DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter doesn't belong to me
So it's been so very long, i've been ill for quite a while :/ and i can't promise you that i'm back but i'm getting better so I shall be slowly trying to write and update my fanfictions, i can honestly say that i've missed you all! and i've missed writing!
Harry caught Hermione's eyes and they smiled slightly at one another before they both blushed and looked away.
"Listen Hermione" Ron started looking awkward "I just want to apologise, I've been really stupid lately and I don't even know why" he looked so apologetic that Hermione smiled.
"It's okay" she answered quietly "I should have told you".
Ron shook his head "no, I mean everything's been a little blurry . . . you know I would never be so horrible to anyone" he furrowed his brows confused.
"It's okay-" Hermione was cut off before she could say much more.
"Settle down" bellowed the Potion's Professor as he glared at them all, everyone noticed his glare hardened at the flash of pink from the corner "today we are going to learn . . ."
The bell rang showing that it was the end of double potions – possibly the worst lesson the Slytherins and Gryffindors have ever had to sit through all thanks to the pink toad in the corner. No one seemed happy to have the high inquisitor sit through their lesson, even Professor Snape who was looking as though he wanted nothing more then to throw her out of his classroom every time she fluttered her eyes lashes at him. It certainly entertained the students to see their usually calm Professor practically hissing every time he set eyes on her.
Neville hid his snickering behind a cough as Hermione elbowed him and tried to keep the straight face she was currently directing at their Potion's Professor. She took her time packing her bag so she could watch Umbitch trying to somehow make Snape ask her on a date. She laughed quietly to herself as she closed her bag, she had never seen anyone look so ill before. She let Neville pull her out of the classroom and they both collapsed against the wall laughing loudly.
"Oh Merlin" Neville laughed whilst shaking his head "I actually feel sorry for Professor Snape!"
Hermione nodded with an amused look "yeah, made me want to do something to help him".
"Why would you want to help Snape?" a voice asked confused from behind them.
Hermione and Neville spun around so fast that they got tangled up in each others legs and fell hard onto the ground. Neville's quick thinking made him reach out for Hermione so that she landed on top of him and not on the hard floor.
"Oww" Hermione grimaced as she pushed herself up, she scramble off Neville and quickly apologised "I'm so so so sorry Nev". She reached out and pulled him into a seated position "are you okay? You're not hurt are you? Oh Luna will kill me if you are" she scanned him over as they both stood up.
Neville rolled his eyes amused "I'm fine Mione!" he laughed and glanced to the people still waiting for Hermione's answer. Hermione followed his frown and looked completely unsure of what to say.
"It's Professor Snape Ronald" she calmly says warily, she exchanged a glance with Neville before they both looked towards the two Gryffindors in front of them. The Red head and the messy haired boy both stare back as if still waiting for an answer to Ron's question. Hermione stared at them before folding her arms looking uncomfortable, she wasn't going to tell them anything.
Neville coughed awkwardly "well" he paused and glanced at Hermione "we'll be late to charms if we don't go now".
Hermione nodded " best go then, you know I hate being late to anything".
Neville smiled warily at Harry and Ron whilst Hermione nodded before they both turned around leaving the two awkward Gryddindors behind.
"What was that all about?" Neville whispered confused as he took his seat next to Hermione in the Charms classroom.
Hermione screwed up her nose in thought "well that phial I had this morning had something in it that I needed Professor Snape to look at".
Neville leant closer and spoke quieter so no one around them could overhear "what was it? Did he find out?"
Hermione nodded "apparently it's a potion version of the Imperius spell" she waited as all Neville did was gape at her in shock.
"Merlin's beard" she heard him whisper in disbelief "that's a very dangerous thing to have Mia".
Hermione nodded and ran a hand through her wild hair "yeah, tell me about it" she glanced behind her just as Harry and Ron walked in and took seats near them "apparently Severus thinks that someone could have given it to Harry and Ron".
Neville took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he sat back in his seat, his eyes wide with disbelief "Any idea on who would want that?" he then let out a snort and rolled his eyes "okay stupid question".
Hermione let out a slight laugh and shook her head "yeah" she finished soberly. She glanced back at Harry and Ron who were now laughing about Quidditch "I don't know how to feel about this" was all she said as Professor Flitwick began his lesson.
Hermione could see Neville casting glances her way every now and then through out the class and every time Harry looked her way it felt like her body was tingling all over. She kept fidgeting in her seat and wanted to turn around to scream at him to stop looking at her. Of course she knew she would get all weird looks if she did that but she was sure it would be something to laugh over in the future . . . if she ended up with one.
Once Charms was over with Neville waited until she had packed her bag before smiling at her "ready for dinner?" he asked as his eyes swept around the classroom, trailing after Harry and Ron who were just exiting the classroom.
