Disclaimer: Hermione, Ginny and the other HP characters belong to JKR, not me. Jack and Will from PotC belong to Disney.
Chocolatrouxluv: Thanks so much for reading my entire story all in one go! I'll do my best to spend more time on the Jack/Ginny aspect; although that isn't the main part of the story, I don't mind developing my subplots a little more. Yes the E-town refs were fun, weren't they! Don't worry, I'll have the pirate boys back to themselves momentarily. Keep reading! Love ya.
SenatorSolo: Your idea was a great success! Almost everyone who reviewed commented about Jack falling in love w/Ron was funny. I'm glad I made I you laugh out loud! Yeah, Lavender's a beeotch – what else is new! Don't worry, Hermione will have her revenge soon enough. Everyone, GO READ HER DRACO/GINNY STORY! It's really awesome!
MintChocolate5: Of course there shall be more Will/Hermione fluff! Because I love fluff and yeah. ;) Ginny could never be Lavender-esque…she's too cool of a character for that. I'm glad you liked Under-the-influence-of-a-love-potion!Jack - he was lots of fun to write. But I can't see him cracking Voldie jokes…that would be going a bit too far, even for him. Especially when Capt. Sparrow hears about what the evil Dark Lord is planning to do to Hogwarts.
Wildsong: Thanks for reading! I'm glad you like the Hermione/Will pairing; I just feel that dashing Mr. Turner is waaay underused in PotC fiction so now I'm letting him shine as the romantic lead. ;) I hope you read the parts where the pirates come to Hogwarts as Jack practically turns the school updside-down!
ER Monkey Burner of Cookies: Haha! Glad you liked it.
Surrounded By Idiots: I'm so sorry about it being short! This one is longer, I promise. It's just that I'm so friggin busy right now! RL is getting in the way of me updating as fast as I used to. Oh well. Hmm, send Will over to your house? No can do sister. He's staying right here w/me. Hehe! But I can send Jack via UPS (he should arrive quickly as my city, Louisville is the UPS hub.) If you want to have a drunk pirate captain waking you up at all hours of the night singing crazy pirate songs, then by all means -please take him! He's stolen all my eyeliner and cleaned out the fridge looking for rum. In fact, you can have him permanently! (Jack…stop calling Will a eunuch! He doesn't appreciate that too much. No, he's not a whelp either! slap) Yes, PLEASE take him off my hands. I'm sending him right now; let me know if he arrived okay.
WillsOneLove: Cait, you are such a sweetheart. I'm glad I could surprise you with Jack and the love incident, lol. I'm glad you've stuck around. Thanks for believing in me. :D
Alandrea-the-magic-kitty: I'm thrilled you like my story! Gracias.
Andrettamaieboti: Thanks!
The Gryffindor Drummer: Muahaha – I've got yet another person hooked on my fic! Score! Thanks for reading, hun. Love the penname.
Avchocaholic: Yay! Yet another person who got a kick out of Jack loving Ron. When I'm through w/them, I don't think Will and Jack will ever want to come near me again!
Legolover: Your reviews make my day. Man, I wish I knew what all was running through your head when you read my stuff. Because you are just too funny for words! I love that little fighting match you were describing earlier. "Lets go Mione, let's go. Woo Woo! Down with the strumpet/whore!" Haha that's so awesome…Lavender's going down for sure. Poor Will is going to be mortified that he called someone snookums..but that's what happens when you take a love potion. Maybe I'm trying to get the message out in a round-a-bout way not to do drugs because they make you say and do stupid things. Or maybe not…lol. I dunno, just to let you know, the love potion thing was probably the last big comic relief the story will have for awhile.
Ch. 11: Thank Merlin for Antidotes
"Ahh! I just want to kill Lavender!" A bleary eyed Hermione exclaimed to Ginny over breakfast the next day. As it was Saturday, she'd pulled on her favorite pair of jeans and a crimson and gold Gryffindor sweatshirt before heading down to the Great Hall.
"I second that," Ron wearily agreed, reaching for the coffee pot. His disheveled appearance reflected that he'd dragged himself out of bed without combing his hair. "I should've just stayed up the entire night doing homework instead of trying to sleep. At least I would've gotten something done." All three Gryffindors were extremely groggy, thanks to Will's serenading the entire house the previous night. Well, technically he was just serenading Lavender, but he sang so loudly that he kept the entire house awake until the wee hours of the night.
