Disclaimer: the characters belong to J.K.Rowling.

This chapter is posted temporarily, because I'm not really comfortable with writing smutty scenes with Hermione and Oliver. As a proof, it didn't come out very well. The scene belongs here, but I feel I got it wrong. Hopefully, there will be time for a rewrite.

Chapter VIII -Fair Game

"I think better when I'm in water. Some of my best ideas came when I was in the bath-tub"

*By Merlin, what does she think she's doing to me? She's lucky I stopped the first time, but I don't know how much of this I can endure! This place is melting my every ounce of self-restrain…*

Hermione could see the struggle on his face, but she misinterpreted, as usually.

"How are you feeling? Does it hurt you?"

She was very close to him now. When she stretched her hand to touch his face in a futile attempt to soothe him with a chaste caress, Oliver jumped back.

"You better go have that swim. Maybe you can figure a way out of here"

Misinterpreting other people's reactions was something of a way of life for Hermione. She saw his retreat as a rejection.

*Now that the sun is up, he sees me and not even her magic can make him stand my touch. He was honest in Paris. He can't understand why a man would waste his time with me on any other subject than work*

She walked up the river until she found a small pond, surrounded by thick rose shrubbery. The air was scented and she soon felt as comfortable as she was in the Hogwarts prefects' bathroom. One of the few spells she could cast without her wand was the Thorsen musical spell. She projected "Mad about you", performed by Sting and closed her eyes.

The sound alarmed Oliver, who came running. A man's voice resonated all around and he couldn't see the source. The alertness caused by a possible danger neutralised for a moment the uninhibiting effect of the Garden. He instinctively jumped into the pond and swam towards Hermione.

"What are you doing?" she cried out outraged.

"Get out of there! Don't you hear it? There is someone else here"

"It's just a simple charm. It helps me relax"

"I thought you couldn't do magic!"

"Will you get out of here!"

Only this second shout made him notice the situation they were in. She had backed away to the deeper part of the pool, trying to hide her nudity in the murky green waters. He could only guess the shape of her body under the water.

Her long wet hair seemed black. It framed her face, now purple with embarrassment. Her eyes were sparkling with rage. This picture had a very arousing effect on him. Oliver felt the same strong urge to kiss her.

He smothered her cries with a long, passionate kiss. This time though, Hermione resisted his embrace. She was not in the best position to do so, since her own feelings prompted her to give in. Oliver's hands were getting more daring by the second, gliding down on her body, in spite of the struggle she put on. His perfect caresses were bringing her to the edge of sanity. She felt her body melting under his touches, freeing her spirit. He was the one thing she waited for her own life. He was the One. The other half of her. She wanted to become one with him. Her will was softening. She considered responding to his embrace with the intensity she felt. But her conscience pushed away this temptation. As much as she wanted Oliver, this was not Oliver. He would never touch her like that. He'd never hold her with such passion. Oliver would never shove his tongue into her mouth like that.

*Nice boys don't kiss like that*

Hermione's body felt vibrant in his grip, her hits seemed light on his muscular body. She gave the sensation of a bird, trying to get away from a child's fist.

Her constant opposition ended with annoying him enough to pull her out of the water.

He dragged her on the smooth grass and he continued ravishing her mouth. His hunger became more intense with every new touch. The barrier of self-control was broken. There was nothing to keep him now from satisfying this burning lust. He spread her legs and was prepared to take off his clothes when he heard her.

"Please stop, Oliver" Hermione sighed, worn out from the fight.

This last plea penetrated Oliver's conscience sharper than the scratches on his back, more vividly than her attempts to push him away physically.

He looked at her again. She was still the most beautiful and most arousing woman he'd ever seen, but he noticed the tears in her eyes. He looked at her wrists. The red impressions of his fingers were distinct on her white skin. He saw her lips, swollen from his violent kisses.

He got up and ran away, without looking back, without apologising. Hermione got dressed quietly. She wasn't mad at him. Something in this place made him lose his mind. But she was not sure she could reject him again if he tried.

She had to find the exit. She made some more calculations, but nothing in her years at Hogwarts prepared her for dealing with ancient Egyptian magic. Knowing Madeleine, the spell had a way out, but not an easy one. After all, Madeleine's prey was not a ordinary one.

~~~~~~

The evening was falling over the garden with such a magnificent grace that impressed even her practical mind. She found Oliver where they arrived the other night. He was sitting on a rock, staring blankly at the sealed mountain. Hermione knew he was not thinking about the exit.

"It wasn't your fault"

He jerked in his seat. He wanted to run away again, but he knew there was no point. This beautiful Garden was a trap. And he couldn't run from his conscience.

"I…" but the words failed him.

"There's no need for that. It wasn't you. It's this place"

He still wanted to beg forgiveness on his knees. She sat next to him. She smelled of roses and oranges. He fought the shame of another wave of arousal. He couldn't accept her forgiveness. He was not worthy.

Hermione stood next to him, knowing that she had no way to get him through this. She just stood next to him, showing him an unconditional trust. She restrained the need to pet him. Her touch, as gentle as could be, would feel like a slap on the face, not a comforting gesture.

"Did you think of a way out?"

The words came out like boulders. The guilt was a crushing burden. Nothing in his beaten voice showed any trace of the glamorous Gryffindor Quidditch star.

"No"

Hermione's voice showed almost the same level of despair.

The moon was shining on their heads when they heard the noise.