Hermione nodded and smiled "of course" she watched as his eyes suddenly become hazy as though he was daydreaming before his eyes cleared and smiled softly. Hermione smiled amused "Luna meeting us there?"
Neville let out a laugh "yeah" he shook his head with a large grin on his face "she's excited for pudding".
They both laughed as they left the class only for Hermione to stumble with a gasp, her hand flew to her heart and she paled. Neville placed a hand on her arm in worry and was about to ask what was wrong until his gaze moved towards Harry and Ginny who were holding hands and kissing.
Hermione took a shuddering gasp as she turned away them, the tears in her eyes showing the pain she wouldn't allow to show on her face.
"Hermione" Neville said softly as he placed a hand on her arm and pulled her around the snogging couple.
Once the couple was far behind them Hermione wiped the tears from her cheeks aggressively "I'm sorry" she choked to Neville who gave her a pained smile back. He couldn't understand why she wouldn't want to tell Harry about being her soul mate but then he was a guy and he was sure he was missing the bigger picture. He let out a sigh as he watched his friend compose herself before she walked into the Great Hall with her back straight and her chin up. Luna skipped up to him and gently placed her hand in his.
"Everything okay Nev?" Luna asked in her soft otherworldly voice.
Neville smiled down at her with such love that he was shocked he every deserved to feel this happy "I'm okay" he kissed her gently and leant his forehead on hers as they communicated in their minds.
'Hermione saw Harry and Ginny kissing just now and I swear this is killing her' he thought to his soul mate as he pulled away from her, keeping his hand firmly in hers.
Luna sighed sadly and glanced towards Hermione who was now seated between the Weasley twins with Seamus and Dean seated over from them "I never want to feel that pain Nev".
Neville gently grabbed Luna's chin forcing her to look at him "you never have to feel that pain, I'm here to stay".
Luna smiled and nodded "if that's the case then you will give me your chocolate pudding".
Neville laughed as Luna pulled him towards Hermione "anything for you my dear" he shook his head in amusement as he took a seat next to Dean with Luna on his other side.
Hermione watched them both amused "she bribed you for more chocolate pudding didn't she" she stated with a laugh as he blushed.
"Something like that" he replied as he fondly watched Luna load his plate with food before she moved onto her own. She paused and peered up at him whilst nibbling on a carrot.
Luna blinked owlishly at him "what?" was all she said before the people surrounding her laughed in amusement. Neville shook his head fondly and kissed her nose gently before moving to eat his own food.
Hermione watched them feeling her heart warm at the sight of her friends. She laughed loudly when Dean glanced at Neville confused and said "when did that happen?" it wasn't long before everyone joined in as Dean blushed in embarrassment "what?" he exclaimed before sighing in defeat when all they did was laugh.
Hermione was glad to spend the rest of dinner not once thinking about anything negative, she ignored the searing presence she knew to be Harry and the awful glares she could feel herself getting from the Headmaster and the pink toad.
"Are you coming outside Mione?" Fred asked as they all made their way out of the Great Hall.
Hermione hummed in thought "I think I will" she tightened her grip on her school bag and smiled "I have a bit of reading to do and it will probably make me feel better to read it outside".
Fred laughed "ever the loyal bookworm" he teased as George came over to his twin.
"You both coming?" George smiled mischievously "I was thinking that we haven't pranked anyone in so long Forge".
Suddenly both twins were smirking evily to one another and Hermione felt her lips quirk upwards in amusement "well then boys, you best get to plotting otherwise people will think you've gone soft".
Gasping dramatically George grasped his chest "no!" he screamed horrified.
Hermione thanked Merlin that they were outside by now so they couldn't get in trouble for being loud.
Fred gaped at his twin in mock horror "Gred! We must put a stop to this nonsense".
Hermione narrowed her eyes at both of the red heads "I think you need to work on this major prank on the pink toad, what say you boys?"
She laughed in amusement when both boys snapped to attention as though they were soldiers and saluted her.
"Yes Ma'am!" they shouted before marching towards their friend Lee who was staring at them in amusement from where he sat near the Black Lake.
Hermione let out a laugh and shook her head before hurrying towards her friends who were seated just a little further down from the twins and their year mates.
"Hi" she chirped with a smile as she sat down beside Dean. They all greeted her back before turning back to what they were doing, Hermione glanced from Neville and Luna who were staring at each other and communicating in their minds (as she knew they would be doing) then towards Seamus who seemed to be checking out Lavender, Parvati and Padma which made her laugh and then finally towards Dean who was busy drawing in his sketch pad.
"You're really good" she breathed in amazement at the drawing of Luna and Neville he was currently creating.
Dean smiled at the praise from the curly haired Gryffindor "thanks, it's what I want to do but my parents are pushing me towards doing something in the wizarding world and they think Art is just a Muggle thing" he shrugged trying to show that it didn't bother him but failed.
