A/N: So it turns out vacation isn't the best time to catch up on writing after all. At least not when you jam pack your itinerary like I found myself doing. And so I missed an update! I've been playing catch up all week since I've been back. I think I may miss a couple more what with the holidays coming up, but I'll try to write ahead and avoid that happening. That being said, I do hope you like this chapter! Time at the school is winding down and then the action really picks up. *averts eyes shiftily* I hope you enjoy the ride C:

Oh! One more thing. I found some awesome Harmonies on portkey. Omgosh, there are so many on there and LIKE I NEVER KNEW! The Harmony section of my recs is so tiny and sad (mostly because I don't read very much fluff), but that's changing and its growing! I'm adding them as I see them to my fic recs on Tumblr under the Harmony section, but I've been enjoying a lot and if you have time you should totally sift through them. My fave so far has been The Truth About Love by Bingblot (a Regency Magical AU), but there are so many others. I had an 11-hr car ride so this came in so handy, ha. Happy reading y'all.

LeanaM is the bestest eva! Thank you for reminding me to breathe Xx

Shout out to the reviewers: Ayr, SereniteRose, ahhrreader, LightofEvolution, lynettecullen, Forthwith16, tacitblue1973, R-E-B-E-C, storybook thumb, smos, Black Banshee, happiness8000, Capecodcanal, JKIsMyQueen, JuliSt, avidreader30, OnlyHHR, pawsrule, PilyMiriam, surviversp, mega700201, ImpSlap, Tinee Dancer, Isebas, Lucy Greenhill, I was BOTWP, BunnyTheGrandSorcerer, betagamma, Cheryl, New reader, HH, Pharies, Spazster, Saphireanime, PersonOfManyInterests, Arendora, and the guests!

~oOo*oOo~

History of Magic was a joke.

Still taught by the ghost of Professor Binns, and still largely ignored by the students.

It was just another excuse to congregate in groups at the tables based on social stature and listen to gossip.

Harry sat rigidly between Malfoy and Hermione, attempting to appear impassive as his closest friends spoke excitedly about Christmas break.

"Draco," Pansy whined. "When are you going to pass out the invites for your mother's Winter Solstice Ball?"

Malfoy shrugged his shoulders. "Is that the package I was Owled today?"

Hermione smiled and pressed her head against Harry's shoulder. He swallowed discreetly, attempting to relax, but secretly felt alarmed at the slightest contact.

Greengrass laughed. "You'd better invite us already. Break is in two weeks. I'm sure the rest of the wizarding world has been invited by now."

"Sure pays being your friend," Ginevra quipped.

Malfoy scowled. "Merlin, witches and their bloody planning."

Pansy's face twisted in outrage. "I have to get a dress, you know."

Parvati nodded eagerly. "Same. I don't have any good evening gowns in my closet."

"I highly doubt that," Hermione said, shooting her friend a teasing look. "Even your castaway stuff is great."

"No," Parvati giggled. "I'm serious, I really don't. It's been awhile since I've been to a formal function."

"We should shop at break," Brown suggested, looking around excitedly. "A girl's trip."

"Any excuse to spend Galleons," Hermione murmured under her breath so only Harry could hear.

"Will your parents be hosting their annual soirée?" Greengrass turned to Nott expectantly.

"I don't know," Nott drew his brows together in irritation. "I'm staying with Draco at his manor, anyway."

Greengrass huffed.

Parvati coughed. "Potion."

The girls giggled and Nott looked around, confused.

Hermione took hold of Harry's hand and traced his palm with the soft pad of her fingertip. "Do you know what today is?"

"Hm?" Harry glanced around to make sure they weren't being overheard.

"It marks one month since you asked me out to Paris."

"Oh. Of course."

"Mmhmm." She smiled up at him. "Kind of like an anniversary, wouldn't you say?"

Harry nodded, feeling the heat creep up his neck.

"We should do something fun." Her hand crept under the table and squeezed his thigh.

