Bookworm's Books

Chapter VII- Șapte

A/N: I've been busy, yada, yada, blah, blah, excuses, excuses, but I'm a legal adult now (here in America), so that's cool too! If only my ma could have waited a few more hours I could have been a St. Patrick's Day baby…but there's not much I can do now is there.

Enjoy.

Hermione and Astoria made their wayinto their Defense against the Dark Arts (DADA) class taking up a desk near Professor Lupin's desk. The class continued to trickle in, almost seemed to flood the room in the last minute before the late bell rang out, and then still some stragglers dashed in.

Coming to stand in front of his class, Remus Lupin smiled at all the tired looking young witches and wizards that sat before him. "Good evening, everyone!" looking at the non-enthusiastic bunch Remus continued, "Alright, well class I would like if you all would divide into two lines, Slytherins near the window. Gryffindors the other side of the room if you would" splitting the class in half. "Recently we've been studying Boggarts, and their shape shifting along with fear and laughter affects them. Peters! Ginx! You two are first"

The Gryffindor and Slytherin walked closer to the teacher's platform where two large rattling trunks appeared. Drawing their wands both boys looked quite apprehensive about the whole situation. "Wands at the ready" and with a flick of his own wrist Remus opened the trunks. The trunk, nearest to the window, creaked open. A large, hulking, man that looked very similar to Peters removed himself from the trunk.

On the other side of the room a large snake slithered from the dark depths of the chest. "Riddikulus…" Steven Ginx's weak phrasing did nothing prevent the snake from closing in on him. A whimper escaped the Gryffindor as the snake started to coil around his body.

Peters was faring much worse as apparently Mr. Peters, Clarence Peter's father, turned to the ash-white Slytherin.

"You will join the dark lord's ranks if I say you will!" Clarence's meek obedient head nod did nothing to deter his boggart-father from continuing, "you worthless disappointment of a boy! Your mother would be sickened by you!"

A slytherin girl gasped holding her hands to her mouth as one of her friends asked her if she was alright, she only responded with a quiet, "His mother was killed in the first war".

"No!" Clarence's father only laughed in his face, "and she had such high hopes for you….what a pity." Clarence lowered his head down, ashamed.

"Riddikulus!" turning their heads away from the sad scene of the Peters' family males, the class looked to the other side of the room where Ginx's snake had turned into a fake pink feathered boa scarf. Stepping in front of Peters, Ginx yelled a second Riddikulus and the burly Mr. Peters warped into a small muggle monkey toy banging on a drum.

"Very good Mr. Ginx, Mr. Peters! Nott, Longbottom, you two next" Theo and Neville took the places of their house mates, watching as the boggarts morphed into their fears. Hermione was curious if Neville still feared Professor Snape, or if his had changed since third year.

The shape of the boggart closest to the windows grew long, wavy, dirty blond hair along with curves and the most beautiful deep blue eyes Theo had ever come across. Theodore Nott's boggart was Astoria Greengrass. Astoria gasped across from Hermione, all she could offer her friend was a weak smile.

"Me? Go out with the likes of you! Ha! You disgust me, Nott. I'd rather spend my time with a blast ended screwt than be with you for five minutes. I mean when you have such cute friends such as Blaise, Draco, oh and then don't forget Neville; Sweet, kind, bulked up, Neville." Boggart-Astoria laughed rang through the class room. "You're nothing compared to them"

'Astoria' had started to circle Theo as he stood rooted in place. "You're a man-whore, Theodore! What respectable witch would be caught dead with you? Who could love someone as dumb as you? You have no back-bone. You're a little boy trying to play a part in a man's world"

"Theo! Say the spell!"

The teary-eyed young man raised his wand at the boggart, "Riddikulus!" and the Astoria's look-a-like started bocking like a chicken every time her mouth opened.

Turning, Theo locked eyes with the one person who he was trying to avoid in that very moment, she only looked back at him with utter shock written across her face. "I…I-yah" breaking into a run and sprinting to the door, flinging it open Theo ran. Ran as far from the DADA room as he could.

"Professor, I"

"Go, Ms. Greengrass." Remus smiled understandingly at the eighth year, before she turned on her heels and fallowed after Theo.

