"Yes, Harry! Faster! Faster! So close!"
Hermione jerked her head around. Below her, she saw Harry going head-to-head with Cho Chang for the Snitch. She did a roll to avoid a Bludger and claimed the Quaffle from Roger Davies. She caught it and as she flew close with Roger towards Oliver Wood, she continued to peer after the two Seekers who were flying tight capers to avoid losing the Snitch.
"Goal for Ravenclaw! Irrelevant, the race for the Snitch continues! Can Harry Potter turn the game here or will Ravenclaw crush Gryffindor hands down?" shouted Lee Jordan through the magical megaphone.
Hermione urged her beaters to focus only on the opposing Chasers and a few seconds later caught the Quaffle as Angelina Johnson dropped it while dodging a precisely hurled Bludger.
"Granger's got the quaffle! Catch the Snitch Harry, it's our only chance! Granger's going for her trademark, the flying cannonball!" commented Lee as Hermione made herself as small as possible on her broom to race through one of the goal rings at top speed along with the Quaffle.
"Harry's got his arm out! He's got it! He's got it! But just before GOOOOAAAAAL for Ravenclaw!" he shouted, his voice ebbing into a disappointed groan. Hermione jerked her fist in the air and screamed her euphoria into the roaring stadium. A wave of happiness washed over her and she was almost knocked off her broom when Roger joined her and hugged her in mid-air in celebration of their victory.
"Granger flies through the centre goal ring with the Quaffle seconds before Potter catches the Snitch! Ravenclaw wins one of the closest games I've ever commentated on. The final score is 200 to 190 for Ravenclaw!" shouted Lee Jordan, who had found his euphoric mood again after the brief moment of disappointment. Hermione high-fived the Gryffindor chasers in the air and flew down to Harry to congratulate him too for his great game.
"That was a really close one, I could already see how close you were," Hermione called out so Harry could hear her over the roaring crowd. Harry returned her handshake with a pained smile. She could see how much the narrow defeat pained him.
McFinley pulled Hermione into a hug that rivalled Hagrid's. He grabbed Hermione's face with both of his November air-cold hands and Hermione was startled for a moment, thinking he was going to pull her into a kiss, but he just shook her head slightly and shouted out his euphoria and Hermione joined in.
The Gryffindors showed themselves to be good losers and congratulated the Ravenclaw team on their victory before retreating to the changing rooms. Hermione patted Cho's back, who, as expected, was not quite as euphoric as the rest of the team. But Hermione was quickly able to convince her to celebrate with them, and so the Ravenclaws' common room that Saturday night was the scene of the biggest party Hermione had yet experienced.
She was glad after an hour when Luna beckoned her over to an armchair a little further away from the core of the party and she settled down on it, exhausted. Luna beamed at her and Hermione settled contentedly into the large armchair.
"You flew so well, even better than last year!" said Luna and Hermione smiled broadly at her. The hard training had really paid off. She had been working on her agility and stamina more than anything else over the last few weeks and it had made a significant difference in her game.
Hermione rested her head against Luna's shoulder and closed her eyes, exhausted. Luna told her a little about how she had experienced the game and that she had missed three goals because she had thought she had spotted a Crumple-Horned Snorkack on the horizon. But Hermione had already dozed off against her shoulder and only woke up again when there were only embers glowing in the fireplace.
She heard Luna's slow, deep breathing beside her and realised that someone had put a blanket over the two of them. She looked around briefly but couldn't see anyone in the common room anymore. Hermione sighed and laid her head back against the spot on Luna's arm where she had been sleeping. It only took a few seconds for her to fall back asleep.
"Hermione! Luna!"
She opened her burning eyes and raised a hand protectively in front of them as she was blinded by the bright rays of the sun shining on her face through the window.
"Goodness, you two are cute," she heard Penelope Clearwater's voice say as she rubbed her eyes.
