The Twenty

by Leyna Rountree

COMPLETE! Hermione and an unlikely Pansy form an elite group of witches, and possess one unusual commonality. Facing their most carnal desires, they will harness a power not seen in an age, to save themselves and protect Hogwarts. Can it stay a secret?

11. The Brownheimer Antidote

Disclaimer:  Everything in the Harry Potter kingdom belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Hey y'all!  I know you've been waiting but here it is!  A very super long chapter (I count it as two… didn't know where to make the split, thank you for all of your reviews!  They really keep me going!  This version is un-betaed, and will reload the corrected version ASAP.  Hope you enjoyed the new movie.  I missed some of the book content and our dear Professor Snape, but it would probably be three hours long if they did it my way.  Can't wait to see deleted scenes. 

Chapter Eleven:         The Brownheimer Antidote

Pansy Parkinson lived a spoiled life.  She was the pureblood daughter of Roman Patrick Parkinson and Patricia Parkinson, an high-society magical couple with a long family history of servitude to the Dark Lord.   Pansy was an intelligent girl, without too much social charisma to charm her way through life as her mother had.  Seeing her parents curtsy, court and lie their way through various gatherings was really not for her.  Pansy could lie, and she was good at it… but curtsying and brown-nosing was not her thing. 

Her parents were wealthy, so Pansy's summers usually consisted of vacations abroad, and having to tolerate elaborate dinner functions and other engagements.  When she turned 16, her mother wanted to have a coming of age party for her, a formal cotillion to draw in potential future marital prospects.  Pansy supposed it was really an opportunity for her mother to rub shoulders with other elite purebloods like the Malfoys. 

She liked Draco, she was even attracted to him, but around his family?  During those functions?  It just left a sour taste in her mouth.  She managed to avoid the ball after her father's shocking revelation.  Merlin, the summer at her Aunt Marcelle's was the worst summer she could remember spending ever.  She woke up every night in a cold sweat half expecting to be kidnapped form her own bedroom, especially after the report on Kendra.

It was unusual this year that Hogwarts became her sanctuary instead of the other way around.  Pansy didn't really feel like she fit in with her peers, even in Slytherin House.  She avoided pleasantries, was known to get into fights.  Sure she chummed around with Malfoy and some of his slimy goony friends, laughing at their stupid practical jokes and slurs.  It was something she subjected herself to because she didn't have many other friends.  The best she could do was keep up her tough girl image, and it wasn't an act.  Pansy was a bitch, and she was proud of it.  People didn't ask questions when she received an O in several of her Owls.  There was no cheering, no pats on the back.  Her parents didn't really notice.  They hadn't expected her to further her education after Hogwarts.  They expected her to get married and produce heirs. 

Now Kendra— she understood.  She was her friend, and a pureblood witch who had to put up with the same pretentious crap Pansy did.  Kendra knew how hard Pansy had studied for her Owls, and that Pansy didn't have the first clue what she wanted to do after graduation, except not procreate.  With nothing to do but study for a unknown future, it seemed a bit odd that she was rather enjoying the prospect of avoiding her father's decision to sacrifice her, while at the same time making sure that no one else would get the same fate. 

This one's for Kendra.  She paced back and forth concentrating on how to get out of the mess, about DADA class that day, about who to shag… and the door appeared.

Hermione arrived at the usual time for debriefing, surprised to see Pansy had beaten her there.  Merlin, it had only been three days in to the term and already they had their first major threat averted.  She appreciated Hermione's suggestion about the rumor mill, but truly the only way to guarantee they couldn't be used would be to actually 'do the deed' and have sex… or something.

"Hermione, good work today.  I'm surprised you're still alive after detention with Snape.  How an earth did you manage not to lose house points today?"  Pansy laid into the conversation taking charge.

"Honestly, I don't know.  It's a miracle."  She laughed, relieved from the outcome, but still a little disappointed about her lost of the extra project.

"What did he make you do?"

"What do you think?"  Hermione shrugged.  "He asked me to pick bellflowers.  He needed them for class." 

Pansy looked shocked, then her eyes widened with a smirk.  "So what did you do?  You refused, right?"

"No, I went and collected bellflowers."  Hermione led her on innocently.

"You didn't!  You chicken shit!  What on earth did you do all that work for...." but Pansy trailed off when she saw the smug smile on her face.  "Okay.  Give."

"I took a first year with me and had her pick them, then Snape confronted me about it and I told him that I couldn't."

"Fuck, Hermione!  What did he say when you told him you weren't a virgin?"  Pansy was grinning ear to ear, she had to give her credit.  Lying to Snape's face, wow, even people in her own house couldn't do that.

"Actually I didn't quite say it like that.  I just said that I wanted to do it on 'my own terms' and left," she said with a sly smile.

"On your own terms.  Interesting choice of words…  Guess what?"

"What?"  Hermione asked, intrigued by Pansy's change of tone.

Pansy thought a moment then changed her mind.  "No never mind.  I'll save it.  It's a surprise."  Pansy was being horrible and she knew it, but better not to mention something that she couldn't deliver.  Get it first, then brag on it.

"No tell me now.  C'mon, you can't say that and the not tell!"  Hermione whined in frustration..

"Watch me."  Hermione scowled.  "Hey, what was all that about on DADA today?  What do you make of that?"  Pansy changed the subject.

"At first I thought he was just trying to build up morale, but then… I'm not so sure.  It would be neat to know where he got that information from.  Makes me want to find out if he knows what You-Know Who is up to.  Not that he'll tell us."

"I gotta go study, we have double Charms tomorrow,"  Pansy said reaching for the door handle.

"I know.  I still have our Protean Charm essay to finish.  Too much time spent on that petition really put me behind. See ya."  Hermione adjourned for the evening, still distracted by the days events, and the surprisingly jovial conversation with a girl she would never had suspected to be a potential friend or ally.

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Late at night, a familiar crowd of Slytherin girls assumed their positions in the girls dorm, seated around the windowsill where Millicent Bulstrode could blow smoke outdoors.

"So, do you think Granger's a virgin?"  Millicent asked crudely, flicking her cigarette.  Only she would pick up such a disgusting Muggle habit.

"No.  Why else do you think she went out of her way to circulate that petition?"  Daphnesaid.  "She probably didn't want anyone to find out she's not so innocent as everyone thinks.  Looks like Little Miss Perfect, ahem, I mean Prefect… has had a few more experiences than anyone knows about."

"I saw her sneaking into a closet with some guy last Saturday."  Pansy thought this was a perfect way to start the rumor. She'd need to remember to tell her that, before she found out through the grapevine.

"Really?  I thought the only thing the Know-It-All would consider shagging is the end of her own wand!"   Millicent Bulstrode howled, the girls laughed— and then the laughter subsided, with the wicked looks replaced by grave cheerless eyes.  Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea.

"Good for her, at least she's safe," one of them said taking a swig from a flask being passed around.

"What do you care about some Mudblood?"  Millicent challenged.

"Give me a break, you wouldn't wish Kendra's fate on anyone,"  Daphne snapped.

"Shut up Greenwood!  You don't know anything about what happened.  She could be fine."  Pansy growled harshly at Daphne, trying her best to reassure herself.

"Yeah right, she's probably in Greece right now, living it up on her allowance!"  Millicent howled sarcastically, effectively shutting off that stupid line of nonsense.

"Has anyone heard from…"  Linda asked.

All the girls shook their heads.  No news on Melanieeither, the youngest of the missing, only just in her Fourth Year.  Pansy was taking mental notes.  These girls might be potential candidates for the group if they could manage to keep quiet.

Silence dominated the room and the air was thick with the discomfort of fear.  "Okay.  What about the rest of you?"  Millicent asked, taking another long drag of her cigarette.  "Who had already done the horizontal duel?  And shut up Parkinson, we know all about you…"  Millicent blew out the smoke and rubbed out her cigarette on the ledge.

A few of the girls made a retching sound at her choice of words.   Eyes began darting around waiting for someone to speak.

"Don't look at me… I only just kissed Goyle last term,"  Daphnereluctantly admitted.

"Ewww!"  Several people shouted. "Eurgh!"  Daphne's sentiments exactly.  She took another swig.

"Ha!"  Millicent exclaimed.  "All of us are screwed except Pansy!  Actually, all of us are not screwed except Pansy."  She chuckled.

"We should do something about that,"  Pansy muttered under her breath.

"What are you getting at?"  Lindaasked with suspicion.

"I mean maybe all of us would be safer if we all took matters into our own hands and got laid."  Pansy explained.

"What?  And give up all of our special powers?"  Millicent kidded, referring Lupin's lecture on virginal magic.  "Hah, ha!"

The girls were silent and looking around again.  It wasn't a bad idea.

Daphnespoke up.  "I don't think I'm ready for that yet.  You can laugh, but seriously, can you think of one person you would like to have sex with?  And don't wimp out and mention one of the Weird Sisters or someone famous, because we all know that's not gonna happen."

"The boys here act too stupid to be remotely attractive,"  Linda said.

"Speak for yourself, they grow on you after a while,"  Pansy argued, thinking about Draco.  "The point is, it's not whether or not you're ready— it's that you're not ready to lose it under whatever circumstances our father's see fit."

"What?!  It's not like your Dad offered you up Parkinson, so butt out…"  Pansy paled and Millicent did a double take.  All of the girls noticed.  Millicent stared at her in disbelief, adopting a softer, hollow tone, "He did, didn't he?"

Pansy looked up and barely nodded.

Daphne saw her expression. "So you are too.  All that shit Davies and Flint said… It was all talk, wasn't it?"

Pansy didn't respond.  She didn't need to.

Once again the room was quiet and not even Millicent Bulstrode came up with a sassy comment after that exchange.

Pansy made a command decision.  "Listen, would you be interested in forming a little group, a secret group, to make sure we couldn't be used?"

The girls looked around in shock, not expecting this kind of offer.  A few nodded.

"It would need to remain totally secret.  Like you said Daphne, the boys here…  they can't be trusted."