"Will has a good voice," Ginny pointed out before she took a bite of her ham and cheese omelet. "But, no offense Mione, I just want to hex him for last night." Even the normally bright-eyed Ginny looked exhausted, judging by the dark circles under her eyes.
"None taken, Gin," said Hermione. "I love listening to him sing but…" she trailed off shaking her head. "Not with him adding Lavender's name into the lyrics every other word." The young witch shuddered as she drained the last of her orange juice. Just then Harry, Romilda, Jack Sparrow entered the Great Hall. Ron's eyes widened at the sight of the pirate captain; he stood to bolt but the girls firmly held him down.
"What are you doing?" Ron hissed at them. "That bloke thinks he's in love with me…I don't want the entire school to know about it!"
"Yeah well, I wouldn't feel too sorry for you after the way you've treated me for the past months," Hermione said coolly and Ron squirmed.
"You're right," he admitted. But Ron needed have worried. When Jack approached them, he did nothing out of the ordinary.
"Yeh look terrible," he greeted them bluntly as he, Harry, and Romilda sat down at the Gryffindor table. Ginny harrumphed and frowned at him.
"Thanks a lot, Jack!" The pirate held his hands in defense.
"When I said tha', I just meant tha' ye just look a bit tired," he smoothly recovered. "I still think tha' ye are the mos' beautiful girl here, my lovely Ginerva." He gave her a warm hug and Ginny sighed happily. Ron looked incredibly relieved.
"Now, could I possibly ask for some rum ta drink this fine mornin'?" It seemed Jack was back to his crazy old self.
"I think you'd better lay off the rum for awhile," said Hermione. "But here, try some butterbeer." Jack took the cup she offered him and drank deeply. A smile graced his features as he clearly enjoyed the feeling of warmth the drink gave him.
"Ya know, I was wonderin' why I had ta spend the night in yer Quidditch locker room. Yer friends wouldn't tell me." Harry and Romilda exchanged sheepish glances, but made no move to explain the events of last night to Jack, who had apparently forgotten them. "But after I've seen you lot, it looks like I got lucky."
"Jack, I hate to tell you this," Ginny began, "but last night, while under the influence of a love potion, you were crushing on my brother." Ron's face flamed as red as his hair and Jack just stared at him in shock.
"Yeh must be mistaken, luv; I don't go for blokes," Jack protested. "I certainly don' remember drinkin' any love potion – strictly speaking, rum is me drink of choice."
"I suppose you always remember everything that happens when you overindulge in your rum, huh?" Hermione raised her eyebrows at him and Jack's face fell.
"Yeh mean I was actually pursuing him?" The Gryffindors nodded apologetically and Jack sighed in embarrassment. Ron scoffed at him.
"Pursuing, ha; that's the biggest understatement of the year." Jack held his head in his hands.
"Please tell me who in the hell gave me such a thing so I can kill them! Because I can assure yeh, I didn't take any on me own." Romilda hesitantly raised her hand and Jack just rolled his eyes.
"I didn't mean for you to fall in love with him!" she cried. "You were supposed to fall for me – but you happened to see Ron just as the potion kicked in." Shaking his finger at the fourth year, Jack admonished,
"That wasn't very nice." Surprisingly, Romilda actually apologized and hung her head. "Oh well, at least it's over," said Jack. "I'm sure yeh had some great laughs…but now we can forget about last night and move on wit' our lives."
"Think again, Jack," said Hermione sadly, pointing at Lavender and Will who had just come down for breakfast. Linked arm in arm, the new couple strolled over to a vacant part of the Gryffindor table as angry whispers circulated around the room.
"What happened between you two? Did you have a fight or something?" Jack asked Hermione as Ginny shook her head in mock-annoyance.
"No, Jack. Will's still under the influence of his love potion. While you only took a sip, he drank an entire cupful," Hermione explained. Jack smacked his forehead dramatically.
"I always knew the whelp couldn't look out for himself. As always, it's up to old Jack to set him straight - excuse me."