It was still early in the morning, but Penelope was already dressed in her leisure robe and sitting in the opposite armchair.
"Good morning," Hermione said, yawning heartily as she stretched her arms. She heard a small hiccup next to her and she recognised Luna, who was just waking up. Penelope and Hermione giggled as Luna was shaken again by another small hiccup.
"You two just fell asleep in the middle of the noise of the party," Penelope explained as Hermione looked around the room.
"Did you tuck us in?" asked Hermione and Penelope nodded with a smile. Hermione glanced at her wristwatch and yawned once more.
"I'm starving!" she said and stood up to stretch her legs. She was paying the price for the unaccustomed sleeping posture during the night, but fortunately, the pain was moderate.
"Me too!" exclaimed Luna, already running for the exit. Hermione and Penelope followed her and after a hearty breakfast, Hermione ran herself a soothing bath before turning her and Luna's scarf yellow and black and heading off with her to the Hufflepuff versus Slytherin game.
"Did you see that?" asked Luna, who had turned to Hermione with wide eyes. Hermione pushed her lower lip forward, impressed, and nodded. She had just had her first taste of what was in store for her in the last Quidditch game of the season.
Susan and Ginny were like one mind in two bodies on the broom. It looked like they could fly blindfolded and still know where the other was. It was so impressive to watch the two of them that Hermione felt a little sorry for the third Chaser on the Hufflepuff team because he simply wasn't getting his turn.
Hermione had watched some of the Hufflepuffs' Quidditch trainings, but Susan and Ginny had stepped it up another notch. The two could only be slowed down by a Bludger, which struck Susan hard on the shoulder and restricted her somewhat. Instead of throwing herself, however, she let Ginny take the throws for the rest of the game, which only minimally eased the flood of goals.
Hufflepuff ended up winning 470 to 90, as the Seekers had long struggled to spot the snitch in the adverse conditions. Hermione was glad to head back to the warm castle, although she had been able to warm Luna and herself with a heat sphere and keep out the rain with a protection spell.
Susan's shoulder was patched up by Madam Pomfrey while still in the field and so she, along with Ginny, Luna and Hermione, was able to enjoy the Halloween feast that evening without pain.
"Did you do anything at all during the holidays except flying?" asked Hermione sternly, starting to laugh as the two glanced at each other and blushed. "It showed. You girls were unstoppable! Did you hold back in the trainings so you could shine even more in the game?"
Susan nodded with a grin and Hermione shook her head laughing as she cut herself a piece of pumpkin pie. The four of them laughed a lot and enjoyed the feast. They were almost the last ones in the Great Hall, along with the teachers, when late in the evening Percy Weasley, the Head Boy, stormed across the hall agitatedly and called for the teachers to follow him.
The four girls looked at each other with raised eyebrows, but remained seated and continued to enjoy their time together. However, when Hermione recognised the serious look on Professor Dumbledore's face as he came back into the Great Hall, she knew something had happened.
"Why is it always Halloween, anyway?" she asked, and the other girls shrugged their shoulders in bafflement. They looked at each other wide-eyed, however, when about a minute later the entire school was led back into the Great Hall by their respective prefects. Many were already wearing their pyjamas, only the Gryffindors were still wearing the same clothes they had attended the feast in.
"Dear students. There is no cause for alarm, however, you will have to spend the night in the Great Hall tonight!" shouted Professor Dumbledore in a magically amplified voice through the hall, which instantly fell silent and was then filled with the whispering of the students. It spread like wildfire through the Great Hall that the Fat Lady, the painting blocking the entrance to the Gryffindors' common room, had been attacked by Sirius Black.
"Sirius Black? Here in the castle?" said Susan in astonishment, looking at Hermione who returned her gaze with a furrowed brow. Hermione sat for a long time with the three other girls on the mattresses the teachers had conjured up for them, theorising about what Black wanted in the castle and how he had gotten past the Dementors.