"I'm in."  Daphne said immediately.

"Yeah, me too."  Linda agreed.  A few more nods.

"Just wait, and I'll get us together soon."  Pansy stole her first and only swig out of the flask and left.

----------------

Hermione snuck back to the common room, where the Fat Lady gave her a stern look, before she asked the password.

"What?"  Hermione bristled.

"You are staying out mighty late these days."  The Fat Lady scolded in her formal tones.

"Maybe so, but it was important.  Kneazle Fur…"  The door swung open as the portrait bristled at her abruptness.  She threw her satchel down by the couches and spread out on the floor.  Not too long afterward she was accosted by her friends.

"Hermione!  Where were you?" Harry asked.

" 'Mione, I didn't get to see you much after class.  Harry told me all about it— that was bloody brilliant!"  Ron said.

"Thanks, but I want to stress, that it wasn't just me that did this.  All of the girls signed the petition, I couldn't have done it without all of us together.  I bet even Dumbledore wouldn't have gone for it otherwise," she explained.  She really didn't want a reputation as a rebel.

Ginny spoke up next, "Professor McGonagall and Snape were arguing outside of Dumbledore's office. They were so angry…"

"You should have seen it!  I thought they were going to duel!"  Fred piped up.

"Yeah, we were all ready to place bets."  George said.

"Fred, George… what are you doing here?"  Hermione asked.

"Juts making a few special deliveries to students in need of a little recreational activity." Fred winked.

"Skiving Snackbox sales are up," George echoed.

"Hem, Hem."  The running joke from the Umbridge year… 'hem, hem' meant trouble.  The voice of Professor McGonagall sounded from the portrait hole.  "Boys, I am aware that Professor Dumbledore has loaned you a workspace, and you only have a few classes.  Neither your classes, nor your workroom lies within these walls and so you may not be here.  You are not Gryffindors this year, much as we all miss you," she said with a hint of sarcasm.  "If you wish to rejoin the group, only three days into the semester, I am sure the Headmaster could address that with you."

"No, ma'am.  We were just saying…"  George and Fred began.

"I am very well aware of what you were doing, and you are not permitted to solicit here, Mister Weasley.  Not when you were students, and not now." There were three Mister Weasleys in front of her.  Fred and George dare not ask which one of them she was referring to.  "The rest of you lot, can just pass along to your friends that anyone seen vomiting or bloody in my classroom will promptly be made to chew the other half of whatever it is they ingested earlier. And if you are caught skipping any of your classes, it will be one-hundred points taken for each infraction from any Gryffindor student.  Do I make myself clear?"  She had her arm out, showing them the door.

"Yes, ma'am." was the collective reply.  McGonagall looked a bit wistful seeing them leave. They were troublemakers, but they were her troublemakers, and Hogwarts was a little empty without their plotting. 

Fred and George looked back at Hermione and gave the big thumbs up, winking and mouthing a 'brilliant.' High praise from the masters of mischief.

"I really need to finish this," Hermione said pointing to her charms essay.

"Aw 'Mione you can do that in your sleep.  You've been able to do the Protean Charm since last year!"  Ron exclaimed.

"Actually Ron, if I am sleeping, I am unable to write." She rolled her eyes.

"Alright, we'll go,"  Harry said, tugging his red-haired sidekick along.

Ginny stayed behind.  "How'd everything go with Pansy?" She whispered.

"Fine.  Actually, things are better than I expected. I can't believe things worked out so well."

"Is it time to get the group together yet?"  Ginny asked.

"Soon, I think.  Any more news on who is and who's not a virgin?"

"Actually, a lot of the girls were talking amongst themselves while petitions were being signed— these three aren't."  Ginny passed her a slip of paper so she could correct her master list.

"Thanks.  See you in the morning." Ginny got to her feet to let her finish the homework.  "Thanks, Ginny. Really.  I'm so glad I have someone to talk to.  Harry and Ron…they're no use with this."

"Well, they're boys aren't they?  They don't really get it."  Ginny sighed.

"Hey!" Hermione called out.  "How are things going between you two?"

"Better.  Haven't really had time to do anything except talk about Quidditch practice.  We are supposed to go out on the first Hogsmeade weekend, but we haven't heard about when that will be yet.  Kind of worries me, McGonagall hasn't come to talk to us about that yet.  What do you think?"

"I don't know… hopefully they won't cancel them all together."  Hermione thought they might just do that.  What an opportune time for Death eaters to kidnap some of the students?

"Thank you for leaving me with that reassuring thought.  Good night."  Ginny left sulking.  Hermione really was such a strict thinker sometimes.  She'd make a good teacher someday.

Hermione worked until midnight, her eyes beginning to droop.  Maybe Ron was right, she could do this in her sleep.  Her eyes popped open for the third time and she looked at the last sentence.  The words had gotten tinier and tinier, and then overlapped in some wicked illegible scrawl.  She crossed it out and rewrote it correctly.  It would have to do, otherwise the end of her essay would be nonsense.

She dreamed about her day, relieving it over and over again in her mind.  But when she got to her detention, returning with the bellflowers, the part where Snape was calling her a foolish girl, they were nose to nose… heads bending closer together, then she felt warm lips kiss her.  It was all fuzzy.  The alarm rang, and she woke up— trying to cling to that thread of the dream she wanted to savor.  She slapped the clock furiously with her hands, the last images of her dream faded beyond recollection. 

Crap.  It was Thursday.

-----------

The petition and revolt was the talk of the school. Hermione trudged through her day, receiving various looks from boys and pats on the back from girls.  Feeling the staring of her peers, she wondered if this was something akin to what Harry had to put up with.  It was the beginning of a new school year, and still the first years were stealing glances at his scar, acclimating to studying with the legendary wizard. 

The weekend came and went, the second week of school.  It was life as usual, and by the weekend the petition gossip was replaced by other school scandal.  She studied hard, and found herself on Monday sitting in Double Potions with Snape, for the first time since the revolt.  She tried to push back thoughts of last Wednesday and her dream. She hoped he wouldn't still be angry.

"Today, we will be continuing with the pomade.  On the table in front of you, you have a bundle of bellflowers.  Remember what I said about the leaves and stems being poisonous and remove them.  It you see any trace of flower parts clinging to the petal discard it.  I do not want any students poisoned today.  Use an immaculately clean mortar and pestle and crush the petals.  The oils will be released and eventually you should have a paste.  You may begin."

A hand rose in the air.  "Yes, Mister Potter."

"Sir, what condition is the antidote used to treat?"  Harry inquired.

"It only took this class three sessions to ask me.   Honestly, this is advanced potions isn't it?"  He said dryly, searching his syllabus.  Some of the class laughed.  Hermione relaxed, he was in good spirits today.  "It is used to treat exposure to snake poisons used in dark magic.  The person feels brief euphoria and confusion at administration, the oils from the flower absorb the poison and the negative energy which accompanies it, and the body harmlessly discards it.  Results are immediate."  The class was in awe and immediately the sounds of pounding could be heard.  Students would stop and start, looking intermittently at their crushed blue tissue, feeling they weren't making any progress.

After inspecting all of the flowers, Hermione immediately put the bowl in her lap and pulverized the delicate flowers constantly, not stopping.  She saw the beginnings of the oils being released and the room became fragrant with their aroma.  She was so focused on her task at hand that she didn't notice Snape staring at her.

She tried a different approach after the oils were released.  The petals were wet, so she took the implement and began to rub the petals against the marble.  Slowly the paste began to form and she returned the bowl a few minutes later to her desk, her arms tired, and her palms red and sweaty from her laboring.  She rubbed them on her robes and peering in, satisfied with the pale blue substance she saw.  She was the first to finish, though some of her classmates had given up.

Snape approached her table and looked at her work.  She did it.  Why did this surprise him?  Only sheer stubborn will made her complete the arduous assignment, as he had purposefully made it nearly impossible for the students to complete their task.  This class wasn't meant to be easy, but Hermione completed it in spite of the equipment used.  None of the other students completed their work, their petals crushed but useless. 

Before he adjourned the class,  Hermione's hand rose.  Everyone looked at her, expecting some additional revelation of mutiny.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" Snape sighed as if annoyed.

"I was thinking, Professor, that maybe a different type of implement should be used for grinding.  If the materials used in the mortar and pestle are sufficiently hard enough and the surface of both is rough instead of smooth, the petals will be macerated much faster and the oils won't have a chance to dry out."  That was what had happened to the other students, but no one had mentioned it. No one asked for help from Professor Snape.  She had found the perfect conclusion to his class.

"Very good.  Finally."  He sighed as if waiting for this all along.  "I expect all of you to be more than warm bodies, and to do more than come to class and pay attention.  I expect you to ask questions and ask for assistance.  I saw how many of you became frustrated with your assignment very early, and yet you said nothing.  I expect you to notice what is missing from your workspace, challenging the content of the texts you are reading.  That is the purpose of taking advanced potions."  Snape concluded.  "Class dismissed.  Miss Granger, I'd like a word with you."

Each of students left silently contemplating his last words, passing worried glances Hermione's way.  Pansy left last, looking behind with a grimace.

Which left just the two of them.

"Miss Granger, I was disappointed that you skipped our independent study last Wednesday."  Snape said, looking down his crooked nose at her.

"I'm sorry.  I thought after what happened, that you wouldn't want to continue…" She apologized uncomfortably.

"I assure you, I am quite able to survive that little escapade."  He waved it off.  "But there is still your interest in potions to consider."

"Yes, Sir.  Thank you.  You said you have other books for me to study?"  She sat up straight in her seat, eager for new material.

He looked at her knowingly and handed her two new tomes.  She resisted the urge to peel through them right there, but waited for instructions.  His lips curled a bit as saw her fingers tightly grip the binding.  Snape was possessive of his books too.  And Lupin still had the one he had been wanting a second glance at.