~~~~~~ At the same time, on the other side of the tunnel ~~~~~~

"It doesn't work! You forgot the incantation!"

"Will you shut up and concentrate! You're doing it wrong. I can't believe how clumsy you can be outside your lab"

Madeleine de Bricassart showed Professor Snape for the fifth time the way the words were pronounced.

"Why am I helping you anyway?" Snape had been annoying her like that the whole day. "I should report you to the Ministry of Magic for what you did to me!"

"You do it because you're such a swell guy!" she smirked at him.

"Flattery will get you nowhere"

"And because you'd be embarrassed to say that one of your students was able to stun you"

"You're not my student. You've never been my student, come to think of it"

"It's not what the Hogwarts register says. Listen, are you gonna focus or what? You can punish me later"

"Detention" he grinned at her.

They said the spell again. The rock wasn't moving.

"Are you sure…."

"I'm sure" she cut his words yelling. "Hold me" she whispered.

"Excuse me?"

"When I put the spell I was… well… in love… So maybe…"

"Pretexts" he sneered, cocky, but he followed her indication.

As soon as the entranced was clear, she jumped out of his arms.

"Hermione!!" she yelled before she saw her friend few feet away.

"Madeleine"

The girl ran to her friend.

"How did you know?"

"Will you come out of there or what? You can interrogate me in a more appropriate surrounding"

"Right. Oliver, let's go"

Watching the young couple, Madeleine sighed quietly, relieved. Her work was still intact. The ages hadn't damaged her tissue of spells.

~~~~~ Hermione's chamber, Cairo ~~~~~~~

"I think we're all entitled to some explanations" Snape began the cross-examination.

"Fire away" Madeleine smiled over her cup of tea.

"What was that we were trapped in?" Hermione asked.

"I thought you figured it out by yourself"

"I have my suspicions"

"That was a honey trap. Mr. Wood, I know you work for the Morgana Institute, but I need to know if you can keep a lid on what you'll hear tonight"

"Not if it's damaging for the Institute"

"I know the clause in your contract. It's not damaging. But they would be very happy to find out this. Anyway, if you don't want to tell them, the contract by itself can't force you to disclose"

"You seem to know a lot about it" Snape noticed, ironic.

"My parents work for the Institute" she eluded the tease. "Mr. Wood"

"OK" he said, wanting to learn more about the Garden.

"Well that place was designed to bring people together. It's something like a zone free of the inhibitions of the every day life. Some time ago, there was this witch, Isis, who was in love with a man. The problem was that she was a slave and he was her master. So, he wasn't supposed to look at her. Not more than once, anyway" she added with a smile. "So, she bewitched the tunnel to lead to a distant glade, on the Kilimanjaro. She made a rudimentary port key that transported them there"

"And what happened to them"

Oliver was surprised to see Snape asking that question.

"They lived happily ever after… No, they hated each other after the first month. They broke up. She ran out of Egypt, found shelter in Greece… I don't remember very much of the story"

"How did they get out?" Hermione's scientific mind was not satisfied.

"The port key reappears every six months"

"Did they have any children?"

Snape was asking the strangest question, Oliver thought, but his mind soon turned to his situation. It was a very reasonable supposition, taking into account what had almost happen between him and Hermione.

"No. They never had children… Well, it was an interesting evening, but I have work in the morning. Good night everyone! Hermione, I'll come again this week. If you'll still have me"

"Oh I actually want to sit down and talk to you!"

That sounded like a threat! But Madeleine smiled, happy to see the old curious Hermione back in action.

Snape dissaparated at the same time, leaving Oliver and Hermione alone again.

"I got to go, too" he said with his eyes fixed on the carpet.

"Oliver" her voice was warm and understanding. "You are my friend. I know you didn't want to harm me. That wasn't you. Let's forget about the whole thing!"

"Maybe we'll never talk about it again, but I can't forget it. And I don't think you can either" he said calmly *And you shouldn't be so sure I'm your friend. Because it was me, acting like that. I still want to do it, but I don't have the luxury of having my conscience temporarily suspended* "Good night"

And poof! he was gone.

~~~~~~~~

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