Chapter 7 Lockhart
If I had thought Hermione mortified and outraged about Dumbledore, it was nothing compared to how she felt when she finally got around to reading the Lockhart books. With her restored to the mind-set I favored it didn't take her long to spot the errors. And there were a lot of them.
Even worse to her were the inconsistencies. She was absolutely furious that she had been forced to spend so much money for what were essentially works of bad fiction. In fact she seemed to hate the Lockhart books far more than the bigoted propaganda often found in books.
It made me laugh, that Hermione hated incompetence more than prejudice. Or in her words, "At least they're honest about what they believe. They're still wrong, but they aren't deliberately lying."
Hermione was so frustrated she couldn't even read in the train ride. Of course she still needed an outlet for that energy. So she used it on me. I considered protesting, but after the summer she had it would be good to reinforce our relationship. Not that I didn't enjoy it.
Hermione ended up spending the entire trip in my lap. It was nice. Slow, unhurried and incredibly intimate. We had time to just talk, without the pressure of my projects or her studies making us impatient.
It was probably that feeling that led to our snogging for the first time. I hadn't intended too, but at least mentally Hermione no longer came across as a naive trusting child. The losses that forced her to mature did leave her a bit clingy, but we all have our faults.
I suppose another factor was that I was finally getting used to my current age. People are shaped by their environment and I've had over a year to adjust to being a preteen. And while it's still a bit icky, between Hermione's enthusiasm and Pet I've practically programmed myself to respond to her.
And while Hermione was horribly embarrassed when we were forced to change robes, I couldn't say I minded. Soiled robes were a small price to pay for being in a good enough mood that I didn't try to kill Dumbledore or Lockhart during the welcoming feast.
The next morning I wake up with a gasp and a shudder. I don't know if it's because of how long's it's been since Hermione has woken me this way, but it feels particularly intense this time. It'd good to be back in Hogwarts.
I'm surprised when I open my eyes not to see her. Normally the first thing I see upon waking is her smiling face. A little bit creepy, but it always made me smile back. Hard not too when feeling so completely relaxed and satisfied.
A muffled sound along with a surge of pleasure causes me to look down. Hermione winks up at me and then slips out to start getting ready for classes.
I flick my hands to cast a wandless homenum revelio to make sure I'm alone before sighing. She had never done that before. I was getting more comfortable with her, but she was really pushing the boundaries.
It wasn't until I stepped out of the shower I realized it was my fault. Really should have tried to control myself better. Those damn contracts. I had put in all kinds of clauses and one of them was an escalating series of sexual acts. Snogging Hermione on the train had been a mistake.
When I wrote the contracts I had assumed it'd be years before I was willing to make any moves. Fourth year or when Hermione was fifteen hadn't seem too terrible a benchmark. Not the beginning of second year!
Not like I can do anything about it now. The contracts were ingrained with her own magic at this point. Not even burning the contracts made a difference. Using legilimency I could follow the pattern of changes in her mind, but only because I knew exactly what to look for.
It seems behavior modification contracts have more of an impact on still developing minds. The possible benefits for some of my projects was enormous. I did feel slightly guilty over Hermione. At least until I remembered the fate Rowling had assigned her.
I had once gone out with a girl who valued nothing I cared about and argued with me all the time. And to be condemned to that or bitter spinsterhood? No. Anything I did could only improve her life.
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Herbology opens with a lesson on mandrakes. Staring at the ugly looking root baby I wonder how well they'd crossbreed with something like garden gnomes or Horklumps? Something to talk with Hagrid about later.
The mandrakes also remind me that this year was supposed to have the Chamber of Secret's open up. Of course there's no longer a monster down there and the diary has already been destroyed. But maybe I can still get Lockhart to lose his memories? I'm undecided on the issue, after all Rita's book is scheduled to come out at the end of the year.
After the first week I've changed his mind. The first lesson at least was interesting. After the pointless, narcissistic quiz Lockhart unleashed cornish pixies on the class. Seeing just how strong they are was impressive. Yet another creature to try and crossbreed later.
Unfortunately, just as in the books, Lockhart's next lesson was just acting out scenes from his books. And he chose me to help.
Which is why I've started skipping class and wrote Rita to push up the date the book comes out. I have better ways to use my time. Besides I can already cast all of the second year spells both wandlessly and silently. Focusing most of my training on wandless magic also meant I didn't pull too far ahead of Hermione.
Hermione, not being able to practice during the summer and without my advantages, still hasn't made much progress with wandless magic. But she does perfectly well with casting silently and even made inroads with point casting.