"Your study will focus on ways to conserve natural resources, by trying to locate alternatives to substitute in place of rarer potions ingredients.  I hope you won't be too disappointed that we won't be brewing things which are terribly difficult.  In fact most of the things we try will be fairly common.  But the consequences of such research..." 

"Will save money and save limited resources for potions which require them, instead of using one ingredient for all potions where the purpose is only to act as a catalyst."  She finished.

Hermione's attentive look couldn't have appeared more interested.  He was talking about his book, his proposition to the scientific community.  She had thought about this all summer.  Her personal notes were still locked in her dresser.

He looked at her in wonderment.  "Yes.  Can you think of ingredients where this would be so?"

It would be too easy, almost cheating, to name the ones he had listed in his book, so she opted for something different.  "Aconite."

His brow furrowed at her suggestion and frowned.  Maybe she didn't understand.  "That plant is very abundant."

"Yes sir, but think of the sheer quantities which must be used for a variety of potions.  It uses the same rich soil  that a lot of other plants require and drains it entirely of nutrients.  If an alternative could be found for that plant, that soil could be used to harvest other plants.  Once aconite is planted, it takes three years for the soil to be fertile enough to grow anything potion worthy."

That's why he had pressed Albus to let him teach her.  She had already offered a scenario that hadn't occurred to him.  "Interesting observation, Miss Granger.  Read those texts, and take your time, they aren't light reading.  Then make your notes and ideas and meet here on Wednesday at seven."

"Yes, sir.  Thank you, Professor Snape."  She took the large tomes and book bag and left, thrilled that she had a second chance to participate on the very project she felt she had shared with him already.

-----------------

Pansy tended to go unnoticed by many of the students in Slytherin house.  She was often in her room, or in a corner reading or studying, but mostly she liked to observe and spy on her classmates.  Pansy wasn't sorted by mistake.  She had watched her parents ruthlessly blackmail and gossip about other families to their benefit.  She knew the value of information, especially in an unreal place such as a private boarding school where these students were forced to cohabitate.

It was on one of these occasions, seated in a corner, curled up with a Transfiguration text, that she blended in with her surroundings so well, that she was passed unnoticed by Malfoy and Goyle.

"I overheard my Dad talking about the end of the year,"  Goyle said in hushed tones.

"Shut your trap about it.  We shouldn't be talking about that here,"  Draco hissed.

"I'm turning seventeen this spring.  I think my Dad wants me to take the mark then, but I always thought we'd get ours together y'know?"  Goyle continued on a different topic, but same forbidden subject:  Death Eater business.

Draco looked at Goyle with a skeptical eye.  "From what I've heard about initiations, I'm not so sure you would want additional witnesses." Goyle looked a bit panicked.  "I don't turn 17 until next summer, so I plan to wait as long as I can.  We need to focus on our studies now.  There will be plenty of time for service later.  The Dark Lord doesn't like stupid followers."  Draco's haughty speech sounded rehearsed.  It was an echo of his father's lecture to him over the summer.

"Hey Draco?  Do you believe what they said about Kendra?"  Pansy's ears pricked up and she could barely breathe.

"I haven't heard anything so stop believing rumors,"  Draco admonished.

"Do you think that her Dad would actually sacrifice her like that?"  Goyle asked as quietly as he could.  Draco didn't reply, but his thought was that Goyle was definitely not cut out for the Dark Mark if his answer to that question was anything other than yes. 

Pansy blinked back angry tears.  No news.  They had to act quickly though.  No more waiting.

------------

Hermione and Pansy met before dinner, trying to adopt a more scattered meeting schedule lest someone discover their secret meetings.

"We have a decent list of girls now.  Maybe we should divide it up and start inviting people to join us?"  Once again, Pansy took the lead in the conversation.

"Join us to do what?  We have no plan!"  Hermione disagreed.  "We have to prepare for what to propose."

"What's to decide?!"  Pansy retorted.  "We all need to get laid as soon as possible!  I can just here the trite line now—'you don't want to die a virgin do you?'  Cause I'm sure that the Dark Lord could arrange that!"  Pansy threw up her hands in frustration. 

"I don't think you and I should decide what to do with other people's lives!  It's their body, their choice."  Hermione snapped.

Merlin girl!  Wake up!  You are not in church!  "It was your idea to get this group together, Hermione.  And here we are.  Make up your mind. Are you in this or not?"  Pansy demanded.

Shit.  Hermione sighed.  "I'm in.  I'll approach a few girls at a time and we can start with a low number.  That way we can build a trustworthy group slowly and add to it with girls we know will commit themselves and keep secret about it."  Hermione shook her head. This wasn't how she was expecting it to go at all.

"Are you willing to Obliviate whoever decides not to join?"  Pansy insisted.

"No.  Memory charms are too dangerous, there has to be another way to make sure they won't talk."  Pansy rolled her eyes at the by-the-book, anal-retentive, rule follower.

Pansy huffed and decided to table the issue invariably up for discussion at a later time.  "Fine, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." 

They each left for their respective corners of the ring to wait for round two.

---------------------

Hermione adjourned to her room early, racing through most of her homework so she could focus on the books given.  She retrieved her notes from the dresser and recognized immediately she couldn't use them as is.  For one, they were too relevant to what she had read in Snape's literature, and secondly, she had used the same pen and ink to make her notes as she did for his book.  The writing was even similar.  In the margins she had made little doodles reminiscent of her attempts at a signature mark.  She definitely needed new notes.

She read through the books intently, well into the wee hours two nights in a row.  She tried not to stumble through her classes, she had only just assumed a regular sleep schedule which she was wrecking magnificently with her newest acquisitions.  Reading and rereading her notes, she made sure she didn't use any concepts unique to Snape's work.  She hoped he would mention his research to her so they could discuss it openly. 

She waited patiently for seven o'clock, not wanting to show up too early.  A couple minutes 'til she knocked and entered the classroom.

"Good evening, Professor Snape."

"Good evening, Miss Granger.  Have a seat and let's talk about what you've read."  Snape ushered her into an adjacent room she's never seen before with a couch, two chairs and a fireplace.  It was so dark, she could have considered it a lair.  "Incendio."  The fire roared to life in the chilly den, and illuminating the otherwise dimly lit room.  He also lit the cobweb-lined sconces, whose perpetual flames had managed to extinguish at some point.  Perhaps he didn't use this room very often.  He sat in the chair and she on the couch, laying out the books and her notes.

"What did you think about Armeaus' work?"  He posed.

Hermione took a deep breath not wanting to bash another potions master,  "He probably lived in a time where there was an abundant supply of things," she defended.  After seeing Snape's reaction, she relaxed in her seat and said what she really thought.  "He's wasteful.  I never saw such quantities before in my life. And then, when all you need is a spoonful or so of the finished product and the potion has to used immediately…  Why make a full cauldron?"

"Sometimes you can't just double or half a recipe… the proportions may not work out."  Snape lectured.

"I don't subscribe to the idea, that there is only one way of doing things.  It seems like he didn't even make an attempt to find a different way to achieve the same goal!"  Hermione said dramatically.

"Precisely, Miss Granger."  Snape agreed quietly.  This would work out well.  "Now tell me about Dr. Hoffines' work.  Did you see any problems there?" 

Hermione spun out her criticism of his recent work, praising his intelligent research on rare roots, but admonishing his exploitation of that branch of potion making and Herbology.

"He has hoarded most of the rarest specimens for his own use, leaving very few naturally occurring examples to propagate themselves the way nature intended.  Hoffines was fascinated by breeding and crossbreeding them with other varieties of plants.  And while his unique discovery offered the magical community some sensational current advancements, the consequence was a detriment to our future in the long term— many rarer roots have been plucked to the brink of extinction."  Hermione was speaking freely from memory.  Her notes were there, but she didn't refer to them.

Since the book on Dr. Hoffines was written by himself, he certainly hadn't offered an objective viewpoint.  It was obvious, as usual, that Hermione had ventured far outside her assigned reading to look at relevant literature and obscure articles for this information.  She was doing graduate level work.

They spoke for two hours and Snape moved to adjourn her, leaving Hermione lingering at his desk while he fetched a journal to add to her reading list.  She quickly peered at his desk papers, but no book.  Damn.  She cocked her head, reading sideways some notes on his desk about upcoming class lessons.  She snuck a peek at a potion she couldn't remember, but thought she might have read it mentioned somewhere.  Hmmm… The Brownheimer Antidote.

Seeing him walking back toward the room, she leaned back, not wanting to appear too nosy.  Then something captured her interest on the far wall.  She walked slowly near the framed picture and her mouth hung slightly open.  Oh my God.  He framed it.  The sonnet.  The circular weave of her calligraphy, her initial sample of work proposing a cover was there, proudly displayed on his wall.

"Something interest you, Miss Granger?"  She didn't answer.  Her hair hung in waves down one side of her face as she tilted her head to read along the arc.  "Be careful, if you get any closer you could fog the glass."  Snape added silkily.

She tried to recover.  "I think being hung in a potions classroom, around fumes and volatile substances, poses a greater threat than my breath."

Humph.  "I was joking.  I've charmed it to be impervious to those things.  What do you think?"  He inclined his head toward the artwork, admiring it himself as he had done many times before.

"Shakespeare's thirty third sonnet.  I've always liked it."  Hermione dodged, smiling at her handiwork.  Her stomach turned flip flops at the strangeness of their discussion and that Snape liked this enough to display it.  It would have been far more appropriate to have his first-year lecture hanging here on the wall of his potions classroom, instead of this literary work.  She wondered if he would leave it hanging if he knew who had been responsible for creating it.

"Well, no sonnets for you.  Here is the journal article I wanted you to see.  Compare this to your other notes and we'll select a starting point."  Snape dismissed her.  Severus shouldn't have been surprised, but he was amused.  She was well read even for a Muggleborn.  She had been studying in a school of magic and Shakespeare was not on the syllabus, even in the Muggle Studies class.  Humph.

