Continuation for all stories!
Author's Note: Yes, it has been a while. Blame AP tests and
final exams. Not to mention a few million other distractions,
most originating from school. Anyhoo, this portion replaces
my little teaser for the Girl Who Loved V and acts as the next
part for *all* three fics.
Disclaimer: THIS IS S-L-A-S-H! And this is where it starts to
show up, not all that physically quite yet, but if that sort
of thing offends you for whatever bigoted reason you may have,
then go read something else. Please. Otherwise, read on, and
I'd love to hear from anyone with similar tastes :-) (Thanks
to Charlotte for being the first person to read the author's
note *and* reply to it :-D )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ron sidled closer to Hermione, wrapping his arm around the
back of her chair as he leaned in to study the potions book.
Hermione shifted uncomfortably under his touch, but put up
with the casual contact without comment for the sake of
appearances. She heard Lavender and Parvati giggling in the
corner and blushed faintly- she knew what they were thinking,
and didn't much approve of it. But... to hide her secret,
she'd do what was neccessary. With a sigh, she snuggled closer
to Ron.
She didn't notice Ginny enter the common room and storm up
the stairs in disgust.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny lay alone in her dorm room, trying to lose herself in a
battered copy of "101 Things About the Dark Arts (that your
teacher *never* taught you)." Ginny had found it discarded on
the floor of the Gryffindor common room, and seeing that the
name on the inside cover was "Neville Longbottom" she knew for
a fact no one would guess it had been taken for days, so being
too lazy to face the library, she'd "borrowed" it. Besides,
the book held a strange fascination for her. Its descriptions
of death and torture were certainly far more palatable than
the new Hogwarts romance being enacted downstares.
Not that Ginny would care about that. Not that all she could
think about was the sight of Hermione and Ron together
"studying".
After all, it wasn't as if Ginny had been dumped.
At least, not yet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione waved to Ron as he departed on some small errand of
his own, and waited until he'd passed through the Fat Lady's
portrait before she hurried up to the girls dorm rooms.
"Ginny?" She whispered, rapping gently on the door of the
fifth year room. The door swung open to allow Hermione to
enter.
"Hey there, carrot top." Hermione said fondly as she took
a lazy perch beside Ginny on the bed, running her fingers
through her girlfriend's hair.
"Hi, book worm." Ginny replied absently, her gaze not leaving
her book.
Hermione peered over Ginny's shoulder and read aloud from the
page, "The corpsus concealus charm is used for funerals and
any other necessary disposal of corpses. Originally developed
by a crafty undertaker, the charm is now a standard spell in
the tomes of Dark Arts practicioners. In one documented case,
a follower of He Who Must Not Be Named used a variant of the
spell to bury his victim alive..." She trailed off with a
shudder. "How can you read this?"
Ginny smiled unpleasantly. "I suppose it is rather morbid,
but then, it suits my mood perfectly."
Hermione frowned, taking the book from Ginny's hands and
meeting her gaze worriedly. "And why is that?"
"Why don't you go ask Ron?" Ginny replied fiercely. Grabbing
the book back, she rose and stormed out of the room.
Hermione's eyes watched Ginny leave, before she followed slowly.
There was no talking to Ginny when she was like this. One
thing was clear, however- Hermione needed to sort matters
out with Ron.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the time Hermione located Ron in the main dining hall, it
was time to go to Snape's class. The two walked together, but
in the bustling corridors there was no chance to talk. Ron
escorted Hermione in to Snape's dungeon only a few minutes
before the start of class, leading her up to a seat right near
Snape's desk. Dracao and Neville were seated across the aisle
from them, along with their companions Crabbe and Goyle. Ron
eyed the group nervously, but with no other seats in the room
available there wasn't much he could do about being close to
them.
