she immediately spotted the floating piece of cloth just outside her office. Both her eyebrows ascended into her hairline at the strange sight and she instinctively reached for her wand.
As she crept closer she could see that the material was a bit of torn curtain from one of the castle's windows and she also noticed that it seemed to be floating around someone. Holding her wand firmly in her right hand, the tip pointed at the curtain, she slowly reached for a visibly shaking edge to part it. 'If this is a prank the one behind the curtain will wish they had never been born.' Minerva thought, her temper stirring.
She was prepared for nearly anything except the sight she was presented with. Her eyes grew wide with disbelief as she spotted Hermione Granger. For a moment Minerva was speechless. The girl's eyes were screwed shut, her lips were slightly blue and she was visibly shaking.
"Miss Granger!" Minerva squeaked the girl's name when she finally found her voice.
Hermione's eyes instantly popped wide open, she had been concentrating so hard she was startled out of her wits by the sudden exclamation. To her dismay, her fright broke her focus on the spell and the heavy material of the curtain fell to the floor with a soft thud.
Minerva's eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sight of a very naked and apparently very curvaceous Hermione Granger. Forgetting herself for a minute, the older witch could do nothing but stare at the girl. Her eyes travelled from pert round breasts across a flat and well toned stomach to shapely thighs and back. The woman couldn't help but notice the goosebumps on creamy skin, nor did she fail to see that the girl's pink nipples seemed to be painfully erect. Suddenly realizing that she's been staring at her student's luscious body for the past minute or so, Minerva tore her eyes away from the sight to meet Hermione's stunned brown orbs. She noticed that despite the cold Hermione's face had managed to turn to a pale pink colour.
The older witch's brain finally caught up with the moment and she ushered the young woman inside her office. With one flick of her wand she created a roaring fire, with another she summoned a blanket which she tried to drape over the girl's shoulder but to her surprise it bounced off her skin.
"Im-im-per-pper-ba-ble..." Hermione tried to explain but her teeth were chattering so violently she couldn't form the words. 'I'm going to KILL Ginny.' Hermione had never been so embarrassed in her life. The one thing that kept her from passing out there and then was the memory of her Professor's face when the piece of cloth dropped to the floor. Even if she was going to die of embarrassment in a matter of minutes she knew she had achieved her goal. She could clearly see that Minerva had noticed her as a woman. In fact, the older witch couldn't tear her gaze from her curves for over a minute.
Hermione also noticed that Minerva didn't seem to trust her eyes any more. Not being able to cover the girl with the blanket she finally decided to levitate it around her just like Hermione had done with the piece of cloth. To both witch's relief the blazing fire managed to warm the shivering girl in a matter of minutes. Preparing herself for an awkward conversation, Hermione drew in a deep breath.
"Professor, the... the reason you co-couldn't put the blanket around my shoulders is that there's an Im-Imperturbable Charm on me."
Minerva, cursing herself for not recognizing it, immediately ended the charm. "And would you mind telling me exactly why were running around naked with an Imperturbable Charm placed on your body?"A perplexed professor asked. "After curfew?" She added with some emphasis.
"Well not out of my own free will." Hermione stated the obvious, pulling the blanked tighter around her body. "I was on my way to your office actually. Fully clothed... when suddenly my clothes were hit by a Vanishing Spell. Before I even had time to react the Imperturbable Charm was cast over me as well." 'Well... so far I hadn't lied. Ginny really cast the spells quickly.'
For the second time in less than fifteen minutes Minerva was stunned speechless. 'Who in Merlin's name would pull such a prank?' Her mind reeled, trying to absorb the information and come up with a suitable answer but none came.
"And you didn't see your attacker?" She finally asked.
"No, I didn't see anyone. Not even a retreating figure. I stared into the darkness for minutes and nothing moved." Hermione replied, inwardly trying to convince herself that she still hadn't lied.
Suddenly something occurred to Minerva and her eyes narrowed. 'No...surely this isn't...' She didn't even want to finish the thought, but there were a number of strange factors she had to investigate.
"Where did you leave your wand, Miss Granger?" She asked, trying to gauge the girl's reaction.
"In the hallway, by the side of the wall. I probably should get it, I left it lying there with a couple of books." Hermione took a step towards the office door but Minerva stopped her.
"Not dressed like that you won't." She told her. Quickly transfiguring some of the pillows on her sofa into proper clothes she added "You can dress in there." She pointed at one of the doors at the far side of the room. "Meanwhile I shall collect your belongings and inspect the scene. Which corridor was it exactly?"
"This one. I just turned onto this hallway from the adjoining one when the first spell hit me." Hermione replied.
"Very well. Get dressed and stay in my office. I shall return soon." Minerva said and made a beeline for the door, welcoming the cool air that suddenly surrounded her.
To be continued...
Don't forget to review! I live for your feedback!