Hermione left, and Snape sat in his own black leather chair in front of a quiet fire in his personal chambers.  He reached for the familiar book, the thin volume which he had been picking up frequently over summer and since the arrival of the sonnet.  He had snatched it from 12 Grimmauld Place and was not at all sorry.  It would not be missed.  With practiced fingers he turned its pages slowly, stopping at his favorite passages, and again at the oft read insert—the angst filled stanzas which did not belong there amongst Shakespeare. 

-------------

Hermione cornered Ginny in the library and slipped her a note which read, 'ROR five minutes.'

Moments later they were upstairs, making plans about who to ask first.

"It's time.  We're going to invite just a few first. I was planning to bring you and three others."

"Not Lavender."  Ginny said bluntly.

"Why not?"  Hermione was taken aback at her forwardness.

"Because Pavarti is already getting hot and heavy with her boyfriend.  They tell each other everything.  If they were in this together that would be one thing…"  Ginny reasoned.

"You're right, what about Lisa Turpin? She's older."  Hermione suggested next.

"Yeah, it's be good to have another house's prefect in the group, especially Ravenclaw.  She might be in a better position to identify people in her own house who won't gossip.  What about Luna?"  Ginny proposed.  "She won't say anything.  She's odd but she's smart, and can keep a secret."

"I want to invite her, but I'd rather wait until the group is more established.  I don't want to turn off the Slytherin members."

"Are you sure we can trust them?"  Ginny asked skeptically.

"They'd say the same thing about you.  Actually several of their friends are already missing, so I'd say they have more invested in this already than any of us."  Hermione said seriously.

They glanced down the remaining list, focusing on female DA members.  No Cho.  Too emotional. "Susan Bones?  Mandy Brocklehurst?"  Ginny guessed.

"Susan's a good choice.  She's very intelligent, quiet, hopefully not too inhibited for something like this.  Let's talk to her.  I don't know Mandy well, maybe Lisa—if she agrees could approach her with us?"  Hermione thought out loud.

-------------

The Head of Slytherin cloaked in his black silk shadow, slinked his way down to the dungeons to their dormitory Common Room, slipping first through the blank stone wall.   Approaching the entrance, he announced his arrival with the slamming of their portrait hole.  Thankfully for the portrait, it was stuck to one of two enormous wooden doors. 

"May I have your attention?  Mister Malfoy, Miss Parkinson— would you please go gather your remaining house mates?"  Most of the students were already bounding down the dormitory stairs.  The pair of students quickly returned with the rest of their house.

Snape chose his words carefully.  "You have heard that the Headmaster had informed us that this year Hogsmeade weekends will be handled a bit differently.  The date of the first Hogsmeade weekend is in two weeks.  Students who have obtained permission slips may meet in the Great Hall promptly at 10:00am. will Each house will be divided into two Groups, and each group will be escorted by a Prefect and a Staff Member."  Groans were stifled, any grumbling in Slytherin house was not rewarded by present company.  "At no time are you to wander off unescorted by an adult.  Any wandering will be severely punished.  In light of recent circumstances… I am sure you realize why this must be so."  Snape kept his voice quiet, authoritative and solemn.  Students couldn't decide whether or not he was concerned or inconvenienced.  "The break will last from ten to two…"  This did earn an audible groan as previously the Hogsmeade weekend hours were more flexible.  "…So I would suggest that perhaps our team's Captain could schedule the Quidditch pitch for practice each Saturday to ensure victory."  The way the word 'victory' slid off his tongue, sounded like an order to win, not encouragement for honorable sportsmanship.

He liked to leave his motives ambiguous.  Snape never argued with any adjectives used to describe him, it only reinforced his mysterious persona.  Even still, many of his students had approached him privately for help, probably because they had no one else to turn to.  He preferred to stay in that indefinable middle ground, considerate with students in private, and easily drifting into his more calculated Death Eater role when warranted.

He dismissed them and turned to leave, shutting the door to lock in the heated conversations which would inevitably following his dry lecture.  It was a necessary measure to keep students safe.  Hogsmeade was an open area, and not protected by the wards of Hogwarts.  It would have been safer still to forbid all female students to go.  Surely Miss Granger wouldn't have that.  But keeping the lot of them at school for a year, begged for rule breaking and a riot putting even the precious Gryffindor legend to shame.  In the face of certain danger, teenagers still would feel unfairly treated, recklessly believing they could do it on their own without help from anyone.

-------------------

When Hermione entered the Room of Requirement on Thursday night, she was staring at the smug sly smile of a Slytherin.  Pansy was quiet and tilted her head a bit, hands behind her back, feigning innocence, but looking like a cat who ate the canary.

"Are you now going to tell me your big secret?"  Hermione asked suspiciously.

Pansy revealed a big grin and said plainly, "I have the book."

"You what?!  You stole it!"  Hermione's jaw dropped.

"I prefer the term borrowed.  I borrowed it.  Don't need it forever… just slipped my mind— y'know the whole permission thing…"  She shrugged as if it was an ordinary thing to do.

Hermione hadn't seen it on Snape's desk anymore and so she wondered what guts it must have taken to steal that from such a man.

"Is this what you were looking for?" Pansy waved it, dangling it in front of her.  "I slipped it off of Lupin's desk," she gloated.  Pansy showed it to Hermione and then pulled it away quickly when Hermione's fingertips earnestly reached for it.  "Wait, wait."

Hermione let out a sigh of frustration.  "Yes, that's it!  Can we look at it together please?"

"Not until I ask some questions.  How do you even know about this book?"

Hermione was thinking fast.  "I saw it over the summer and only read one line before it was taken from me.  I got caught reading a dark text."  Hermione wasn't looking at Pansy, she was still eyeing the book.

"By who?  You're a Muggle.  How would you even be anywhere near this?"  Pansy asked suspiciously.

"I… I came here for part of the summer because my parents were away.  I saw it briefly in the library and Professor Lupin saw me."  Hermione lied like a professional.  Part of it was kind of true.

"It's not really that dark."  Pansy explained matter-of-factly.

"How do you know?"  Hermione didn't believe her for a minute.  "What do you mean, not that dark?"

"I've been reading, and there is as much defensive magic in here about virgins as information on torture."

Hermione made a face at her mention of torture but was immediately jealous that Pansy got a glimpse of a book she'd been thinking about for two months.   "What have you read?"

"Enough to know Lupin wasn't lying about virgins having powerful magic.  Makes me have second thoughts about wanting to lose my virginity as soon as possible.  This stuff is so… wicked,"   Pansy said with awe.  She skipped her History of Magic Class just to read it.

Pansy walked over to a table which appeared behind them and the girls sat side by side to look at the tome.  Pansy opened it carefully to pages she had marked and flipped quickly by grotesque pictures of torture and mutilation.  Hermione blinked her eyes to try and forget those images and focus on what Pansy had found.

"Here it is like you said,"  she cleared her throat.  "A virgin's magic is most powerful when desires are strongest, blah blah…  'Virgins which are too young lack the struggle with temptation that older witches contend with.'  This was marked by Lupin."

"Good grief, it's so big Pansy.  The writing is so tiny, it's going to take forever to go through this!  Do you think this might tell us what You-Know-Who is trying to do?"  Hermione had said Voldemort's name before, but after seeing how many adults feared to speak it, even Professor Snape, she adopted use of the substitution again.

They regarded each other with a painful look, swallowed and tentatively flipped back to the pictures of torture and bloodletting.  Though the pictures were gruesome, most detailed only the most painful ways to torture a virgin.  Some had to do with the incredibly outdated and long abandoned practices of virgin sacrifices.  They both exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Thank Merlin."  Pansy said.  "At least we don't have a visual of what he'll do to us.  It doesn't mean that there's not some elaborate description of death and dismemberment elsewhere in this lovely bedtime story."  She flipped through and took a section.  "We can't copy this, so we'll have to take a section and read through."

"Let's skim first and focus on what jumps out at us,"  Hermione suggested.  She took out a quill and parchment and sat on the left, Pansy on the right.  They both bent their heads down in an awkward position, right and left hands hitting each other as they tried to read the material. 

After a few odd nudges, heads bent down at weird angles, they made no progress.  "This isn't working!"  Pansy hissed.

"Well, we are in the Room of Requirement…"  Hermione focused really hard on a device that would help them to read at the same time, and make the text bigger.  On the table before them two ordinary items appeared.  A knife and two plastic magnifying pages.  Not really what Hermione had in mind.

Pansy reached for the knife and Hermione watched in horror.  "NO WAY!"  She exclaimed.  "That's not even your book!  You don't know how that's bound, it could have magical enchantments or…"

Hermione's lecture on proper respect for books was ignored and interrupted by Pansy lifting the cover away and the sound of her knife cutting the bindings of the tome.  Pansy looked completely shameless and in a matter of half a minute, handed Hermione the first half of the volume.  "There.  Happy?  Now we can both work on it."

Hermione was speechless, jaw hanging wide open, but holding an easily readable section of the long awaited text.  Curiosity won out and soon they were both silently reading and scribbling.

"Pansy… there are all kinds of recipes in here for healing potions with virgin's blood.  God, it's practically a cure all.  This one's pretty difficult but…"

"You're forgetting how difficult it is to collect virgin's blood,"  she reminded in a sighed sing song way.

Hermione skipped ahead.  "It's right here!  Look!"  Pansy peered over and there in black and white was a detailed accounting of how to collect it.

"Weird.  It doesn't seem that difficult.  But how do you lose the hymen and collect it, without sex or…"  Pansy tilted her head to look at the diagram.  Hermione was as stumped as she was and shrugged.  They'd look at it later.  Hours passed and they were still at it.

It was approaching midnight, getting to be the time their friends would worry and ask questions. 

"We've gotta go.  Read and take notes in secret…" Hermione instructed through a yawn.

"Duh!  We are dead meat if we're caught with this."  Pansy rolled her eyes. What, do you think I'm some first year?  "Hey!"  She called out to the know-it-all.  "Stop getting all caught up in the potions and details.  You were the one who said 'skim the pages' remember?  I don't want this confiscated before we've had a good long look."