At our current pace we will probably be able to take at least a few of our OWLs at the end of the year. Although I doubt Hermione will want to since that will decrease how long she has to prepare.
The rest of the Ravenclaws were upset with us. Hufflepuff house had actually won the cup last year, something which I hadn't realized. Ravenclaw house had come in a close second though. And the points Lockhart was taking from us were hurting our chances.
Fortunately I didn't have to worry about bullying. Between Dobby and my own wards I wasn't even aware of any attempts. And that was soon true for Hermione as well. The first time someone stole her homework I had Dobby cut their hands off. The second time I had it carved permanently into their skin.
I really love house-elves. So very loyal. And so ruthless in defense of their families. Hermione thought I had gone too far, but it worked. And it wasn't like anyone else was stopping it.
After that everyone left us alone. Dumbledore wasn't willing to expel me and if Hermione left so would I. And I didn't care about detentions assigned for skipping his class.
Not that I stopped there. I may have pushed things with Dumbledore, but even petty acts can be annoying. So a week later I made my response.
The first was a public argument in the common room. Snape had made a mockery of the house cup. He cheated. Outrageously and blatantly. Under Dumbledore's protection the cup lost all meaning. And even now.
So What!?
You get the banners changed. For a few hours!
No extra privileges. No extra snacks. There's no reward! Yeah, you won. And then it's summer.
What I did next did more to sway the house than my speech, but I had wanted the chance to vent. I passed out a stack of booklets I had made. Well Dobby make.
They were basically binders containing the OWL and NEWT tests for the last five years. In the very front is the yearly course guidelines put out by the Wizarding Examination Authority.
After that the upper years backed off. The test copies were far more valuable than any house cup. Without their support the rest of the house backed down, even if they weren't happy about it.
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I nervously looked over the details of my set up one last time. I was out of excuses to delay. I had gone over everything multiple times and consulted numerous people. Nothing indicated any potential problems.
I was still nervous though. The combination of rituals and everlasting elixirs would in theory turn me into a physical juggernaught. Not actually any tougher, but stronger, faster, with heightened senses and reflexes. Not to mention the boost to my stamina and how much faster I'll heal.
I'm not exactly sure why I'm so nervous. I had tested the effects of this process numerous times already. Several of the students, after signing long term employment contracts, had gone through the process as had most of my design team.
It makes me wonder if Voldemort had used a similar procedure. Maybe one leaning more towards sacrificial magic. While the boosts there were sometimes greater, they also tainted the body. I have no wish to end up a hairless, noseless, neutered freak of nature. The last especially.
Both Sirius and Hermione had already gone through the same process. Well almost. Sirius was long since past puberty so didn't get as much benefit. And as sexually aggressive as Hermione is I wasn't going to give her the ability to bend steel. Instead she was only about twice as strong as she should be normally.
The process is going to be a huge adjustment for me. Between getting used to my new capabilities and the combat training I've arranged my magical studies will slow down. I suppose I can take my OWLs only a year early instead of two.
The ticking of the clock reminds me I only have so much time before I'm missed. I take a deep breath and begin chanting. From the first word the pain is horrific and for a moment I regretted not agreeing to allow Hermione to use the Imperius on me.
It's how Hermione had managed to complete all the rituals. She was still just too young to have the mental discipline to endure that much suffering and keep moving forward. Her absolute trust in me just made the decision easier.
I, on the other hand, was much older and cynical. I have never trusted someone that completely. If anything Harry's experiences had made that part of me worse.
My recent experiences with the dementors came to my aid. Allowing me to draw on the ruthless part of myself that could ignore a broken arm in order to strangle someone. Even then I had never tried concentrating while on fire, and that is what I felt like I was doing.
I practically screaming out the lines of the last ritual and collapsed afterwards. The pain in my chest is excruciating. Thank Merlin Hermione is here. Hopefully she'll remember to feed me all the potions needed to finish the process.
When I woke it was to the thundering sound of my own heartbeat. Although it took me a few moments to identify it. My first thought was that I had a massive hangover. At least until I realized I wasn't in any pain.
Movement drew my attention and I could see Hermione sitting beside me with a pile of empty potion vials. She said something, but my senses distorted it horribly. I could feel myself adapting though. My mind, so much faster than before, working to adjust my perceptions.
The sound of my heartbeat dulls, fading into the background . Hermione's voice seems to abruptly speed up. "-hurt anywhere?"
I reassure her and then head off to bed. Hopefully sleep will speed up the adjustment process.
My sense of balance is thrown off enough I trip. My reflexive grab crushing a portion of the doorframe. Well it looks like that part of my enhancements worked out. While Re'em blood would have made me incredibly strong it would not have made me incredibly tough.