Harry jumped and Hermione was forced to adjust herself. She looked up at him questioningly.

He ran a hand through his perfectly styled hair, no doubt forcing a few strands out of place. Lately he had been feeling edgy, probably thanks to his huge slip up the weekend before. It was the second time he'd lost control with her, and he felt terrible. It was so hard to refuse her advances, especially after meeting up with this universe's Voldemort. He was already feeling out of sorts, and when she came to him he couldn't help but relent to her. She wanted physical contact and he had been sure he could give her that much without needing to fulfill his own needs himself, but he had been wrong. When she'd recovered from her orgasm, the mere sight of which had him spellbound, she proceeded to pounce on him and he hadn't been ready nor was he equipped to stave off such an attack. So he'd rutted in her hand like a bloody fourth year taking all of two minutes to seek his release. He had been surprised he hadn't simply come in his pants. He had been sure he was going to from the sheer taste of her alone.

One thing was glaringly clear, he couldn't control himself around Hermione as well as he thought he could. The most obvious solution to such a problem was eliminating physical contact altogether, but that clearly wasn't what Hermione wanted. He had to make her happy while still getting a grip on his own desire. One of these days, he'd have to confess to her about where he'd come from, and when he did so he didn't want her to feel used and taken advantage of. The easiest way to fix everything was to teach her Occlumency so he could begin trusting her with his secrets sooner rather than later, and hope to Merlin said secrets wouldn't send her running for the hills.

Shaking his head as if he could physically clear his mind by doing so, he looked over at Hermione who hadn't taken her eyes off of him. He was immediately alarmed by what he saw in her eyes. Hurt, fear, and rejection lingered at the surface. He panicked, the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel insecure.

Reaching his arm around her, he rubbed the small of her back. "I was actually going to ask you if you'd consider spending Christmas break with me at Grimmauld Place."

He inwardly winced at such a rash invitation. Not only had he never been to this universe's version of Grimmauld before, but he also didn't know how his family would treat Hermione. More importantly, how was he supposed to stave off his growing attraction for her in such close quarters and with no Girl and Boy Dorms separating them? Still, he couldn't leave her at the school and he doubted she would go home to her mother.

The fear of rejection abruptly vanished and gave way to sheer delight. She nodded eagerly. "Yes." She flashed him a smile. "I'd love to get away from the castle this Christmas."

So she really hadn't planned on going to her mother's. He returned her smile and let the love he felt for her shine in his eyes, even if it was too early and the situation was far too convoluted to tell her so. "Okay, my godfather and I would love to have you."

Her smile dropped.

He chuckled. "I'll make sure he's on his best behavior. He basically leaves me alone for the most part. There's just the parties and what not to go to."

Hermione exhaled a large breath through her nose and nodded again.

"And as far as our anniversary…" Harry trailed off, making sure the others were busy in their own discussions to pay them any mind. "I think we should try something different in our lessons tonight. Something more… cerebral."

She looked a little disappointed at the mention of lessons as a means to celebrate their anniversary. "Okay."

Harry sat back, feeling more at ease knowing he had a plan. He couldn't keep parading as someone else, not in front of Hermione. She needed to know the truth about him, and he needed her input. He was smart enough to realize that there were certain things he simply wasn't good at. She was resourceful, strategic, and an excellent researcher. With her by his side, he was confident there was nothing they couldn't tackle. She wanted to take their relationship to the next level? So did he. It was time she learned Occlumency.

~oOo*oOo~

Hermione never put much stock in Divination.

In her opinion, it was a wasteful misuse of her time.

And as far as her tormentors were concerned, the Hufflepuff-Gryffindor class had always had the least, making her wish all her classes were with the Badgers. Justin Finch-Fletchy was also in attendance, and they frequently sat together in the back, before her newfound popularity and before Harry.

Hermione always thought the worst thing about the class was how Professor Trelawney doted on Lavender.