Hermione nodded, Pansy had her number.

"We should get the group together this weekend, okay?  Have you thought about who?"  Pansy pestered.

"Of course, but I haven't talked to them all yet."  Actually, she had only approached Ginny.  "And you?"  She shot back.

"I have four takers."  Hermione was surprised.  Pansy wasn't wasting any time.

-------------

There was an eerie air about the night as a gathering of dark robed villains and one spy met shortly before midnight in the middle of an unremarkable wood.

Professor Snape had done his best, as a male professor with good instincts, but truly did not take an accurate sexual pulse of the school.  His list was a fraction of what it should have been.

"My servant,"  hissed Lord Voldemort through a thin mouth, possessing serpentine eyes and reptilian features.

"My Lord." Snape knelt to the ground and rose, his left arm burning with the scorching remnants of his Master's call but he ignored it.

"What have you?"  Snape handed him the parchment. 

"It is not complete, but it is a beginning.  I am not certain of many of the names.  I expect the list may change over the course of the year," Snape explained.

"Hmmm.  I understand there was a bit of a organized boycott of one of your classes."  Voldemort remarked with a cold sneer.

"A small snag, nothing I can't work around."  Snape said as smoothly and unperturbed as he could, eyeing Malfoy senior out of his peripheral vision.  Draco had blabbed.

"The bellflowers were a good idea, but a bit obvious,"  Snape explained.  "I should know more next week."  When Voldemort looked in Snape's eyes, he saw a glimpse of next week's lesson plan and was confident of his commitment to make progress. 

"Very well.  We will meet again soon.  I have plans for this group for the end of the year, no later.  In addition, I require something else of you.  But I will not ask you now.  Bring me the list of virgins, and then we will proceed."  Voldemort said malevolently.

Snape's gut wrenched at the thought of his unknown future task, he hoped it would be tolerable, something he could perform without hating himself.

"Yes, my Lord."  Snape replied obediently, as was expected of him.

----------------------

Hermione went to her room and read all night, listing each potion she came to and marking pages she wanted to return to.  Then she came upon a number of defensive spells and an incredibly stronger 'Protego' to shield a virgin from dark magic.  Very impressive shield charm.  She remembered the snippet of Snape's lesson plan and decided to look that reference up.  After searching through three texts on antidotes, only finding vague references she finally relented and returned to her half of the Power of the Innocent.  It was there that she didn't expect to find a reference to Brownheimer.  

'The antidote, when properly brewed, can appear a pale blue or clear.  But the important matter in regards to our concerns is why this is so.  Brownheimer brewed this because the side benefit of the potion is that the brewer's virginity can be confirmed or denied when it is brewed. Brownheimer was a chief researcher in development of many potions using virgins blood.  Needless to say he used the antidote for his own purposes to find suitable candidates amongst his students.'

Damn him.  Hermione swore to herself some more, knowing that this reference was so obscure, no student would know it.  And she was quite sure Snape expected that she wouldn't find out.  She continued to read, already plotting her next silent revolt.  Oh, my God.  What if Snape wasn't making a list?  What if he was trying to obtain sources of virgins' blood?  He had practically mentioned it in class.  It was difficult yes, but impossible for Snape to do?  She figured 'impossible' wasn't a word that existed when it came to Snape.  She shook her head at her anxious flight of escalating worry.  It wasn't plausible. Snape was not Brownheimer.

He wouldn't do that.  He wouldn't!  Snape fought on the side of light. He was a member of the Order.  Mrs. Black said he was getting a list, she had no reason to disbelieve her.  But didn't he walk a fine line between dark and light in the concert to keep his true motives concealed?  Didn't he have to perform certain tasks and duties from time to time to prove his loyalty?  What concessions would he willing to make?

Hermione knew she had to talk to Pansy, and while she felt willing to discuss the issue concerning the potion, she felt strongly about keeping the rest of her worries and speculation a secret.  Snape's spy status must remain intact and unspoken.  And worries she had about him balancing his role she would keep to herself.

Pansy did the same, motivated by heavy study more than she had been in years.  Pansy had good grades, but applied herself only as much as she needed to.  This issue was different— this required her full concentration.  Pansy wasn't in her dorm, though she had returned to make up a fake form in her bed, bunching up the covers just so before changing into her sleepwear, donning her cloak and leaving for a windowsill outside of dark hall near the common room.  The dim passage was lit only by trace moonlight, and was deserted— a dead end, no one came here.  She lit a used candle and stuck it to the stone ledge, perching her half of the tome on the large grey brick.  She read until two or so— one hundred pages skimmed. Then she came to a passage that stopped her heart.  She grew pale as she read, not fully digesting at first glance what she read.  Her breath caught in her throat, terrified beyond respiration. 

When Pansy looked up, a dark shadowy figure emerged from the Forbidden Forest with his trademark elongated strides.   Lupin met him in the yard, and Snape was still wearing the robes of her father— Death Eater robes.  Her wheels turned as she saw them talk in low tones she couldn't hear from this distance.  Snape was obviously upset, throwing up his hands in frustration. 

They were much closer to the grounds now.  Lupin was trying to explain something, and then Snape stopped cold.   Turning to the other Professor, Snape said so that Pansy could faintly hear,  "How could you lose it!"  Lupin quickly hushed him as they ran onto the grounds.

Pansy looked down at her text and knew immediately she had done a bad, bad thing.  She picked up everything, blew out her candle and snuck back to her room to avoid capture.  She charmed her cloak clasp.  'Tomorrow morning 7:30am.' 

Like the summer, she sat back in her bed and stared at the ceiling, but not seeing it.  Her mind flooded with all of the details of the last few months.  She knew Lupin wasn't a Death Eater—no dark mark.  He frequently rolled up his sleeves in class, since DADA involved a lot of physical activity.  Maybe he was a wizard who served Voldemort in secret?  Nah, it didn't fit. 

Maybe Snape wasn't a faithful follower?  He had always been the quiet one at dinners, observing.  Not as obnoxious as the others, like the MacNair and Lestrange families.  Snape was intelligent, but vindictive… he was known to say cruel things in clever ways.  Many wizards would think about what he had said and take offense moments after he had departed.   Snape was crafty with his insults.  Pansy had always liked him.  Except he was one of them.   Pansy realized she only began thinking of Professor Snape this way when she found out her father had offered her.  As a teacher, he was strict but good.  A bit unfair to the other students, but that was fine entertainment.  Maybe she had missed something about him.

------------

Morning couldn't come soon enough and both Hermione and Pansy found each other 30 minutes early, both dead tired but awake with fear.

"You're not going to believe this,"  a tense Hermione beat Pansy to the punch.

"Believe what?"  Pansy was wide eyed.  How could things get any worse?

"Snape's scheduled us to do a potion next class whose secondary purpose is to identify virgins.  I'm sure he's not planning on mentioning how that happens at all.  Look,"  She showed her the book as she explained.  "The Brownheimer Antidote isn't anything special.  In fact, it is used to treat a lot of poisonous bites and toxins we already have treatments for." 

"What are we going to do?  We can't just refuse every assignment."  Pansy argued.

Hermione pointed out the passage about the color change and cleared her throat before reading out loud from the text, inserting her own insights here and there,

"When the potion is blue that confirms virginity.  So then, how is a girl to keep her identity secret?  'Virginity is a powerful thing to be harnessed by women against those who least expect it.  One's power cannot remain hidden if one cannot circumvent such an obvious confirmation of innocence.  In the Brownheimer antidote a bluish dye is produced from the plants.  Placing a small piece of pumice in the cauldron before brewing will absorb the dyes produce, leaving behind only a clear substance.'  The stone can be discarded later without affecting the value of this potion.  You see?  We don't have to notify anyone. I can get stones for several girls and tell them to put it in their cauldron before brewing.  We should act totally oblivious to the outcome of the potion, not caring one way or another what color it should be because we're not supposed to know this."

"Are you sure?"  Pansy asked.

"You bet I am.  Mark my words, Snape is going to say that a potion will be effective bearing either color, and then will say nothing else."  Hermione felt she had satisfied Pansy's worries about the potion, but saw something else there.  "Pansy?  Are you okay?"

Truly, the Slytherin looked a bit green, her jaw taut with emotion. She ran nervous fingers through her hair and rubbed her weary eyes.  "Hermione, we are in deep shit.  The better half of this book has mostly to do with the use of virgin's blood and spells used both to build… and break… wards."

Hermione's eyes now widened to full size, tears threatening to fall.  "Oh my God.  He's going to try to break into Hogwarts!"

After a round of cursing and hand wringing, Pansy spoke up.  "We need to do three things.  First, get this group together ASAP.  Second, talk to the other girls about the pumice idea, careful not to use everyone.  That would be terribly suspicious."

"And third?"  Hermione asked.

"Lose our virginity immediately.  The Dark Lord?  Coming here?  Y'know, I know I'm no angel, but there are limits and He has long since crossed them,"  Pansy hissed angrily.

Hermione couldn't agree more.  "We need to read your half as quickly as possible.  Maybe we can find out which one he's trying.  How many are there?"

"I've only come across a few, but these are mostly small spells— like for breaking in houses or past charmed objects.  But an institution like this?  No wonder he needs so many virgins."

"The four founders cast the first wards, and I can't even fathom all of the magic that has gone into protect a place like this.  Gringotts should be so well guarded."  Hermione stated.  "No apparation, no portkeys.  I know Dumbledore has interesting ways of observing all that goes on here."  Hermione thought about all of the portraits talking to one another, all of the mysterious devices that filled his office, any number of other magical objects which might tell the future.

"But we had Quirrell our first year.  And a Death Eater impersonated Moody our fourth year, to do what— setting Cedric up to die and using Harry to come back from near death?  Is that how Rita Skeeter put it?"  Pansy snapped back.  "How safe is it really to be a student here?"

Hermione couldn't argue there.  As protected as Dumbledore wanted to make the school, things were bound to happen.

