Chapter 22 - Refresh
Hermione slowed down as she neared the Great Hall on the way to her bedroom. Her heart was a mess. She wanted nothing more than to take a long soak in the bath followed by a long nap. However, the smells of bacon, sausage, and eggs discovered her. She nearly followed her nose into the Great Hall with no regard for her current appearance, but a random draft of cold air caught Hermione and reminded her rather awkwardly that she still wore Malfoy's jersey without a bra on underneath.
Hermione backed out, embarrassed at the thought of being seen like this, then hesitated, recalling that she was invisible thanks to the curse. Well, Malfoy could see her, but he wasn't likely to come up soon, was he? And even if he did, he had already seen her like this, right? Hermione chewed her lip in indecision, but propriety won out. Illogical as it felt, Hermione simply couldn't stomach entering the Great Hall in such a state. She sighed and took one step towards the Gryffindor tower to get dressed when she recalled that her bra and blouse were in her pockets.
"Of course," Hermione muttered to herself, and she headed for the nearest loo to change. Malfoy's words that she could run around naked taunted her on the way, but she refused to pay them heed. She was raised better than that, even if she let herself get carried away with Malfoy's hands in his bedroom.
Hermione recalled how his elegant long fingers had explored her exposed belly and come so very close to her breasts, and she blushed with a mix of mortification and delight. Once she had the privacy of the loo, she pulled off his jersey and considered allowing her own hands to explore herself the way she had hoped Malfoy's hands would. The very thought stung her with heat, however, and she hastened to put on her bra before temptation distracted her from what really mattered, like eating a healthy breakfast, staying on her studies, and protecting her heart from Malfoy.
"Though there's nothing wrong with a little fun if it's consensual," Hermione reminded herself. It wasn't like she and Ron had never let their hands wander, though Ron's hands had been more fumbling and self-serving than Malfoy's precise, teasing movements. Hermione's ears burned as she thought more on her night with Malfoy, and her expression soured as she recalled that his primary reason for stopping had been about consent. Could she have Stockholm Syndrome?
Hermione slipped on her blouse next and buttoned it. She glanced down at its many wrinkles and scowled, knowing she probably looked quite rumpled all over. Hermione wished the curse allowed her to see her reflection. No one could see her but Malfoy, of course, but she would like to know what Malfoy saw when he looked at her. Would he even tell her if she had a smudge on her face? She was quite guilty of leaving smears of ink on her cheeks and forehead when she got very busy studying. His soft lips on her forehead came to mind, and she squeezed her eyes shut against the memory. Under other circumstances, she would likely have treasured such a declaration of affection. However, he had called her his responsibility just beforehand, like she was some kind of deranged pet he got stuck with. Was that how Malfoy saw her?
"I didn't ask for his pity," she grumbled. Her words echoed in her mind with an odd deja vu. That's right. Malfoy had said something similar to her after she defended him from Ginny yesterday. Hermione froze. Had that really only been yesterday?
Her jaw fell open as she recalled the encounter between Ginny and Malfoy had also been when she felt the first real spark of her attraction to Malfoy. Within one day, she had somehow gone from barely tolerating him to openly desiring him. Was her heart so fickle? Ron had just broken up with her the other day as well, and now Hermione hardly thought of him. Her head was full of Malfoy. "Small wonder Malfoy thinks I have Stockholm," she said. She chewed her bottom lip, considering the possibility that she had fallen victim to that particular psychological phenomenon.
Malfoy certainly held power over her in their current arrangement, and she unquestionably felt strongly for him now, however… her feelings had been born from the knowledge that they were more similar than she had realized. "Though perhaps believing that sort of thing is part of Stockholm Syndrome as well," Hermione pondered, playing devil's advocate to herself. It felt wrong though, somehow. "At the root of Stockholm is viewing the other person as your captor," Hermione said, pacing in front of the sinks in the loo.
The door opened, and Hermione froze, momentarily fearful that she had been overheard. A yawning young Hufflepuff entered, ignored Hermione entirely, and claimed a stall without acknowledging her. Hermione took deep breaths to calm her frantic heart and cringed in shame when she recalled the curse would have prevented her from being heard or seen.
Being unintentionally ignored by someone felt strange after all her hours working with Malfoy. Spending time with him away from everyone else had let her focus on something other than her curse. He had made it all too easy for Hermione to forget her circumstances. She would never have tickled him if she had been focusing on the power difference between them.