Lavender Brown, who Hermione would never classify as exactly studious, did remarkably well in Divination. Certainly much better than Hermione herself did. This was the only class she wished she could drop, but she had resigned herself to using Divination as a means to do her coursework for other classes. Harry's attention had shifted her goals. Lately, the class was a welcome opportunity to sit next to her boyfriend and listen to him poke fun at the professor and all the silly things they did in this class. It was almost as if he knew she abhorred the class, though she was sure she hadn't expressed the complaint to anyone, even Parvati.

"Tea dregs, again," Harry was saying, staring disdainfully at his cup. "Of all the silly things."

Hermione laughed, feeling truly lighthearted. "Right? It's nothing but glorified guesswork. You can hardly be precise with it at all."

"It's elective." Harry flashed her a brilliant smile. "It's not as if we have to take it."

In all the years that she'd taken the course, she'd never considered dropping it, though her class schedule was fairly full as it was. She'd always wanted to take on everything, and not doing so would feel like a failure, but now that Harry mentioned it, she definitely considered the idea.

"Look in the cup!" Professor Trelawney instructed eagerly, the light catching her ruby earrings. She wove in between the tables and chairs, stopping on occasion to peer inside a student's tea cup or just to tell them something ridiculous that couldn't possibly have any bearing in reality. "Miss Brown, what do you see?"

Lavender sat up straight and held the cup daintily in both hands. "It looks like the cross, Professor." The Gryffindor looked up, worrying her lip. "It appears I'll be facing hardships in the near future?"

The professor nodded and placed a hand on her favorite student's shoulder. "Beware of a a red-haired man, dear."

Hermione rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what the Lavender would take that prophecy to mean. Sure enough, she shot daggers at Weasley who was talking animatedly with Higgs and didn't appear to notice the warning.

When she approached their table, Hermione pulled her eyes unwillingly to her cup and attempted to find some symbol in the leaves. The professor placed her hand on first Hermione's shoulder, then Harry's, but when she did, her eyes rolled back and she tensed. Upon closer inspection, she appeared to be in a trance. She didn't stop clutching Harry, who froze once he noticed the teacher's odd behavior.

"It will happen at night… the one with the power to vanquish Him will find answers in the forest when the twelfth month dies." The professor's voice had dropped several octaves and she didn't sound very much like herself at all. "The champion will reunite with those lost to him. Together they will… defy… the master…"

She chanced a glance at Harry only to find him more pale than she'd ever seen him before. Hermione couldn't deny feeling chills herself, and noticed gooseflesh had spread over her arms.

Professor Trelawney's posture fell slack and she seemed to shake herself, blinking a few times before refocusing. She glanced at first Hermione and then Harry and frowned. "Oh, my… the cup. What does it say, dear?"

Harry swallowed thickly before chancing a glance at his cup, neglecting completely to question their teacher over what she'd just told them in that strange voice. "It looks like a club."

The professor hummed. "Yes, yes, an attack. Be wary. Oh, and he doesn't much care for deskwork. Truly miserable, he is." Harry blanched once more as the professor turned towards Hermione. "And you, dear? What do you see?"

"Er," Hermione swallowed and tried to shutter the wariness in her eyes, "the sun? Meaning there will be great happiness in the future?"

Professor Trelawney blinked and looked at the cup before her eyes landed on Hermione again. "Oh, dear, I fear you have no skill for Tessomancy. That isn't a sun at all. Why don't you ask Miss Brown to help you?"

Hermione bit back a growl, almost forgetting about the strangeness they had just witnessed. Almost, but not quite.

"Do check on your mother, dear," the professor went on to tell her as if Hermione found her advice at all helpful. "She doesn't seem to be faring well without you."

She wrinkled her nose and sidled her chair closer to Harry when the professor - thankfully - walked off. "She's totally batty," Hermione said with a smirk. "I've never seen her talk in that voice before. It was weird." She glanced around, content to see very few students seemed to have noticed the odd exchange.

"Yeah," Harry's voice was husky and distant. "Total nutter."