"Wait, Jack – don't…" Ginny trailed off, knowing it was useless as Jack was already pushing his way to the front of the crowd that was gathering around Will and Lavender.
"Will mate, what're yeh doin'?" Jack made a disgusted face as Will fed Lavender bits of toast. "Yeh don't belong wit' this girl!"
"What, are you jealous, Jack?" Will sneered at him as Lavender continued to hang all over Will. Jack stared at his best friend in utter disbelief.
"I'm hardly jealous, William," he answered diplomatically. "I'm just very concerned about your mental state right now - you're not behaving like yourself. You've never loved Lavender; you love Hermione, remember?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Will told him coldly as Lavender smirked at the elder pirate's confusion.
"Seriously mate, something is very wrong with you and I made a promise to your father to look out for you if you make a mistake." Jack told him truthfully, "Lavender is a huge mistake; you can do much better than that two-faced, brainless strumpet!" Lavender gasped in mock-horror, knowing it would enrage Will.
"Don't you dare insult my soul mate," said Will in a dangerously low voice. He'd already drawn his sword which Jack eyed warily. The nearby students were looking on with interest, as it looked like a fight was brewing.
"Jack! Don't provoke him," panted Hermione, who had finally made it to the front of the crowd. "It's not Will's fault that he's not himself."
"But…" the pirate protested. "Yeh just can' let him treat you like tha'!"
"There's nothing you can do for him right now," said Ginny. The girls were able to persuade Jack to return to the table where they could figure out how they could set Will right.
"I say our best bet is Professor Snape," suggested Harry. "He should be much better by now – the only problem is how we are going to convince him to make the antidote for us."
"Yeah. He'd never do it just to help us out," Ron said bitterly.
"Not ta worry," Jack told them. "Leave that ta me." Ron, Ginny, and Hermione waited for Harry and Jack quickly finish eating. Then, not wanting to waist any time, the group headed for the hospital wing. As part of the plan, Harry and Jack waited outside while the other three went to 'visit' Snape.
They found him wide awake, resting comfortably in the first hospital bed. A solitary get-card stood on the in table next to his bed beside a glass of water and his wand. On closer inspection, Hermione surmised that the card was from all of the Slytherin students, who'd signed it when they heard what had happened to the head of their house.
Upon their arrival, Snape turned his head towards them and scowled.
"Professor Snape! It's so good to see that you're awake and feeling much better," Hermione enthused. Snape just glared at her.
"I don't want to be disturbed at the moment. What is it that you want, Miss Granger?" Hermione sighed anxiously.
"We need your help, Professor. My friend Will is in a bad way…he was given a love potion yesterday and I was wondering if you could make the antidote…" Snape sneered at them.
"Right now, I'm still incapacitated. It's very doubtful that Madam Pomfrey would even let me leave my bed. That's just too bad…I'm afraid your Mr. Turner will just have to wait."
"But he's swallowed an entire cupful!" Hermione pressed on. "Please Professor, he's completely enamored with Lavender Brown and it's really causing problems. All of Gryffindor house didn't get any sleep last night because he kept singing to her!" Snape looked absolutely delighted at this piece of news.
"What a pity," he drawled. "No, I'm afraid I'm not your man. Try and find Slughorn – maybe he'll be up to making it for you." Hermione and Ginny shrugged and began to walk out of the hospital wing.
"It's your funeral," quipped Ron as he strode out of the hospital wing. Snape barely had time to ponder his statement when, right on cue, Jack dashed through the entrance and over to Snape's bed.
"'Ello, mate!" Jack brightly greeted him, causing Snape to moan in annoyance.
"No! No – any one but him!" Panting, Harry appeared, looking like he had been chasing Jack all throughout the castle.
"I'm so sorry, Professor…" Harry paused to 'catch his breath'. "He's just coming down from the after effects of his love potion and for some reason wanted to see you. I can't imagine why…" Jack grinned giddily at Snape.
"Hey Sevvie; want any more rum? I've got plenty wit' me."
"No – I don't think really I want any right now," said the DADA professor. "Who in their right minds would give him a love potion!"
"Snape Snape the ape, banana-fana fo fape, me mi mo mape, SNAPE!" Jack sang terribly off key, and flapped his arms in front of the bedridden professor.
"Potter!" Snape roared. "Tell him to leave me alone!"
