Chapter 11
Precious Tomes
"Come on, wake up!" An impatient voice prodded, accompanying it with a little nudge.
Hermione groaned and turned over, snuggling down in her covers and trying to escape the pounding in her head.
"None of that!" The voice said with a little laugh, and Hermione suddenly felt her covers yanked off.
She curled into a little ball, whining piteously at the cold air that rushed up to meet her and the increased pounding in her head the sudden movement caused.
"Open your eyes and sit up and I'll make the pain go away..." The voice said temptingly.
Hermione whimpered. She cracked an eye open, but quickly shut it again as the light around her seemed to stab through her aching brain like an ice pick.
There was an irritable huff. "Looks like you're going to make this difficult."
Hermione felt herself being shifted around, then propped up. She felt the cool end of a small bottle pressed against her lips. She clamped her mouth closed, trying to squint her eyes open again. She wasn't about to let someone force some unknown substance down her throat!
Much to her amazement, it was Litty sitting there on her bad, cradling her and trying to get her to drink. She furrowed her brow. Why would she be trying to help her?
Litty eased the bottle back. "Fine. If you want to go down to see McGonagall in this state, feel free not to trust me. She's given you ten minutes."
Hermione let out a piteous sound. She struggled with the decision, then reluctantly opened her mouth. Litty emptied the little bottle into it her mouth and Hermione swallowed. The liquid was rather pungent, and tasted oddly crisp.
Litty then unceremoniously flopped her back on the bed, but surprisingly it didn't make Hermione's brain throb with retaliatory pain as she expected. Slowly the aching started easing back and her mind began clearing.
She felt a piece of cloth hit her, followed by several more. "Come on then! Shift your arse! Haven't got all day!"
Hermione tentatively opened her eyes again, finding some of her clothing draped across her. She struggled upright, trying to get her bearings. Litty was just straightening up from next to her own trunk. Hermione watched her curiously as she came back over holding an odd little, perfectly clear perfume bottle.
"Close your eyes." She said briefly before holding it out.
Hermione had no choice but to comply as the girl immediately began spritzing her liberally. She held her hand up, guarding her face. "Cut it out!" She said, still feeling a bit groggy.
"Oh Please! You smelled like a brewery!"
Hermione's eyes widened and she quickly sniffed herself. She sniffed another part. She was oddly odorless. Was there something wrong with her nose?
"Odor neutralizing potion." Litty said, dangling the bottle before her in explanation before going over and tucking it away again. "If you're going to be making a habit of coming back to the room in that state you might want to invest in some. That and the hangover cure. Of course you're good with potion making, so you might be able to make that yourself. You can get the instructions from pretty much any Slytherin..."
She came back over, flopping down on the bed. "So tell me, were you at the party? Cause I don't recall seeing you there..."
Hermione blinked. "Huh?"
"The party in Slytherin Dungeon last night. I got there not long after you left, but it was going until the wee hours so I suppose I could have missed you. Weren't off in one of the other rooms by the time I got there, were you?"
"No!" Hermione replied immediately, the implication of what she would have been doing in said other room quite apparent.
"Well good, because that would have been daft."
Hermione blinked in surprise. Litty was the last one she would expect to say something negative about shagging! "Thought you said I was in serious need of... that..." Hermione said curiously.
"Oh you are. Merlin knows you could use it! I just think that it would be stupid and wrong to do that just because of one bitchy cow! You should shag because you want to, not because you feel like you have to! It should never be forced upon you. Especially your first time." Hermione thought she saw something flash through her eyes at that, but Litty turned her head away before she could be sure, appearing to glance at the clock. "So!" She said a bit too cheerfully as she looked back, a smile firmly in place, "If you weren't at the party, then how'd you get in this state? Don't know of anyplace else you would be able to get your hands on liquor round this tight-laced place, let alone Goyle's special blend... it has a pretty distinctive bouquet..."
At the sound of his name Hermione's eyes shot wide as what had happened came back to her in a rush. Her cheeks flared brilliantly. "Um... Goyle's special blend?" She asked with a tone of innocent curiosity, getting up and starting to change to cover her embarrassment.
"Ya. Guess one of his ancestors spent a good deal of his life searching for the ultimate liquor. Goyle stumbled across his still in a hidden room couple summers ago. That, along with the old lush's journal gave him a pretty good start, but believe me, it's come a long way. A few summers of nothing better to do can produce pretty impressive results. He's even got different varieties. Smells like you got ahold of some of the more recent stuff. Pretty brilliant, isn't it? Unless you want to stay upright that is!"
"He's not even old enough to purchase the hard stuff! How can his parents let him go about making it?" She asked in surprise.
"His father's a bit preoccupied of late..." Litty said with a smirk.
Hermione suddenly remembered his father's current 'occupation'. Of course he hadn't been around to keep his son out of mischief. "What about his mother then? Surely she's not a Death Eater too!"
"Oh, don't ever utter such a comment around Gregory!" Litty said, shaking her head and chuckling. "Girl or not, he'd give you a right fine pasting!" her smile slipped, her expression sobering a bit, "She died. When he wasn't much more than a baby. Killed in a skirmish a couple months before You Know Who went down... It wasn't a planned battle, or she never would have been there. Innocent bystander killed by an errant curse cast by a Death Eater. Absolutely crushed his father. That's how they caught him... he was just sitting there on the street, cradling her dead body in one arm, little Gregory in the other... Didn't put up any struggle... they even let him keep Gregory with him until a relative could come to get him. Probably also why he got off, even with as vehemently as they were going after those who were caught. Guess they could all empathize with having lost a loved one to the war. I saw the article in the old Daily Prophet archive in the Library. Bloody heart breaking. His statement in court was so short they quoted it in its entirety in the Prophet. It was surprisingly eloquent actually... he summed it up with the simple statement that his allegiance died with his wife, and left it at that... wouldn't say another word. Just sat there with a deadened look in his eyes. The trial was held before You Know Who fell. He was taking a mighty big risk, if you ask me... saying such things while that bastard was still around and powerful. They let him go by an unanimous vote, but after a near successful attempt on his life when he tried to leave, he and Gregory had to remain in protective custody. Had to stay there until the old snake bit off more than he could chew and fried himself trying to snuff Harry. I was dead shocked when that snake took him back after that, but not as shocked as I was that he actually went back to him in the first place!" Her eyes looked a bit far off for a moment, then she shook her head, forcing the smile back onto her face. "Besides, Gregory is old enough now. It was his seventeenth birthday yesterday. That's what the party was for."
"Oh..." Hermione said softly. She kept putting her clothes on distractedly as she mulled that over. That it had been Goyle's birthday was surprising enough... why had he been so sad on his birthday of all days? They had even been throwing him a party, and yet he had chosen to hide away in the kitchen instead of being surrounded by his friends?