Ah.
Feeling suddenly unsteady, Hermione leaned back against one of the sinks and hugged herself. She may not fully understand Stockholm Syndrome, but she was fairly certain that it did not happen unless you considered the other person your captor.
Hermione's feelings for Malfoy had only flourished when she had forgotten he held power over her.
"Bollucks," Hermione cursed and sighed. It wasn't as though she was very disappointed to discover her feelings for Malfoy were likely genuine. Her pride certainly preferred the blow of genuine affection over the injury of having fallen to a psychological trap. However, some part of her knew she would have an easier time keeping her distance and moving on if her feelings had not been genuine.
Creating distance was the one thing Hermione was certain of. She would have to stay away from Malfoy if she wanted to survive this curse with her heart intact.
Hermione patted down her hair, which still remained partially fastened up, and brushed out the wrinkles in her shirt and skirt as well as she could manage. Of course, her robe would hide much of them, and even if it couldn't, only Malfoy could see her, but…
Hermione squeezed her eyes shut in frustration. She was allowed to care for her appearance even when no one could witness it.
She left the loo and headed back for the Great Hall, which was beginning to look lively. Hermione scanned the tables quickly and sat down at the Hufflepuff table. Somehow, sitting with her own house was too painful, and she certainly wouldn't risk sitting next to Malfoy while her heart was so vulnerable. The Hufflepuffs wouldn't mind her presence though.
Breakfast went smoothly. No one seemed to notice Hermione while she quickly downed several eggs and some sausage. If Malfoy entered the hall for breakfast, Hermione never saw him. She left as quickly as she was able, and since she had the time available before Advanced Charms, she headed back up to Gryffindor Tower to freshen up before class.
Hermione rather did miss having access to the prefect bathroom this year, but the shower in Gryffindor Tower still felt heavenly after her long night with Malfoy. She wondered what Ginny and Harry would say if they knew. She smirked as she pictured Harry speechless while Ginny exploded with questions. Of course, given their bias against Malfoy, Harry's speechless state would likely be accompanied by a suspicious glare, and Ginny's explosion of questions would probably be judgmental in nature. Hermione's lip curled down in a slight frown. Could she even blame them? Malfoy was bad news regardless of his past.
He had actually offered to provide her intimacy as part of his responsibility towards her.
Hermione shuddered. Even putting the complication of her genuine interest aside, could she ever become so desperate for physical affection that she would ask Malfoy for help knowing he would feel obligated to grant it? It was one thing if he wanted it too, but… Hermione pictured a grimacing Malfoy forcing himself to touch her and was quickly overcome with nausea. The very thought was vile. How would that be any different from assaulting him directly?
She didn't just need to protect her heart from him. She also needed to protect him from his responsibility to her.
Hermione finished her shower, toweled herself dry with renewed vigor, and quickly got dressed. When she went to her room to collect her things, she found a parcel sitting at her bedside table and Ginny sitting on her bed next to it. Their other roommates had already left for the morning. Hermione paused, recalling that when she had last left Ginny, Ginny had been convinced that Malfoy had imperiused Hermione or worse given her claim that Malfoy had been decent about things.
Anxiety filled Hermione at the thought of facing Ginny again so soon after how their previous conversation had turned out, but Hermione also desperately wanted to talk to someone about what had happened, and Ginny had become rather good at relationship advice.
Hermione took a deep breath, walked up to Ginny, and looked at the parcel on the table. It was an envelope on top of a box wrapped in brown paper, and the whole thing was tied up with twine. The envelope was addressed to Hermione and Ginny in a vaguely familiar handwriting.
Well, that explained Ginny's presence, at least, and if it were addressed to both of them… "The morse code book from George!" Hermione gasped. What other reason would they receive a package addressed to them now?
Hermione untied the string, catching Ginny's attention, and handed Ginny the envelope. Ginny looked at the space Hermione was in expectantly, but her eyes never found the envelope. "Hermione?"
"Right," Hermione muttered and dropped the envelope in Ginny's lap so Ginny could see it again.
