CHAPTER UPDATED February 2022
Happy reading :)
Settings, stories, characters are all cannon, set in an AU, from a different POV!
Disclaimer: It all belongs to J K Rowling, apart from the obvious changes
Chapter Five: Surprises
Hermione stood frozen to the spot, her fingers hovering over the handle to the boy's dormitory door. His words rang in her ears loudly but did not register correctly. It wasn't' until this year that he had first called her by her given name, he had always used her surname or a derogatory term. And now he had used some kind of nickname to refer to her. It was alien to her. No one had ever said her name like that, and she found that she strangely liked it. He had surprisingly even acknowledged her birthday and she was unsure of how to react. He had always seemed so oblivious and wrapped up in his own little world to notice.
The year before last had been horrendous. Hermione had awoken to find herself sticky and covered in feathers, Master Weasley laughing at his 'practical joke' and virtually wheezing as his lungs gasped for air, looking like a raging asthmatic. She had hit the roof, throwing things violently in his direction and threatening to strangle him to death for being such an 'ungrateful arse', purposely stuffing handfuls of feathers into as many orifices upon his face as she possibly could. This had unfortunately only invoked his wrath further, earning her the punishment of wearing her maid's outfit to accompany him to watch Master Potter at Quidditch practice. His older twin brothers had purposely hurled Bludgers in her direction for the duration. She shuddered a little at the memory.
Knowing that she had been silent for too long as she stared at the door in front of her, she gulped, giving herself a mental shake, not wanting to embarrass herself with a physical one and then rotated slowly on the spot. He was sat on his own bed now, having at least had the decency to put on some pyjama bottoms and looking at the floor. He was holding three white roses out in her direction and his entire top half was a dark beetroot colour.
Hermione on the other hand felt all the blood drain from her body directly into her feet. She gulped again and then took a deep breath, slowly placing an impatient Crookshanks by the door, who looked at her lazily and rolled his eyes heavily. Master Weasley took a fleeting glance in her direction, but the rest of his body remained stony still, and she willed her feet to move. The tension in the room had reached such a height it was burning her skin. She shuffled forwards until she was in front of him and carefully reached out her hand to take them from him, her fingers catching the ruby ring upon his hand as she did so. A wave of calm washed over her and she drew in a sharp breath,
"Harry said I should probably try to make an effort. Carla said you liked them. So…you know…"
She sank to her knees in front of him silently and bowed her head low to him. She could feel his gaze shift to look at her, staring a hole into the top of her head. Her mouth was dry, and she unwittingly licked her lips, fiddling with the flowers in her hand. 'I guess that makes sense,' She reasoned to herself, eyeing them suspiciously. She could not help but feel that maybe this was some kind of trick. A test perhaps. But for what she could not imagine. 'Maybe he is telling the truth.' Furrowing her brow, she was unsure of what to do next. Whatever she was feeling inside was foreign and confusing to her. Hermione considered what she would do if anyone else had handed her the flowers, perhaps in the kitchen that morning with the rest of her gifts.
She stood suddenly and instinctively reached out her free hand towards him. She cupped one of his cheeks and kissed the other gently, whispering thanks into his ear before pulling away and standing straight once more. He was looking at her wide - eyed and in obvious shock and she trembled under his gaze a little, realising what she had done. When he had kissed her, it had all seemed so exciting, so tantalisingly forbidden and exhilarating. It had given her a sudden and unexpected rush that had festered ever since. This had felt embarrassing, and Hermione wished she could evaporate.
"I'm sorry." Her voice was barely a whisper, and his lack of response only alarmed her further. He seemed devoid of emotion and stared directly through her. She clenched the roses tightly, feeling the thorns sticking into her palm and began to back away from him. She felt an idiot and needed an instant escape. She suddenly bolted for the door faster than she had intended and ran from the room, dragging a dishevelled Crookshanks behind her.
~x~x~x~
He sat quietly upon a long stone bench facing out towards the pooling waters of the Great Lake. He was steadily sewing whilst sat in the Entrance Courtyard as, yet again, Kevin's clumsy Mistress, the frivolous Luna Lovegood, had managed to destroy several articles of her clothing during a recent escapade into the night with a certain young Gryffindor named Master Neville Longbottom. He chuckled at how his normally dreamily Mistress had become ever more ephemeral since these outings had begun. Kevin shook his head, still smiling, but then jumped ever so slightly, as the large doors to the Entrance Hall slammed open loudly, echoing through the entire spacious courtyard.
