Chapter 4

"Hermione..."

Godric stirred slightly in his sleep.

"What are you doing Godric?" a voice from his dream called out.

Godric's head whipped around is his sleep. His dream self also doing so to get a better look at the intruder of his bliss.

Rage slowly set in as the face's swimmy image became clear, the image that had plagued Godric from birth could even crowd into his most protected thoughts. The face tilted it head to the side and smiled revealing fang like teeth.

Frustration, the feeling of complete loathing consumed Godric, as the face's void black eyes flicked to Godric's dream image of Hermione, its tongue slowing running over its teeth...

Godric was suddenly awake, eyes squinting against the brilliant sunlight flooding his quarters of the Gryffindor Tower. The small beads of sweat that dotted his face slid across his anger red tinted cheeks as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. There he sat breathing slowly calming down before he reached up and slowly ran his fingers down his right arm outlining a thick scar...memories flashed hurriedly through his mind. The calm he was searching for quickly abandoned for anger.

"Godric..." his voice like gravel... "Stop it."

As sudden as his emotions changed his body launched his hand into the stonewall that built and surrounded his room.

Hermione's head turned, as did the other Gryffindor students in the common room. Everyone glanced around. Yet all eyes always fell on the far wall of the common room...

"What was that?" Harry whispered.

Godric cursed himself as he gripped his swollen hand...His eyes flickered up to the far wall of his room, cursing again as students began to approached his hidden room. Then he sighed as he remembered...He was the only one ever to find this room. The only living member allowed anyway...

Slowly he stood stretching the tight muscles in his neck and back, then quickly run his hand through his hair, still desperately trying to wake up and shake the face from his dream.

Hermione stared curiously at the cold stonewall. She was sure this was where the scream came from. She frowned pressing her hand flat against it.

"Hmmm."

"Hermione!" Harry called impatiently watching Hermione, "we have to go or we're going to be late." Reluctantly Hermione allowed her self to be tugged away from the puzzle of the screaming wall, and trudged down to the great hall to have breakfast.

From inside his room Godric released his long held breath, Hermione had come close to getting the handle in her grasp. He stood still for a few more moments, staring expectantly, waiting for complete silence.

When nothing came he finally shook his head and continued his path to the bathroom.

Harry rapped his fingers absently, around him students were laying there heads down on their desk finally succumbing to boredom.

"This is stupid!" finally growled.

From her place next to him Hermione looked up from her book casting a side-glance at him before returning to her prior task.

"What?" Harry shot back; Hermione shut her book, the snap echoing over the silence in the classroom.

"Have you even thought about the wall?" Hermione asked flatly, "Do you even realize there are hidden passages, that no one's found yet in Hogwarts?"

"So what...and wall yelled...big deal." Harry grumbled, "Where is he?"

"I know I know...late as usual Mr. Potter, I'll try working it out to your convenience." A bright Godric answered. The class became a sudden burst of motion, boys' heads quickly popping up from their relaxed state; girls unconsciously checking hair.

"Apologies to the rest of the class also." He said this while approaching his desk, and opening on of its many drawers and exposing a cloaked item. "Today's lesson came to me in a dream..." his eyes flicked to Hermione then quickly returned his gaze back to the item he now held in his hand.

Hermione noticed, though she chose not to look up from her book. Instead continued to stare at it while her mind drifted off over the past couple of blurred days.

~

"Hey..." Godric had continued to stare even after Hermione diverted her eyes from his.

"You wanted me?" she asked directly. He only smiled, laughing, shaking his head.

"You're not in trouble if that's what you mean." He continued to smile. This unnerved her. No one had ever smiled like that to her before, like flirting. "I just wanted to get you're opinion." He didn't miss a beat as he moved to brush a piece of grass from her hair. "Hope your friends enjoyed it." His attention had moved from her to the group of girls who were now going into fits of giggles.

Hermione sighed as she turned back to him, only to see his look of puzzlement causing her to choke down a laugh. It was priceless, never had she seen a teacher make a face at their students. Another smile played across his lips, "go ahead and laugh...I know my face is funny. Besides I like your laugh."