Ginny shuddered. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that." She yawned. "Morning, 'Mione. Where were you last night? I kept waiting for you to return, but you never did. Not till now. Guess you can't exactly explain it until we know morse code. I expect that's what's in the box though. It's George's handwriting." Ginny looked down at the letter in her lap. "Right, I should probably read this first." She opened the envelope and slid out a folded piece of parchment from within. "Dear Hermione and Ginny," Ginny read. "I would provide a translation book on morse code, but I'm afraid it's rather impossible… or perhaps the word I'm looking for is impractical?"
Ginny paused with a look of disgust on her face and stared at the box. "What's he mean, impractical?"
Hermione tried to lean over Ginny to read the letter herself in her impatience to learn what George had meant, but Ginny continued a moment later. "Morse code is not a language. It is a direct translation of letters, numbers, and punctuation." Ginny blinked in surprise. "Oh, well I suppose that makes sense. But why the box then? Hang on, I'll finish reading: I have included the translation in the box along with a book for each of you. I hope the books will provide you wisdom and solace in this trying time. All my best, George."
Hermione had already moved onto the box and begun unwrapping it. She was desperate for a way to talk to Ginny again. Once the paper was off, she found a Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes gift box inside. She lifted the lid, and a sheet of parchment rested on top with the morse code translations on it for each alphanumeric character and the common punctuation. Ginny stood to look, and Hermione had the awkward chore of stepping aside so that Ginny didn't overlap with her physically. Ginny picked up the morse code parchment, studied it briefly, then set it aside. She pulled out the two books underneath next and frowned at them.
"What to Do When Your Invisible Friend Is Real," Ginny read, holding up the first book, which was thin and spectacularly yellow. "Guess that one's for me. Wonder what he got you." She shrugged and tossed her book on Hermione's bed, then looked at the other one, which was thick and striped a gaudy black and red. "Ten Titillating Tales of Trapped Trollops?!" Ginny said in an incredulous tone with increasing volume. "I've been wanting a copy for years, but Mum always told me I was too young! It's banned at Hogwarts, you know."
Hermione's jaw dropped, wondering what on earth inspired George to pick that for her. Perhaps there had been a mistake and the yellow book was for her after all? Ginny certainly was more the type to go for sleazy romances than she was, assuming these stories even were romances. Perhaps they were simply tales of pure smut. Hermione's mind boggled just trying to process it.
Ginny nearly ripped the cover in her haste to open it. "There's writing here too: Dear Hermione," Ginny started and sulked. "Looks like it is for you," she said with no small measure of disappointment. She returned to the note inside the book cover. "I thought long and hard on the most appropriate book to share with you. Then after dulling myself to tears, I thought to myself… where's the fun in that? So then I went for the most inappropriate book I could find relating to your circumstances. I hope it satisfies. I have been promised that it is amongst the most frequently banned books in young wizarding schools, and I have it on good authority that Filch passed out from fury the last time he confiscated a copy from a student. Best regards, George," Ginny finished with a thunderstruck expression. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish for a moment, then she glanced down at the book and blinked with surprise. "Oh, he wrote a postscript, hang on… PS: I understand that my youngest brother is the prattiest of the prats, and that you are now a single witch. Know that you are beautiful and could claim any wizard you desired, and I suspect Percy holds a soft spot if you're still particular to redheads and want to watch Ron cringe. Cheers!"
Ginny gaped at the book another moment, tossed it on the bed, and opened the yellow cover of her own book. "Dear Ginny, you're beautiful too, and Mum will have both our heads if she finds out you've read Hermione's book through me, so be a dear and hold your tongue. Love, George."
Hermione smirked as Ginny stared blankly at George's note a moment longer and then looked back to the gaudy book. "Oh Hermione, can I please read it first? I swear I'll never ask anything of you again."
Hermione grinned at her friend's antics. Gone was the anxiety from their clash over Malfoy yesterday, and Hermione half-wondered if George had planned this. Of course, George wouldn't have known of their conflict, and while he could be sneaky, his ambitions ran more towards explosive pranks than subtle relationship shifts. George wasn't exactly Malfoy.
Hermione flinched. Where had that come from?
"Come on, Hermione. Get the map so we can try this! I've been dying to talk to you!" Ginny fussed.
Hermione shook her head clear and pulled the map out from its hiding place, remembering this time to take advantage of her curse to save herself the trouble of removing the wards protecting the map and then setting them back up. She set the map on the bed, and a second later, Ginny noticed it and picked it up. Hermione tugged gently on the other side of it so Ginny knew she was there and ready.