Still, what drew her mind most was his father. Why would he have gone back to being a Death Eater if he had turned his back on Voldemort? They had even tried to kill him! Could he have been lying back when he was caught? Could the failed murder attempt have been staged? But if he was faking it, why hadn't he simply fled with his son before they could catch him? If it happened before Voldemort fell then it wasn't as if he were simply lying to get out of trouble like the other Death Eaters did after Voldemort's downfall. Surely there's no way he could have seen that coming. Nobody had seen that coming! Besides, what possible ulterior motive could he have had to renounced his 'Lord' so long as there was a chance Voldemort might exact vengeance for the betrayal? Litty was right, it was a terrible risk. From the sound of it he just happened to luck out when Voldemort fell before getting to him! She would definitely have to look for that article sometime. She hadn't even realized they had an archive of old Daily Prophets! Then again, she didn't feel they were worth reading when they were current, so why would she have suspected anyone would actually keep the things around for some reason? Of course Muggle libraries often archived the local newspapers, so it shouldn't have been that surprising.
She furrowed her brow as she fastened up her pants, only belatedly realizing she'd been given proper undergarments. She went over to her trunk, which Litty had left open. Her knickers and bras were neatly folded and stacked in their proper place. "Finally gave them back proper, did she?" Hermione asked darkly. "Still, I doubt I've seen the last of her little pranks."
"Probably not... but I doubt you'll have to worry about that for a while at least." Litty said mysteriously with a little giggle, "Now let's get you down stairs before McGonagall comes up looking for you. Whoa!" She said quickly as Hermione took out her wand to do up her bed.
Hermione looked up at her in surprise, "What?"
"Have you used that wand since the little scene in the Great Hall yesterday?"
Hermione thought hard. She'd been sorely tempted when she'd seen Lavender's little 'decorations', but she hadn't then... and Goyle had cast the cleansing spells. She quickly shied from that thought. Her mind still couldn't seem to wrap around what had happened. She'd never thought about doing anything even remotely like that before! She must have been exceedingly wasted! Perhaps a bit of those bloody aftereffects as well... at any rate, she'd just as soon forget the whole thing happened. She should probably just put Goyle and Zabini out of her mind entirely. She wondered if there was any chance the boys had been wrecked enough to have forgotten? She could only hope... She looked up and realized Litty was still waiting for an answer. "Oh... um... no, I don't think so."
Litty beamed. "Brilliant!" She flicked her wand at Hermione's bed and it made itself up immaculately. "Come on. Let's not keep her waiting."
Hermione was puzzled as to why that would please her, but she followed her out. She didn't want to keep McGonagall waiting after all. She couldn't for the life of her think what the woman would want her for. Even if she'd somehow heard about the mortifying undergarment incident, she would just be after Lavender, wouldn't she?
Her eyes widened curiously as the common room came into view. There were an awful lot of students sitting around... in fact, it looked as if the whole House was there! McGonagall was handing the wand back to a seventh year girl. The girl took it and went over to where her friends were sitting and they started talking quietly. Despite McGonagall's quite serious and obviously upset air, the overall atmosphere in the room was light and almost amused.
Hermione approached McGonagall as the others looked over at her. Colin Creevey grinned at her brightly from where he stood beside the upset professor, holding his camera expectantly. "Your wand please, Miss Granger." McGonagall said primly.
Hermione handed it over, looking over at Litty in askance. Litty was just watching the wand with an expectant look on her face.
McGonagall held both Hermione's wand and her own, touching their tips together. "Prior Incantato." She recited solemnly.
Hermione finally understood why Litty had been so interested in when she had last used her wand. From the tip of her wand blossomed a plume of mist that rose up, forming into a completely naked Lavender Brown just under half a meter tall, hugging herself in mortification. All the gathered students started trying to stifle giggles and snorts of laughter.
Hermione blinked away stars as there was a sudden flash of light.
"Mr. Creevey!" McGonagall said in a disapproving voice.
"But you said to take pictures of them all!" Colin said quickly in his defense. "For evidence in case of legal actions. We definitely need a picture of Hermione's!"
McGonagall sighed and nodded. "True." She said, looking disapprovingly at the slowly revolving Lavender.
Flash!
"Mr. Creevey! One should be sufficient!" McGonagall snapped reprovingly.
Colin lowered his camera, peeking over it. "Just getting the other side..." He said with a little grin. "Um. I'll go get these developing..." He said quickly as McGonagall's expression darkened, obviously not amused. He scampered off before she could scold him.
"Oh Honestly!" McGonagall said, shaking her head and dismissing the spell. She handed the wand back. "Well I must say I'm relieved it wasn't you." She muttered softly to Hermione, but then she turned to the other Gryffindors without explaining. "If any of you find out any more about this matter I expect you to come to me straight away! Your identity will be kept in confidence of course, so you needn't fear retribution."
The woman sounded firm, but Hermione got the definite impression that the announcement was no more than a formality. She didn't really appear to expect to find whatever she was looking for.
"Professor McGonagall?" Hermione asked quickly as the woman turned to leave. She turned back. "What's this about? What happened?"
McGonagall's brow furrowed. "You don't know?" Hermione shook her head. "Where were you last night?"
Hermione went suddenly very pink. She should have realized that if she missed something that was obviously of high importance she would be asked that question. "I... I was in the kitchen." She admitted, hoping to get away with a half truth, "I know I really shouldn't have been out that late, but Lavender was trying her hardest to goad me into attacking her again so I'd get in trouble, so... well I just left. I knew she couldn't follow me after curfew since she wasn't a Prefect. I didn't come back until very late. Everyone was in bed already." At least as far as she knew. The place had been dark and that's about all she remembered. She hadn't been paying all that much attention at the time... She probably wouldn't have noticed if the whole House had been up so long as they weren't standing between her and her bed, actually...
Surprisingly, McGonagall didn't look inclined to reprimand her for the abuse of her Prefect privileges. She just nodded. "That was probably a very good choice on your part. Unfortunately, it doesn't look as if you were the only one she was goading last night. Miss Brown is currently in the Hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey estimates it will be several days before she can leave at the very least. She was hit with numerous hexes, jinxes and curses. It's so bad we can't even properly tell how many spells there were or even how many people were casting. We very nearly had to send her to St. Mungo's. We may still have to if we can't figure out how to counter them properly."
Hermione's eyes had gone wide. "Will she be ok?"
"We believe so. None of the curses appear to be life threatening. Just vexingly difficult to unravel as intertwined as they've become. It's... not pretty." McGonagall said, shaking her head morosely.
"Oh..." Hermione said softly.
"Well, I had best get back to helping Poppy." McGonagall said, obviously girding herself. She gave Hermione a curt nod, then left.
As soon as the door was closed and sealed behind her, the students broke out into laughter and loud, excited discussion. They were all also frequently glancing over at where Harry, Ron and Ginny were sitting by the fireplace. Harry and Ron were sitting on the love seat, Ginny perched on the arm beside her brother, all looking thoroughly pleased with themselves. She made her way over to them.
She surveyed their beaming, slightly mischievous smiles as she came to a stop before them and found she didn't even have to bother asking. She was horrified that they would do such a thing just because someone had insulted and taunted her... it was just wrong! So why did it make her feel so warm inside? She couldn't fight the little smile that slipped onto her lips.