When Professor Dumbledore and the teachers returned from the unsuccessful search, however, the Great Hall quickly became quiet. Hermione lay snuggled close to Luna on a mattress and hugged her from behind to show her that she was there for her and that nothing could happen to her. It felt good to lie so close to Luna's back snuggled under the covers and Hermione realised how much she had missed feeling the body heat of another person at night as she fell asleep. She thought of the time with Amelie and Philippe in France and realised how different it felt to lie here with Luna.
Luna was like her little sister and Hermione felt her protective instinct as never before as she pulled the blonde girl tighter against her chest. She could read in her emotions that it comforted Luna and encouraged her when Hermione held her protectively in her arms. Hermione heard the teachers patrolling between the mattresses whispering quietly to each other, but couldn't make out their words. The next morning, classes continued as normal and the school quietened down a little again, as none of the numerous further searches for Sirius Black unearthed even a hint that he was still in the castle.
"Good afternoon, class!" echoed Hagrid's voice across the castle grounds. His breath froze and rose in a small cloud of haze in front of him. He divided the class into groups and handed each a small wooden bowl, the contents of which Hermione recognised immediately. Pleased, she turned her head and smiled as she recognised a whole pack of Bowtruckles crowded around a large bowl behind Hagrid. When the groups had spread out a bit, Hagrid picked up the large bowl and told the Bowtruckles to get some from the students if they wanted more.
"Oh, they're soo cute," Susan exclaimed as the pack started to move and waddled spikily towards the students. Hermione smiled as three little tree guys broke away from the group and came towards them excitedly with their little arms raised. Hermione set the bowl of woodlice down in front of her and beckoned the three Bowtruckles over. She recognised in them the three Bowtruckles she had visited last year to ask for their leaves for the Polyjuice Potion. Hermione was amazed that the three of them had recognised her and giggled as one of them climbed up her arm and dangled from one of her braids a little later.
"They are so adorable," Susan said, holding out her hand for a bowtruckle.
"Be careful, they're a bit shy at first. They have sharp claws. These three already know me," Hermione said warningly to Susan, who withdrew her hand in response.
"How do you know Bowtruckles?" asked Susan, and Hermione told her she had helped Hagrid look after some last year. It felt wrong to lie to Susan, but the fact that she was an Animaga had to be kept a secret at all costs. Hagrid instructed the students to measure the Bowtruckles and write down their characteristics. Hermione had a little difficulty measuring a Bowtruckle because they were so comfortable with her that they were scurrying around and climbing on her all the time. Eventually, with a stern plea to the three of them to keep still, she managed to get them to stay in place. As a reward, they were given wood lice straight from Hermione's hand. When the three had emptied her hand, one of them looked up at Hermione and grew a leaf on his arm, which fell into Hermione's palm.
"You shouldn't have, but thank you, sweethearts," Hermione said as the other two also held out their little arms and donated a leaf.
"You really do have a knack for Bowtruckles," Hagrid praised her at the end of the lesson. Since he had no use for them, Hermione decided to give the leaves to Professor Snape when she came to his next private lesson. Later that day, as Hermione was making her way to Ancient Runes in the past, she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye as she made her way under the protection of the Disillusionment Charm. Slowly, so that she would remain hidden, she turned her head and watched with wide eyes the spectacle that was revealed to her. She saw two creatures she only knew from illustrations in books, walking up and down in front of a tapestry with a large box they carried between them.
They whispered softly to each other as they kept walking up and down in front of a painting that showed a wizard who seemed to be dancing ballet with trolls. Hermione gasped as the two of them suddenly vanished into thin air after checking the corridor once more. She raised an eyebrow and stood frozen in place, waiting to see if the little guys would reappear.