Draco met Weasley's gaze fiercely, smirking to himself when the
other boy turned away. He unconciously stroked Neville's pale
hand, not willing to speak but wanting to offer the other boy
what assurances he could. He'd felt Neville tense as Ron drew
near, and although he did not know the reason, he would venture
to guess that it was in some way his fault.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Severus stormed in to the classroom, his robes billowing around
him and revealing the black pajama pants he'd left on from when
he'd stumbled out of bed only minutes earlier. If any of his
students planned to laugh, their mirth was silenced by the
ferocity of his glare. As he took his seat in front of the class
room and regarded his students wordlessly, even Draco shifted
uncomfortably in his seat. Finally Snape spoke, in a voice that-
though barely louder than a whisper- carried into the darkest
corners and caused even the spiders there to flee in terror.
"Get out your cauldrons and open your tomes to the Lupus Noctus
potion. I'll be checking them for imperfections in half an
hour."
Draco was first on his feet, opening his tome and going to the
back table to gather the necessary ingredients. Other students
followed only after they had reassured themselves that Snape
wasn't planning to fry any student that moved. When Ron rose,
Snape again spoke, just the sound causing many students to
freeze guiltily in their tracks. "Weasley. I need to see you
in my office."
Ron gaped at him- what office, and why? But when Snape walked
to the back of the room and opened a door Ron hadn't even *seen*
before, Ron was quick to follow, gathering with him the notes
he and Hermione had made on the memorious potion. The two
disappeared from the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Even with Snape gone, there was little conversation among the
students. Draco watched the door of Snape's office worriedly.
When Neville touched his arm and drew him back to reality,
Draco shook his head. "Poor Weasley."
"Now that's something I never expected to hear from you."
Neville commented dryly.
"Well I've rarely seen Snape that angry before." Draco replied
with a shrug. "The way I see it, two things could be happening.
Either Snape's about to detatch Weasley's head from his neck,
or those two are sleeping together."
"That's a bit of a stretch, isn't it?" Neville said with a grin.
"Not as much as you might think. He *is* gay, you know. Father
told me he and Lockhart almost got suspended for "inappropriate
displays of affection when they went to school here. Lucky for
Lockhart that Dumbledore decided to keep it quiet."
"I bet that Skeeter woman would just love to hear about that."
Neville grinned almost wickedly. "Just imagine how many hearts
it would break if people found out Lockhart was gay."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
End of the first joint part in the series! Please review: what
do you think of this style?
Author's Note: Yes, it has been a while. Blame AP tests and
final exams. Not to mention a few million other distractions,
most originating from school. Anyhoo, this portion replaces
my little teaser for the Girl Who Loved V and acts as the next
part for *all* three fics.
Disclaimer: THIS IS S-L-A-S-H! And this is where it starts to
show up, not all that physically quite yet, but if that sort
of thing offends you for whatever bigoted reason you may have,
then go read something else. Please. Otherwise, read on, and
I'd love to hear from anyone with similar tastes :-) (Thanks
to Charlotte for being the first person to read the author's
note *and* reply to it :-D )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ron sidled closer to Hermione, wrapping his arm around the
back of her chair as he leaned in to study the potions book.
Hermione shifted uncomfortably under his touch, but put up
with the casual contact without comment for the sake of
appearances. She heard Lavender and Parvati giggling in the
corner and blushed faintly- she knew what they were thinking,
and didn't much approve of it. But... to hide her secret,
she'd do what was neccessary. With a sigh, she snuggled closer
to Ron.
She didn't notice Ginny enter the common room and storm up
the stairs in disgust.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny lay alone in her dorm room, trying to lose herself in a
battered copy of "101 Things About the Dark Arts (that your
teacher *never* taught you)." Ginny had found it discarded on
the floor of the Gryffindor common room, and seeing that the
name on the inside cover was "Neville Longbottom" she knew for
a fact no one would guess it had been taken for days, so being
too lazy to face the library, she'd "borrowed" it. Besides,
the book held a strange fascination for her. Its descriptions
of death and torture were certainly far more palatable than
the new Hogwarts romance being enacted downstares.
Not that Ginny would care about that. Not that all she could
think about was the sight of Hermione and Ron together
"studying".
After all, it wasn't as if Ginny had been dumped.
At least, not yet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione waved to Ron as he departed on some small errand of
his own, and waited until he'd passed through the Fat Lady's
portrait before she hurried up to the girls dorm rooms.
"Ginny?" She whispered, rapping gently on the door of the
fifth year room. The door swung open to allow Hermione to
enter.