"You don't think," she swallowed, her eyes finding his and studying him, "there was anything to that? I mean, vanquishing someone in the forest… reuniting… defying the master? It all sounded crazy of course..."

"I'm sure it's nothing," Harry was quick to reassure her, his smile back in place and his tone easygoing. "We really should drop this class. It's a complete waste of time, if you ask me."

Hermione nodded, and shoved the strange feeling of dread that culminated in her stomach away. Harry was right. Divination was the most imprecise branch of magic there was. She didn't know why the professor's words had affected her so. Trelawney's speech had given Hermione the same feeling she got when waking up from her dreams lately, but as the class wore on, the feeling of alarm subsided and she soon forgot about the exchange entirely.

~oOo*oOo~

"Are we really going to study tonight?" Hermione didn't want to complain, but there were other things she'd rather be doing with her and Harry's very rare and oh-so-precious alone time.

Harry smirked and she found it was contagious. "I thought you liked studying?"

She ducked her head, glancing at her shoes before making her way to the divian and sitting down. "I do. You know I do. But…" There's other things I'd rather be doing, she wanted to scream.

"You'll like this, I promise." He sat down next to her, too far away in her opinion, but she didn't complain. "You are familiar with Legilimency, right?"

She frowned, unable to see where this was going. "Yes."

"So then you may have heard of Occlumency."

"The act of closing one's mind to a Legilimens. It's ancient and has been around since the Medieval times." She smiled proudly, hoping he'd be impressed with her knowledge on such a closely guarded topic.

"Mmhmm." He graced her with an indulgent smile and she preened. "So then you know what it is, but do you know how to go about… doing it?"

She felt her pulse increase at her temples. "Doing it?"

"That's right."

She snorted. "We're teenagers, Harry. Legilimency and Occlumency are a post graduate skill only certain factions of Ministry cleared jobs get to learn. How would I know about doing it?"

His eyes widened in surprise. What, did he think it was available to everyone who wanted to learn or something? "Oh. Well… I think I told you once about my private tutelage?"

Her jaw dropped to the floor—it had to have. "You're not saying…"

"I know how to do both, yes."

She reared back into the cushions, fear shrilling through her chest. "Have you done Legilimency on me?"

"No!" He put his hands up as if trying to calm a wild abraxan. "Of course not, Hermione. Merlin, you would have felt it if I had. I mean, unless I just barely grazed—, but no, I haven't okay? I would just… like to."

Suddenly, Harry appeared to be rather scary. Yes, as silly as it sounded, she was a bit scared of him. Her boyfriend! But here he was telling her he wanted to use Legilimency on her - she blushed just thinking about the thoughts that he might see - it was hardly normal! It wasn't like she needed another reminder of just how exceedingly powerful Harry was. Sweet Morgana, did his power know no bounds?

"Geez, Hermione, can you say something? I don't want to hurt you. I just want to teach you."

"Why?" Yes, that was good, a very good and normal question. He would hopefully have no idea how badly she wished to bolt right now. Well, unless he followed through on his threat to use Legilimency on her.

He ran both hands through his hair before slanting his hard emerald stare to look at her. "There's some things about me, things I want to tell you, that I can't. Not because I don't trust you, but because at any moment, someone could come skim your mind and you would unintentionally let them in on something important I only want to share with you. Do you understand? It's imperative you learn to shield your thoughts. Hermione, I need to tell you this, I don't even think," he paused rubbing his temples, "I can't exactly, take our relationship to the next level until I've told you everything, do you understand? I know it sounds silly, but it's important to me that there's no secrets between us. Otherwise it'd be unfair to you, so Occlumency is the solution to that. I mean, it's good for so many things. Every witch and wizard should try to learn it. Not knowing it is a bloody liability. I know you understand that." His eyes lifted hopefully as he gave her a moment to speak.

Hermione could do nothing but stare unblinkingly at him as she tried to process what he said.

"Merlin, Hermione, please say something."

"Okay," she tugged on the hem of her lace-lined sweater, "you're saying we can't have sex unless I learn Occlumency?"