Harry reached up and pulled her into the little space on the love seat between him and Ron. She was quite surprised when she felt his arm loop around her. "We were so worried about you. We wanted to go look for you, but we had no clue where to start. Ron even went and searched the Library. It was the only place we could think of."
Hermione's cheeks brightened. What if they'd found her? That would have been horrific! Still, why hadn't they been able to find her? It should have taken no more than a single glance at the... "Oh!" She said, covering her mouth, "I forgot to give you back the map!" She said, keeping her voice low, "I'm sorry!"
He grinned, "At least you're alright."
She reached to get the map, but then realized she hadn't put her robe back on. "I left it upstairs."
"That's alright... as long as you don't run off in a huff past curfew again before giving it back." He added with a little squeeze.
"I won't." She said, abashed, then looked up, keeping her voice quiet, "But you shouldn't be breaking school rules just because of something silly like that!"
"She hurt you." Harry said simply.
Hermione looked over at Ron and Ginny. They nodded in agreement. The solidarity meant more to her than she'd ever admit.
Ron leaned closer, whispering in her ear, "Oh, and the little tentacles growing out of her face... that was Neville!"
Hermione's eyes darted over to the shy boy standing a ways away. Seeing her gaze, he gave a bashful smile, then dropped his eyes and hurried away. She beamed after him. She knew he was a lot braver and more loyal than most people thought, but still... she never would have expected it of him.
"We should have realized something was up when Seamus wanted to play cards." Ron grumbled, "I mean he had a new girlfriend! He should have been out snogging her in the common room or something!"
Hermione darted a glance around the room. "You didn't do something to Seamus too...?" She asked worriedly when she didn't spot the boy.
"Na." Harry assured her. "He's just visiting Lavender. He said he had no idea why she wanted us kept in the room and we believed him. He wasn't too thrilled with what she'd done either. Ginny said it didn't sound as if Parvati was even in on it, and she and Seamus didn't try to stop us after Litty told us, so we left them alone."
Well at least they'd kept their retaliation to the one responsible. "Still... you really shouldn't have..." She paused as the last part of what he had said registered. "Litty?"
"Ya." Ginny said, "She came and told me after she went down and saw what Lavender had done, then she went and got the boys. That evil little bint might have actually gotten away with it otherwise."
"Don't worry." Harry said, anticipating her next objection, "She's no worse off than what we did to Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle on the train after last term..."
"Oh that was bloody brilliant!" Ron piped in with a laugh. Harry chuckled as well. It might have been Hermione's imagination, but Ginny's smile and concurring nod looked a bit forced.
"Besides," Harry continued, "We weren't daft about it. We all cast some innocent spells before they thought to check anyone. They can only check the very last spell cast after all. Not to mention that no one here is going to tell after seeing what Lavender did! No one wants her feeling she can do something like that to another Gryffindor without fear of retribution! Might be them she targets next!"
"But still... what if Lavender tells them who did it?" Hermione asked, worried that they were depending so much on everyone feeling as they did on the subject. Not everybody was trustworthy, and Lavender almost certainly wouldn't feel such an attack had been justified.
"She won't!" Ginny said without a hint of doubt, "Not if she knows what's good for her!". She grinned evilly, slipping a tiny vial out of her pocket and showing it to Hermione covertly before slipping it back away. It was pretty apparent that the crimson liquid it contained was blood. She didn't have to ask who's it was.
> > > > > > >
They spent all the rest of Sunday together. Most of the time was spent lounging about under their favorite tree near the lake, just reminiscing and chatting about inconsequential things. The boys had of course done a bit of flying, showing off some for her and Ginny. Afterwards Ron and Harry, obviously still rather high spirited from the adrenaline rush of their flight, had gotten into a playful argument about who was stronger, which had resulted in a wrestling match. It had been quite some time since Hermione had seen them be so openly playful, and only once during their stay at the Burrow the summer before fourth year could remember seeing them go so far as wrestling! After nearly ten minutes, Harry managed to pin Ron (though Hermione suspected Ron had let him) at which time he raised his arms in triumph, pronouncing his superior strength. Ron seized the opportunity to tickle him mercilessly. Harry of course fought back fiercely until both boys were laying there, reduced to a limp, hopelessly giggling heap of tangled limbs. It had been just like old times... and yet at the same time, they felt closer than they ever had before. It was just one of those absolutely perfect days that you pray would never end.
Of course it eventually did. Much later than it should have for a school night, but much too soon for Hermione's taste.
The next day, Lavender's little 'mishap' was still the main topic of discussion. Surprisingly, Hermione hadn't heard anyone bandying about the names of those responsible even once. She was still incredulous that such an incident could possibly be gotten away with.
In Charms class that morning, Flitwick had quickly given up trying to talk over the whispered conversation and just gave them a charm to practice. It had been a rather fun class overall.
Come lunch time, Hermione was still practically glowing. Lavender was nowhere to be seen, she was being left alone, she had all her clothing, and she'd gotten to enjoy an absolutely brilliant day with her best friends.
She saw Litty sitting alone when she reached the Gryffindor table and decided to be social. She didn't usually see a lot of people sitting with Litty other than Shandra, who hadn't arrived yet. She was surprised that more of the boys didn't chose to sit with the girl. She would think Litty would be very popular as much as she'd gotten around.
"Hi." She said as she took a seat.
Litty glanced up in surprise from the old tatty red book she'd been looking at. Well, it appeared to have been red at one point anyway. It looked positively ancient, the edges of the pages yellowed and dog-eared, the fabric on the cover worn through on the corners, little threads sticking out here and there. She was curious as to what it might be, but Litty leaned it up against her chest to obscure it as she looked over at Hermione. "Oh... hi." She said quickly, obviously surprised that Hermione would chose to sit beside her.
"I never got a chance to thank you."
"For what?" Litty asked, furrowing her brow.
"Well... a couple things actually..." Hermione said, surprised the girl seemed honestly baffled, "For telling the others when Lavender was..."
Litty waved that off before she could even finish, "Oh don't take that personal! She was being a wretched cow! I'd have taken her myself, only I doubt anyone in this bloody House would back me. Well, other than Shandra, but she wasn't there."
"Still... Thanks." Hermione said persistently, "And thanks for helping me out Sunday morning. I shudder to think what would have happened if McGonagall had found me in that state!"
Litty grinned. "No problem. I might need someone to mop me up next time! More than likely, actually!"
Hermione smiled, "Sure."
As Hermione settled in and started looking around, waiting for the others, or at least the food to arrive, Litty went back to her book. Hermione glanced over as she saw the girl dip a small quill in some ink and begin writing in the book. Hermione frowned. She didn't approve of defacing books. She shifted back slightly under the pretense of looking towards the door for the boys, covertly catching a glimpse of the page Litty was on. The only thing on the page was what Litty was in the process of writing. Oh. It appeared to be a journal. She dismissed her qualms, glad she hadn't said anything to the girl about it. She flashed her a smile, pretending to be paying attention to the student arriving as Litty glanced at her to make sure she wasn't peeking. She shifted the side near Hermione up a bit more, but went on writing.