"Well I would sir, but I don't think he'd listen to a sixteen year old wizard," said Harry apologetically. By this time, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione had returned to the hospital wing, hearing all the commotion. Snape started to reach for his wand, but Ginny was faster.
"No, Professor!" she gasped. "Dumbledore said no one is to use magic on our guests for any reason unless their lives are in danger.
"My mental health is in danger," Snape muttered and Hermione succeeded in not bursting out in laughter.
"Alright, mate – tell yeh what," Jack proposed. "If yeh brew some o' that antidote to help my friend, I'll leave yeh alone for the rest o' my stay 'ere."
"I'll do it," Snape gladly agreed. To everyone's surprise, he bounded out of bed, grabbed his single get-well card, and headed for the exit.
"Thanks, Jack," said Hermione, under her breath while they followed Snape at a safe distance.
"It was my pleasure, luv." Jack gave her a toothy grin and Hermione had to smile back.
When they all arrived at Snape's office, the old potions master got to work immediately; gathering his ingredients, heating his cauldron at the precise temperature, and carefully adding each essential component of the mixture one at a time. After about a half an hour, the potion was smoking nicely and all Snape had to do was keep stirring it counter-clockwise every minute until it stopped bubbling.
"Mr. Potter, please find Miss Brown and tell her I've decided to give her a chance for extra credit this semester. But tell her she has to come to my office now or else she doesn't get the extra credit." Harry nodded and left the office. Thankfully, Snape knew that Will would never willingly leave Lavender to come by the office and that Lavender would never allow him to drink anything suspicious. This way, he planned it so that Lavender would only be focused on improving her abysmal grade, leaving Will by himself to take the disguised antidote.
"Wow, Professor…this is super nice of you," Lavender gushed when she arrived five minutes later at Snape's office with Will in tow. Harry closed the door behind them and joined his friends.
"Don't thank me," said Snape, still annoyed he'd had to brew the antidote in the first place when he could be resting in bed. "Here." He thrust a piece of parchment with questions on it into her hands. "Take this test; you have twenty minutes to complete it." Lavender moved to go into the DADA classroom and Will followed her.
"I'm sorry, Miss Brown, but you must take this test alone," ordered Snape.
"Of course," Lavender said sweetly. "William, I'm going to be just inside this room. Wait for me – don't go away!"
"I won't," he promised. "I'll never leave you, my lovely one." Everyone else in the room pretended to gag, even Snape, who was fed up with Lavender's irresponsibility. After Lavender went into the adjoining room to take her test, everyone gave a sigh of relief.
"Now, since you are here, I have a little experiment I'd like to conduct on you, Mr. Turner," drawled Snape.
"On me?" asked Will, finally turning away from the door where Lavender had disappeared. "What could I possibly tell you?"
"Plenty," Snape answered smoothly. "Cases like yours and Mr. Sparrows are rare – muggles who travel through time to discover that our world exists. All I need you to do is to tell me how my specially brewed potion tastes and how you feel a few minutes after you take it."
"Sure, I'll do it," Will agreed, and greedily drank all of the antidote from a large green goblet. Hermione watched him nervously. I hope Snape made that potion correctly! After a few minutes, Will blinked, sneezed loudly, and then sat down in Snape's desk chair, clutching his head.
"Owww," he moaned. "The potion tasted just fine, but I feel like I just banged my head into a brick wall."
"Excellent," commented Snape. "You have now fully regained control over your own thoughts and feelings." Will frowned at Snape, expecting some sort of joke.
"Excuse me?" Snape shook his head in dismay.
"You've been under the influence of a love potion, and have been acting like a complete lovesick idiot. But that was the love potion antidote that I tricked you into drinking." Will scoffed,
"I don't think that I would…" But he trailed off as Lavender came out from the DADA classroom, batting her eyes.
"William," she cooed, "I'm done; let's get out of here to we can go somewhere and be alone." Will backed away from her, a little bit afraid.
"I'm sorry," he began politely, "but who are you? I'm with Hermione and I'm positive I didn't agree to cheat on her with you." Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Jack doubled over with laughter at Lavender's shocked and furious expression. Smiling with satisfaction, Hermione linked her arm with Will's and said,
"At least I don't have to use magical means to attract a boyfriend. Don't you ever come near Will again." She glared at Lavender.