The last remark, stopped Hermione, **Is he flirting with me??**

~

"Hermione." Harry's voice bounced around inside her head for a few seconds before it drew her back to the world.

Harry had seen the quick but readable glance from Godric to Hermione, and now knots were beginning to form in the pit of his stomach.

Hermione hadn't regarded it, but was obviously affected by the glance, Harry had stared at her long enough to realize when she actually reading. Jealousy grabbed him softly, not wanting her to remember whatever it meant.

"Hermione?" She came to life, shaking her head and laughing, and her angelic face turned to face his, a laughing smile still playing across her lips.

"Yes?" she wasn't paying attention, Harry's heart dropped.

"Nothing." He grumbled lowering his eyes to his desk, as Hermione shrugged and returned to reading.

Godric sat silently at his desk, around him all he could hear as the starching of quills and the occasional cough from various students. In his hand he gripped the object he had shown them before, there assignment had been to guess, just with their sight and the limited information of its origins, what the mysterious object could and was.

He chuckled to himself, absent-mindedly rubbing the objects metallic shell, its cool surface soothing his fried nerves. He glanced back up at his stumped students, knowing they would never even come close to guessing, the smoothed surfaced object.

There had only ever been two in existence; one was gently gripped in Godric's strong fingers. Which he had only come to posses because it was passed down through his twisting family tree, the other? Godric frowned; the knowledge of the second was also locked in his blood, yet his imitated family, which ironically did not include himself, only knew of its whereabouts. He shook his head blocking the unwanted thoughts, and trading them for the welcomed ones.

~

Hermione was shy that had been his assumption, as he escorted her back to the castle. He found her to be interesting, smart, and very mature. What made it better was that her knowledge of Hogwarts was close to matching his own.

From where they lagged behind the rest of the group, Godric listened to her talk enjoying her welcome company, and the intense motions of her hands as he spoke of S.P.E.W. He had laughed silently at her and she had glared at him, hitting him slightly on the arm.

Smoothly the transtion from school to friends and personal lives went unnoticed, even though Godric continued to remain constricted as not to make her feel as if he was butting in on her life.

"Ever had a girlfriend?"

Godric had thrown his head back and sighed, releasing a barking laugh. "None that would be worth talking over." Hermione lifted an eyebrow in response.

"We're they... "Boring"?" she asked continuing her lifted stare, her fingers frozen in the quotation marks, "From what I hear you were quite the lad."

"No. No. No." he laughed shaking his head, "if anything they were to much." This only got another lifted stare and a short headshake, "They were well, how do I put it nicely?"

"Slutty."

"Thanks." Both laughed and continued to laugh as if they had been friends for the longest of time, instead of have only known each other three days.

"So you and Harry?" Godric asked slowly, testing the atmosphere as a swimmer tests the water. He watched her, she paused and stared at her moving feet. Godric wrenched his eyes from view, his mind playing out the only response he didn't want to hear; "we're and item." They continued for sometime in silence.

"Just friends." She finally chirped smiling, "Why?"

He closed his eyes and scratched the back of his head, "no reason. You asked so I asked." ~
Godric sighed as he began to swim back to reality, his pleasurable thoughts suddenly being push aside by the face of his past. A cold feeling enveloping him and he squeezed the smooth object tighter.

The class stopped as a low rumbling sound began to come from the foreign object in Godric's hand. Sizzling sparks were beginning to sprout from the tips of his fingers, "Professor!" several students called out. It was all that was needed for Godric to completely regain himself and abruptly stop the never-ending flow of sparks.

"He actually decided to use it?" A voice echoed throughout the dark corridors of an abandon mansion. Long forgotten by it owns and seen as a disgusting spot, surrounded by perfectly kept lawns, freshly painted walls and good mannered people. Yet its occupant found it delightful, and from where he lay on the floor, robes tossleed from being thrown against the wall, a harsh laugh filled the empty silence and void of the house but, also continued, even as lights around the house furiously flipped on.