"Okay, so we got the code. Err, can you tell me hi?" Ginny asked her.
Hermione checked the morse code translation. She gave the map four quick tugs for the h, paused, and gave it another two quick tugs for the i. Ginny bit her lip in concentration as she scanned the parchment with the translation. "Four dots… then two… You did it!" Ginny's jaw gaped in a wide smile, and she laughed. "You have got to tell me everything!"
Hermione grinned with excitement, but the thrill of finally being able to confide in Ginny flagged as she recalled her newfound feelings for Malfoy and desire to protect him… not to mention how actions Ginny took might leave Hermione worse off than before. Still, that didn't mean Hermione couldn't talk to Ginny about some things… and honestly, she wanted an outside perspective on whether her feelings for Malfoy were genuine or not. She had just been dumped by Ron, after all, and then found herself without interactive company from anyone but Malfoy…
Hermione set to work. She wished she could write down what she wanted to say and then code it, but with Malfoy's continued restriction on generally communicating without his permission, she knew the curse would prevent her. She blinked. The curse would prevent her, but she could still get Ginny to write things down, which would help both of them.
"Get a quill," Hermione said out loud. "So first g, which is two long pulls and a short one, and then an e…"
A couple minutes later, Ginny had received the full message. "Get a quill? Of course, er… Accio parchment and quill," Ginny said, not bothering to get up from where she now sat beside Hermione. "Oh wait, I need my wand." She pulled out her wand and repeated the words, and the objects came tumbling towards them.
In this way, they continued their awkward conversation with the aid of the map and the morse code.
Ginny read what Hermione wrote and glared at it. "Oh come on, Hermione. I know I'm not Ron or Harry, but I can hold my tongue well as any of you. Certainly better than Ron can. What's going on? What's happened? Why are you like this?"
Hermione smiled at her friend, thankful that Ginny was still at Hogwarts, even if Ron and Harry weren't. She bit her lip, contemplating what exactly to share. "Lucius Malfoy cursed me. Draco cannot free me. Draco helping. Before Draco, I could not use wand or magic. I could not defend myself against him. Draco gave back wand, magic, and defense," she said, feeling awkward with the halting language used to minimize work on translation. It was so very different from how she usually spoke.
Ginny's eyes widened as she decoded and read what Hermione shared. She stared blankly at the words for a few moments after, simply processing. Hermione watched Ginny's frozen face and waited for the inevitable explosion of Ginny's reaction, but it never came. Ginny simply began shaking her head slowly. "I don't understand… I mean, I understand that Malfoy's father would curse you, but why would Malfoy help? And please don't tell me you call him Draco now," Ginny said, giving the space where Hermione was a dubious look. "That would be really weird, even if you two are growing chummy somehow."
Hermione got to work on the next response. "I call him Malfoy still. Malfoy claims moral code is reason. Nothing personal."
Ginny stiffened, clearly taken aback. "Malfoy? Moral code? Those do not belong in the same sentence. Are you sure he's not in on this?"
"Positive," Hermione coded to Ginny. Malfoy had his moments of being less than genuine, but she had no doubt that he was genuine in that respect. "There is more," she added when Ginny didn't respond right away. "Malfoy fears Azkaban from curse blame."
Ginny snorted. "Shocker there. So what?"
Hermione frowned. "Not his fault I am cursed. He wants to help me."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "He wants to help himself, Hermione. Surely you can see that. I mean, this is Malfoy, right? When has he ever done anything that wasn't incredibly self-serving? You said he can't free you, though I wonder at that. Likely, he's too afraid of his father to truly help you. Probably afraid he'll lose his inheritance or something… but he also knows that this may get uncovered, and if it does, he'll look a lot better for having shown kindness. You're gullible, Hermione, and the champion of lost causes. Err, I didn't mean to say it like that… please don't take it to heart. Still, it's all too easy to see you standing up in Malfoy's defense at his inevitable trial for hiding your cursed state. Let me guess, he's offered to be your friend too, right?"
Wincing away Ginny's blow to her pride since this was not the time or place to argue, Hermione thought back to all her conversations with Malfoy, wondering if maybe Ginny was onto something. Still, Hermione had sought Malfoy out. Hermione had been the one to suggest meals together. Hermione had been the one to follow Malfoy when Ginny was bothering him and protect him from Ginny. Hermione had been the one to rush to his dormitory when he was being investigated. She was the one who had come up with the letters idea, and then she had stayed after he had fallen asleep.