"You…you tricked me!" Lavender shrieked, stamping her foot in frustration. "You even involved Professor Snape with that assignment that I figured out was fake after the first five minutes of trying to figure out what the instructions meant."
"Wait a minute…was I really, you know…" said Will and they all nodded. The handsome young pirate cringed and immediately apologized to Hermione.
"I don't even remember any of it if that's any consolation," he told her truthfully. Hermione smiled and brushed a stray curl out of his piercing brown eyes.
"Will, don't worry about it," Hermione said firmly. "You didn't know she slipped some of the potion in your drink." Happily, they embraced and Lavender gave a disappointed "ugh!" Thankfully the strumpet of Gryffindor got the message that she wasn't wanted and finally left.
"So how bad was I?" Will asked.
"Um…er…" Not wanting to hurt his feelings, everyone suddenly became interested in either the floor, their hair, or in Jack's case, his dreadlocks.
"That bad, huh?" Will laughed. "Was it something that I said or something that I did?" Snape couldn't take it anymore; he visibly shuddered.
"Seeing the two of you together acting all lovey-dovey was one of the most painful experiences I've ever had to endure. And I used to be a Death Eater!" He rubbed his temples as if another headache was coming on. "I've had enough of all this student drama – all of you out of my office. Now!" He pointed at the door.
"Thanks for your help, Snapey," Jack called over his shoulder as the rest of the group made a quick exit.
"Will, mate…yeh should've heard ta things tha' were coming out o' yer mouth yesterday. Yeh definitely called Lavender 'snookums' - no wonder Snape was so revolted."
Poor Will blushed crimson as Jack recounted yesterday's events as they walked back to Gryffindor Tower. Hermione squeezed Will's hand reassuringly but the younger pirate still looked miserable as Jack continued to poke fun at him. Seeing Will's unfortunate predicament, Ginny took pity on him and turned the tables on Jack instead.
"But Snape wasn't present down by Hagrid's hut last night. If he thought you were bad, Will, he should've seen Jack…" She went on to tell him about Jack's brief infatuation with Ron. The group had a good laugh at Jack's expense and Will felt better. When they reached the common room, the boys and girls went up their respective staircases.
Hermione and Ginny were going to spend the day with Will and Jack, to celebrate the return of their 'real' pirate boys. Harry and Ron were going to start their weekend homework and try not to dwell on the fact that they didn't have girlfriends.
The sixth year girls' dormitory was empty, so Ginny brought her stuff in to Hermione's room so they could get ready together.
"You know, Gin," Hermione was saying as she changed into an outfit that was a little less casual yet still comfortable, "it's great to have Will back to himself."
"I'll bet," Ginny answered knowingly. "It must've been much harder for you, as Will was actually in love with someone who was scheming to keep him away from you. Whereas with me, I think Ron had the more traumatizing experience when Jack took the love potion." Hermione had to grin at that.
"So what are you and Jack going to do today?" Ginny shrugged.
"Whatever he wants, I guess. I was kind of hoping that I could show him around Hogsmeade. Being a pirate, I thought he might like to explore the only wizarding village in Britain." Hermione raised her eyebrows at that.
"And then at the end of the tour, you and he would end up at Madam Puddifoot's tea shop where you could snog to your heart's content."
"Hermione, you know me all too well," Ginny admitted with a grin.
"It sounds like fun; I know you'll have a great time," said Hermione, a bit wistfully.
"Hey, why the long face! You and Will could come along if you want…"
"Nah…I don't think that's really his kind of thing. And to tell you the truth, it's not really mine either. I just wish we could have a romantic day all to ourselves, without the interruptions of half the student body following him around."
"I know what you mean," said Ginny, sympathetically. "It's such a pain in the butt when girls are stalking Jack because he always flirts with them purposely to make me jealous!"
"Well," began Hermione. "He is used to living a pirate's life. He only does that because he's…"
"Captain Jack Sparrow!" They finished her sentence in unison and laughed. It didn't take long for the young witches to finish getting ready and head downstairs.