His jaw fell slack as he gaped at her.

She tossed her hands in the air. "That's what you're saying, right?"

His brows knitted together in confusion. "Merlin, is that really what you picked up from that?"

"Basically, yes."

"You would think you'd be more concerned with whatever it is I think is so important, you have to learn Occlumency first before I can tell you."

She gave an unapologetic shrug. "I can't think of anything you'd say that would be a dealbreaker."

His eyebrows rose challengingly.

She expounded. "Three hundred year old vampire who thirsts for my blood? Okay. Neville-sympathizer? I wouldn't mind. A great Potter-curse that forces you to turn into a wild beast every night? Manageable."

He laughed and she felt mildly comfortable by the genuineness of it. "And what if I have all those beat?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Doubtful."

"Do you want me to teach you or not?"

She placed a contemplative finger on her chin and gave him a measured look. "Why not? There's only so much you can learn from books, after all."

He grinned. "You continue to astound me every day."

And he continued to astound her. Just earlier that day she thought he might be trying to dump her, and now it turned out he was really grappling with some secret he felt compelled to tell her the whole time. No wonder he was so jumpy. It appeared her boyfriend did not do things by half measures.

"First things first." He twisted his upper body to face her. "You need to know there are several techniques to Occlumency, and they come in handy for more than just blocking your mind. Can you guess what else Occlumency helps with?"

The scholarly part of her rose to the challenge. "The Imperius would be my first guess."

"Yes." He nodded, his expression satisfied. "It requires a tremendous amount of willpower, just like resisting the Imperius does. That's probably the hardest part—developing your willpower, but anyone can."

She nodded, prodding him to continue.

"There are three techniques to Occlumency. The most basic is clearing your mind of thoughts and emotions. Forcing your mind blank will let the person using Legilimency know that you are blocking them, so that isn't exactly my favorite technique, but it's basic and the one you need to learn first."

She couldn't help but think he would make a good teacher. He really did have a way of explaining things so she could easily understand and he was riveting while he did so.

"Secondly," he took a deep breath and exhaled it, "there's the technique of allowing the Legilimens to see certain thoughts and feelings, but only the ones you want them to. You keep the rest - the important ones - hidden somewhere in your brain and locked away. No matter what, you don't let them see those. This way is better because the Legilimens thinks they are seeing all the important things when you are really fooling them. This technique takes more willpower." There was an earnest gleam in his eyes as he rested his forearms on his legs. "Finally, and this is my personal favorite, the third way is by falsifying memories and forcing the Legilimens to view fake ones of your creation. They won't be able to discern whether they are real or fake, and you'll mislead your enemy. That type of Occlumency is hardest of all, but is a much sought after skill."

"You want me to learn all of them?"

"At least up to the second, falsifying memories is tricky. It takes imagination and must be combined with the right emotions. But we'll start with the first, yes?"

The thought actually excited her. She never expected to learn such a complicated bit of magic ever. And she wanted to learn it. Desperately.

"Are you ready to start?"

The words sent a chill spiraling through her, and she wasn't sure if it was because the knowledge was so restricted or because it was him that would be casting the spell and looking into her mind. It was a major invasion of privacy, but he had her permission and it was for a great cause—she wanted to eventually have sex with the man eventually. Great, Hermione, she mentally berated herself. Let that be your last thought before he penetrates your mind. What a lovely word choice! Her cheeks were burning.

"I'm ready."

And then she tried to clear her mind. She knew she could do it. She had willpower. When Parvati gave her one of those chocolate boxes last Valentine's day, Hermione didn't tear through them all like her friend had. She indulged in one a day and made them last. That was willpower, right?

"Not exactly."

She jumped, her stance becoming defensive. "You didn't say you were going, you didn't even have your wand in your hand!"

"I wasn't doing it properly." His expression was patient but a little amused. "I told you, I could graze your mind if I wanted to, and someone who's untrained may not notice, but after our lessons, you'll notice even that. The main thing is to empty your emotions completely. Think of a devoid abyss. If you wear your feelings on your sleeves, you're going to have a hard time."