"Hermione?"
"Thinking," Hermione coded back to Ginny. Malfoy had responded to Hermione's gestures towards companionship in some ways… such as letting her know she could talk to him since she had no one else, and asking her to stay when she was fed up with his teasing, but… And there was this morning, when he had promised to be there for her since she was his responsibility and kissed her on the forehead. Hermione felt her eyes well up with tears again, and she sniffed.
Hermione took a deep breath and blew it out. She wanted to get Ginny's advice, and that meant telling Ginny how things were. "He has not. He feels responsible for me and pities me." Hermione's heart ached, trying to find the words to explain her feelings. Perhaps she should just tell Ginny what they did.
"I want to protect him," Hermione coded, not entirely certain if this was her original motivation, but it was true. "We agreed to say I had a crush on Malfoy."
Hermione wasn't done explaining, but Ginny startled at those words and jerked on the map, pulling Hermione with it. "Wait, what?" Ginny opened and closed her mouth. "But Hermione, who would ever believe such a thing? Everyone knows you two can't stand each other."
Hermione groaned and decided to skip over trying to convince Ginny of how plausible her plan was. "We wrote letters. Transfigured old notes to date the parchment and ink. Created evidence. Wrote confession. Up all night working."
Ginny frowned, clearly still going over this in her head. Hermione took her chance.
"Lie became real. I like him."
Ginny froze, petrified by what Hermione had communicated. "Wait, I decoded it wrong, didn't I?" Ginny said after a moment, awkwardly laughing at herself. "There's no way that's right. That's impossible."
Hermione winced. "I have a crush on Draco Malfoy," she carefully coded for Ginny.
"I don't… you can't… did he… What?" Ginny said, incredulous dismay marring her face. "How? When? But you and Ron…"
Hermione sighed and began coding again. "I need help. Started yesterday. Letters changed things. Malfoy is…" Hermione paused in coding, trying to think of how to say it. "Malfoy is good correspondent. Got to know him better. Wish I knew him sooner. Might be mutual. He asked me to stay when I got angry. Apologized."
"Malfoy apologized?" Ginny echoed. She shook her head clear and put one hand on top of the map, as if asking for Hermione to listen. "Let me get this straight. You and Malfoy made up a correspondence to trick everyone into thinking you had a crush on him all along, which, for the record, still makes no sense to me. You fell for Malfoy in the letters, he somehow made you angry, and then he apologized and asked you to stay?" Ginny returned her hands to holding the parchment.
"Yes," Hermione coded.
"This is going to sound really weird, but are you sure he didn't just see you for an easy shag?" Ginny asked.
"Yes," Hermione responded, and she wondered if she should tell Ginny that Malfoy had stopped himself when Hermione hadn't. "Moral code," she ended up adding. "He sees me as vulnerable. Felt wrong to take advantage."
"How would you know…" Ginny frowned, and then her eyes went wide. "You slept in his bed, didn't you? You were gone all night." Ginny tilted her head to the side as if struck by a stray thought. "Ron would lose his head if he knew. Harry too. But Hermione, what's come over you? Aren't you still a virgin? And why would you trust Malfoy with something like that, even if you fancy him?"
Hermione bit her lip, wondering how to explain. She was a virgin, though she didn't feel like discussing that particular fact with the little sister of the person she was most likely to have shagged. Not to mention opening the floodgates to that sort of talk might mean hearing about Harry's sex life, and Hermione wished to avoid that at all costs.
Ginny blew out a long breath, watching a long strand of her red hair fly away from her face and fall back down. "You never were very good at talking about this stuff for yourself, were you? Well, let's go back a step. You like Malfoy, so I expect you also like being with Malfoy. What do you like about being with Malfoy?"
Hermione considered this. Malfoy was handsome, but that was not what drew her, or she would have been drawn years ago. "I feel heard," she coded. "He listens well. He teases, but he teases my nature. My ideas are respected. He responds with logic. He respects my body," Hermione said, and her thoughts drifted to when Malfoy handed her the robe to better cover up in his room. "He is considerate. He is patient. He treats me like I matter," Hermione added, and tears came up again. She waited till they cleared so she could see before she coded more. "I spent months wondering if Ron cared. Malfoy cares for the wrong reasons, but he cares. I do not want to like him. He is cruel still. Manipulative snake. Words like venom. I cried, but he comforted me after."