"KEVIN!" Came a hideously loud shriek and he spun around, not moving from his seat. There stood Hermione, eyes ablaze and glaring at him tearfully from the looming doorway. Behind her was a rugged Justin, panting, having obviously just been dragged by her all the way from him previous position by his shirt, in which her fingers were still entwined. She hurriedly ran down the few marble steps towards him, Justin stumbling heavily behind her, barely able to stand as she hauled along.
"KEVIN!" She bellowed again, despite being but a stone's throw from him, earning glares and amused stares from those scattered around the courtyard. Regardless, Hermione took hold of his arm tightly and ragged him upwards, barely able to hold onto his sewing equipment. She began dragging both away from the now eerily quiet courtyard and back into the castle whilst they followed with little protest. She suddenly hastened her pace and Kevin had to jog to keep up with her, utterly bewildered at her behaviour. It was very un – Hermione to have outbursts, and when she did, they usually came in the form of anger and frustration. This was different, he sensed fear in her voice, and it was unsettling to him.
Bounding up the various staircases she released her grip and the three of them weaved through the labyrinth of corridors. Sprinting past current lessons and dodging the wandering students who were leisurely passing their free time, Hermione pushed them hurriedly through a small corner door. They fell into an empty and obviously disused classroom where she slammed the door with great force and locked it as she followed behind them. She leant heavily upon the door behind her, breathing rapidly and barely able to look at either of them as they searched her desperately for an answer,
"I've just done something so stupid."
~x~x~x~
"Oh shit." Ron finally huffed, his head flopping forwards and into his hands. He had been sat in the same place, in the same position for more than half an hour, staring blankly and feeling a slight tingling lingering upon his tinted cheek.
'What the fuck have I done?' Kept replaying inside his head, over and over again. The image of her face being so close to his flashing through his memory. He could still feel her breath by his ear as she had whispered her thanks, causing him to flush suddenly bright scarlet. Ron knew that this was entirely his fault. He had started it when he had impulsively and possessively kissed her in the Common Room. He had been utterly livid with her for absolutely no reason whatsoever and had no clue what overcame him in that moment, only that he couldn't look at her for several days after that. It had been wrong of him, but Ron had lost himself in that moment. The feeling that swept over him had been festering away for a full year by that point, a dull aching rage that filled him when he was around her. And now he had given her extensive mixed messages about their relationship by letting himself get carried away.
'This is the last time I listen to Harry,' He scolded himself internally. She had obviously read too much into it. Those dumb flowers that Carla had suggested evidently just made everything so much worse. And now, she had done that.
He felt his stomach tighten uncontrollably, warmth travelling all over his body causing him to feel slightly sick. He grunted loudly and slid rather ungracefully onto the floor, resting roughly against his bed, exhaling extremely loudly, 'What am I supposed to say to her?'
The door suddenly creaked noisily, causing him to jump violently, half fearful that she had returned. Thankfully, in walked Harry and Neville, laughing at a comment one of them had made just before opening the door and entering. Harry stopped suddenly causing Neville to walk into the back of him,
"Ron?" He asked, looking down at his friend, worry etched into his face. Ron looked up at them both, feeling himself turn pale again. "What the hell happened?" They both walked over to him with urgency, kneeling concernedly and placing a hand upon his shoulder. They hooked him under the arms and dragged him upwards and onto the bed, Neville sitting next to him and Harry on his own bed opposite him.
Ron was trying to find his words and struggling desperately. He swallowed hard then finally grunted out, barely audible, using every ounce of strength he possessed,
"Hermione...Granger...she kissed me." The others drew back from him, giving each other a hasty stare.
"You what mate?" Asked Neville, needing further reassurance, seeming to heavily depend upon the possibility of having misheard him,
"Are you shitting me?" Hissed Harry, "How could you let her do that? You know how people feel about inter blood relationships!" Ron shot him an angry look, almost disgusted by his words, "Did you not even think of her? Or your family for that matter. You're going to get all of you blacklisted!"