It certainly would not have made my hands durable enough to gouge out chunks of stone. However I barely felt any pain and looking at them now they're perfectly fine. Already healed. Implanting the Philosopher's Stone in my heart was worth all of the hundreds of experiments and sacrifices I had to go through in order to perfect the process.
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I had gone to bed quite early so I figured I would wake up just as early. After all thanks to Occlumency neither Hermione or I needed more than about four hours of sleep now. And I expect that to go down as we improve.
I figured I'd wake early and maybe pretend to sleep and extra hour or so while subtly testing out my improvements. After letting Hermione 'wake me up' we'd head off.
Instead I woke up almost drowning in pleasure. I could vaguely tell it was Hermione lips wrapped around me, but it wasn't the familiar pleasant warmth. It was magnified into an overwhelming experience.
It was so intense it was all I could do to keep myself from trying to stop her. Only fear that I could hurt her by accident kept me from grabbing her. And then I lose control.
I gasp as my vision clears. That... that was amazing.
I should have have been using a supersensory charm all along if it does this.
Feeling amazing I start to get up when I realize Hermione is laying on top of me. Normally she's already heading back to her room while I recover.
In fact she's been laying pretty still for awhile. "Hermione."
Very gently shaking her reveals a drooling, dazed expression. What in Merlin's name? Legilimence.
Hermione's mind is chaotic. Even more so than usual. Tracing it back leads to a single memory. Linked to a sense? I follow it carefully. It's... taste?
Huh.
That's new. None of the animals I tested the Philosopher's Stones on had a reaction anywhere close to this. Then again none of them gave blowjobs.
A detection spell reveals traces of the Elixir of Life flowing in Hermione's body. Well that's convenient. I guess I won't have to hunt down more stones or periodically cut one of mine out in order to keep Hermione from aging.
Well aging past her prime. I'm really glad my tests showed the elixir won't prevent that much. I've gotten used to Hermione's current age. It does not mean I prefer it.
I wonder if I implant the second stone in my heart I'll generate an even more powerful reaction with Hermione? After all I do have a second heart chamber that pumps red blood. You could even consider it being symmetrical. Although I'd need to get another bottle of phoenix tears if I'm going to use the ritual.
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I forgot a number of important details from the second Harry Potter movies. Well, maybe not important, but annoying.
The first is Creevey. A first year in Gryffindor, he's incredibly rude. He's popped up at least a dozen times just to stick his camera in my face and blind me with the flash of his camera. That's annoying and I'd probably just destroy his camera and move on. But it gets worse.
Every single time Lockhart seems to just appear. Then he drags me off for a teacher student consultation on 'how to handle fame'. I swear he uses the exact same speech too.
So when Halloween comes around I decide to let off some steam.
One of the first things I've done was to set up a basilisk farm. After all their skin is the most magically resistant hide known. Only possibly rivaled by nundu hide. And their venom is equivalent to liquid fiendfyre. And that doesn't even include things like their heartstrings and bones.
Unfortunately they aren't bound. Despite having Salazar's own notes on how to do so I haven't progressed nearly far enough in my studies to try. But since they're only for harvesting I consider it worth the risk.
Not that there is much of a risk. They're being raised inside one of the goblin made trunks so their venom can't eat through the walls. And as for their gaze?
The basilisks, unlike normal snakes, possess eyelids. Although they're completely transparent. They're main function is too block their own gaze so they don't kill everything they come across. And since I had already harvested the skin of the basilisk in the chamber I removed the eyelids to make lenses.
In particular I made lenses for my mask and the rectangular shades a few of my house-elves now sport. The shades were made to match the zoot suits several of my house-elves now wear.
It seems that my elf liberation squad has inspired several of them into following in Dobby's footsteps. I still think it's hilariously ironic that Dobby is considered the height of elvish fashion.
Kreacher, in recognition for his efforts and because of his love of all things dark, is placed in charge of the basilisk farm. He has also taken to training a few of the other elves on how to properly serve as house-elves. After all he is getting pretty old.
He's more than happy to help me with my prank though. I have him sneak out and butcher all the chickens and using their blood paint the message I remember from the story.
Enemies of the Heir Beware. The Chamber of Secrets has been opened.
Then I use Voldemort's wand to place a permanent sticking charm on it. And finally I use parseltongue to convince one of the young basilisks to petrify someone for me. Of course I don't petrify Mrs Norris. She's never bothered me. If only because she's always asleep when I leave my dorm in the early morning.
Nope. I petrify Colin Creevey. The annoying bastard. Finally! No more pictures!