After a few minutes, Hermione brightened as she saw the boys. She waved them over. Litty caught the movement and followed her gaze, then closed the book and ducked down under the table for a moment before sitting back up, minus the book. She then just casually capped her ink and tucked it and the small quill into one of her robe pockets.
Hermione looked her over as the girl tentatively glanced over towards the approaching boys. Her cheeks were ever so slightly pink, and Hermione vaguely wondered if she had been writing about one of them. She watched as Litty darted her eyes back at her plate, pretending to be interested in the food that had just appeared on the tables as Harry looked over at them. Did she fancy Harry? That might help explain why she was willing to help get Lavender back for what she'd done.
As she watched the boys approach, her eyes strayed over to the Slytherin table and she spotted Nott. She wasn't the only one who had noticed Litty's peculiar behavior. Hermione couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the boy as she saw the barely veiled sadness in his eyes. She barely knew the boy, and couldn't recall a single civil conversation with him, but it was rather obvious, even to her, that he quite fancied Litty. She couldn't understand the fierce anger the girl held inside over her betrothal. Yes it was terrible and unthinkable to be forced into a relationship against your will... but it could have been much worse, now couldn't it? At least Nott seemed to care about her. At times, the thought of a prearranged marriage sounded almost tempting. It would at least take off a bit of the pressure, now wouldn't it? And if it was to a reasonably attractive boy who fancied you... well, it sounded a damn sight better than having the very real possibility of winding up alone. Every time she took brutally honest stock of the boys around her and the likelihood of any of them ever turning out to be someone who would truly understand and love her... the more she realized that she had a very real chance of winding up just how the girls had described... a lonely old biddy with a house full of cats. Heck, she already had her first cat!
Nott caught sight of her watching and quickly looked away. Hermione sighed. Things got so complex once you hit puberty. She rather missed the days when who fancied whom never even crossed her mind. Just having friends used to be more than she could ever hope for. Now she had already started feeling the need to find someone... someone who was much more than a friend. She was truly beginning to think that hormones were some kind of subtle curse.
"Hey!" Harry said, jarring her from her contemplation, his hand brushing her back as he took the seat beside her. "Sorry we're late. Just going around making sure everyone on the team knows about practice tonight. Bloody Slytherins booked the pitch for all the good time slots for the entire bloody month. Talked McGonagall into letting us sign up early for some prime times for next month though."
"Slytherins won't like it much when they find out about that!" Ron said mirthfully and they shared a laugh.
"Don't be too hard on them, Harry!" Katie Bell called from a short ways down the table, "I fancy they need a spot more practice than we do!"
That brought another round of chuckles.
"Eat up!" Harry said to Ginny, spotting how little she'd put on her plate, "You're going to need your energy for practice!" He then glanced over at Hermione, "Had to wedge the practice between last class and dinner. Bloody nuisance! Ron might just fall off his broom from hunger if we run late."
"Don't you worry." Ron said with a smirk, in the process of putting about a hen house's worth of drumsticks on his plate, "I'm taking that into consideration and taking the proper precautions!"
Hermione just smiled and rolled her eyes as he dug into his food with gusto. She didn't know who he thought he was kidding. No matter how much he ate now, he'd still be starving by dinner time. She chose a much more moderate selection for herself. In fact, she was very glad that Harry was sitting between them, otherwise Ron's gorging might have put her off her food entirely. She had no idea where he put all that food in that thin body of his. He was like a human incarnation of a banishing bin!
"You know you're free to come watch!" Harry said, patting her leg under the table.
She blushed, though his hand didn't linger and he didn't appear to think anything of the somewhat overly familiar gesture. "Um... thanks, but I have some reading to do for Ancient Runes, and besides, it looks like rain."
Harry gave a little snort and nodded, "Wonder if the Slytherin's found a way to schedule that as well." He muttered, taking a big bite out of a chicken wing.
She looked over as Litty got up, wrapping a sandwich she'd just assembled in her napkin. "Leaving so soon?" She asked in surprise.
Litty blushed slightly as Harry and Ron looked over at her as well, dropping her eyes, but just shrugged. "Just remembered I have to finish a paper before class. Besides, does it look like I eat much?" She asked with a little smirk.
"Ok..." Hermione said. She wondered if it had been a bad idea to sit by her. She was almost certain that Litty didn't have any afternoon classes on Monday, and she knew for sure she had no morning classes tuesdays until Defense. She felt a little pang of guilt, pretty sure Litty was just making excuses to leave. She looked up as Litty started walking away. "Hey! Don't forget your school bag!" She called after her.
Litty turned back, "I didn't bring my bag."
"But then where'd you put your book?"
Litty's cheeks were getting a definite pink tinge and she could have sworn she saw her eyes dart over to Harry for a split second. "I don't know what you're talking about. You must be mistaken. I didn't have a book."
Hermione furrowed her brow, then looked under the table. She looked around, but hers was the only bag anywhere near them. "But you were..." She said as she sat back up, but trailed off as she saw Litty disappearing out the door.
"Problem?" Harry asked.
"Guess I was mistaken." Hermione muttered distractedly. She was definitely going to have to see what was up with that girl later.
"Probably just stress." Harry said with a smirk, "I'd be in a right state too if I had an afternoon with a bunch of bloody Slytherins in a dark dungeon ahead of me."
Hermione's eyes darted over to him, then she let out a groan. "Thanks for reminding me!" She muttered morosely.
"Any time." He replied with a snicker, going back to his food.
She ate her own food quietly. The boys remained quiet for a while as well, intent on sating their hunger. When their ravenous consumption finally began to slow, they started discussing Quidditch again. Hermione found she wasn't really in the mood to pretend to pay attention. The thought of double Potions fast approaching was disconcerting. She was going to be stuck in the dungeon for a double period with Goyle, Blaise... and worst of all, Snape. She wasn't sure she was even going to be able to look him in the eye after that dream.
She tried to shrug off the anxiety that was settling over her. She glanced over at Harry and suddenly remembered the map. She'd totally forgotten about it! She reached into the pocket of her robe... but it wasn't there. She furrowed her brow, looking the robe over more closely. She was pretty sure this was the robe she'd been wearing, but then again they all did look pretty much alike. Well, running to fetch it would be a good distraction for her at least.
She got up. "Sorry," She said as the others looked over at her, "Forgot something in my room. See you later!"
They grinned and waved, going back to their food and conversations.
She made her way past the Slytherin table, having to force herself not to look. Snape hadn't been back in the Great Hall since Saturday evening, but she hadn't really expected him to be. She certainly hoped he was resting and taking care of himself as he'd promised Dumbledore. She quickly pulled her thoughts away as they started dwelling on Snape again. She'd never had a dream like that about a professor before. Ok, admittedly, she'd dreamt of kissing Lockhart, but never anything further! Of course she'd been a bit young to be thinking much further than that back then...