Neville's Boggart experience went by fairly quickly as the once upon a time pink boa turned into, Hermione winced, Bellatrix Lestrange. But as soon as Neville saw who it was he yelled a loud "Riddikulus" and the once feared Death Eater started to dance like a pretty ballerina, which in turn got a laugh from the class.

As more kids went to face their fears some failed, most succeeding, Hermione realized many fears involved the war. "Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger" stepping up the Head Boy and Girl looked at one another before gripping their wands tightly. The class and professor waited with baited breath as the boggarts multiplied.

Draco's boggart split into two figures, then three. Draco watched on in horror as he looked to see his aunt Bella along with his mother, and a bushy haired brunette.

Hermione had quite a few more people-boggarts. Neville, Astoria, Pansy, Blaise, Luna, Ginny, Ron, Harry, the twins, the Weasleys, Mad-eye, Kingsley, Remus himself, Sirius, Theo, Tonks, and at the very end was Draco. Bellatrix stood over Hermione as she had become chained to the floor, wand still in hand.

"Tell me you stupid mudblood or I'll be taking care of your little friends" the psychopath cackled. Bellatrix asked question, after question, after grueling question, and Hermione had repeatedly refused her, so as a result Bellatrix killed each of Hermione's friends and loved ones. At this point Hermione had crumbled to tears.

"Are you really going to allow your friends to die for you, mudblood?"

A whisper barely escaped Hermione's mouth, "Riddikulus"

"What was that, mudblood, I couldn't quite hear you!"

"RIDDIKULUS!" All of the look a likes started to tango instantly. Watching Neville and George tango was an overly funny scene.

"Come on Draco. Do it!" whispering in his ear, trying to tempt him. His aunt lurked behind him; luring him to the dark.

"Please Draco, the Dark Lord will kill me if you don't" Draco didn't need to look to his mother's copycat to know it was pleading.

"Look at her! Finish the mudblood off!" Grabbing Draco's head, Bellatrix made him look at a withering Hermione, her dull grey eyes looking back at him. Wait, Hermione didn't have dull grey eyes, she has lively brown orbs.

"Riddikulus!" gasping for breath, Draco went to sit with Blaise at the desks located at the back of the classroom.

"Draco? Mate. Why'd you take that long?" Blaise handed Draco a cup of water. Who gladly accepted it with a garbled thank you.

"What are you talking about?"

"Man, your boggart was formed for at least twenty minutes"

"What?" The blonde's eyes widened.

"Yeah, even professor Lupin was about to intervene"

As the rest of the class finished facing their fear look a likes, Remus resumed standing from his lounging against one of the desks. "So, class how do you all feel?" circling in front of his students as they all lounged against, sat, upon, or stood against their own desks. The variety of responses that Remus heard made him chuckle.

"Remus, those weren't boggarts"

"Really? Well why would you think that?"

"They talked, Boggarts can't speak"

"Very good, five points to Gryffindor"

"So what were they?"

"They are Bogans. Similar to a boggart but more…mature. They take your deepest darkest fear and inflict it upon you to scare you to death. They can speak and touch you as if they were real. And like a Boggart they recede at laughter that's why we use the same spell."

"What's the main difference between a Boggart and Bogan?" A tall ebony skinned girl from slytherin posed the question.

"Ms. Levy, a boggart transforms into your fear. Take Mr. Ginx's fear for example, a snake. A Boggart will merely transform into one where a Bogan will coil around you. Mainly they project a scene or scenario and include you in it, making you watch your self do things that you wouldn't do otherwise." Remus smiled at the tired and drained class. "Next class I want three feet of parchment on the research of Bogans and compare and contrast them to Boggarts. Along with the effects they have on people who've encountered them." With complaints and groans from everyone Remus dismissed the class.

The Great Hall

"Alright children, please take your seats"

The class took their seats at their newly placed desks, Charlie and professor Mortem took a place at the raised platform. Remus cleared the platform to a dueling area.

The class talked excitedly about their two professors dueling. Hermione almost burst out laughing when she heard two girls talking about the ever "hulking and so muscular professor Weasley".

"Professor Mortem and Weasley have agreed to help me demonstrate wordless dueling. I'm aware some of you have already been in acquaintance with wandless and non-verbal magic, but I know you haven't mastered it yet. So shall we begin?" the blond witch and ginger wizard nodded their heads, taking their stance.

