Disclaimer: the characters belong to J.K.Rowling

Chapter X

"Have you talked to Ron lately? How is he enjoying the University life?"

"I went to the Burrow last week. Apparently he and Harry are quite happy there. They do the «marketing tests» for the twins' inventions. Mum lectures them as often as she cam, but I think she's secretly delighted with the tricks shop"

"I can't wait to go on a shopping spree in Diagon Alley!"

She was thinking of all the money she was making now that she was a working woman. For a second, an image of Oliver accompanying her in and out of shops flashed through her mind, but she knew better than that. He was NOT thinking of her that way.

"You're not a Quidditch fanatic, are you?"

"No, it's not that. Well it's that, too, but I'm a bit worried about the Dark Arts class" she lied. *I was fantasising over Oliver Wood* her conscience pinched her. "They actually have the same teacher each year. Very scary!"

"Oh, come on, Lupin is hanging on very well for the last two years" he smiled back at her. *She's so nice. I can't believe I'm spying on her. I'm such a heel! She can't possibly do anything wrong. I should've told Percy to shove this assignment…* but she interrupted his thoughts with one indiscreet remark.

"I feel my powers are expanding" *Did I just say that aloud? What's the matter with me? If Oliver heard this, he'd kill me* "Maybe I'm just growing up" she tried to fix it.

Oliver jumped out of his seat, infuriated. He clung to his invisibility cloak, trying to keep calm.

*She didn't just do that. She and her abilities belong to the Institute. It's not Bill Weasley the one she should run for advice if something like that was happening to her. If she breaths one word about the Valley I'll set her on fire!*

The simple "Lacarnum Inflamare" was on the tip of his tongue. She'd start screaming, running, anything but she'd stop talking!

"What do you mean? Can you give me an example?"

"Not really. My spells work better. They're stronger. Nothing extraordinary. Don't know why I brought it up" *Because you were thinking of the effects the Valley of Men Nefer has on you. I wish she hadn't told me about that!*

"If you feel it, there must be something to it. You're not one to imagine things"

"Yeah… I'm always with my feet on the ground"

Everyone seemed to have an idea about what she was really like. "You're not one to be lost for words" Oliver told her once. Using exactly that loquacity she snowed on the subject in front of Bill.

Oliver advanced carefully next to Hermione and whispered in her ear.

"As soon as the match is over you return to your quarters and wait for me!"

To his satisfaction, she was startled, but didn't disclose his presence there. She just nodded.

~~~~~

Oliver was drinking his tea in a Parisian café trying to calm down and give Hermione time to get nervous. He wasn't sure how was he supposed to deal with this situation. He felt like he was the last person to lecture Hermion Granger, but it was a part of his job. McNaulty made him understand just how important her mission was. They tried to disguise its significance in front of the Egyptians sending a novice witch, but they knew it was more to Hermione than met the eye. She was so much more than an attractive young woman. This label belonged to Oliver. McNaulty probably hadn't even notice she was a woman!

~~~~~

*What does he think he's doing? I don't want to stay and wait for him all day! He should just come and preach me! Like he has anything to preach about. What was he doing spying on me? What gives him the right to tell me who I can talk to?… But he was right, wasn't he? I did do something foolish…I didn't tell Bill about the valley, but I did let something slip…I'll write an owl to Madeleine*

She wrote ten words, then she changed her mind.

" I should talk to her"

She was about to dissaparate when Oliver grabbed her arm.

"It's not a good idea"

"You took your time! I've been waiting for an hour"

"I had some things to sort out"

"Like finding a good reason to explain you spying on me!"

*The attack is the best defence* Oliver smiled inward, thinking of his Quidditch days. "I warned you I had to keep an eye on you. Apparently you didn't understand what it is that you have to do here. It's more than a nine to five job"

"That doesn't give you a right to invade my privacy. I know it was stupid of me to tell Bill something like that, but whom did I have to talk to? You?"