She was surprised to find herself starting up the spiral staircase to her room already. Her mind must have been wandering more than she realized. She quickly got it back on task as she entered the room. She didn't have a whole lot of time before she'd have to get to Potions. She certainly didn't want to give Snape reason to take points off! She was worried enough about how to get that book back to him without him thinking she'd stolen it. It certainly wouldn't help if he was already vexed at her when the time came to try to explain it to him. She hadn't even thought about how it would look when she took it. She just wished she'd had a chance to finish it... she hadn't gotten much time to read since leaving the hospital wing.
She searched around, locating all of her other robes and searching them thoroughly. Nothing. She furrowed her brow, trying to think. She'd definitely had it on her when she spoke to Dumbledore... She'd been looking at it periodically, watching for Snape's return... She'd had the bath, the row with Lavender... she tried mentally retracing her steps, trying to figure out when she would have taken the map from her pocket and where she might have put it. So far as she could recall, the last time she'd looked at it was just after lunch on Saturday, after which she very clearly remembered returning it to the inside pocket of her robe. Surely she hadn't lost it?
She felt a little sick feeling blossoming in the pit of her stomach as she started searching through her trunk, even though she knew it wouldn't be there. That was very important to Harry, one of the few things he had of his father's! How could she have been so careless as to lose it? Her stomach gave a little twist as she remembered the kitchen. She hadn't been exactly careful with her clothing... and in fact, Goyle had carried her about wearing only her robe! It could have fallen out anywhere! Had she even wiped it? She couldn't recall doing so! What if someone found it and took it? Or if she had wiped it, they might think it a old, spare bit of parchment and have thrown it away, or even tossed it in a fire!
She tried to fight down the panicked feeling that was rising in her. She took a deep breath in through her nose and breathed it out slowly through her mouth. It calmed her a bit. She thought it over logically. She pulled out her wand, closed her eyes and concentrated, "Accio map!"
She waited.
And waited.
"Accio map!" She repeated, the trickle of panic trying to surface again. She waited a few more minutes then sighed piteously, her eyes getting watery. The only reason that wouldn't have worked is if it had been destroyed or was in someone else's possession. She couldn't think of what to do in either situation. She let out a little tormented sound as she looked at her clock. She had to hurry if she was to make it to Potions on time!
She snatched up her bag and shouldered it, then at the last moment remembered her foraging bag and snatched that up as well. She quickly pulled out her Charms book and tossed it on the bed, then paused, catching sight of something. She pulled out the tatty old red journal. So that's where Litty had hidden it! She contemplated leaving it on Litty's bed, but then thought better of it. She'd trusted Hermione with it, and she wouldn't want someone else reading the girl's private journal if they found it lying about. She'd just give it back to her next time she saw her. She dropped it back into her bag, then stuffed the foraging bag in after it as best she could. With the anti-crushing spell on the bag she didn't have to worry about the leaves getting damaged.
With a feeling of great frustration she hurried off out the door. She'd just have to think it through and figure out what to do about the map later. Perhaps she should go to the library after class. Was there something that could show her its location so she could find some other way to get it back? Was there a summoning charm stronger than Accio? Or perhaps a way to increase its power so it could retrieve it even from someone else's possession? She knew Accio could in fact do that if it was cast within a certain proximity of the one in possession of the object so long as they weren't holding it too tightly. Then again, if there was a stronger spell why hadn't Lucius Malfoy used it to get the prophesy from Harry in the Department of Mysteries?
Another subject to avoid dwelling on. It was getting so there were more subjects she avoided than liked to think about. She definitely had to think up some good subjects for contemplation to occupy her mind.
She hurried down the steps into the dungeons, a bit out of breath, but hopeful that she might actually make it in time. She slowed to catch her breath a bit as the door came into view.
"Granger." A deep, familiar voice called softly as Hermione passed an alcove.
She started to turn, but there was suddenly someone pressing full up against her back. Her eyes widened in surprise and darted down as an arm slipped around her, pulling the side of her robe open a bit as another arm wrapped around the other side, tucking a large bit of folded parchment into her inside breast pocket.
"You should keep better track of your valuables, Granger..." He whispered mischievously, his warm breath filtering through her frizzy hair to tickle her neck as he let his fingers 'accidentally' trail over her breast.
As quickly as he'd appeared, Goyle slipped away, strolling past her and into the Potions classroom without so much as a glance back. Hermione's eyes quickly darted around, relieved to find the hall abandoned. Well, so much for the hope that they had been too wasted to remember anything! She sighed miserably, then opened her robe, pulling the parchment out and unfolding the first fold. An almost dizzying wave of relief washed over her. It was the map!
She stared down at it in amazement. She hadn't cleared it! She opened another fold and saw the tiny, neatly labeled dots slipping around on the map and realized just how lucky she was that he had found it and decided to return it... she was just shocked that he had! It was readily apparent what a strong magical object it was, and he'd known it was valuable... and she now knew for a fact that he was anything but daft... why hadn't he kept it for himself? It wasn't like he could go get one of his own. To her knowledge it was a one of a kind.
She cringed as the bell rang. She quickly wiped the map and tucked it back away, hitching her bag back up from where it had slipped down to the crook of her arm and hurrying into the classroom.
"You're late, Granger. Five points from Gryffindor." A sneering voice said the minute she stepped into the classroom... but not the voice she expected. She stopped dead in her tracks. Snape was nowhere to be seen... and Draco Malfoy was perched on Snape's desk with one leg drawn up beside him, the picture of casual repose.
"Well, take your seat! Or would you like me to take another five?" Draco asked with a wicked sneer.
Hermione glowered at him, but hurried to take her seat.
"As I was just explaining to the students that arrived on time," He said pointedly, "Snape's a bit indisposed at the moment, so I'll be demonstrating the drying and preserving spells..."
"Shouldn't a proper teacher be showing us?" Hermione asked, breaking in.
Draco let out a little irritated huff, glaring at her. "Dumbledore has given Snape leave to tend to his classes as he sees fit. Since I've been dealing with potion ingredients since before you ever even set eyes on a wand, he felt I could manage these paltry little spells. If you wish to challenge his authority, he should be stopping in near the end of the lesson, so I suggest you do it to his face! It would be much more entertaining for the rest of us!"
Hermione bit her tongue, chafing at the forceful reminder of her magically ignorant childhood.
Draco smiled back. "Well now. In answer to the questions I'm sure some of you will be asking next," He said, staring pointedly at Hermione, "Let me remind you that I am a Prefect, and in addition currently fall into the category of teaching assistant, and therefore I can and will take points off of Houses and assign detentions as I see fit for those of you who don't wish to take me seriously!" He then smiled again, looking them over, "But you'll find I'm easy enough to get along with so long as you show a bit of respect. Raise your hands, keep it polite... just like with any other teacher. Now lets get down to business, shall we? Take notes. I don't like repeating myself."
Hermione wanted to smack that superior look off his face. She just gritted her teeth and got out her quill and parchment.