Bowing at the waist both teachers turned abruptly and moved to their end of the platform striking odd stances.

"When you two are ready to begin" stepping closer to professor Mortem, Charlie cast a spell non-verbally, easily. With a quick wave of her hand Professor Mortem blocked it, and quick like lightning countered with her own and another two after that one. Charlie blocked the first two but the third one got him in his shoulder. From his shoulders up Charlie sprouted feathers.

Charlie's face held a look of mild horror as he clutching at his head where once a lush mop of ginger locks had been. The class's laughter died down slightly as they watched their potions professor walk closer to their care of magical creature's professor.

"She looks scary" Hermione turned and looked to the girl behind her, Claire McKinnon. "Look at her she's going to eat him! I can't believe McGonagall would let a beast like her in this school." Claire's hotly arrogant voice carried.

"I could take her" A talk built boy, Andrew Terry, "I bet she's never even dueled a real wizard before, just some yank-savior wannabe." The group in front of the two almost burst into laughing fits from the duo's sheer stupidity and lack of brain cells.

"TERRY! MCKINNON!" Hermione turned her head along with their portion of the class who had been listening to Claire and Andrew. "You two. Let's have you put your magic were your mouths are" looking back to the pair, Hermione almost fell into stitches at how big their eyes were.

"Well professor, we-"

"It was not a request. Up here, now!"

The two older students made their way through the throngs of people up to the makeshift stage. Charlie left the stage heading toward Hermione, Pansy, Blaise, Draco, and Neville.

"If their lucky she'll hand them their arsess whole" laughing Hermione magically plucked the chuckling Weasley.

"Thanks" slinging his arm around Hermione Charlie lowered his voice for only the small group could hear him. "She could drop both of them dead before either could form a spell in their minds. She was a Death Eater you know"

The looks Charlie was receiving made the ginger quark a brow, "are you all really that surprised?"

Hermione always the first to answer replied first, "well that explains a lot"

"Care to share with the commonly dim, Granger?"

With a glare sent to Draco, Hermione proposed her hypothesis, "honestly long sleeves, wears black, her knowledge on the dark arts, her past, and her age slots her with the older ranks of death eaters, her loyalty to Snape. Come on! None of you got that?"

"Ahhh" as if all the light bulbs above their heads turned on, realization dawned on the group.

"That's why she looked familiar"

"Care to share with the commonly dim, Malfoy?"

"My childhood home was the Dark Lords headquarters. I've seen many a death eater walk through those halls. Mainly Voldemort's inner circle, Professor Mortem was one" Draco's brow scrunched in concentration, "Voldemort fancied her, as in really fancied her. I use to think her crazier than aunt Bella because she'd challenged him. She was ruthless and intelligent…and she had this drive, this passion I just couldn't understand. I can't believe I didn't recognize her sooner! She's the one who aunt Bella absolutely hated! She was taking Voldemort's attention away from her it really ruffled her feathers." Neville snickered.

"Are you telling us Old Voldy had the hots for Professor Mortem!?" Everyone wrinkled their noses while trying to decipher between grossed out, horror, or amusement.

"Ew, can we just not, please. I've only just eaten and would like to keep the content of my stomach right where it is!"

"AH!" flying over the platform, Andrew was headed straight for the cobblestone floor. Mid-flight, Andrew was stopped and levitated gently to the ground.

"Lupin!"

"He's a student Winnora!" Professor Mortem only glared in response as he flicked her wand at the concentrating Claire. Flashes of purple and yellow flared across the expanse between the two witches.

In a bright blue light bubbles emerged from the professors wand, Claire in her confusion, hesitated, which gave Professor Mortem the perfect window to land a jinx strait to the girl's chest; resulting in her landing right on her rump.

"I would stay put, son" Charlie set a heavy hand on Andrews shoulder, preventing him from getting back up onto the platform.

"Weasley let me go." Andrew bit out glaring at his professor. Charlie had reached forward and pulled Andrew next to him, "Alright, let us fight" Charlie only shook his head in amusement at his student. "Detention for a week for refusal to comply" Smirking Charlie looked back at Professor Mortem; Claire had been escorted off the platform.