"Okay,"  Hermione said,  "Lets meet Sunday morning at ten right here. We can talk about the potion then.  If the girls agree they can pass out the stones in secret to select people in their classes.  Afterward we can stay behind and read your half.  It would really be good if we could figure out what he's trying to do.  We have no idea how many virgins he's going to need…"

"I know, I know.  Let's just get started."  Pansy left with a weary resignation in her step.  She shook her head.  She just had to beat this.  She just had to.

Hermione left in a mood as well, lifting her head only upon entering the library.  There has to be another way to fight this.  There has to be another way.

------------

It was a little awkward to discuss something so personal with girls she wasn't particularly close to.  Susan seemed especially shy, however, after a long talk she deduced that she really was just the type who liked to observe.  She had needed confidence building in the DA, but really could focus and perform decent spells.  She would be an asset.

What compelled Susan to join was the fight against You-Know-Who.  Susan had an uncle who was murdered during the war before her birth.  It only affected her so profoundly because she still saw the grief in her father's eyes.  At times he withdrew from everyone, unable to work and drowning his sorrows in a bottle.  Susan couldn't wait to serve.  Hermione never knew she had felt so strongly.  She imagined, like Neville, that there were other students with personal but private stories investing themselves in the fight against Voldemort.

Hermione left for the library and wove her way through the aisles of books in the restricted section.  She knew this was where she could find Lisa Turpin, the Ravenclaw Prefect who had been throwing herself into DADA and attempting to revitalize the dueling club which had been abandoned since Lockhart's departure. 

Lisa was scribbling furiously, and looked up.  "Hey, Hermione.  Were you looking for me?"

"Yeah."  Hermione leaned in to whisper.  "Can we go somewhere to talk privately?"  Hermione made her voice scarcely audible because the library had a strange way of magnifying sound, possibly Madam Pince's way of ferreting out riff-raff.  Lisa nodded and closed her books, hiding them on the edge of a shelf so she could retrieve them.  Hermione walked a bit ahead and Lisa followed behind.  Hermione slipped into an vacant classroom near the library and warded the door behind Lisa, looking around for any nosy portraits which might be watching.

"What are you so suspicious for Hermione?  You okay?"  The Ravenclaw girl was always forthright and mostly all business, from Hermione's experience.  She decided the factual approach would work best with her.

"I have something important to ask you and it involves the utmost secrecy.  You may not go to any teacher, even Dumbledore with what I am suggesting.  Deal?"

Lisa's eyes narrowed.  "Not sure.  Does it violate school rules?"

"Not yet," admitted Hermione honestly.  There was always room for growth.

"Okay then…" Lisa seemed hesitant but that was as good an agreement as Hermione would get from the cautious Ravenclaw.  "Does this have something to do with the petition?"

"Yes and no.  The petition was necessary due to other factors.  I have it from excellent sources that You-Know-You plans to use an unknown number of virgins to perform some kind of ritual or spell.  Currently our suspicion is that He will try to use girls from Hogwarts to bring down the wards of the school."  Hermione's eyes never blinked once, making full eye contact with Lisa.  She continued in a grave tone.  "A list is being prepared as we speak to notify Him of eligible candidates for the spell or whatever.  You may have noticed several girls are missing from the school…"  Lisa nodded.  "And several daughters of Death Eaters have been offered up to the Dark Lord for his use."

"What do you need me for?"  Lisa asked.

"Another person and I are trying to form a group of virgins to sabotage this attempt."  Hermione cursed herself for not asking the obvious question sooner.  "You are a virgin aren't you?"

Lisa shot her a look.  "Yes."

"There is no way we can let this happen, Lisa.  Your participation is entirely voluntary and at any time you can choose to back out, but our goal is to figure out a way to ruin this for him." Hermione's jaw clenched as she waited for Lisa's response.

"Why can't you go to Dumbledore?"

"He knows about virgins being targets but won't tell us what's going on.  None of the teachers will.  Once we tell them what we know, and what we might plan to do… they won't support us.  They will presume we are too young to discuss it, or unable to handle it…" 

"Well we are the ones in the middle, aren't we?"  Lisa posed.

"My thoughts exactly."  She's in.  "We are meeting this Sunday at 10:00 am in the Room of Requirement on the fifth floor corridor across from the portrait of the…"

"Trolls learning ballet?  I know, that's where the DA meetings are right?  Harry invited me yesterday."

"Oh, he's started the year now!"  Harry hadn't mentioned it to her, but then she'd been pretty occupied.  "Did he say when the next meeting is?"

Lisa looked a bit puzzled.  Harry was one of her best friends, how did she not know?  "Probably sometime next week.  He's still trying to work around Quidditch practices."

Hermione rolled her eyes, that always made scheduling difficult.  "Lisa?  Listen.  Ron and Harry and I are really close, and usually we tell each other pretty much everything.  But I haven't mentioned one peep about this.  So far Susan Bones has agreed to join us and Ginny Weasley.  This group will not come up in DA meetings however similar it may appear or if topics overlap.  Okay?"

"Sure."

"I was hoping you could do me one more favor and approach Mandy for me."  Hermione requested.

"I could, but Mandy's not a virgin."  Lisa said this quietly, like she was violating Mandy Brocklehurst's trust by doing so.  "Maybe Luna Lovegood?  She's a bit flighty, but she is crazy intelligent.  And excellent at keeping secrets."  The vote of confidence from one of Luna's own housemates was all the encouragement Hermione needed, to agree to add her at this point.

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Sunday rolled around quickly and ten girls stared at each other with more than a little awkwardness, realizing what they all had in common and that the Slytherin house was a whole hearted supporter of this plan.  Millicent, Pansy, Roberta, Linda, and Daphne— Hermione, Ginny, Susan, Luna and Lisa all sat around in a circle of couches.

"You know, I don't want you all to think that I don't support some of the Dark Lord's ideas just because I don't want to be served to him on a platter by my father."

"Get the big picture, Millicent," reprimanded Lisa with a sharp tongue.  "I thought with the 'Dark Lord', it's all or none.  You don't get to choose what you do when you follow him.  It's do or die."

Hermione and Pansy saw where this was headed and decided to stop it before it went any further. 

"We are not going to solve anything by rehashing what we obviously disagree on,"  Pansy observed.  Pansy knew that Hermione making this statement would never keep Bulstrode's loud mouth in check.  "We are all here because we don't want him to use us to further his aims and we would prefer to be the ones to choose how we lose out virginity instead of having us kidnapped or having it taken from us.  Some of our friends are missing…"

"Hogsmeade weekends have new restrictions," Hermione took over.  "Snape is giving assignments that out us…"

"That was just the bellflowers, Granger."  Millicent argued.

"There is more.  He is going to give us a potion next class that will define our virginal status without telling the class that he's doing it."  The group continued to flow pretty smoothly from there as Hermione and Pansy grew more comfortable telling the details of the story they knew, and what they had speculated and why. 

The other girls felt sympathy for the Slytherins when they shared their stories about how their fathers approached them with the news.  Millicent hadn't been told, she overheard it.  Pansy was notified outright over dinner at a restaurant in a public place so she couldn't make a scene.  Linda found out from her mum after Melanie disappeared.  Pansy offered her solution about getting as many girls deflowered immediately as possible, while Hermione argued they should read more of their book to identify how many girls were needed to complete Voldemort's suspected spell before they all agreed to have sex en masse.  Ginny and the Ravenclaws wholeheartedly agreed with her.  No point in getting ahead of yourself if you can't measure the benefit.

At the conclusion of their meeting each girl held four stones. And while there still wasn't agreement on the method of surreptitiously avoiding sacrifice, they had at least formed the initial bonds of sisterhood and agreement that this group of virgins would remain totally secret, that any girl could quit whenever they wanted without fear of pressure from others, and that next time each girl would offer suggestions for new members who could be trusted.  New members would be approached only after unanimous agreement from the core ten

Hermione charmed everyone's coat clasps before leaving, satisfied that their numbers had grown significantly from just two.  Finally, they weren't alone.

---------------

The girls worked their calculated magic in circulating well-scripted rumors about themselves throughout the school.  They were baseless of course, and many involved the mention of summer trysts.

"Did you know that Pansy…"

"No, you're kidding… I heard that Susan… with Rick…"

"Really, he was only with Mandy last week!"

"They broke up when she found him with Susan…"

The school was all a buzz past breakfast.  Before the girls knew it, Mandy was receiving apologies and consolation for an affair that never happened and Susan was receiving looks from Mandy Brocklehurst's friends for an offense of which she was not guilty. Rick had left school on the weekend due to illness.  Poor chap wasn't even here to defend himself. 

Hermione and Pansy had overnight reputations, which upon the news reaching Ron's and Harry's ears, they didn't believe immediately.  "No way Hermione!  I can't believe they said that!  You would never…"

Hermione's face remained expressionless and she ate her food in silence.  She felt a tad offended that Ron thought she would 'never'.  Come on, Ron— never?  I am a flesh and blood woman!  Give me credit for having at least some needs.  Her curly hair bounced behind her asshe left the Great Hall in a huff, but all in all pleased with the progress of the rumor mill.

It was mid morning on Monday when Potions began.  Snape appeared distracted and obsessed with his own paperwork rather than focusing on the class.  "Today class,"  he mentioned looking down at his desk, "we will be brewing the Brownheimer Antidote, commonly used for treatment from poisons and stings as well as exposure to unknown chemicals.  It is widely used when you are not certain of the cause of poisoning.  The antidote causes only a few ill effects and generally does not disturb the balance of most poisons."

Hands shot in the air, remembering his last lecture, but he didn't take notice still rifling through papers.  "The potion when brewed correctly may appear pale blue or clear, but either result is acceptable."  Hermione mouthed an 'I told you so' to Pansy. "Instructions are on the board.  You may begin."