Draco slipped off the desk and went over, putting instructions on the board. He then went on to demonstrate the method used to magically extract the moisture from the leaves directly into specially made bottles without even uncorking them. He had done this to a good two dozen leaves in moments, half filling the small bottle and leaving the leaves looking perfectly dried.
"As you can see, this method results in very little to no exposure to the plant's extract. The airborne particles we encountered while gathering our Damiana came from the living plants themselves, and therefore won't be an issue. Furthermore, unless you're holding the leaves hard enough to bruise them, you shouldn't have much skin contact exposure either. Let me make this very clear before any of you try this: if you do anything daft like opening and spilling one of these bottles, your male classmates will be most displeased with you! After the little incident in the Forest, they've decided that any male who has incurred any substantial exposure to Damiana will be immediately treated. Translation for those of you slow on the uptake, you get enough of this in you to pitch a tent, you take a pill. No ifs, ands or buts. Oh, and if you expose everyone, Blaise will kick your arse!" He added with a smirk.
"Too right!" Blaise chimed in immediately as many of the other students chuckled.
Hermione shot a glance over at him. Blaise didn't show any outward signs of his ordeal. She wasn't sure what she expected... but it just seemed like there should be some difference in him after he'd so narrowly escaped being brutally raped. He looked completely at ease though. He was half slumped back in his chair as usual, and she could see his hand resting casually on Shandra's upper thigh under the table.
"Well, looks like we have a couple of students missing today, so let's mix it up a bit..." Draco said, eyeing the students present.
Hermione looked around. There was one empty desk, and Tracy Davis was sitting alone at the desk just behind Hermione. Lavender was of course gone... as were Steven (her partner) and Kevin (Tracy's partner). Hermione hoped they were both still in intense pain, though with the available magical remedies she doubted it. In fact she couldn't even figure out what had been done to them that would require them to miss even one class. Perhaps they were skiving off for fear of further retribution? Hermione wasn't usually vindictive by nature, but she certainly hoped they had good reason to fear. What Goyle had done to them, while it did look extremely painful, hardly seemed adequate to fully punish them for even thinking about doing that!
"Davis, if you would take the seat by Goldstein. Goyle, you come down and take my seat."
Hermione's eyes shot wide, then darted over to Goyle. He did as he was told, getting up and grabbing up his things, then making his way down to the seat beside her as Tracy Davis took his vacated seat.
Goyle didn't even glance over at her as he settled into his spot. He just set his notes, ink bottle, quill and foraging bag on the desk and looked back up at Draco attentively.
"You each have four bottles. If you need more you will come up here and see me. I will be keeping track of them, and this spell only works in conjunction with these particular bottles, so don't even think about trying to smuggle any out! Get to it!" Draco said, settling down behind Snape's desk and setting about his own work.
Hermione tried to keep her mind on her task, but was having little luck. She was so distracted she couldn't even get the spell to work correctly. When she waved her wand at her leaf, it just withered a bit, no more than a rather small drop of liquid appearing in the bottle. She tried a couple more times, getting increasingly frustrated. There was a bit of liquid in the bottle now, but the leaf, far from being properly dried, looked far too dark and rather like it might start molding at any moment. She banished the limp leaf before anyone else could see how pathetically she'd done on it and grabbed up a new leaf.
She started slightly as a large hand closed over hers. She looked up in surprise to see Goyle giving her a little smile. He slowly moved the captured hand as she had been for the spell, but then adding a tiny flick right at the end. Without a word, he released the hand and went back to his own work. She could see a little pile of over a dozen perfectly dried leaves already before him. She just watched as he cast again. The leaf he aimed at thinned and curled, the liquid dutifully appearing in the bottle before him.
Her cheeks burned as she glanced around. No one seemed to have seen at least. She glanced back over at Goyle, but he didn't appear to be paying her any more attention. Unlike in regular Potions classes, most of the students had started chatting softly amongst themselves. That was usually something Snape would have put an abrupt end to, but Draco didn't appear to care. She looked over her notes and winced as she saw, in her very own handwriting, instructions to add a sharp flick at the end. She cast again and the spell worked exactly as it was supposed to, dehydrating the leaf as the liquid level in the bottle increased the proper amount.
She did a couple of more leaves before hazarding a glance back over at Goyle. He was just working diligently away... but there was a slight smile on his lips. She stared studiously back at her own leaves, going back to work.
As time progressed, the noise level gradually rose until the other students were talking in normal voices, not even bothering to whisper anymore. Draco had finished his own work in short order and was looking through a book as he waited for the others to finish. She wondered if he was having to refresh his memory on the preserving spell, but as he turned the page she was a bit disappointed to see a drawing of a dragon. She already knew the preserving spell quite well, and she'd been hoping to have at least something to one-up him on.
"Need any help?"
She looked over, startled though the voice had been soft. Goyle was watching her, and as she glanced at the table before him she saw that he had already finished with his own leaves, though he appeared to have at least a third again as many as she did. She glared at him, not deigning to answer. It really chafed being shown up by Goyle of all people, even if she now knew he wasn't as daft as she had previously thought.
"You could just say no." He muttered.
"No." She said shortly under her breath.
"Don't be like that." He said softly.
She looked over and saw him looking at her with a sad, somewhat hurt expression. She quickly looked away as it sent a twinge of guilt through her. She glanced over as Blaise got up. He went up to Snape's desk to get another bottle. It was pretty obvious he was just using it as an excuse to chat with Draco since he only had perhaps a dozen leaves left to do, and if he'd have filled the bottles he had just a bit fuller he would have been able to get by with the standard four bottles easily. She watched him for a moment to make sure he wouldn't be heading back too quickly, then glanced around. The desk behind them was of course empty, and at the desk next to it Davis and Goldstein were sitting rather close to eachother and looked pretty preoccupied with their own conversation.
"Why are you being so obvious?" She muttered worriedly.
He furrowed his brow at her. "No one saw me help you, and no one's paying any attention anyway."
"And I suppose it's just coincidence that Malfoy had Davis take your spot and sent you down here though your own partner was still present, instead of just having Davis move down next to me."
"No, that was a personal request. In Slytherin we do eachother favors now and again. Is that such a foreign concept?"
"You told Malfoy?" She asked, looking over at him sharply, her eyes widening.
He gave a soft chuckle, then leaned a touch closer, dropping his voice more, "I wasn't the one asking the favor. I'm just the one who didn't mind moving out of the way." He said, inclining his head slightly towards where Davis and Goldstein were sitting. As she looked again she saw that they'd gravitated even closer still, now brushing against eachother and shooting eachother little smirks as they worked.
"Oh." She said softly. Now that she thought about it, she vaguely remembered Draco saying something about seeing Davis and Goldstein in an alcove...
"I didn't tell anyone, and I'm not planning to. Like I said, what happens there stays there."
She looked back at Goyle for a long moment, then dropped her voice. "Thanks." She muttered grudgingly, "For giving that back."
"Sure." He said with a little negligent shrug.