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The next day I felt like whistling as I headed down to breakfast. Even just knowing he won't be bothering me and Lockhart with him, is soothing. Hermione could tell something was up but I didn't want to spoil the surprise. After all, since she was usually with me Creevey blinded her just as often.
Dumbledore standing unexpected. "My dear students. There has been a tragic occurrence. One of you, whom shall not be named out of consideration, was attacked last night. Rest assured we are working to resolve the issue."
Ah. Standard vague reassurance. Classic Dumbledore. I was about to wink at Hermione when Dumbledore continued. "Until such time though I must insist on the following safety measure."
Wait. What?
What followed was a nightmare. Curfews, hall passes, escorts, ghost and painting patrols. It was positively Orwellian! It was basically a prison sentence.
I didn't even have to look over to know that Hermione was almost vibrating in fury. Thankfully she waited until we were alone before saying anything. "Was this what you were so excited about?"
"It was Creevey! How was I supposed to know Dumbledore would overreact like this?"
Hermione then proceeded to tear me a new one. Explaining in detail how the death of Snape and the Malfoys had people running scared. And then the string of pureblood families being killed made it worse.
She really does know me. I was sure I had my Occlumency shields up, but somehow she saw something on my face. It didn't take long for her to drag the whole elf liberation story out of me. I didn't expect the hug that followed.
Listening to her excited babble I realized Hermione wasn't upset. In fact she was excited. She loved the idea of the house-elves fighting for their freedom.
And she wanted to be involved.
Of course she did. Hermione was the one to found SPEW in the original story. I should have thought of that. Between that and her faith in me, she'd probably gladly execute the families herself.
Well, may as well make up for lost time. I introduce Hermione to the squad. While she coos over the uniforms I grant Dobby a new name and a mission. I name him Daube. And I entrust him with Hermione's protection.
I also name him the headelf of the citizenship project. Which is basically what I'm calling the group of individual projects that are focused on creating loyal stable populations to colonize the trunks.
And since Hermione is involved and likes organizing things I start officially naming other projects. The terraforming project was basically what Dobbins was leading. Adding self-sustaining, enclosed ecosystems to the habitats.
I even have a better idea and name for my trunk system. Sure it means I need to buy a lot of extra trunks, but I like the idea. I'm not sure why the goblins seem so reluctant to sell them to me either. You'd think they'd be happy to be making money.
Still, despite the goblins, Yggdrasil is now up. Consisting of the entrance trunk named Bifrost and expanded from six nested branches into nine. Not that I'll need nine anytime soon, but it just wouldn't feel right otherwise.
And in the meantime we continued to spend most of our time in the Room of Requirement. Thank Merlin I had a house-elf in the Room who could just open passages directly to me. I'd have gone insane otherwise. Daube keeps an eye on our rooms. Anyone who enters got shot in the leg. Since Professor Flitwick prefers to give notice of meetings well in advance only a few prefects were hurt.
I ignore the lecture and mention that the prefects was breaking into my private room just for their own curiosity. And since they're not getting punished, next time my defenses will just kill them.
Professor Flitwick is nice enough, but he's a bit too nice. Odd for someone with goblin blood and a history as a dueler. I can understand trusting his prefects, but not protecting them when they break the rules. After all that's part of why I killed Snape.
At least he kicked Lockhart's ass in the dueling demonstration from what I heard. I knew better that to go. I can't wait until Rita's book comes out.
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Christmas is spent with Sirius. Hermione still isn't comfortable with her parents so she spends the holiday with us. When Sirius tried to embarrass me I can't help but grin. I've been waiting for this moment. Hermione is in on it too.
I pull out a book from my pocket. The title clearly reads Karma Sutra and has a suggestive, but not explicit animated cover picture. "Thanks for reminding me. Honey for Christmas I want to try this."
As I start to hand it over to Hermione Sirius sputters for a second before snatching the book from my hands. Hermione's giggles set me off and we both start laughing. It only gets worse when he looks down and sees the book is actually 1001 Pranks.
The break is relaxing. Besides a few small pranks we mostly relax. It was nice not feeling like your constantly being monitored.
The only blip was the fact that we couldn't use Black Island. The seaweed had overgrown to the point it was choking the waters. Which actually wasn't a bad thing from a certain point of view. So I called Dobbins to retrieve the runestones and transfer the seaweed beds into one of the free habitats.
After all a purely internal source of my own organic mulch could only help speed things up. Although Sirius would likely be needed to help set up new trawlers.
The gifts we exchange don't mean much. It was the company we appreciated. Although Hermione did like her first edition copy of Rita Skeets new book, The Life and Lies of Gilderoy Lockhart.
When we got back, we were once again being taught by an auror.