She lifted her chin with more confidence than she felt, and tried valiantly to clear her brain. "I'm ready," she said in a detached voice.

This time, he lifted his wand and pointed the holly at her head. "Legilimens."

It was barely a whisper, but she immediately felt the walls of her mind being breached. She tried to force her mind blank, but the foreign presence distracted her. It was him, of course, and that realization distracted her even more. It felt like him, had his signature trace or something. Her body didn't want to recoil, but rather wanted to embrace him.

"Blank, Hermione."

His voice sounded far away, but she screwed her eyes shut in an attempt to focus. Devoid of feeling became her mantra and she chanted it over and over. She wiped slate the clean of her mind, sort of how it was when he… no. She'd better not start thinking about that. Then she'd never be devoid of emotions. Merlin, it was hard not to think! She focused on keeping her mind free of thoughts in general. She pictured a busy chalkboard and proceeded to erase it. His presence still lingered at the recesses, barely noticeable, like a small tickle, but she was in control. This was her mind, after all!

What a joke.

As if to emphasize that, Harry chose that moment to intensify the spell and then she felt the onslaught of his ruthless invasion. Her mind felt like it was splitting as suddenly dozens of memories were pulled to the surface and flicked through carelessly. She worked her brain frenetically to try and put them away again, but he was faster and so much stronger. He fell upon one memory, and lingered. Hermione watched it unfold in her mind's eye with barely suppressed horror.

She was wearing a pale pink dress, her hair sleeked back in an updo Parvati had generously helped her with. Her fingers were shaking and her nerves were jumpy as she descended the stairs to the common room.

He was standing there, dressed in one of his expensive suits and looking devastatingly handsome. Out of nowhere, the urge to run assaulted her, but she planted her feet and forced her face to appear serene even if she was shaking with fear. He was surrounded by his friends, and they all looked so glamorous. What on earth had made him want to ask her out over one of them?

When he looked up, she became trapped in his piercing green gaze.

"Granger cleans up, nicely," Malfoy said silkily, clapping Harry on the shoulder. "For a Mudblood."

Harry said nothing, but just stood watching her. Hermione really did want to run then, but what could she do? Her pride wouldn't let her turn away, and she was used to Malfoy's derogatory remarks. Carefully, she stepped down the stairs and didn't dare take her eyes off her shoes until she reached the bottom step. Parkinson, Greengrass, and Ginevra looked at her with a gleeful sheen shining in their eyes, but her eyes were all for Harry. What did he think of her? That was all that really mattered.

"Granger." His lips pulled into a wry smile and he reached out his arm for her. "I'm so glad you're my date tonight." His voice was so unbearably attractive she thought she may break, but when she reached for his arm, he pulled away from her at the last second and she went stumbling to the floor, catching herself with her hands, she winced at the impact.

"Really, Granger?" She looked up to see him towering over her, cold scorn burning in his eyes. "Like I would ever take you anywhere with me."

His friends erupted in laughter but she just stared, her eyes shining with unshed tears, frozen with surprise. How could she have been so stupid? Of course he didn't want to take her. She hauled herself to her feet and made a break for the stairs, but not before Brown threw a stinging hex at her. She clutched her arm and kept running, dodging wayward spells, their laughter echoing in her ears and his image burned in her mind. She didn't stop until she reached her bed and flung herself over the mattress. The tears flowed freely—

"Enough!" She screamed, grabbing her head between her hands. She doubled over and crouched her legs. When she looked up, betrayal smoldered in her eyes. "Why would you do that, Harry? Why would you look for that one? As if I ever wanted to relive it?"

Suddenly she wasn't the smart, confident witch she'd become over the last month. She was the flighty, frightened girl she'd always been once more. Had she even changed in the first place? Maybe she had only convinced herself she'd become someone else—someone better.

