Another long one. Sorry about that. I just get carried away sometimes. Thanks again for reading!
Chapter 38 - Fear
The next day the sun was shinning in over a window into the girl's dorm even though it was the third day of winter. The light passed over Hermione's face causing her to stir in her sleep. Her dream had been interrupted. She was slightly thankful for the interruption since it wasn't really a pleasant dream.
She had to save Ginny from the mouth of a dragon and for some reason Dumbledore was in the dream trying to help but Voldermort made his appearance and nearly killed her and Harry while Ginny was left to the dragon. Hermione's eyes opened slowly. She was in her bed, she was safe. There was no dark place, there was no Voldermort, and there was no dragon. She sat up in her bed to look across at Ginny. She was sleeping safe and sound. The light from the shinning sun hadn't touched her side of the room yet.
Hermione looked over to her other side to see Lavender Brown slightly opening her eyes. The two girls' eyes met but Hermione quickly looked away. She swung her legs over the bed on the opposite side of Lavender. She could hear her getting out of bed and all this noise seemed to awaken Ginny and Parvati. "Two more minutes mum," Ginny mumbled in her sleep.
Hermione walked over to her. She leaned over and shook the sleeping red head gently. "Gin," Hermione called. "It's me, come on. It's time to get up." She stirred in her bed and rolled over, turning her back to her. "No, two more minutes," Ginny groaned, "get Ron up first."
Hermione smiled and let out a small chuckle. "It's Hermione," she told the sleeping girl. "Come on, you're at school." Ginny rolled over to face Hermione and opened her eyes slightly. "Huh?" she opened them slowly. Bushy brown hair and a sweet smile was coming into view. "Oh," Ginny grinned, "you aren't my mother."
"No," Hermione laughed, "That would be creepy. Come on Gin, get up." Ginny finally sat up in her bed and started to get up. They both had to rush into their uniforms as they ran down the girl's dorm stairs into the common room.
Harry was looking into the fireplace but there was no sign of Ron. Hermione tapped him on the shoulder and he looked up. "Good morning," he greeted them both. Hermione looked around but still no sign of Ron. "Where's Ron?" she asked.
"Getting dressed," Harry said, "he's having one of his slow mornings." Ginny laughed, "That's every morning." She noticed bushy looking orange hair and connected it to Crookshanks. Luckily, Arnold was in his cage so Crookshanks couldn't chase Ginny's pet. She bent down to the floor as Hermione and Harry spoke about Draco.
She started to whistle softly so that Crookshanks would look at her. His furry face looked up from his sleeping position and he let out a small meow. "Come on," Ginny urged him in a soft voice, "come to auntie Ginny." She started to snap her fingers to call him over. He meowed again. She found a small strip of fabric on the floor and started to move it back and forth. "That's it," she told him, "you can't resist it much longer."
She was right; Crookshanks came running from under a chair to play with the string of fabric. She started to laugh which caused Hermione to look down from her conversation with Harry. She saw Ginny playing with Crookshanks and a smile formed on her face.
Ginny placed her hand slowly and gently on his head. She started to scratch behind his ears as he purred loudly. "You're a good cat," Ginny smiled, "aren't you?" Hermione looked at Harry who was smiling. "I'll go get Ron," he said. He got up from his couch and walked up into the boy's dorms.
Hermione kneeled down with her. "He is a good cat," she said, "except when he wants to eat Arnold." Ginny turned her head to Hermione with a grin. "He can't help it," she said while still petting the orange cat, "It's his nature."
"This is going to be so horrible," they heard Ron say. "I don't think I can take potions anymore. You have to let me see that book." Harry was coming closer as he froze when Hermione had gotten up. "You still have that book?" she furrowed her eyebrows at him.
"Yes," he told her, "I replaced the cover on my new book with the cover from that book and vice versa."
"So you can continue to cheat? What is wrong with you?" Hermione was glaring. Ginny looked up at them and was wondering what was going on. What book? She thought. I don't remember them telling me anything about a book.
Ron stepped over to be next to his sister. She got up and looked into her brother's eyes as if she was going to find an answer. Ron, however, was looking at her with a confused look. Harry took out the book from his bag, "this prince is a brilliant man. It's because of him I'm passing this."