"Surprising your opponent is, key. Such strategy can give you the upper hand. Never assume anything of your opponent. Observe, learn and counter. If you know their moves, their rhythm your job just got a whole lot easier."

Remus who stood on the stage next to Mortem continued, "Dark magic isn't the only type you can use in duels, though it is most common. A broad knowledge on magic is always helpful, even a charm as simple as wingardium leviosa can help you gain an upper hand advantage." Smiling at his students Remus had everyone pair up.

"So…Hermione fancy being my partner?"

"I-"

"Sorry Weasley, she's mine. Right, Hermione? It's you and I against the world, right little one?"

"May-" a flash of gold shot between the two men and hit Hermione, "what the-" Hermione's chocolate tresses started to shimmer into long, strait, and blond tresses; which didn't complement her livid expression to well.

"I think she'll be mine, right Love?"

"Love!? LOVE! Don't you love me, DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY!" with secession with her rant Hermione sent curse after curse after hex at the smirking blonde.

"Did anyone else find the hilarity in that sentence?" the group only nodded in both agreement and amusement; breaking off into pairs to duel, themselves.

By the end of dueling club, Hermione had purple freckles spotting her skin, Draco had ginger hair and freckles, Theo had a score mark on his bum, Astoria had jelly for her arm bones, and Blaise had bursting boils all over him.

Laughing the group headed to the hospital wing for Astoria and Blaise. After turning them over to Madam Pomfrey and being ran off by said ward of the hospital wing, the rest of the group headed back to their dorms.

"Hermione, can I ask you something?" Draco looked over to Hermione as they approached the moving stair cases. She looked back at him with such sincerity; it slightly took his breath away.

"When you are ready to talk, I'll be here to listen" Her smile in one word? Infectious.

Draco looked on ahead, as their previous silence remained, not until they had come face to paint with Lady Morgana did Draco say anything.

"Good evening, Lady Morgana" the beautiful lady smiled lovingly down at them, a hint of concern gleamed in her indigo depths at Draco's curt and courteous greeting. "Good evening children, password?"

"Destinies intertwined" a simple nod and her portrait swung open for the two heads to enter.

"I'm going to change into my jammies; I'll meet you in your room, yes?" Draco nodded numbly; His slim figure disappearing into the shadows of his room.

Quickly Hermione scurried into her room to change into her long black pajama bottoms and a slytherin Quidditch jumper she'd nicked from Draco's wash a few months back. Tying her hair back, out of her face, Hermione exited her room, stopped in the bathroom to brush her teeth, and entered through Draco's joined door. Hermione simply crawled onto Draco's bed and waited for him to finish getting ready for the night. Draco had been in the mist of changing when she entered, and after their night terror evenings together they became very comfortable with one another.

After stripping down to only his boxers, Draco joined Hermione on his bed.

"I'm all ears"

"Do you think I'm worth forgiving?" looking over, honesty rang in the scrunch of her eyebrows and the purse of her lips.

"I've forgiven you, if that's any consolation" She took a breath, "But for everyone else, Draco? I'm not sure. I've seen all sides of you where others have not. Can you be cold and calculating, most definitely! Are you a leader and an intellectual? Absolutely. You were a scared child once, we all were. Now that Voldemort is dead people need someone to blame, a face to scorn, so that they feel like they are fighting against evil because they did nothing when evil was knocking on their door stoop. You're worth forgiving Draco, no doubt, but you need to forgive yourself before you'll let anyone else forgive you." Hermione ran her fingers softly through the Slytherin's blond locks as she spoke to him.

"I'm sorry" Weakness was not something Draco Malfoy showed often, even to Hermione. Though they had become very close over the time they spent together there was always a sector Draco that he still kept hidden from Hermione. In that moment Hermione felt like Draco opened an old door to his soul only she was lucky enough to enter.

"I forgive you"

"Thank you, Hermione" leaning down she placed a soft peck to his temple, before slipping under the emerald sheets to tuck into bed for the night.

"Anytime, Good night"

"G'night" Sleep clouded their mind and propelled the two young adults into slumber.

Yeah got to admit, it's been awhile.

Hope you all enjoyed.