Meanwhile, back in the sixth year boys' dormitory, Will was fretting about what he should do with Hermione while Harry, Ron, and Jack listened. Well, Jack was mostly drifting off into space mumbling something under his breath that suspiciously sounded like 'really bad eggs'.
"It's just that I want to do something extra special for Hermione," said Will. "I want to make her forget what just happened; maybe that will help alleviate some of my guilt." He looked at Harry and Ron for help, as Jack was currently dozing.
"I wish it were warmer so that we could have a picnic. I used to have so many with…never mind." He trailed off and Harry and Ron stared at him curiously, but Will didn't elaborate. Do you have any other ideas?" Harry thought for a moment.
"I know where you can hold an indoor picnic right here in the castle– it's this place called the Room of Requirement. It'll have everything you need for a picnic and more. Trust me, she'll love it," Harry assured Will. Ron nodded in agreement. Will looked happier and finished changing his clothes.
"We'd better go with you to the Room of Requirement; that way we can tell you exactly how it works," said Harry as he, Ron, Jack and Will descended the stairs to the common room.
"That'd be great," Will thanked them as they waited for the girls to arrive. Not a moment later, Ginny and Hermione appeared, each looking pretty in her own way. Hermione had a more classy look where as Ginny came off as more sassy and confident.
"Hey Jack, I was thinking that we might go to Hogsmeade village," said Ginny. "Does that sound even remotely interesting?"
"Absolutely," Jack answered. "Is there a pub?" When she nodded, Jack looked extremely excited.
"Excellent – I look forward ta trying some more o' the wizarding alcoholic drinks. Shall we?" Ginny took his offered hand and they exited through the portrait hole. Harry looked quite glum after they left, Hermione noted with satisfaction.
"I've got a surprise for you," said Will, smiling at her, then giving her a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Really!" she beamed up at him. "Aw, that's so sweet, but it's not necessary. Will, I'm happy just spending the day with you."
"I know, but you deserve a surprise. Follow me." He gave her a mysterious look and along with Harry and Ron, led her through the castle until they reached the desired floor.
"Will, why all the secrecy?" She was trying to get him to confess, but he was having none of it.
"Impatient are we?" He teased her. "Well, you'll only have to wait a bit longer." They rounded the corner and were faced with a long, sparse corridor.
"It's right here, Will," said Harry.
"All you have to do is think about what you need and walk past it three times," Ron reminded him. Hermione gasped clasping her hands together in excitement as she realized where they were.
"Oh Will…the Room of Requirement! It's perfect!" Hermione moved to hug Will but before she could reach him, someone materialized out of thin air between her and the boys.
"What the…Malfoy?" said an incredulous Harry, narrowing his eyes.
"In the flesh," drawled the Slytherin. "What do you want, Potter?"
"We want to know what you were using the room for!" Ron spoke up angrily.
"None of your business, Weasel!" Malfoy snapped. "You'll never find out what it is, so don't even waste any of your time trying!"
"I know that whatever you were doing in there was illegal," Harry countered. They glared at each other with mutual contempt as only enemies could.
"Draco – you don't have to keep doing it, whatever it is," pleaded Hermione.
"It's not that simple! None of you would understand why I have to do this," Malfoy spat angrily. "It's expected of me as the single heir of one of the most powerful remaining pureblood families. If I don't complete this task, the best possible scenario is that I'll be disowned by my entire family. "
"I may not understand what your secret is, but I understand what it's like to live within the restrictions of a rigid class system," Will proclaimed quietly. Hermione looked at him in surprise. She'd never heard him speak about this part of his life.
"I was never expected to amount to anything, but it didn't keep me from becoming a successful craftsman. Don't be afraid to step out of your boundaries at times, especially when you feel strongly about something." Malfoy didn't respond for a long time.
"You know, blacksmith, I don't think I'll be taking your advice after what happened when you stepped over your social boundaries with Elizabeth." He smirked in triumph as Will's face hardened.
"What do you mean by that?" said Harry in angry confusion.
"You're not the only student who can perform occulmency, Potter," said Malfoy as he pushed past Harry, Ron and Will. An awkward silence passed after the Slytherin prefect left. Although she knew it was rude to ask, Hermione's curiosity got the better of her.
"Who's Elizabeth?"
End Ch. 11
Oooh! Cliffie! Review…I made it extra long for you.