"Him?" Hermione glared, "Prince could easily be a last name and this he could easily be a she you know. I'll do research on this… Prince." She turned her heel and walked away from Harry. They had their morning off this Friday and the Hogsmeade trip was tomorrow. "Wait!" Ginny called as she chased after Hermione. Harry was left with Ron who completely agreed with him.
Hermione turned around for a moment to see Ginny running near her. Her red hair was picked up in a ponytail as usual and was dragging behind her. Hermione couldn't help but to look at her and lick her lips in response. She shook herself from those thoughts as the red head caught up, "where are you going?"
"To the library," she answered as they both started to walk together. "What book are you talking about? What's going on?" Ginny asked.
Hermione sighed as she kept her eyes in front of her. "Harry forgot his book for our first potions lesson, so Slughorn gave him a book from an old locker. Harry starts thumbing through it and in the margins are alterations to the potions and hints. I think he's completely cheating."
Ginny thought on this for a while as they walked. "That's not that bad," she finally said, "so, he's getting some help, but what if the person who owned the book was just some awesome potion maker?"
"And what if they were a trouble maker?" Hermione shot back. "What if there is something in that book that isn't worth all of this? I don't really trust it and what really makes me angry is that both Harry and Ron think this Prince is a man!"
Ginny had a confused look on her face, "prince?"
"The book belonged to someone named the Half-Blood Prince," Hermione informed her. "What do you think?"
"If it was my book and I was some awesome half-blood potion maker, I'd call myself a prince," she admitted. "It sounds so cool. Better than princess right?"
"Do you think it could be a last name?" Hermione asked her as they reached the library. Ginny nodded her head, "I don't see why not."
Hermione pulled out records and handed some to Ginny. "Would you mind just helping me out? I want to know who this Prince is." Ginny nodded her head and took the books from Hermione. They sat down and spent an hour researching. Hermione came across something in an old paper. "Eileen Prince," she whispered to her red head companion. Ginny turned her head to look at it. "No way," she uttered.
"But she's a pure blood," Hermione noted, "Who married a muggle…"
"That wouldn't make her a half blood," Ginny noted.
"No, but it would make her child one. I'll have to look into Eileen Prince to see who her son or daughter was."
"What are you thinking?" she asked her. Hermione shook her head, "I don't know. I'm guessing whoever this prince is they must have had close ties to their mother, but then again half blood might have been an insult. I'm really not sure."
"Well, we haven't eaten a thing and we have class now," Ginny groaned, "we aren't going to research this at Hogsmeade are we?"
"No," Hermione told her. They both got up and placed the books where they had got them and she made a mental note of where she found the information on Eileen Prince. She would have to tell Harry about it later.
The day came and went. Hermione's mind was still on the prince even as she took Ginny up to the astronomy tower. Ginny sat down on the ledge of a window and looked out to the lake. The moon was shinning over it even as the sun was setting. Hermione couldn't even take in the beautiful setting because of everything that was going on in her head.
What was Draco doing in the room? Why would someone call themselves the Half Blood Prince and why isn't any of this making any sense? She panned her eyes over to Ginny who was lost in the lake's beauty. I shouldn't even be thinking about this, she thought to herself with a sigh, I'm here with her and I haven't even said a word to her.
"The lake looks so serene doesn't it?" Ginny commented after all of the silence. Her voice ringed out around the tower. Hermione was still slightly nervous about Lavender spying on her and Ginny again. "Yes," she said regardless of this. Ginny looked over at Hermione who had a worried look on her face.
"What's going on in that brainy head of yours?" Ginny asked her. Hermione was torn out of her thoughts again. Her brown eyes looked over at the red headed beauty sitting next to her. "Too much to really talk about right now," she answered. Ginny frowned at her.
"You aren't still thinking about that book, are you?" she groaned.
"Unfortunately yes," she told her honestly, "and about Draco and whatever it is he's up to. It seems that this year was supposed to be calm and peaceful, but it doesn't seem that way."
Ginny let her hair loose and tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear as she moved closer to Hermione. She wrapped her arms around the older girl and drew her in. "Please don't think about that when you are up here alone with me. You should have your mind on me and only me," she told her in a husky seductive tone.