Indeed, about two minutes later, the two creatures with big ears and long snouts appeared just as suddenly as they had disappeared before. They seemed to have left the box wherever they had gone. With a little 'plop' the two disapparated and Hermione exhaled in relief. She stepped up to the wall where they had disappeared and felt it with one hand. The cold stone was rough under her fingers, but she could see nothing to indicate the entrance to one of the school's many secret passages. She frowned, then remembered something. "Specialis Revelio," she thought, and let the magic flow through her fingers onto the wall.
Nothing happened. Still, the wall was just the wall and the wizard in the painting opposite was hit by a hard blow from one of the trolls, sending him to the floor. Hermione grumbled and closed her eyes, making her last attempt to get behind the mystery of that wall. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the magic that surrounded her. Like the last few lessons with Professor Dumbledore, she could feel the magic surrounding her in the air, but there was no indication that there was more magic on this wall than around her.
Hermione cursed softly and gave up. During the whole lesson of Ancient Runes she was still thinking about what the house elves could have done. What was certain was that they had a box with them before they had disappeared through the wall and had come out without it. In the evening, she resolved to trace back in her memory exactly what the little fellows had done to enter the wall. Before dinner, Hermione entered her mind library and delved into the memory from the afternoon. Immediately upon entering the memory, she stood next to the tapestry and waited for the house elves to show up. She winced slightly as they appeared out of nowhere in front of her and the small sound told her that they had apparated.
"We need a room where we can hide this cider. We need a room where we can hide this cider," one of the elves kept repeating as they paced up and down in front of the wall. Then they stopped abruptly and entered the wall as if it had opened in front of them. Hermione raised her eyebrows and decided to enter that room as well, while the other students were at dinner. Her spirit of discovery was aroused and she made sure twice that there was no one in the vicinity as she made the renewed attempt.
"I need a room where I can hide something. I need a room where I can hide something. I need a room where I can hide something," she said quietly to herself as she retraced the steps of the house elves. She opened her eyes and gasped as she caught sight of a door on the wall that had been the bare wall a moment before. She looked around again briefly and then opened the door. "Wow!" she said in amazement as the door slammed shut behind her and the huge room was lit up by torches. Dozens of shelves stood in the huge hall, crammed over and over with items. Hermione recognised the box the two house elves had carried in.
It stood between two troll legs that appeared to be stuffed. The more Hermione looked around the room, the more she got the feeling that it was mainly used as a hiding place for forbidden items. A lot of things would not be allowed in school and you would usually get more than detention if you were caught with them. Intrigued, Hermione strode through the rows of shelves, inspecting the items, some of which were centuries old. She opened a potions book that, according to the cover, had been published in 1761. In a cage lay the skeleton of a small creature that had long claws and fangs but was no bigger than a cat.
Glancing at her wristwatch, she raised her eyebrows in amazement. She had already been in the room for an hour, inspecting the remains of hundreds of students and house elves who had once lived at Hogwarts. Just as she was on her way out, her eyes were drawn to something shining slightly in the glow of a nearby torch. Curious, Hermione walked up to it and looked at the silver hair ornament lying in a niche on the shelf. She reached out and took the diadem from the shelf. Her eyes widened as she read the lettering that stretched across the wreath.
"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," Hermione whispered, tracing the finely crafted letters with her finger. She could feel a slight tingling in her fingertips, which was a clear indication that the diadem contained magic. She turned it in her hands and examined it for traces of what she suspected. It was tarnished, just like an old silver amulet Hermione's mother had inherited from her great-grandmother.
Hermione had an idea and put the diadem back in its place. She then sat down cross-legged on the floor and charmed herself into a trance. Hastily, once in her library, she pulled up the Pensieve and raised a finger to her forehead. She dropped the memory of a certain point in the afternoon into the Pensieve and immersed herself in it. She followed the Hermione from memory who was just crossing the common room but took a different direction once she had her destination in sight. Hermione walked over to the life-size statue of Rowena Ravenclaw and examined her head.