"You don't think I know that?" Ron retorted irritably, "It was just the cheek, it didn't go any further." He looked out of the window resiliently, refusing to look at either of his friends. He was angry enough at himself for letting the situation escalate, never mind being belittled by Harry.
"That's no excuse!" Harry stood up and walked away from them, running his hands through his messy hair exasperatedly, "You leave it and never speak of it again. Act as if it's never happened." He huffed loudly and quickly ran from the room, not looking back, and muttering to himself as he went. It was a delicate situation, and they all knew it. Ron knew Harry was just worried. It was dangerous for them all. As the slam of the door echoed through the room, Neville turned his eyes from it and back to Ron,
"Fuckin' hell Ron. You'll get her killed if you don't sort this out." He breathed heavily, leaning forward into his knees, and staring at his hands as he brought them together in front of him.
"She took me by surprise, for Merlin's sake! I didn't expect her to try and half snog me!" Ron threw his hands up at his exclamation in rather a wild and unexpected fashion, and Neville looked at him, raising a steady eyebrow and wearing a cheeky grin,
"Snog you?"
"You know what I mean!" He said, turning red again, thinking about the possibility of Hermione throwing herself at him passionately. His chest burned at the thought, and he clenched his fists in an attempt to distract himself.
"Well in honesty I don't see why anyone would want to snog your bloody ugly mug anyway," Neville smirked devilishly and earned a small smile from his ginger haired friend in return, grateful for a slight change in subject, "Though I do think you need to do something about it. And then just leave it. Ignore it happened. Just be normal." There was a pause as they fell into a small silence, Ron nodding to himself, "Listen mate, I've got to go, I'm meeting Luna."
~x~x~x~
"My Hermione, I was sad to receive such news in your letter and only wished that you had been here with me. My mother is still awaiting your arrival and my father would be thrilled to meet you, so I hope you will be able to come and stay soon. I hope you always remember that you are an extraordinary woman and have every confidence in yourself. I have a surprise. Please do not object. Stay strong. Your Viktor." She drew a deep breath and looked towards Kevin who was watching her intently, "What do you think?" He folded his arms tightly, looking thoughtful,
"Surprise? What's he mean by that?"
"Not a clue."
"Sorry Hermione, but sometimes he's proper weird and cryptic."
It had been an unusually warm day, and as the last of the summer rays faded from the afternoon sky, the temperature had already begun to fall. The looming approach of winter was upon them and as Hermione lent upon the cool windowsill of the Owlery she fanned herself lightly with the envelope that had contained her letter.
The room was situated at the very top of the castle's West Tower and was rarely occupied. The large circular room had a habit of being temperamental with the heating, often leading to the current sweltering temperature inside, despite the glassless windows and breeze running through the room at random intervals. The rare times in which she could escape with either Kevin or Justin would often result in them ending up in the Owlerly. It was somewhere away from the prying eyes of the Masters and Mistresses of the school.
Such was this day, as Hermione had appeared in the fireplace staggering into the kitchens, arms full of various pieces of Quidditch equipment that needed scrubbing, and clothes that needed to be cleaned or carefully sewn back into one piece. Kevin, however, had had other ideas for them, seeing her exasperated and seething face, clearly annoyed about the coming days work. Throwing all that she carried into a corner, he had taken her by the hands and dragged her with him, running out into the narrow corridor leading from the kitchens.
Now here they stood, side by side, gazing at the Great Lake as if they were normal, average, everyday students, enjoying an afternoon free from lessons and worry.
"I miss seeing him sometimes you know." She said lazily, barely concentrating, but earning an eagerly raised eyebrow from him, "Just the small things that he did that made me smile I guess." She chuckled, 'Hermy-own-ninny...he's so cute...'
Kevin cleared his throat loudly at her, and she felt slightly awkward, blushing ridiculously,
"I wouldn't let Master Weasley hear about that if I were you, he won't be too happy. The tantrums he has, honestly…" He sounded so bitter, and Hermione could understand why. He obviously felt that there was something else going on, that somehow her Master had manipulated her into acting so rashly. And maybe he had, she wasn't sure how she felt about the whole situation. It was as though her body had taken over her mind and moved of its own accord. She had barely been able to look at him and he was actively avoiding her. But nothing else had changed. She could only assume that he had kept the encounter to himself.