She glanced over again, "But that doesn't mean... I mean what happened..." She trailed off, her jaw working soundlessly as her cheeks flushed, not sure how to phrase what she was trying to say.
He gave her a little smile, "It's ok, Granger." He said, keeping his voice studiously low, "I didn't figure you'd be all that inclined to hang around me much once you'd sobered up. Then again, if you ever get the inclination again, you know where to find me."
"I don't plan to." She replied a bit too quickly. She studiously kept her eyes on what she was doing, not wanting to see that hurt look in his eyes again. He really had been rather sweet, but that didn't change the fact that he was a Slytherin!
"Ya... well... just saying..." He said softly with a little shrug. She flinched at the little hint of sadness that had crept into his voice again, though he was obviously trying to mask it.
She took a deep breath and sighed it out, careful not to blow the dried leaves off the desk. "Listen, it's nothing personal... I just... I just don't do things like that! If anyone were to find out about what we've already..." Her throat closed up with mortification and she couldn't even think about vocalizing what had happened between them even in vague terms. She still couldn't believe what she'd done. At least it hadn't gone any further than it had. She didn't want to even think about what it would have been like to go the rest of her life knowing that her first time was with a Slytherin! And on a bloody kitchen table for Merlin's sake! Never in her life had she even contemplated such a thing! She took another breath, forging on despite her embarrassment, "I mean Harry's one of my best friends! I just... I can't... I'm sorry..." She finished morosely.
"It's ok." he muttered, sounding a bit dejected, "Honestly. I get that a lot. I'm not exactly the type that anyone wants to be seen with."
That pained her worse than if he'd replied with a scathing remark. She knew that feeling all too well. Her bookishness and tendency to flaunt her knowledge had meant she had endured a rather lonely childhood overall. Before taking up with Harry and Ron she hadn't really had many friends. Other children her age hadn't wanted to be seen with her. The few that did occasionally hang around with her (though usually only in private) had just wanted her help with their own schoolwork and hadn't really cared about her. She'd known that deep down, though she chose to ignore the fact at the time. It made her ache inside to think she was turning out just like those cruel, snobbish children who'd snubbed her just because of their preconceived notions about her.
Goyle glanced surreptitiously around, then back over at her. "Do you think... maybe..." He begin in a soft, tentative voice, "We can talk sometimes? Where no one can see us of course..." He quickly added as she glanced up at him. "It's just... I don't really have many people I can really talk to. I shouldn't have told you as much as I already have... but since I did..."
She glanced over at him, seeing him watching her with a little hopeful look on his face. The corners of her mouth curled up a bit, though she fought it, glancing around again before answering. "Maybe." she conceded softly, flashing him a little smile. She found she was quite taken with the idea in fact. She gleaned so much insight from their last little conversation about things that were previously far beyond her comprehension that the prospect of more such talks was very alluring. Already her mind was starting to team with questions she'd like to ask him. Who knows what kind of insight she could get into the minds of pure bloods, and more specifically, Death Eaters. It went beyond the simple desire to gain tactical advantage in the war... this was knowledge that she'd never had access to before!
He fought off his own smile, but his eyes glinted happily. She had said maybe. That wasn't a no.
As she watched him, she couldn't believe she had ever thought of someone with such deep, expressive eyes as dim. Then again, she couldn't remember ever seeing his eyes so clear and open before. She went back to her work, studiously finishing up as Blaise reclaimed his seat.
Blaise had the rest of his leaves dried in moments. Hermione just watched him in covert glances. On the pretext of looking at her notes, she leaned a bit closer to Goyle. "He's surprisingly chipper today... considering." She whispered.
Goyle's eyes quickly darted over to her and he gave her a little shake of the head. He doodled absently on the bottom of his notes parchment until Blaise leaned over and started whispering in Shandra's ears, then shifted down, picking up his school bag that had been laying on the floor between them. He pretended to look through it as he whispered very softly to her, "Don't say anything to him. He doesn't remember."
Her eyes widened. "He doesn't remember?" She whispered back incredulously.
Goyle gave a slight shake of his head, then glanced over to make sure Blaise was still engrossed in Shandra before whispering to her again, "He's had blackout drunks a time or two, but never this complete. I don't know how much liquor he managed to get down him, but he doesn't remember a bloody thing. He seems to have blanked it entirely. That's probably best, so let's keep it that way."
She would have objected, but Draco chose that moment to close his book and look around at the other students to make sure they were all done. "Alright then," He said, sitting up and tossing aside his book. "The Preserving spell for the liquid is spelled into the bottles, but the leaves need the separate spell. If carefully stored, these would last perhaps a year or two without the preserving spell, which would technically be good enough for them to fulfill your purposes for this class, but with it they can be stored for decades or longer without degrading noticeably, so lets preserve them just for the jollies anyway, shall we? Unlike the drying spell, if you gather up your leaves into a little pile you can spell them all at once..."
He went on to show them the spell. Hermione cast it without much bother, having mastered it before. When she was done, she went to the cupboard to fetch a spare jar in which to put the finished leaves, queuing up behind the others who had gotten there before her. As she was selecting a jar from the shelf she noticed the conversations around her drop off suddenly. She turned to see what had caused the sudden silence and very nearly dropped the jar she'd just picked up.
Snape was walking down towards his desk. His pace was still much slower, but his carriage seemed almost as meticulous as usual. She should have realized he would be arriving shortly. It was the end of class, and Malfoy had said he would be by. Now she had to start thinking again about how to return that book. Perhaps she could wait and simply slip it into his desk? But what if someone else found it and took it? Besides, he was probably there to seal up the wards on the room after the class, so he was unlikely to leave her in there unsupervised. She dropped her eyes as he reached the front and began surveying the class. She hurried back to her seat and began filling the jar, trying not to break the brittle leaves.
"Did they give you much trouble, Mr. Malfoy?" He asked with a little smirk.
"Na." Draco said dismissingly, "I just laid down the law and most of them fell into line right nicely."
"Most?"
"Yes, well Granger started off by immediately questioning the wisdom of having a student teach them. I told her to take it up with you when you got here."
"Is that so?" Snape asked, eyeing Hermione.
Hermione fidgeted, studiously not looking up.
"Something you'd like to discuss with me, Miss Granger?"
Hermione's cheeks burned. "No, sir." She muttered in a barely audible voice. Why hadn't Malfoy just kept his mouth shut? She glared at him as he started clearing up his leaves and supplies with a smirk on his face.
"I believe it is the professor who should be appraising the aptitude of the student, not the other way around."
Hermione remained silent. She could think of nothing to say right now that wouldn't invite the taking of points or assigning of detentions.
"For example..." He said smoothly, "If I, as a professor, were to ask you, the student, if you knew another name for the plant known as Astralgalus."
Hermione looked up, meeting his gaze. Now being quizzed she could handle. "Astralgalus is also known as Huang-Chi." Hermione replied at once.
"We shall be using this herb later this semester. Any idea which potion it would be required for?"