Hermione frowned "have you thought of advertising in the magical world?"
When Dean looked at her in confusion she shrugged as she thought "it's just that you see all those shops in Diagon Alley or in Hogsmeade but there's never any advertising for them. I'm sure if you brought it up with one of the shop owners when we go Hogsmeade next and you tell them the idea they'll realise the positive effect it will have on their stores".
Dean nodded "I never thought of that" he tapped his chin "thanks Hermione" he grinned at her.
Hermione smiled back "no problem, I know Fred and George want to open up a joke shop you could speak to them, it would do them wonders to have you drawing images of their products and what they do or something like that" she paused to think "and Honeydukes seeing as it's more towards the students at Hogwarts will definitely benefit from more advertising" she perked up suddenly and looked at Dean in excitement "maybe you could work on catalogues for the stores that they could send out with the Hogwarts letters! It could show the students what they could get when they go Hogsmeade but also could be a way of getting more money if people start ordering products through Owls!"
Dean looked at Hermione in awe "you're a genius! I will definitely be checking all this stuff out".
"You could start your own business" Hermione squealed in excitement "there'll be others who would like to draw or write or something like that and you can even start whilst you're still in school, build up your empire".
Dean nodded "I think you may have made me very rich" he was still looking at her in awe when she grinned at him.
"If you ever need any help I'm always here" she shrugged "I like to draw as well, it calms me" she blushed slightly "no one seems to think that a bookworm does more then just read but being royalty means I have to do a lot of things to make me Princess material".
Turning back to his drawing Dean smiled "I'll gladly be asking for help Hermione".
Hermione nodded happily and pulled out her book from her bag, it was the book she bought from Otter in Hogsmeade. Upon remembering its existence she knew she had to read it to see what it was about.
Before she could even open her book Dean turned to her with a frown of thought covering his face "what do you wish to do Hermione?"
"To do?" she asked slightly distracted as she stroked the cover of the book gently feeling the tingling sensation of magic creeping through her fingers.
"In the future?" Dean asked as he watched fondly as his quiet friend stared at her book in awe "as a job?"
Hermione glanced up at Dean then "I don't have choice on what I want to do" she murmured sadly "I used to want to do something, help people somehow" she glanced towards the Black Lake where the Giant squid seemed to be happily playing in the water "I thought that maybe I'd become a Healer or an Auror or an Unspeakable . . . or just something small like having my own book store" she shook her head sadly "but . . . I can't anymore, without my brother to take over the thrown I'm all that's left and I have no choice" she glanced at Dean sadly "and do you know bothers me most?"
When Dean shook his head she smiled sadly with tears in her eyes "I'll never be able to enjoy my life, I'll never be able to fall in love, I can't make mistakes in my life" sighing she bit her lip "my children will never get a normal life" shaking her head she glanced up at the clouded sky "William always wanted to take the thrown, it's something he's always wanted and he never had a chance so . . . I want to make sure I do things right".
Dean placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it in support "I am truly sorry that this happened to you, you're a better person then anyone I know and I'll support you and help you every step of the way" he glanced at his friends around them "we all will".
Hermione smiled at him gratefully before pulling him into a hug "thank you" she murmured in to his ear before pulling away, she let out a weak laugh as wiped her eyes.
Dean smiled sadly and watched as she went back to her book, he finished his drawing of Luna and Neville quickly before changing page and changing position so that he could clearly see Hermione reading her book. He smiled fondly at her look of concentration before he began drawing again. He was grateful for the ideas that Hermione had given him and knew that if this got anywhere then he would give her a percentage of the business he would begin.
Hermione shook of the conversation she had with Dean so she could pay attention to the book resting on her knee. She tucked her hair on her left side behind her ear and bit her lip as she opened the book. She felt a wave of calm come over her and smiled at the beautifully writing covering the old fashioned paper.
She felt her eyes widen and her mouth fall open in shock after reading the first chapter "Merlin" she breathed out and she lifted her eyes from the book. She felt herself getting giddy and let out a short laugh.
Luna and Neville finally glanced away from one another after what must have been hours and saw that Hermione was looking up from her book with sparkling eyes. Something had obviously excited her. Luna cocked her head to the side and shifter until she was beside her friend.
"What is it?" she asked quietly as she glanced down at the book.
Hermione glanced at Luna "this book" she shook her head "it tells me about Elementals but" she paused and shook her head "Luna it says that there's a way to protect the people I care about most! There's a spell I can cast and it takes some of my power and places into what they call guardians which would be all the people who my magic thinks could protect me but it also protects the guardians …. Luna I could cast this spell and it will protect you all because you're all closest in my heart".