"That's it!" she exclaimed loudly into her memory and made a leap for air. She immediately left the memory and her trance as well. "How the hell did this get in here?" asked Hermione loudly into the room, grabbing the silver diadem again. If this really was the diadem of Ravenclaw, it would be able to give Hermione enormous powers, if the legends were true. The diadem was said to have powerful properties, but it had not been seen for a thousand years and was thought to be lost. Hermione was overcome with temptation to possess an item that had belonged to the first Daughter of the Raven - had even been created by her.
"What could possibly go wrong?" wondered Hermione aloud. If the diadem was fake, nothing would happen when she put it on. And if it was the real thing, it might prove useful in the fight against Voldemort. She gathered all her courage and put the diadem on. She gasped as she was hit by a bolt of magic that pierced her entire body. She could feel her magic expanding like a hot air balloon being kindled for the first time and couldn't stop a euphoric yelp. Hermione couldn't believe it and looked down at her hands, which were tingling as if thousands of tiny lightning bolts were shooting through them.
It was an incredible feeling that wouldn't stop and Hermione didn't want it to stop either. Everything in her body was signalling to her how right it was that she and she alone wore this diadem. She had to hide it. Just as she had raised her hands to take it off, she froze in mid-motion, guided by an inner voice. Without thinking, she came up with a better way to conceal the diadem from others. She let her magic flow through her hands and used it to unknot the braids she had woven that morning. She conjured a mirror and let it float in front of her. She smiled at how easy it was for her to perform all these spells.
It had to be the diadem of Ravenclaw, indeed. And now it was her diadem. She pressed it firmly onto her head, braiding her hair so that it completely covered the diadem just past her hairline above her forehead and held it firmly on her head. For the first time in her life, she was happy to have so much bushy hair. When she was done, she duplicated the mirror and made the mirrors float around her as they did back in Mr Oculus's shop, so she could look at herself from all sides.
The small bulge at her hairline was barely visible and the hair completely hid the diadem. Hermione liked the hairstyle and she winked at the Hermione in the mirrors before letting it disappear again. Euphoric, she left the room, memorising the spot on the seventh floor where this incredible room was located that she wanted to explore further.
When she returned to her mind library that night, her mouth was left open at what she found there. Hermione was surrounded by huge shelves, full of disorganised and partly missing books, at least twice the size of the shelves she had found there before. She immediately set to work sorting all the new books and woke up the next morning from the alarm clock before she had finished.
She felt better than she had ever felt in her life. Like the day before, she felt the magic in her fingertips and felt as if no task was too hard for her. She got an idea and thought of the moment of euphoria when she had put on the diadem while casting a Patronus. White mist emerged from her fingertips, forming into a shape. Hermione cheered as her first real Patronus flew a circle around the room and then dissolved at her command.
"Who would have thought that my Patronus would be a raven?" thought Hermione, giggling as she put on her school robes. The effect of the diadem on her perceptiveness and magic was amazing. As she had been shocked to discover in class with Professor Lupin, she had to restrain her magic so as not to use too much at once. That day, Professor Lupin had introduced them to the Stunning Spell and had required Hermione to demonstrate it on him. Her stunning spell had been so strong that Professor Lupin had been thrown hard against the wall, but Hermione had quickly gotten him back on his feet.
"I'm really sorry, Professor!" she said with an apologetic look as she helped him up.
"That was a truly powerful Stunning Spell, kudos Hermione!" he said and Hermione could see in his eyes that he was truly impressed with her spell. "Well, learn from my mistake and don't underestimate Hermione Granger," he said and the previously startled class laughed. She held back for the rest of the lesson and effortlessly managed to deflect all of Susan's Stunning Spells. She allowed her a few successful attempts though, not wanting to demotivate Susan. Hermione spent the rest of the week feverishly anticipating the weekend to test her conjurations with Professor Dumbledore. However, she had resolved not to show all her progress straight away, to avoid Dumbledore becoming suspicious.