"It is most commonly used in healing draughts. Healing drafts are the subject of chapter seventeen, and therefor will most likely be covered this semester.." she replied, quickly warming to the subject.
"Indeed. And would you happen to know if this herb has ever been successfully enhanced?"
"Its enhancement proved problematic, as it is already a rather strong herb. There is only one known enhanced variety, created by a wizard named David Friedman who was able to more than double its strength for healing, though at the cost of the metabolic benefits."
Snape gave her a little smile. "I see. Very informative. Thank you, Miss Granger, that will be all."
She glanced over as Draco looked up at her sharply, his eyes going wide. He glanced at Snape's neutral expression, then a gave her a little sneer and shook his head, going back to finishing up his work.
What had that been about? Snape usually kept on until he'd tripped her up or found a way to take points off of her or the like. He'd never once to her recollection thanked her for answering, let alone asked so few questions! And why the bloody Hell was Draco looking so smug?
Then it dawned on her... she'd read about that in Snape's book. She'd never seen any mention of the enhancement anywhere else. She looked at Snape, noting how he was watching her. She felt like smacking herself for her own stupidity. She'd just all but announced that she was the one who'd taken the book! She couldn't believe she'd fallen into his trap so easily. She didn't bother hurrying as she finished her cleanup.
The bell rang.
"Leave the bottles on your desks and since you don't yet know the precautions needed to utilize the leaves, don't be daft enough to try meddling with them. You might get a rather rude shock if you do." Snape said as the other students all grabbed up their things. They started chatting amongst themselves once again as they began filing out.
Hermione didn't bother getting up. She just sat there, distractedly casting a vacuum-sealing charm on her bottle of leaves before slipping it into her bag. What would be the point? If she tried to leave she had no doubt he'd call her back in front of everyone. Best to just quietly stay behind and avoid the public embarrassment.
When the last of the other students had filed out, Draco slung his bag over his shoulder. "Would you like me to stick around?" He asked Snape.
"No. Thank you for your assistance today, but I think I shall be able to handle this on my own." Snape said, still watching Hermione.
"You sure? You're not supposed to be overexerting yourself, and I'd be more than happy to curse her for you." He offered brightly.
Snape smirked at him, but just waved him off.
Draco sighed dramatically. "Fine."
Hermione just stared at her hands as Draco left, closing the door behind him.
Snape walked over to her and held out his hand. She reached down into her school bag, quickly retrieving the book. She stared at it for a moment, then looked up at him. "I wasn't trying to steal it. You just left it there... and I... I didn't think it would hurt anything to just read a bit... and then I fell asleep and when I woke up Harry and Ron were there and... I mean what would they have though if they knew I had your book?"
He lowered his hand when she didn't give him the book right away, resting it on the desk, covertly supporting himself a bit with it. He felt much better than he had after his little 'meeting' with Adrian, but then that wasn't saying much. Even he had to admit he still had quite a ways to go. "I suspected it was you who'd taken it right from the off." He said, amused to see the embarrassed blush tingeing her cheeks. She always seemed to blush so easily. "To be honest, I hoped it was."
Her eyes darted up to him in surprise. "Why?" She asked before she could stop herself.
"Because... if it had been you, it would have been taken out of that insatiable curiosity of yours... not with the intent of theft... and you have a respect for books that I find depressingly rare in students. Had Potter or Weasley gotten ahold of it, for example, I quite imagine it would be propping a window open or lining an owl cage right about now. I knew that, at the very least, if it was you who had taken it, it would be safe..."
She blushed brightly. "I can see why you would worry about it..." She said, her thumb brushing the soft leather of its binding affectionately. "I've never read its like. It's far more detailed and informative than any other book I've ever read... it just seems to draw me in. It's not cold and impersonal like most texts... it... well it's more like the author is talking to you, telling you about these things than just reading it. Once I started, I just couldn't stop until I'd fallen asleep..." Her bottom lip trembled nervously. She couldn't believe she was going to ask this, especially of him, but she couldn't just not ask! "I know it's a lot to ask... especially since I took it without asking before... but... you see I haven't had the chance to finish it... so I was wondering..." She took a deep breath, girding herself, then quickly asked, "Can I keep it? For... for a little while longer I mean." She added quickly, realizing how brash that sounded, "Just until I can finish reading it? I read really fast and I'm already a little over half way through it, and I would take very good care of it and I swear I'd return it right away when I'm done and..." She reigned herself in as she realized she was babbling. She took a deep breath and let it out. "Please?" She asked softly, looking up at him imploringly.
Snape felt a little tightening in his chest as he looked down into her wide, pleading brown eyes. He had to look away. Perhaps it was because it was almost painful how much she reminded him of himself when he was her age... He knew that passionate hunger for knowledge that glinted in her eyes all too well. It had gotten him into more than his fair share of trouble. He could well imagine that the prospect of losing such a book before partaking in all it had to offer would be a terrible wrench for her.
Still, she obviously had no idea what she was asking. She had no inkling of how distraught he'd been when he couldn't find it. That book hadn't left his possession for longer than she'd been alive! For her to expect him to just hand it over to her was completely preposterous. Besides, where did this impudent slip of a girl get off asking him for favors? He'd saved her life, very nearly at the cost of his own, and she thanked him by stealing his most cherished possession, then when she was caught she asks if she can borrow it? He'd never encountered such outrageous cheek. He steeled himself and looked back into her eyes. If anything, they were even larger than before, staring up at him beseechingly. She was lightly biting her bottom lip as she awaited his answer. It was a habit of hers that he'd noted before, something she did whenever she was particularly anxious.
He took a breath, "Fine." He said, then quickly covered his own shock at the word that seemed to have emerged unbidden from his own lips. He looked away from the brilliant smile that immediately sprang to her face as she almost seemed to light up with pleasure and relief. He'd never been on the receiving end of one of her smiles before. He wasn't sure how to react to it. "I expect it back no later than class on Thursday." He said, trying to make it sound as if he'd meant to agree. Then he looked back at her, "Just know this... that book is very important to me. Don't make me regret entrusting it into your care." He would normally have followed that up with a threat to insure the valuable item's safe return, but he couldn't seem to make himself utter one with her beaming at him like that.
"You won't!" She said quickly, grabbing her bag and shouldering it as she all but sprang up. "Thank you so much!"
His eyes darted down as her hand covered his own where it rested on the desk. Her cheeks went scarlet and she snatched it away as she realized what she'd done. She hugged the book to her, avoiding his gaze. "Thursday." She said with a nod, then quickly hurried out of the classroom.
Snape just watched her go, trying to figure out what had just happened.
> > > > > > >
A/N - I've started answering some questions in my forum, but there are already spoilers for Flight, so if you haven't read Flight, I wouldn't suggest checking it out. For those of you who have read it and are interested in the forum, I believe you just look in my profile and there should be a link to my forum up near the top. As long as you're looking at my profile anyway, you could always read the notes at the bottom of the profile as well :) For those of you who didn't get the 'inside joke' at the end of the last chapter, it was in my profile author's notes near the end of the first paragraph covering chapters 1&2.