Students with raised hands gave up, and decided to defer their questions until later.  Snape did not look up from his desk.  He did not stroll the aisles pointing out mistakes, relishing the horrified looks on the students' faces as he gave out failing grades while peering into the cauldrons over students shoulders.  Low supervision was required today to ensure a somewhat inaccurate sample for the Dark Lord's precious list.  He scribbled and graded papers, and even read the Daily Prophet.

It was therefore easy for several girls to begin by placing the lava rock at the bottom of their cauldrons.  Hermione even practiced in advance to make sure she got the potion right, giving tips to other students.  At the end of class Pansy, Hermione, Millicent, and Susan Bones all had clear potions.  The two others in the class had blue potions.  Hermione put on a poker face as she bottled and labeled her potion for Snape's testing.  She quickly cleaned her workstation and pocketed the stone.

Near the end of the class, the professor absentmindedly looked up.  "Very well.  Are you finished?"  And began his stroll.  Millicent almost forgot and palmed her stone, hiding it under the desk.  He walked by each desk and saw Draco Malfoy had botched his attempt.  It was a tricky brew, so he was completely surprised that half of the boys failed their brewing while all of the girls had appeared to brew the potion correctly.  

The students filed out and many left thinking that Snape had lost his edge today, not noticing the rather stunned expression behind his face.  Hermione had suspected that maybe he was trying a little too hard to be disinterested in the outcome of their work.  When she left for the hallway, Millicent grabbed her arm forcefully.

"What did you do?"  Millicent hissed.

"What do you mean?  Let go of me!"  Hermione said harshly, not wanting to draw attention. Millicent held out her hand revealing a palm stained with blue dye where the stone has touched it. 

Hermione looked on in surprise and then examined her own hand.  "Oh shit.  The dye must be released as soon as it comes in contact with something."  Blue dye was on her hand and all in her robe pocket where she had put it. 

"Little late warning, Granger."  Millicent said angrily.

Pansy fled to retrieve Susan, but fortunately both had discarding their stones using tongs, not wanting to touch the hot liquid.  "We've got to tell everyone else."  Fortunately they were the first class. 

Millicent and Hermione ran back to their respective dorms to look up various vanishing charms, and Dean teased Hermione as she entered what she thought to be an empty common room.  "You're turning into a smurf, Hermione!  Did someone jinx you?"  Hermione's face reddened and she didn't return from her room until she had on clean robes and had hidden the large stain on her right hand.

Meanwhile, Snape sat at his desk, staring blankly at nine correctly brewed potions.  He separated the boys from the girls.  Three blue vials were discarded in the wastebasket.  Gods, Four out of six girls.  Granger, Parkinson, Bulstrode and Bones.  Merlin. 

Children these days had no comprehension of what sexual relationships entailed.  They were too young to have that responsibility and take it seriously.  He found it a bit peculiar that with almost no instruction and neglectful supervision every girl had brewed the potion flawlessly while the only boys who managed to scrape out a passing grade were, for lack of a better word, innocent. Ugh.

He went through his painful day of premeditated, substandard teaching and nearly reeled in shock at his desk as each class produced more clear potions than he had possibly anticipated, even among his fourth year students.  Snape should have been relieved that he had so few valid candidates for Voldemort, but found himself disgusted beyond measure.  He stormed through the staff room to grab a cup of tea before their meeting and sat stiffly in his chair.

When Poppy and Minerva entered the break room, they couldn't help but notice his disposition was more surly than usual.

"What's gotten into you, Severus?"  Poppy asked.

Snape spun to face her and grumbled sarcastically, "Oh nothing, Poppy.  Nothing.  Say— do you happen to be running low on contraceptive potions?  Because I could prepare more, for this lot."  He drank his tea in one, and frowned at his cup because it was missing firewhisky.  He quickly poured another.

"What are you on about? I'm fully stocked, Severus.  You made some before the semester started, remember?  I had to discard the last because it expired." Poppy gave a puzzled look to her colleague who never expressed an eager interest to brew this before.  "Why did you mention this?" 

Minerva was watching this intently and her face grew pale and stony at his next declaration.

"No particular reason, just at least half of our young darlings are sexually active," he said dryly with an uncaring shrug.  Nothing could be further from the truth of his feelings however.  Snape was livid.  Many of the girls were barely fourteen or fifteen.

Lupin snorted into his teacup, spilling his drink down the front of his shirt.  "I beg your pardon?  How do you know this?"

"In potions.  Side effect of the brewing process," he said absently with a wave of his hand.  "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"But no one has approached me for a contraceptive potion this year except for two seventh year students!"  Poppy exclaimed frantically.  Snape was beginning to show signs of worry.

"Names, Professor Snape.  I want their names."  McGonagall bit out in authority through her pursed lips.

------------

No later than the afternoon, the house Heads were making their rounds.

"May I have your attention please?"  McGonagall addressed her Gryffindor students.  "There will be a mandatory session for all of you to attend.  You will be broken up into groups and come to Madame Pomfrey's office at the times assigned on this board.  Let me say again, this is not optional.  You may not miss this and if you do, you will answer to me."

"What is this for?"  Ron asked.

McGonagall glared at him but did not answer.  "You will find out soon enough, Mr. Weasley."

She didn't explain what it was about, but according to the posted schedule on each door, the girls and boys were separated in different groups, and they were separated according to year.  If it was being conducted by Madame Pomfrey, Hermione and Ginny deduced quickly based on the groups what topic might be up for discussion.

There were eight groups total in years four through seven, with approximately 15-18 in each group.   Fortunately some of the older students were somewhat well versed already in information about contraception and sexually transmitted illnesses, though Poppy wouldn't describe them as sexually responsible or mature as she heard them snicker and joke throughout her lecture.  The boys were notoriously thick, many of them expecting their female counterparts to be the ones shouldered with the responsibility of contraception.

"Well, Mister Zabini, I think you should ask yourself then, that before each time you consider engaging in sexual activity, you ask yourself at least one important question."  Blaise blinked at her.  "Do I want a child with this woman nine months from now?" That question hit home, and a lot of students looked a bit nervous at the prospect of actually being a parent, many assuming that the charms or potions had been applied or administered without question.  Many left hurriedly to approach their girlfriends and inquire about their health and 'status.'

The girls were a different matter.  They felt scolded by the reproachful looks given by Pomfrey and McGonagall, their icy stares boring right through them.  Indeed, they held their potions results in a folder behind them, released under Snape's condition that they wouldn't reveal what had been uncovered in his class.  No more revolts.  He'd be stoned to death.

Hermione was careful not to jump on the defensive.  She was actually relieved when girls began asking questions which exposed their ignorance about sex, contraception, family planning and STD's.  Even though most in the room were virgins, they needed the education, minus the condescending tone.  McGonagall looked harshly at Hermione more than a few times and she felt stung by her judgment.  Hermione really had meant what she said to Dumbledore about her virginal status being no one's business, and here was the proof.

Finally they were let out, after an hour and a half of lecture which included a short film on horrors of childbirth and STD's.  Most of the girls looked distracted, not really feeling the subject matter applied to them quite yet.  Their lack of attention annoyed the proctors.

-------------

Severus Snape groaned as his arm burned again— he thought he'd have more time before he met with the Dark Lord.  He had his list together and feared for its messenger.

"My Lord,"  he bowed low and rose to stand beside Lord Voldemort.  No one else in the circle was there just him.  No one else to rescue him from Crucio with their stupid outbursts to deflect that horrible attention from him.

"What progress do you have on the list of available students?"  Voldemort had not asked for what news, he asked for what progress.  Snape tried to cover as best he could.

"The school appears to be overrun with depravity and promiscuity, My Lord."  Snape could not continue for the next thing he heard was 'Crucio' and the next thing he felt was a bolt of green light hurling a terrible force of pain throughout every nerve ending of his body.  Snape was no longer standing and felt dirt beneath his fingertips.

"This cannot be accurate!"  He hissed.  Lord Voldemort flicked his wand to raise the head of his punished servant, curled a long bony finger under his chin and looked into his eyes.  Images of the potion and the vials on his desk filled his head.  He was right.  He released Snape from the curse and left him.  "This doesn't include all prospective virgins, but I cannot use the younger students.  Does this please you, Severus?"  Severus struggled to regain composure.  It had been a small

"No, my Lord.  We shall use whatever need calls for."

Somewhere in the Gryffindor dorms, Harry woke with a start and his scar was burning.  Without thinking about it, he immediately shut his mind off from all thoughts.  He was curious, but didn't wish to offer Voldemort an opportunity to get to him.  All emotion left him, all anger and bitterness of the day, any feelings for Ginny and laughter, Harry permitted himself to be blank and the pain subsided faster than rubbing it physically ever did.  Harry smiled as he remembered the feeling that came to is mind before he woke.  Somewhere, Voldemort was really pissed.

--------------

This was the end of round two.  Hermione sat in her dorm room at sunset, looking out the window across the beautiful grounds, searching for some comfort.  Any comfort.  She was faced with the overwhelming possibility that she would need to lose her virginity soon, the only suggestion offered as a solution to their current dilemma. Voldemort could very well be planning an attack on Hogwarts with no idea at the moment of how to defend against.  As impressive as some of the spells and potions were in the Power of the Innocent, being innocent wasn't feeling very powerful at the moment. She was attending school but felt like she was going through the motions.  Only this group and Snape's extra class was really providing any focus for her.  And that was distracting.  She tried to discard her feelings— bury them low hoping that time would help them to subside. 

But he had such a remarkable presence about him. Whenever she was especially angry with him it only served to increase her attraction toward such a forceful man. He wasn't pleasant in class, but he had been more than civil last Wednesday night.  It was easy enough to look at her texts and study, discuss theories and research, but then he would speak… or she would look at him, and then time would stop for a second.  She could barely remember what they were speaking about.  He interpreted her memory lapse as drowsiness and had adjourned their session for the night.  Then the sonnet.  That practically knocked her off her feet.  And he liked it.  She tried not to misinterpret it, by assigning it all kinds of undeserved additional meaning.  It promised so much more than he could actually give.  And he would never.  She was in the same predicament as the summer.  And that was dangerous. 

