Scented
Chapter 7
Hermione felt the soft bedding around her. She was bundled up in it, warm and comfortable. She could still feel the gritty sting in her eyes, because she had kept them open in last night's Dream, but it was alright. Because she knew who he was. And it only made her excited to think he would look at her in such a way, as if he could love her.
Nervously, she shifted over onto her side, and watched as Ginny slept. Ginny, she thought, knew more than she let on. Of course she would have to, having been surrounded by boys her entire life and probably threatened to keep her mouth shut on more than one occasion. No, Ginny would not be her problem. Ron, Harry, Fred, George. Draco.
Resignedly, she left her comfortable bed and got dressed. Today could be a long day - or a very short one. One should always be prepared.
"Hermione?" Ginny propped her elbow against her pillow, "What time is it?"
"Too late for you to be sleeping. I can hear the boys down there." Hermione forced a bristly brush through her hair and winced as it snagged.
"Right." Ginny sat up and yawned into her hand, "You might think I was blind, Hermione."
"I know you're not, Ginny." Hermione stood from the vanity at the end of the room and padded out of the room in her house slippers. Ginny would keep her secret.
"'Mione!" George took her up in a fierce hug, and Hermione cursed the resulting headache.
"G'morning George…Fred…Whatever. Er… shouldn't you be resting?" Hermione managed through her headache.
"I am resting! How else do you think Fred and I would rest? Sleeping? Phaw!" George grabbed her hands and did a Merry Jig with her down through the hallway. Hermione tolerated it, seeing as this was his 'rest'.
"So how do you feel?" Hermione said at the end of their odd jig down the stairs.
"Great! Fantastic, Superberific! But honestly? I feel like shit, and so does Fred. He's rather depressed right now, so I wouldn't bother him. Still sleeping, that one," George tsked and walked past her into the kitchen.
Hermione followed, dreading the morning. Suddenly, she felt awkward, scared she might see Severus.
She froze when she heard a deep chuckle behind her, "So, did you think you could avoid me forever?"
Someone grabbed her arms and kept her from turning around. Was this Severus or…
"Malfoy, let go of me!" Hermione spun around and came threateningly close to his face with her fist.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. Or take advantage of you - That's for Severus to do, isn't it?" He laughed again at the look of outrage on her face, "But to be completely honest, he's never revealed himself to anybody but me in the Dreams, so you should be honored. And anyway, I must say I can't make fun of you anymore."
Hermione crossed her arms and stood defensively, "I'm not going to go fishing about asking questions, so just tell me what you want with me."
"I thought you'd be excited, Granger!" He shifted his weight and looked at her smugly, "'Cause you're no Mudblood. So I've said it. Mudbloods can't take part in the Dreams, you know. Their minds aren't developed enough."
"Is that so?" Hermione demanded, curiosity burning through her. But she left him with a piercing glare and turned around. She left him in between hallways, in front of the portrait of Lady Black. She wouldn't take his bait like that.
She came into the kitchen to find most of the room packed. The place had really filled up over the last few days, and Hermione vaguely wondered if it was at all a secret anymore. 12 Grimmauld Place.
She spotted Severus across the room, and quickly averted her eyes. Too many people for any confusion such as theirs'. She took a seat on one of the stools that lined the floor around the countertop. There was breakfast set out for a crowd, and Hermione took a plateful.
Hermione heard a murmur about Narcissa Malfoy's 'mission'. Another thing she'd have to ask Severus.
"Miss Granger. If I may have a word?" Severus voice cut clearly behind her, and she spun around in alarm - flinging her plate of food into his person. He caught it midair, preserving the food atop it, and handed it gently back to her.
"Oh! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean -"
"It's fine. Nothing spilled, see?" And he made an exaggerated self inspection.
"Uhm, what was it you needed?" Hermione said nervously, glancing about to see if anybody was staring. They weren't.
"In a different room, if you please. The walls may have ears, but people have eyes." He said cryptically, Hermione frowned to herself.
She looked about again and followed him into the parlor. The twins had been unconscious on those couches just yesterday.
"I'm sorry to take you from your breakfast, but there's something important I think we should discuss before we leave."
"Leave? Where are we going?"
"To Hogwarts, of course." He smiled wryly at her, but continued, "You're expected, along with Draco, Potter, Weasley and a few others. The girl too, I suppose, as she's had some experience fighting against the Dark Lord."