Hermione felt a sudden sharp pain run through her temples as the rubies in her earrings that she wore illuminated slightly, sending the shock directly through her entire body. She gasped sharply, sucking in the air about her brusquely. Kevin slid an arm around her shoulders and gave her a half apologetic hug, clearly feeling sorry for her. Even after five year she still was not used to the feeling.
"I should go...you know how he is; he's wanting more food to stuff that oversized stomach of his." She sighed unhappily. She could practically feel the weight of the tray in her arms already. Hermione would have to climb the stairs as the plate he desired was far too large to fit through the top of the heater. The first time she had tried she had ended up catching her fingers in the lid rather painfully and had been in agony for days as large welts had appeared across her hands.
"What a tosser," Kevin mumbled, "He's as bad as those skanky Slytherin's. I'm surprised he's not wanded you yet." She hit him lightly, giving a small chuckle. It was perhaps the one thing that she was grateful to Master Weasley for and if not a little curious of. He had never used magic on her other than the once to fix her nose. He had never turned his wand on her, though the threat had remained over hear head with a consistent presence.
"Kevin! That's so cruel! Even for him..." She sighed yet again and folded Viktor's note, placing it in her pocket neatly and giving the outside a small, loving pat. "I had better go; I can't be dealing with him starting again." She trudged towards the door heavy-heartedly, dragging her feet behind her as she went. She gave Kevin one last look before disappearing from his view. He was blank faced and cold looking, clutching the window in anger and glaring in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.
~x~x~x~
She stumbled, leaning heavily against the stone wall beside her for stability. Hermione had piled the oversized plate that she balanced upon one of her small hands as full as she possibly could to avoid being sent back to the kitchens again for a refill. The jug she held in the other was very heavy, causing her upper arm to ache and groan under the weight of such a colossal flagon, which was filled to the very brim with pumpkin juice.
Her brain felt foggy from the low buzzing resonating throughout her body from Master Weasley's persistent gluttonous needs. She could hear her heart pounding loudly inside her own skull as she pushed her feet to move through the dizzying haze. Hermione couldn't concentrate and her body ached.
She gave a long looked up to the flights that she had yet to climb and gave out a lasting and somewhat loud moan, causing a straggle of nearby surly faced Slytherin's to glare at her. They unmistakably resented her very existence, clearly please that she was visibly struggling to even move another inch. They began to snigger at her discomfort and soreness, and she hurried to clamber up onto the next floor, intent on getting as far from them as possible. Yet by the time she reached the fifth, Hermione was collapsing again already, her knees buckling underneath her as the pain in her temples became ever more prominent. She could feel her Master becoming more impatient as the numb buzzing of pain inside of her head grew louder. It was taking over her mind and clouding her ability to move correctly. She could barely see her feet in front of her and she fell backwards from the staircase, sliding slowly down an adjacent wall and to the floor. Hermione could see spots of light dancing in front of her eyes, and she hastily dropped the jug and plate as carefully as she could do, though at this point she cared for it little.
Her head and eyes felt droopy, and she could just make out the sound of someone coming closer. Footsteps were heavy and hurried in her direction, though she could not recall seeing anyone along any of the staircases. All Hermione could think was that Master Weasley was coming to reprimand her. She could almost hear him screaming at her about his enforced starvation, his long fingers forcibly yanking her upwards and shoving her aggressively towards Gryffindor Tower.
Yet it never came. There was no violence, no swearing, and no hurt. Instead, the footsteps stopped before her, knelt, and held her as closely and as tightly as possible. The pain in her body ebbed slightly, diminishing with every passing second until she was calm enough to understand what was happening around her and let her eyes close in comfort.
"I haff missed you." Came a strong and rough deep voice, whispering softly into her ear. Hermione's eyes shot open, and she quickly detached herself from his chest, staring wide – eyed at the tall handsome young man who held her,
"Viktor?" She breathed,
"Hermy-own-ninny." He smiled back at her, his eyes alight in the candlelight. She puts her hands hesitantly upon his chest, barely able to believe that he was in front of her, then upon his broad and firm shoulders and then up to his face, seeking the final confirmation that he was real. She paused, and then smiled broadly, filled with more joy than she had been in months, dragging him tightly into her embrace and almost sobbing at his mere presence. She felt positively overwhelmed in that moment, like he had reintroduced all the happiness that had been slowly sucked out of her.