Hermione's thoughts lay in such a serious place, eyes threatening to shed tears she wouldn't permit herself to cry— having no one to turn to with such a  private matter.

She looked up and her own room came into focus again, looking at the wavering interests of her finicky cat Crookshanks.  His moods changed with the weather.  He was not always the best choice for conversation.  He was too independent and did as he pleased, rubbing up against her for affection one minute and then stalking away.  Pet me!  No— stop petting me…  Crookshanks often turned with his posterior facing her and sauntered away, bottlebrush tail flinging his attitude in the air. 

Sunday had passed her by and she realized that for all of her wishes for someone to confide in she had forgotten the one source of true guidance.  She had neglected to pray in the last few days, often studying to the point of exhaustion, letting sleep overtake her at the last moment. 

But now more than ever with the threat of Voldemort breaking through the wards on Hogwarts castle, she should have prayed to God.  It should have been her first thought, not her last one in a moment of desperation.  She knelt and bowed her head, letting whatever thoughts came into her head— concerns, doubts, and gratitude flow from her lips up to heaven.  She prayed for guidance and thanked him for the support given to her from unsuspected places.  She was still feeling a bit wary and unsafe, much like she did at her parents home.  The thought of the wards being breached made her feel like she was already exposed.  Then in the sky a beautiful white dove came into view and landed on her windowsill.  Her tears fell, blessed from the sign that God was watching over her.  It was likely a coincidence, but Hermione knew there were reasons for everything and decided to befriend the creature, thanking Him for the message of peace.

She opened the windows gently, and the dove took a gentle flight, returning to the ledge and settled.  Hermione returned with some biscuits and water.  As the bird pecked at them Hermione talked to it, feeling more comfort from sharing her troubled thoughts with an animal.  She had more hope.  She felt more confident that another solution would present itself.

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Author's Notes: 

See as I promised! Lots of candy!  Many thanks again to all reviewers, and suggestions for plot bunnies you'd like to see.  Finally our group is coming together.  And guess what, as you have probably surmised there are ten more coming.  But why twenty, WHY!  HAHHAHHAHA! Maniacal laughter  I'm not telling you yet!

Blaise-  I hope you read through and thanks for your comments.  I will visit the web site, you may be right about the word 'minister' but I've heard it used frequently here even amongst my Catholic friends.  Maybe it's a southern thing with so many Protestant's here many Catholic have adopted similar descriptions.  The Emmaus Walk, for example, began in the Catholic faith, so I often hear people talking about their spiritual journey or spiritual walk in that way.  Thanks again!

Smirk queen-  Thanks!  And here you go!  BOO YA!  Girl power, that's where the fun is.  And another chapter isn't far behind.  It's being proofread.

hp princess 17588-  Thank you, and things will develop slowly… there will be calligraphy references from time to time, but Snape won't find out for a while.  I'm flattered you spent all day reading.  I've done that myself with fics I have enjoyed.  Your time spent and your review id the highest form of praise.

Hope-  Thanks for your review!

Althea Grey:  Thank you, but I don't know how much of a Book Six it would be without Harry in the middle.  And the big question—ha! I'm not telling.

Gelsey Greeneyes:  Thank you, I am trying to improve.  And I'm glad you think I'm in character.  That's my worst fear is having the main people be OOC.

Excessively perky:  Thank you, and love your name, like the Potter verse perky… percolation… hmmm coffee..

Javen Green:  Thank you very much.  And I'm glad you can relate, but--- and I don't want to jump to conclusions.  "These are professional characters do not attempt this at home."  Tee hee...  I can't wait to pull the group together and introduce everyone!

Franflutewitch:  Hey there!  Glad you can identify. I play the dulcimer (Appalachian folk instrument- like a narrow guitar played in your lap), though not often anymore.  My mom plays piano, something I always wished I had taken up.  I did however always sing, and is a special way I worship in church.  I always fantasized about being capable of singing jazz and rock without sounding hokey or Broadway. I always thought Hermione was multi-talented.  We know she plays piano from the books (I think there was a small reference), as so little is mentioned of her Muggle life. Snape may find out about the calligraphy he might not…  Just kidding!  Of course he is, but not right away.  Still figuring out the big reveal on that plot bunny.

Whizbees:  This totally counts as two chapters and what great timing too!

Jasperpress77:  Thank you.  I am so glad I put in the religious bit now too. I wasn't sure at first, but it feels pretty good to write Hermione this way.  She's so grounded.

Rosmerta:  I did have a specific piece (of the Requiem) in mind, but I need to ask my mom because I couldn't find it online. I couldn't find my sheet music for the Requiem she sang for Dumbledore, Lupin and Snape at 12 Grimmauld.  I have been fascinated by the Catholic faith and by the strict adherence to many practices by my friends.  I found the prayers on line and have asked others to help me with other details.  I am Christian and have been missing church of late, need to return.  Even though my husband is not at all pleased with the ritualistic prayers and ceremonies of many churches I know that many people find it soothing and a sacred part of their worship.  I work in a Catholic Hospital here in Houston, and enjoy greatly the almost magical comforting presence to the nuns and priests there. 

Glad you liked the dream, and thought Snape is in character.  It's like in the book, people perceive him as evil, but truly people just see the outside, and if it's written at the point of view of Harry, who's already judged him over the years, we really may not be seeing him as he truly is.  I am sure the adults don't see him the same.  Much of what Snape does is an act.  Sirius may have been blinded by childhood memories, but both Remus and Lupin praised Snape in his ability to tutor Harry, pushing Harry back to seek out his aid.  There is honor somewhere in there.  And whoops you got me.  I meant dull/ not droll. 

Now I will give some serious thought to your Room of Requirement challenge.  I have been thinking about that ever since your review and I don't believe it would produce whatever you want, just only what you require.  I wonder if it could produce only objects.  So hmmm… maybe next chapter…

Chloe22:  Chloe!  Thank you so much for your feedback!  I sent you an e-mail and since joined Live Chat, looking for the place you saw the fic mentioned.  I joined Lord and Lady Snape but was unable to load the fic yet.  My husband will help me because I only use Word.  Who is Tycho?  Thank you for noticing the efforts gone to make sure ideas and concepts are carried through the fic.  I have a little set of notes at my desk reminding me of plot devices and words I want repeated for the purposes of  continuity.  And I did need a beta, The Klingon Mistress is great!  Ezmerelda and other reviewers helped too.  It's great with the new upgrade my italics problem is fixed!  Thanks for your review and it means much more than a little!  J 

Lillith:  Sorry 'bout tha'—I'm American, can't help it.  Texas and everything y'all. (But I don't have an accent.)   I slipped on the mum/mom thing for Hermione, good point there.  Thank you for your review.  I appreciate your feedback.

Azulkan2:  Thank you.  Even though Snape might be kind of pleased at having a way out of his list making, he really didn't approve of a public embarrassment, being chastised by McGonagall and Dumbledore in his office.  Showed up by the Know-It-All Gryffindor, he had gone out of his way to see she got an independent study.   I don't think I properly described how angry he was.  He's so repressed.  Makes for a passionate man.

Crissy:  Thank you, and here you go as promised!

Hpz26:  Thank you and I have to take my time.  These ideas are crazy.  Hard to string them together.  There are a lot of scenes in this chapter. Hope it's not too choppy.

SimplyScribbling:  Thank you, Thank you.  And I don't plan to abandon the Burden of Sight, but I'm kind of single minded now.  It'll be hard to write that next chapter (Remus will be knighted.) As always— our dear Severus will do his best, his purpose is to stall and produce a somewhat flawed list to the Dark Lord.  The question is how much will he bear the guilt of handing in a name of any girl to him knowing that he painted a target on them.  It just wouldn't make sense to throw them together too early.  Hermione's right.  It wouldn't happen.  And I love the revolt too!  Reminds me a little of people who refused to dissect their frogs in science class.

Maxy:  I forgive you for your computer being down.  ;) Mine was recently too, and I am so grateful to have it fixed!  Weird when that happens huh?  Here's more Pansy and Hermione.

Wackoramaco87:  Yeah, I love Lupin.  I always imagine him to be super cool.  Very proactive, polite (a force to be reckoned with I'm sure) but civil.  Fair.

Levans:  Thanks!

Romm:  Ummm.  No, not really.  DA is DA.  This  group of ladies is a rather elite group with one thing in common.  They will learn cool stuff… but only one goal.  The DA will go on an on.  The Twenty will have a stopping point.  Argh!  I've said too much!

ThePinkSpider:  I love your name.  Thank you!  I enjoy writing.  A hadn't expected such a response.  Thank you for reviewing.

Lyress:  Sorry you had to wait for the last one, but I hope it was worth it.  As you requested more Pansy, complete with description and as for the second part of one… well see… don't want to give anything away.  (I have already written one of those scenarios in advance- tee hee!)  As for 2, you are way ahead of me, remember he doesn't expect his book to be published until winter?  More suggestions! Keep them coming!

xmaverick14x:  The girls don't want and don't need (at least they think they don't need) help.  As always, the spy is solo, on his own reporting to Dumbledore. Even if he wants to help, he can't help.  Snape is a pissy guy when he feels things are out of his control.  But he won't figure that out for awhile.

GeekGoddess1:  Yay!  I love to hear that!  This is definitely a girl power fic. I hope you'll be chanting it as the chapters progress.

Ezmerelda:  Yup.  He's going to get the shock of his life, and more than once.  And poor Snape won't get the truth for some time.  It'll be painful for him to watch tho.  Yeah--Hermione will go out of her way to make sure no one can confirm her identity again after he used the device.  No one's taking her down.  I can't wait to write more about the book.  Hermione can't resist a good spell.

Redlady27:  Tee hee.   Pansy will teach Hermione a thing or too about sneakiness and upsetting the balance. Actually throughout the fic Hermione's going to be pretty unbalanced.