"Hey there, carrot top." Hermione said fondly as she took
a lazy perch beside Ginny on the bed, running her fingers
through her girlfriend's hair.
"Hi, book worm." Ginny replied absently, her gaze not leaving
her book.
Hermione peered over Ginny's shoulder and read aloud from the
page, "The corpsus concealus charm is used for funerals and
any other necessary disposal of corpses. Originally developed
by a crafty undertaker, the charm is now a standard spell in
the tomes of Dark Arts practicioners. In one documented case,
a follower of He Who Must Not Be Named used a variant of the
spell to bury his victim alive..." She trailed off with a
shudder. "How can you read this?"
Ginny smiled unpleasantly. "I suppose it is rather morbid,
but then, it suits my mood perfectly."
Hermione frowned, taking the book from Ginny's hands and
meeting her gaze worriedly. "And why is that?"
"Why don't you go ask Ron?" Ginny replied fiercely. Grabbing
the book back, she rose and stormed out of the room.
Hermione's eyes watched Ginny leave, before she followed slowly.
There was no talking to Ginny when she was like this. One
thing was clear, however- Hermione needed to sort matters
out with Ron.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the time Hermione located Ron in the main dining hall, it
was time to go to Snape's class. The two walked together, but
in the bustling corridors there was no chance to talk. Ron
escorted Hermione in to Snape's dungeon only a few minutes
before the start of class, leading her up to a seat right near
Snape's desk. Dracao and Neville were seated across the aisle
from them, along with their companions Crabbe and Goyle. Ron
eyed the group nervously, but with no other seats in the room
available there wasn't much he could do about being close to
them.
Draco met Weasley's gaze fiercely, smirking to himself when the
other boy turned away. He unconciously stroked Neville's pale
hand, not willing to speak but wanting to offer the other boy
what assurances he could. He'd felt Neville tense as Ron drew
near, and although he did not know the reason, he would venture
to guess that it was in some way his fault.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Severus stormed in to the classroom, his robes billowing around
him and revealing the black pajama pants he'd left on from when
he'd stumbled out of bed only minutes earlier. If any of his
students planned to laugh, their mirth was silenced by the
ferocity of his glare. As he took his seat in front of the class
room and regarded his students wordlessly, even Draco shifted
uncomfortably in his seat. Finally Snape spoke, in a voice that-
though barely louder than a whisper- carried into the darkest
corners and caused even the spiders there to flee in terror.
"Get out your cauldrons and open your tomes to the Lupus Noctus
potion. I'll be checking them for imperfections in half an
hour."
Draco was first on his feet, opening his tome and going to the
back table to gather the necessary ingredients. Other students
followed only after they had reassured themselves that Snape
wasn't planning to fry any student that moved. When Ron rose,
Snape again spoke, just the sound causing many students to
freeze guiltily in their tracks. "Weasley. I need to see you
in my office."
Ron gaped at him- what office, and why? But when Snape walked
to the back of the room and opened a door Ron hadn't even *seen*
before, Ron was quick to follow, gathering with him the notes
he and Hermione had made on the memorious potion. The two
disappeared from the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Even with Snape gone, there was little conversation among the
students. Draco watched the door of Snape's office worriedly.
When Neville touched his arm and drew him back to reality,
Draco shook his head. "Poor Weasley."
"Now that's something I never expected to hear from you."
Neville commented dryly.
"Well I've rarely seen Snape that angry before." Draco replied
with a shrug. "The way I see it, two things could be happening.
Either Snape's about to detatch Weasley's head from his neck,
or those two are sleeping together."
"That's a bit of a stretch, isn't it?" Neville said with a grin.
"Not as much as you might think. He *is* gay, you know. Father
told me he and Lockhart almost got suspended for "inappropriate
displays of affection when they went to school here. Lucky for
Lockhart that Dumbledore decided to keep it quiet."
"I bet that Skeeter woman would just love to hear about that."
Neville grinned almost wickedly. "Just imagine how many hearts
it would break if people found out Lockhart was gay."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
End of the first joint part in the series! Please review: what
do you think of this style?