"Oh Viktor! How can you be here?" She lifted her head to look into his dazzling eyes, searching desperately and impatiently for an answer before he even had a chance to speak,
"I vanted to see you again. You did not come to me. So, I am at Hogvarts for the year." They positively beamed at one another, enjoying their moment together and Hermione feeling lighter than air, "Even Dumbledore has allowed it, I am thinking."
'This must have been his surprise!' She thought to herself, so happy to see a friendly face, just when she needed it most. He had cleared her mind completely and brought her back to her senses. Then, as she should have expected, a great booming voice roared over them. Hermione felt her face crumple and she cringed inwardly, not daring to lift her head up and follow the voice resonating above,
"Not again..." She whispered,
"Just remember this year Krum," Came her Master's voice, "She's my slave, not yours!"
~x~x~x~
Ron sat lazily relaxing upon his bed with a recently returned Neville, waiting for his food after a hard day's work of doing absolutely nothing. He huffed loudly and Neville raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him, whilst perched on the end of his own bed.
"Where the hell is she? It's not difficult to just bring me some food up here. Just a bit of food!"
Neville scoffed at him, closing his eyes, and ignoring his comment completely.
"I'm gonna call her again, I hope to Merlin it annoys the shit out of her." He began repeatedly rubbing the ring upon his finger for some time, laughing a little maliciously, and only stopping when Neville looked at him disapprovingly.
"How can you do that to her?"
"Do what?" Ron replied, confusion filling him.
"You do know what those objects do to the Muggleborns, don't you?" Ron nodded as though his friend believed him to be stupid. Of course he knew. It was how the Slaves were contacted when they were needed. Hermione should be receiving several messages from him about his requirements for food and he simply could not understand what was taking her so long.
"It calls them obviously." He finally responded, suddenly a little doubtful of himself. Neville was giving him a strange look and he couldn't place it, finally deciding to ignore it. After allowing a few silent moments to pass he sat up,
"How did it all go with Loony?" Ron asked casually, suddenly surprised as a pillow violently connected with his face, causing him to topple backwards again.
"Don't you dare call her that!" He propped himself back up and looked over to Neville, his friend's face burning as bright as the blood that pulsated swiftly around his body. Ron felt a smirk cross his face. He could feel Neville's discomfort and tried to smooth things over,
"Alright! Sorry mate. How did it go though?" As though it were even possible, Neville's face burned even brighter, almost glowing in the dimmed light of their dormitory. Ron felt a little sorry for him but was glad that the recent conversations had moved on to the two of them rather than him and Hermione.
"O...Okay..." He stammered out as confidently as he could, "We talked a lot. She's...She's really lovely."
"That's what you're calling it is it?" Ron sniggered lightly at his expense, not even able to imagine a bumbling Neville doing anything even remotely past just talking with anyone.
"Shut it!" Neville huffed slightly as Ron chuckled at him still more. A few more moments passed before Ron threw himself backwards down onto his bed again. His thoughts returned to food once more, his patience dwindling.
"I'm seriously gonna kill her myself." He muttered to himself and sat straight back up. He shuffled to the edge of his bed and stood, his large feet flopping down with a giant slapping sound, "I'm going to go and get her. I'm starving and she's in for it."
He stomped his way through the door leaving Neville behind, and raged down the stone steps, past a group of frolicsome first years and towards the corridor. He slammed the portrait of the Fat Lady open wildly, earning a small muffled 'ow' from the lady herself and marched towards the edge of the staircase. Peering over the banister expectantly, he scanned the floors below for her impatiently.
Squinting, he strained his neck forwards, catching a halo of bushy hair brown bent over a red and golden dress, still and unmoving, slumped against a wall and looking as though they were barely breathing, "…'Mione..." He half-gasped, eyes widening steadily, a sudden wave of panic washing over him.
He bolted, sprinting down the stairs as quickly as he could, stumbling slightly as his long legs became tangled in themselves as he went. Scrambling along the fifth floor, he had almost reached her sluggish form as someone stepped up from the fourth floor. Ron wheezed loudly and instinctively dove behind a large, clattering suit of armour, whose head followed him all the way around suspiciously peering down at him.