"No matter what has happened between us, your well being is my responsibility. You shouldn't be afraid of me. I know that I can tell you a thousand times I regret it and it won't make things all right. But I hoped you trusted me enough know it will not happen again. If you are sure you can't work with me, just tell me. There has to be a way out of this"

"Did you give me the chance to trust you? You should've been here this morning, not Bill. You should have made me feel it was safe to talk to you. You've always treated me like a burden, like an unpleasant duty. How could I come to you and tell you something as personal as that when you try to avoid talking about the one personal experience we shared. It happened, it wasn't your fault, we have to deal with it"

"And just how are we supposed to do that?"

"I don't know, but we should be friends"

"I thought we were. Obviously, I was wrong. Now tell me about the powers"

"They're increasing. I can do things I couldn't before. I feel it, no explanation, nothing I've read about in books. I think it has something to do with the Valley of Men Nefer"

"Why do you think that?"

"Err… I have a theory. That place is probably a conflux of magical energy. It seems to increase the magical abilities of the people who stay there"

"It's not exactly something new. Professor Snape made a similar remark when he was visiting the site. What are you getting at?"

"Is this the purpose of my being here? To find a source of energy? What happened that story about the Osiris papers? Was that a lie?"

"Don't be so shocked! We're not just a scientific organisation. We'd like to get some profits at the end of the day"

"But this can be misused. If someone like Voldemort…"

"He'd dead. Your good friend Harry took care of that"

"What if someone else comes along and decides to use it for dark magic?"

"So, what are you saying? That the world should stand still, not evolve at all for fear of someone misusing the discoveries?"

"No. I didn't mean that" she felt embarrassed by this common sense argument. "It's just that it would be good to have some guarantees"

"Life doesn't offer any or didn't you notice? Now can you go on about the powers?"

"What did Snape say? He was one of the researchers the Institute has sent?"

"He had about the same theory, but no one put any stock into it, because he was sick as a dog when he came back"

"Nice picture" she grinned maliciously. "Anyway, I noticed that I can do magic in here. I can use the wand and everything. This is supposed to be impossible inside the University"

"I know. Are you sure? What am I saying, of course you are. You should write to doctor McNaulty. I'm not very helpful in this area"

"About Bill…"

The jealousy bit Oliver instantly.

"You might be right. I don't know anything, but my instinct is warning me something is wrong. My instincts are not infallible, I thought Snape was the bad guy when it was actually Quirrel, but it's something odd about Bill. I wonder if you can check him up. You can follow me, I assume you can follow him"

"Does this mean you forgave my invasion of privacy?" Oliver smiled back at her, still awkward to talk to her like that.

"It's not like you're a peeping tom, is it? You were just doing your" (*unpleasant*) "duty. And Oliver" she stopped looked into his eyes when he was ready to dissaparate "about the other thing… Don't worry about it. I know it wasn't you. There is nothing to forgive. It's like it has never happened"

He disaparated in silence, grateful for her words. He was not guilt free and never could be, but he was relieved that she was being such a good sport about it.

~~~~~ Oliver's bedroom ~~~~~

Hermione apparated in front of his bed. Oliver's first reaction was to reach for the wand.

"You're not asleep I see"

He was speechless. She wore the cutest little black robe. Her legs looked amazing in the high heels.

"Accio" she got his wand. "Wingardium Leviosa" and the covers floated away from the bed, leaving him quite uncovered.

Hermione sighed at the sight of his chiselled body. She came closer, sat on the edge of his bed and leaned over to kiss him. Oliver responded promptly, deepening the kiss, unable to control his desire. He wanted her and he wasn't about to waste this opportunity. He pulled her next to him in bed and unfastened her robes. His hand wandered down between her legs.

The pleasure that exploded in her body at that touch woke Hermione up.

"That's all I needed" she said. More fantasies about him…"

She took a book and read herself to sleep.

~~~~~

Thank you for the compliments. They're always welcome.

About the spelling of "magi", I took in Elle's suggestion and changed it into "med-jai". I hope I did it in every chapter.

It's a funny thing about that, when the idea of the African magical community came along in my story, I just tried to use another word for wizard/witch, so I used the plural of "magus", so, "magi". Only when I read her review I realised I inadvertently borrowed the concept from the film. No wonder it fitted so well in the story! I only used "The Mummy" for the feel of the place, since I've never been to Egypt and I read very few things about it.