"Good evening, Hermione. I hope you've had a good week!", Dumbledore greeted Hermione and looked at her questioningly for a moment as she jerked her head as if to shoo away a fly after looking him in the eye. "Are you all right?"
"Good evening, Professor. Yes, thank you very much. Any news on the search for Sirius Black?" she asked and Dumbledore shook his head. Hermione had felt fear and hatred for a split second at the sight of Dumbledore, but it had faded so quickly that she wondered if her mind had played tricks on her. "If there is anything I can do, you only have to ask," she said, but Dumbledore declined gratefully.
"I don't think we're in any overwhelming danger at the moment. Whatever Black wanted in the school, he didn't get it and hasn't tried since. Our eyes are open and it won't happen again for someone to get in without us knowing."
Hermione nodded and Dumbledore got up to put the protection spells over his office that prevented Hermione's spells from harming the items and Fawkes. As Hermione cast the first incantation, she had to stop the torrential flow of magic trying to break through her hands. She limited herself greatly, noting that she was clearly doing better than ever at staying on the path of the conjuration.
"Thank you, Rowena," she thought to herself as a knee-high tornado sprang from her hands, sweeping once around the room before Hermione made it disappear. Dumbledore clapped his hands and praised Hermione for her progress. She realised from his reaction that she shouldn't be channelling much more magic in this lesson, lest it be noticeable how much progress she was making.
She got an idea and raised her hands in front of her so that her palms faced each other. Again she began the conjuring of air, but this time she wanted to conjure something specific. She gasped as a small bolt of lightning actually twitched between her palms. She concentrated on keeping the lightning up and a few minutes later she managed to keep it from dying when it hit her other hand.
Fascinated, she gazed at the bright light twitching back and forth between her hands. Dumbledore praised her effusively and Hermione let the conjuration stop. She was amazed at how little the conjuring had tired her. If she had her way, she could go on like this for hours.
"That really was a breakthrough!" said Dumbledore when the two of them had settled back at his desk.
"Yes, I understand conjuring better now," Hermione said and Dumbledore smiled broadly at her.
"I will have to reinforce my protection spells if you build up to this level. I think this is a good time to end the lesson. Sleep well and have fun tomorrow in Hogsmeade," he said and Hermione left the Headmaster's office in euphoria. She couldn't believe how much the diadem enhanced her abilities in every way.
The next morning she met up with Susan and they walked down to Hogsmeade together. She looked enviously after the couples as they walked down the long path to the small village with the rest of the school. Hermione already knew Hogsmeade from her parents' visit in the spring, but she had only seen the inside of the Three Broomsticks then. She felt like she was in seventh heaven when she entered Honeydukes and saw all the shelves packed with sweets.
"I'll pick you up in an hour then," Susan quipped as Hermione pushed through the crowd of students with a glint in her eye to get a good look at everything. It took Hermione a long time to decide, but as Susan pushed her harder and harder, she bought her favourites and the two moved on to Zonko's Joke Shop.
"Quite spooky, isn't it?" asked Susan as the two of them looked up from enough of a safe distance from the lookout point to the Shrieking Shack. Hermione looked up at the dilapidated house, which had its windows boarded up. There were many reports of loud, nocturnal howling and yowling that had earned the hut its name.
"It certainly doesn't look comfortable, must be a terrible draught in there," Hermione said and they both giggled. As they crossed the path back to Hogwarts on their way back to Hogsmeade, Hermione heard shouting and laughed out loud as three hard-to-identify boys sprinted past them towards the castle. She couldn't make out the faces covered all over in dark mud until she saw the green emblems on their school robes. It was Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, puffing heavily and looking as if they had seen an evil spirit.
"Faster, you slowpokes!" whipped Malfoy at his goons. The caked mud left none of his normally silvery hair showing.
"What the ... Ouch!" cried Susan, falling to the ground beside Hermione as if she'd been knocked over, but when she turned around there was no one near her. Hermione narrowed her eyes thoughtfully and helped the cursing Susan up.