'What the fuck am I actually doing?' He shook his head at himself, unable to understand his own actions, thoughts, or feelings as he saw Viktor Krum appear, embracing her tightly. Ron began to anger rapidly, his impatience melting into a sickeningly acidic feeling gurgling in the pit of his abdomen. Forgetting all his senses, Ron shifted from behind his hiding place, standing defiantly, growling deeply at them both, only just catching Krum's final soft words to her,
"I vanted to see you again. You did not come to me. So, I am at Hogvarts for the year."
Ron didn't think twice and didn't stop to even consider the consequences. He allowed his body to voice what should have remained inside of his head, unheard and silent,
"Just remember this year Krum," He boomed, drawing himself to his full height and baring down upon them both, seeing Hermione freeze like a deer caught in headlights, "She's my slave, not yours!" He saw the two of them spin full circle, shocked by his presence, a sense of déjà vu overwhelming them him as Hermione's face beamed scarlet as he spoke.
"Ron!" Hermione cried, but stuttered, trying vigorously to correct herself. Ron flushed a little at her use of his name but tried not to let it distract him. "M...Master! Um...er...Master Viktor is visiting; I was just...just..." She spluttered, struggling for words, and gulping hard. Standing tall, Ron marched down the stairs, his long legs allowing him to swiftly reach them in seconds, where he took Hermione firmly by the wrist, dragging her up to her feet and putting an arm around her shoulder tightly and pulling him into her.
"I'm sure, Hermione, that he can find his way to the Headmasters office without your assistance to sign in." He was very aware that he was glaring at Viktor as he bent down quickly, snapping up the pumpkin juice promptly and thrusting it at Hermione, before taking the tray of food upon himself. "Good day."
He gave Hermione a large and triumphant shove up the stairs, causing her to stumble slightly, desperately trying to prevent any liquid spilling from her carafe. Whenever she tried to turn to look at Viktor, she would receive yet another propelling push from behind. Ron had no desire to allow her to see him and practically dragged her to the seventh floor. As they stepped out onto the landing she stopped and spun around to face him,
"How can you do that to me?" Hermione said suddenly, "I can't even have friends now?"
Ron stopped alongside her and could feel an evil glare flash across his face. He was holding onto the tray of food so hard he could see his knuckles whitening as fury continued to rise inside of him,
"There's a difference between having friends and you thinking you can skip out on your work, slave!" He spat at her bitterly, knowing how much the remark would hurt her and wanting to punish her for daring to even question him. This was the first time they had been alone with one another since her birthday, and he was having difficulty keeping himself fully in control of himself. The mix of emotions pulsating through him was painful and Ron couldn't arrange his own thoughts with any kind of sensibility.
He made a sudden move towards her, and Hermione stumbled backwards, sloshing a large amount of the pumpkin juice over her dress and onto the floor noisily. Yet she did not remove her gaze from him, staring up at him wide-eyed, looking determined and yet fearful. Ron waited, holding his breath.
Without warning, she gave a sudden screech, taking him completely off guard,
"You can't control my life!" He could see that she was fighting not to cry in front of him. It was not something he had seen often, and he hated it when she did. It turned his insides to water and made him feel sick. "I don't belong to you!"
He dropped the plate that he was holding, and it clattered to the floor loudly, the contents spraying over a large surface area. He took hold of her upper arm once more and drew her in close to him, their noses practically touching as he towered down over her. His body felt hot, and his insides burned at the thought of her being so close to him. His undeniable desire to make her squirm overwhelming him,
"You weren't saying that when you were coming on to me, now were you?" He saw the colour drain from her face and her features fell flat. A sense of triumph flooded him, and he knew he had regained control of the situation. Drinking in every inch of her face, he saw her terror, her apprehension and she felt stony in his grasp.
"You think I don't control you Granger? You think you can run free and piss about with that git? Well, I'm telling you this," He lowered his voice to a dangerous level and narrowed his eyes at her, feeling her freeze completely, "You are my slave. So, clean yourself and this mess up. And get your arse upstairs." Ron stood up abruptly and released her, walking past her towards Gryffindor Tower, "NOW!"
Japan's Arc Angel x