Harry's eyes were wide with surprise and barely suppressed rage. "If I ever see him, I'll kill him," he muttered under his breath.

"Who?"

He shook his head. "Nevermind, sorry."

"I don't understand. Why is that the memory you stopped on?"

He swallowed. "Because…" he faltered. "I couldn't remember."

She searched his eyes but couldn't find the deceit she expected to see. "What were you - messed up on potions or something?" Couldn't remember? How convenient! Though she'd almost forgot herself...

"You did look pretty. More than pretty. Beautiful. Only an idiot would think otherwise."

"You don't make any sense." She straightened, her head ached. "You do know you're calling yourself an idiot?"

"Everything will make sense once you learn Occlumency. I can explain it all better then."

She narrowed her eyes at him, pressing her lips in a thin line.

"Look, you didn't do half bad. I can see you really have some potential for this, like with resisting the Imperius. I think we should keep practicing. Now you know what it feels like."

She nodded. "Plus I think I'm well and truly devoid of feeling now."

He glanced away, his expression pained. "I can't express how sorry I am."

She believed him for some reason. She wasn't sure how one month could turn everything upside down, but it somehow had. Whatever his reasons, he really was sorry, and he'd made it up to her and then some. What was more, he seemed really affected by it, as if he actually had forgotten. He was almost more affected than she was and that made it easier to shrug off the intrusion.

"Whatever, Harry, let's just try again."

She grit her teeth and watched him train his wand on her again. Merlin, this was no way to spend an anniversary. It had an adverse effect, really. Her ideas would have been so much better, but his odd rules got in the way once again. He was definitely earning a Troll in the anniversary department.

"Legilimens."

This time, she was better prepared, but she thought she'd try another technique. She recalled watching a boring Quidditch game and brought that to the forefront of her mind. She felt him lightly try to shove it aside, but she held onto it stubbornly, finding it much easier to focus on something than to simply go blank.

"Interesting," she heard him say distantly, "maybe, it's easier for you to learn the second way. Now if you have another memory prepared when I flick that one away, you'll be successfully doing it."

He did as he warned and shoved the memory away as if her willpower were nothing. If she had the luxury to feel offended, she would pout that she thought she was actually stalling him. She called forth a study session at the library and allowed it to slip to the front of her brain. Meanwhile, she searched her mind for others. And so it went like that, over and over, with Harry getting faster and faster about shuffling through the memories. He was right and it was much easier to go about it this way than it was to not think. Hermione Granger never stopped thinking. The faster he went, the less and less time she had to pull new memories.

Finally, she was beginning to feel exasperated. Irritated by his ability to seemingly be wonderful at everything, a plan quickly formed in her mind. The next time he flicked aside her memory, she had quite the intense one waiting for him in its place. A gleeful smile tugged at her lips as she felt him falter and pause to watch the memory unfold in her mind. Hermione was sure to show him every emotion she felt every time the memory of him touched or kissed or licked her. He didn't shuffle this one away near as quickly as he had the ones prior and she felt triumph mingled with sweet vengeance flare in her chest.

Her memory's version of herself writhed on a whimper, and distantly she heard labored breathing.

All too quickly, his presence vanished from her mind.

She stumbled from the sudden shift as she came back to her surroundings, then stumbled again as a hard body crashed into hers. His lips pressed against hers hard and demanding and she barely had the sentience to twine her arms around his neck so she might at least keep her balance.

"Hermione," he broke away, panting harshly, "what the fuck?"

She shrugged. "That's what you get—" But he was kissing her again as if his life depended on it, his lips seeking hers with a violence that shocked her and rocked her to her core. Delicious heat poured through her body and she was starting to forget about her plans for vengeance. His kiss wiped away any uncertainty she had. He meant to brand her, and she allowed it. He nibbled on her bottom lip punishingly, and if his teeth tore too roughly, she wouldn't complain.

Maybe occlumency lessons were not so bad, after all. No, Hermione decided she would enjoy them very much.

~oOo*oOo~