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Hermione found herself taking a step back, alarmed at the early end to the vacation, and at having to leave the safety of Grimmauld place, even if only for a few hours before they reached Hogwarts.
"We're forming an as yet unnamed students' Order, under Dumbledore and myself. And do you need to guess who'll be secretary?" Again, that smile. She almost lost concentration as to what he was saying.
"For school? I mean, at school?"
"Yes, Hermione. At school, to weasel some of the younger ones out, and to form new allies. All surreptitiously of course, we cannot draw attention to ourselves."
Hermione glanced at the doorway, and then back at him, "But why are you telling me now? Why hasn't Dumbledore announced it?"
Severus paused and ran his hand through his air, "It seems Headmaster Dumbledore has found it best that I should oversee this Miniature Order for some ungodly reason. I've got much more important things to do, but I'll have to take care of you lot as well."
Hermione nodded her assent, looking thoughtfully at the fireplace. Was that a wink, or a shifting of the logs?
He interrupted her thoughts, "I'm afraid this will leave little time for Dreams."
She quickly turned and met his eyes. There the truth was plain. He wanted her.
Hermione closed her eyes and swallowed. Too intense. And she lifted her eyes again.
"It's alright. The scent of the dream follows us. I can live with that." Hermione gasped, and the world twirled a little faster when Severus came into her with his Legilimency. She could have felt violated, or hurt, or anything but this terrible trust. He did not see her fear or desire, but only her perception of him. Her eyes stung, but it was a thing she noticed as being outside of herself. The world now was Severus and Herself and this scent that came like waves on water.
The blackness in his eyes was something new now, and something beautiful. She shut her eyes, overwhelmed by that emotion that had no name. Her heart beat faster, and she glanced about with uncertainty flooding through her. The room was still empty, but Severus had a carefully blank expression on his face.
"Was that…was that Legilimency?" Hermione asked, eyes wide with fear or confusion.
"Yes." He offered, but nothing more.
"And do I have the…ability?"
"Yes." He closed his eyes and sighed. "And you shouldn't have it. But you do. And your life is hell because of it."
"Why?" Hermione asked, intrigued.
"Because now we'll have to use you for our ends. Did you think Albus forced me to scour your mind just for fancy Dreams?" Severus dismayed, this was not good.
Hermione stared at him with her mouth open in a silent gasp. Scour? "I don't understand."
"And now you will. Sit down." He proffered the nearest sofa and sat across from her. "You may hate it, or you may enjoy being important to us. Regardless, you will have to serve the Order as a Dream Walker. The first night I came into your Dream, that was Walking. I was gentle. Usually, I'm not."
She stared at him, slowly comprehending his meaning.
"And neither will you be. You're good at it, Hermione, but I wont lie to you. You'll need a lot of work before you can kill a man in his sleep, or have him befit with such nightmares that he will never wake. And never leave any signs of a struggle. There is no green light. A woman, or a snake sleeping next to the victim will not notice the dying until it is too late. There will be no connection to you, or to the Order, or to Dream Walking at all." He ended with the eyes of an assassin. She could feel her throat constricting at his meaning.
"Professor Dumbledore…knows about the Dreams? He suggested it?" Hermione asked timidly.
"More like ordered it, but here we are… And before you ask - no, he doesn't know about our rela… us. And so I'd prefer to keep it." He looked away from her, into the fire. Suddenly, she was pushed violently to the floor. She could hear Severus shouting something and running toward the fireplace. She gently eased herself up and watched as he pushed his hands into the blazing fire and pulled on something.
Draco came tumbling through, gasping for breath.
"Where did you come from!" Severus shouted at the sooty boy.
"No, nowhere! I was upstairs…I just wanted to know what you were talking about." Draco shook himself off and looked petulantly at Severus and then herself. She felt herself blush at what he must have figured out by now. "And it's not as if I'd tell about you two…"
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Alright. How many months has it been since I've updated? For that, I'm so so sorry. There were a lot of personal things going on, and yahoo deleted my account for some reason, so I'll have to take care of that. Blah. Thanks for supporting me and everything. And don't worry, this fic will be completed! Definitely. I'll try to update more often, but my schedule is hectic lately.
Please Read and Review, and I'll love you a lot
-Jenny