Her brown eyes melting into Hermione's as she pressed her lips against hers. There was a surge of pleasure running through her body and all thoughts seemed to disappear in an instant. Yes, Hermione's mind calmed down, think about Ginny and these warm lips on mine. She's so warm…
Ginny slipped her tongue past her lips and traced her upper lip softly. Hermione was falling victim to her seduction. Her arms wrapped around this younger girl and pulled her even closer. They started to melt into one being as they kissed. The moon was coming into full view in the background as it glistened against the lake.
As the kiss ended they both sighed and their foreheads touched. "It's so peaceful here," Ginny said. Hermione smiled, "yes. It's amazing here."
The next day came around and Hermione was looking for something to wear. Ginny sneaked up behind her to give her a hug. She was already dressed in a snug sweater and jeans. "Just put anything on!" she urged her.
Hermione groaned a bit, "no, I have to find my favorite sweater!"
"That gray one with the weird stripes?" Ginny asked. Hermione rolled her eyes and luckily Ginny didn't see her do so. "Yes," she answered. She finally saw it at the bottom of her trunk. "Here it is," she got up and Ginny unwrapped her arms from her waist.
"Is my shirt ok?" Hermione asked. She was wearing a white shirt with dark jeans. "Yes," Ginny answered, "you look good in anything. But I would put some socks and shoes on."
Hermione looked down at her bare feet and sighed, "Right." She slipped her sweater over her head and started looking for socks and her shoes. She found them and was finally dressed for the Hogsmeade trip. She ran downstairs to meet up with Ron and Harry who were looking nervous.
"What's going on? You two look like you've seen a ghost," Ginny said. "I mean, not that you don't see ghosts around here but you know what I mean," she added.
"Draco is going to be out there and I'm actually scared as to what he might do out there," Harry said.
"It's not like he can get anything in or out right? Flitch is going to be screening everything. I wouldn't worry," Hermione told him.
"I have to," Harry voiced his concern to them all. "I just don't feel safe."
Once there, Ginny was tugging on Hermione's sweater. "I want to go to the Three Broomsticks," she urged. The older Gryffindor looked over to Harry and Ron to see if they wanted to go. They both nodded.
Once inside, Katie Bell said hello to them as she walked past them. Lavender Brown was inside with her friends chatting loudly, but they couldn't hear their exact words because of the amount of noise in the small pub. They took a seat at a table and Hermione let out a loud sigh.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked her. "Yeah, I'm fine," she lied. "Butterbeer?" Ginny asked. The other three nodded. Ginny got up from the table leaving them to chat while she was gone.
"Is she concerned about what's going on?" Harry asked Hermione. "Does she know that I'm taking special lessons with Dumbledore?"
"Yes," Hermione answered him, "On both counts."
"Ok," Harry said relieved. "It just didn't seem like she was even bothered much by what was happening. I mean, I'm scared about this whole ordeal."
"She doesn't show her emotions much," Ron stated, "she's independent and she won't let anyone see her weakness."
"I guess that comes from living with so many boys," Hermione added.
Ginny had returned with Butterbeer for all of them. She passed them around and sat down. "So what did I miss?" she asked. They all looked nervously at one another. "Quidditch talk," Harry lied.
Ginny eyed him, "Hermione doesn't like to talk about that."
"I wasn't really listening," she lied. "I have other things on my mind."
"Out of these things, one of them better be me," Ginny laughed. Hermione smiled sincerely and nodded her head, "of course."
"Oh come on," Ron snorted do you really have to do this here. Hermione shot him a glare but that didn't seem to faze Ron much. Harry rolled his eyes and took a sip out of the drink.
The trip went off as normal. No one seemed to be out of place and nothing seemed to be going wrong until they made it back to the castle. An argument was heard over the snow. Words weren't made out, but finally a scream was heard loud and clear. The four students ran over to the snow to the noise to see a crowd of students around Katie. The scream came from Leanne.
"What's going on out here?" McGonagall asked as she got close, her jaw dropped. "Quickly! Get Miss Bell to the hospital wing!" Harry watched in dismay as Ginny put her hands to her mouth to cover her fright. Hermione's face was twisted in panic as was Ron's face. "What just happened?" Ginny shouted out. Leanne looked down, "I was fighting with her about this package, oh, and she just wasn't herself. So then it ripped and she touched this thing and she just fell over!"
Dumbledore had Katie carried over to the wing as he looked down at the package. "No one else touch it," he warned them, "Everyone inside!"