A/N: Yes, long time no see. Sorry, RL sucks. Hope you enjoy.
Something was wrong. Ginny now went through her days in agony; crying herself to sleep at night and moping during the day. She clung to Harry, refusing to so much as look at Hermione, that alone being too painful.
As for Ron and Hermione, it was as if they were joined at the hip. The redhead and bushy-haired beauty were always together before, during and after class, even having study sessions in the library. The last of course caused a shock to all as Ron was well known for his loud opposition to study.
Now he could be seen huddled in a secluded corner of the library, head against Hermione's, studying and taking his own notes.
Harry, unable to abandon a friend in need, spent every free moment with Ginny, even so far as allowing her to sleep with him every night. He took her flying, played and studied with her so she wouldn't feel as lonely.
But Boom refused to leave things as they were; she couldn't. Every day she got worse- the separation from her mate making her sick and irritable. She wasn't eating, and had taken to sleeping in Severus' room to keep her sane at night.
And then one afternoon she smelled the magic aura surrounding Hermione and knew something was wrong.
"I need to talk to you."
Hermione looked up from her books and to what for all intents and purposes was a fellow student. Short, brown-blonde curls danced around a sweet face complete with grey eyes.
"Of course. Have a seat." 'Ria' pulled out a chair and settled herself in for a long chat.
"You're enchanted." At first, Hermione didn't even know what to say in response, and settled for a blank stare. Then the words really hit her.
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are Hermione. Why do you think Ron is suddenly so charming and well-behaved? Or why you're so suddenly enamoured of him? You practically dumped Ginny and hopped on him!"
"I AM NOT ENCHANTED!"
Before attention could be drawn to their corner, 'Ria' cancelled the glamour, reverting to her true form and stood quickly.
"Such loud behavior in a library no less! Come with me." Taking Hermione's arm, she turned to face Madam Pince. "Don't worry, I'll deal with her."
She was able to get Hermione into her classroom before the trouble started. Hermione shook off Lyse's arm and stepped back.
"How dare you! I'm not enchanted!"
"Yes you are. I'm thinking it's either Light, or very borderline Dark as the Castle hasn't told me anything. Now do you want to learn, or do you really want a detention?"
Lyse couldn't remember ever seeing Hermione sit down so fast.
"Now we both know you love the Weasley family, and we know you were last worried about Molly's reaction to you fucking her only daughter instead of her youngest son." A wince. "But I didn't realize it was this bad. The magic I'm smelling isn't Ron's, but very familiar. It's preying on your fear of the family's reaction, and your fear of being outed." The way Hermione started to shake her head in denial only worried Lyse more. Whoever did this couldn't be a student; but the only one powerful enough was her mate.
"I'm not enchanted, I'm not." When Hermione looked up, there were tears in her eyes. "I love him, can't you believe that? And he loves me too, so much. And he's trying so hard to make me happy."
Then her eyes hardened, and Lyse took a step back.
"And you accuse him! You think he's enchanted me, or that someone had to! But you won't just accept that I LOVE HIM!"
"And what about Ginny? Do you love her?" Lyse watched Hermione fight the spell as she struggled for an answer. The spell wouldn't let her say anything that would betray Ron, but Lyse could see the true anguish on her face as she struggled to say yes.
"No." Lyse saw the magic wrap around Hermione, strangling her will until she bent to it. This was bad.
Hermione stood now, dusting off her skirt and staring Lyse straight in the eyes. "And if you attempt this again, I will inform the Headmaster of your 'special' relationship with Harry."
And with that she walked out, slamming the door as hard as she could behind her.
A/N: So I hope the story is starting to make more sense. I know some of the chapters are shorter than others, but like I said: I'm trying.
See you soon! (Hopefully!)