"Did you hurt yourself?" she asked, eyeing Susan once to make sure she was all right. Since she had also landed in the mud, half of her robe had become dirty. Hermione looked around briefly and cleaned Susan up with a nonverbal spell after making sure they were now undisturbed.
"Thank you, Hermione. I don't think so, the mud was relatively soft. I don't know what hit me."
"Well, let's go for a butterbeer before we head back to the castle."
"Good idea, first round's on me!" exclaimed Susan, whose mood had immediately improved once Hermione had cleaned her up. They spent the rest of the day in the Three Broomsticks, enjoying the butterbeer in the warm pub. As the two walked back up towards the castle, Hermione was unable to stop the lust that had been building inside her more and more for days. Susan needed no convincing and a little later knocked on Hermione's window from outside, disguised by the Disillusionment Charm.
"Wow, someone's enthusiastic!" she cried with a laugh, as Hermione tore off her robe as soon as Susan had got off her broom. "You're not wasting any time!" she said, but her last words were replaced by a sigh as Hermione was already burying her face between her legs.
It didn't take long for Susan to fix her between her soft and warm thighs and tremble violently. Hermione enjoyed increasing her own pleasure even more by making Susan come first and shivered expectantly as Susan turned her attention to her. It wasn't long before Hermione experienced the release she had longed for.
"You really are getting better and better," she said breathlessly to Susan when she had regained some composure and pulled her up to her in a long kiss.
"Glad to hear it," Susan said with a grin. They cuddled some more until Susan flew out the window again in disguise. By now she had mastered the disillusionment charm well enough not to have to rely on Hermione to disguise herself. That evening, as Hermione sat in Professor Snape's private lesson, she was astounded to feel her lust return and she kept catching herself looking at him long enough for him to notice. Her eyes kept falling on his robe at belt level and she wondered what it looked like underneath.
She was surprised at herself because until now she had idolised Professor Snape as a person rather than really craving his body. She imagined him kneeling over her instead of Philippe and entering her.
"Ouch!" she cried as she cut deeply into her finger with the knife she was using to chop up Asphodel roots. It took a few seconds for the drawing pain to set in and Hermione gasped. Professor Snape looked up from the cauldron and looked at her badly bleeding hand with a worried expression. He waved his wand, whereupon the potion stirred itself and came around the table to Hermione to look at her finger. He slid the tip of his wand over the wound as he gently held her hand and Hermione watched as the wound closed. He bent down to inspect her finger and sucked up the blood still clinging to her hand with his wand.
"Don't," it escaped Hermione as he was about to let her hand slip from his and he looked at her in confusion. Hermione felt the blood rush to her head and reluctantly pulled her hand from his warm fingers. She could still feel the slight tingle that had filled her when Professor Snape had taken her hand. It had been the first time he had ever touched her skin.
"Sorry, thank you, Professor," she said, and without looking up at him again, she turned her attention back to the Asphodel root. She avoided his gaze as best she could for the rest of the lesson as they finished preparing the Draught of Living Death. As she strolled up the corridors to Ravenclaw Tower after the lesson, she was annoyed that she had become weak at his touch. She knew that nothing could ever come of Professor Snape and her in the current situation, but her feelings seemed to grow stronger and stronger, as did her lust.
Over the next few weeks, she kept catching herself counting the days until she saw Amelie and Philippe again. She looked enviously at the senior couples who had formed since the first Hogsmeade weekend and used every spare second to spend time together. Only her newly acquired power, which seemed to grow even more every day, could keep her in good spirits.
Author's Note: Whoops. Seems like Hermione has found a very powerful artefact, huh? Well, let's see if it can live up to the legend or if there is something lurking in the deep. Stay tuned to find out.
As always, I hope each and every one of you is doing well! If you liked this chapter, I would be happy to read a few lines from you. Also thank you to all the people that already reviewed, it really means a lot!
See you next time!
Kasing