Luna's eyes widened and she glanced up at Hermione "Sweet Rowena" Luna murmured as she let out a laugh "are you sure the power would go to us though?"
Hermione nodded "it explains how my 'Guardians' would be friends who were powerful in their own ways . . . you wont get elemental power though" she skimmed a few pages with a frown "it says you will all get new powers but they will all vary" Hermione shrugged at Luna "you could get anything from talking to animals to flying without a broom".
When she glanced up from her book she realised that all four friends were staring at her with wide eyes.
"You would sacrifice your powers to protect us?" murmured Seamus as he stared at her wide eyed.
Hermione laughed "it's not just protecting you but apparently you will all protect me as well . . . I don't know if there's any side effects to this though, it might take a lot of practice for you all to be able to use your powers and it could take days to a month for your powers to come forward".
Neville frowned in thought "can you specify who will become guardians".
Shaking her head she glanced back down "no . . . I've only read one chapter but so far it says that the Guardians are chosen . . . well whoever gave elementals their powers".
She watched them all think it over before saying "Some Slytherins may end up as Guardians . . . it does say though" she bit her lip as she blushed "well it says that only virgins have the power to become guardians because their powers are pure".
Seamus gave an awkward cough as he blushed "we should all be fine then".
Dean laughed and shook his head "we're good" he looked at his best friend in amusement.
Luna smiled "we're all good, and hopefully the powers that be will decide we are good enough to become your guardians".
Smiled widely Hermione pulled them all into a group hug "thank you" she repeated over and over again before pulling back "we have a job ahead of us . . . we don't know who else will become one, all we know is that they will be in Hogwarts and they will be students – at least I doubt any of the adults I know are virgins" she finished in a murmur before shaking her head "anyway … we'll have to keep a look out" she used a finger to gently trail along a sentence "it says all I will need is to say a few words, an oath of sort under the full moon" she tapped the book "the full moon will be in a couple of days if I'm not mistaken".
She glanced at her friends "are you sure you want to do this?" When all she got was nods she smiled relieved "I'm just glad that it will help you all to be safer".
"You're willing to give up some of your power though?" Seamus repeated from before.
Hermione laughed at her "I never wanted this power, once it's done and we find out who all the guardians are then I think we'll have to create a group or club of sorts so we can all meet and practice our powers in safety".
The other four nodded in agreement before Luna spoke "until then I think we should keep it between us . . . best not get anyone's hopes up or our own because we might not be chosen".
The others nodded "so I suppose until I do the oath and we find the guardians we can't really do much" Hermione murmured.
Seamus smirked "we could help Fred and George with their latest prank … apparently it's not happening until the end of the year but it'll give us something to do".
Hermione grinned back as the others laugh "I guess you and Dean better head over and demand that you help them".
Dean exchanged a smirk with his best friend "we must, mustn't we Shea?"
It wasn't long before they bounded away, leaving their things behind after saying they will be back making the others laugh.
Neville and Luna exchanged a look before looking at Hermione "you sure you want to add all this onto everything else you've got going on".
Hermione glanced at them "if it helps people" she shrugged "I think it would be best, maybe we can actually learn DADA in our 'club' as well".
Neville nodded "it's a good thought, maybe we should get more then just your Guardians in then as well".
Luna nodded in agreement "I do like this idea" she paused "we have a lot to do though, we're meeting Mr Riddle this weekend . . . it's a Hogsmeade weekend, so that'll give us a couple of days after the full moon before we have to deal with all of that".
"Are you ready for whatever might come out during that meeting?" Neville asked them both.
Hermione took a deep breath "I'm ready for answers, I think we're getting closer to something big and who knows maybe I'll find something that will help me".
"I told Luna about the Imperius potion" Neville murmured as he glanced at the Black Lake.
"Good idea" Hermione smiled "I wonder if he created it himself".
"Is there anything you can tell us from your meeting with the Headmaster?" Luna asked curiously.
Hermione grimaced as the thorns around her arm became visible as they tightened around her, she shook her head quickly "no" she gasped out before they loosened and she could breath with relief.
"Interesting" Neville murmured as he and Luna both stared at the thorns that seemed to appear on her skin for a moment.
Hermione knew they saw but was thankful that they didn't bring it up apart from saying "I believe me and Luna will need to see Professor Snape and the others about . . . things".
Hermione nodded with a grimace "would be best".
Neville stood up and held his hand out to Luna "well I think we'll go see him now and leave you to your reading, see you in Defense in an hour?"
She smiled and nodded at them both "see you then" she watched them walk away "oh!" she shouted and they turned around "good luck" she said with a smile of encouragement making them nod quickly back knowing that she really wanted them to work things out on their own. She watched as they disappeared into the castle before turning to her book, she knew that Seamus and Dean would come back in an hour so they could all leave for classes again.
REVIEW!