Ginny took this all in. "You sound mental, Hermione. Malfoy's not like that… well, he is a manipulative and venomous snake, but the rest of it?" Ginny shook her head in disbelief. "Nevermind. I suppose it doesn't matter. It's hard to see a bloke properly when you're in a bad spot. So Ron ignored you for months before he dumped you, and now that Malfoy is paying attention to you and doing the things you wished Ron had done, you feel really strongly for him?"
Hermione nodded, but recalling Ginny couldn't see her, she tugged out the morse code: "Yes."
"You do realize you're just rebounding, right? You just said yourself that he's basically still an evil git to you. You're just using Malfoy to distract yourself from getting dumped by Ron… and the curse too, I suppose."
Hermione pinched her brow together, wondering if Ginny was right. Her attraction for Malfoy had come on rather suddenly, and exploring her dynamic with Malfoy had been a much more pleasant distraction than thinking about the curse or her breakup with Ron.
"I'm still shocked you fell for Malfoy. I get you didn't exactly have other options, but Hermione, it's Malfoy."
"War changed him," Hermione protested, using the map.
"The war didn't change his father," Ginny pointed out, but she sighed a moment later, and some of the fight left her eyes. "I suppose it has been a while since I last saw Malfoy bothering anyone." The corner of her lips quirked downward. "I've heard he stopped fighting back too." Ginny blinked wide, astonished eyes. "You knew! That's why you stopped me from hexing him. You knew he wouldn't protect himself."
Hermione didn't bother replying. They sat in silence, pondering the situation.
"He's still a prat though," Ginny said after a bit.
"Yes," Hermione coded.
"A cruel, spineless jerk who can't be trusted, Hermione."
"I know," Hermione replied, though she questioned that last bit. She did trust Malfoy in some ways.
"I think I get it. He's a lost cause himself. You like those. He's shown potential to change, and you've made him your new S.P.E.W. or whatever. Your new project."
Hermione didn't quite think Ginny was right, but it didn't matter, really. It didn't matter if she was rebounding. It didn't matter if he was her new project. It didn't even matter if she genuinely liked him, really. "I need to stay away from him, Ginny," Hermione coded.
"That we can agree on," Ginny said. "So what is this curse? Have you figured out how to break it yet?"
Hermione carefully filled Ginny in on everything she knew. The book on the bracelet, including the original purpose of the item.
"Bugger them all. That's disgusting!" Ginny exclaimed.
Hermione explained the limits of her curse, including why she could use the map to talk, but nothing else unless Malfoy wished it.
"Of course, you would find a loophole to an ancient curse, Hermione. You're brilliant!"
Hermione went into detail on the ideas she had for escaping the curse and also how they could go wrong if Malfoy found out what they were doing.
"Well potions isn't my best subject, but I'm sure we can find someone who can brew a decent polyjuice potion, and I'm sure Harry can get some hair from Malfoy's father's cell. Harry's an auror, after all, and he's Harry," Ginny added, recalling that Harry's fame likely carried as much weight as his position. "Let's try that one first. Neither Malfoy would ever need to know."
"Thank you," Hermione coded to Ginny, discovering a newfound appreciation for the girl she had always seen more as a little sister than a close friend.
"I'll write Harry right away, and I'll talk to Luna again too. You're not alone, Hermione. You've still got your friends, even if we can't see you."
Hermione nodded, smiling even as she felt tears of relief.
"McGonagall cannot know," Hermione warned. She knew McGonagall meant well, but she didn't trust the elderly witch not to give them away to Malfoy. McGonagall had many strengths, but bluffing certainly wasn't one of them. Malfoy would see through her in an instant.
Ginny barked a laugh. "I don't even plan to tell Ron. This will stay between Harry, Luna, and us. You just keep your distance from Malfoy while we get you freed. I'm sure you'll come back to your senses once you're back to normal."
Hermione sure hoped so.
"I mean, it's not like you sit next to him in class or anything, right?"
Class.
Hermione's heart froze in her chest, and she pulled out her timepiece with shaky hands.
She was late for class.
Please review! My youngest and I are home with a stomach bug today, so distractions are much appreciated.