This story is going to be told in alternating points of view. I'm not sure if it will be by chapter always or have multiple POV told separately in some chapters. This story is not written to completion and since Hidden in Plain Sight is on a schedule I've decided I can post in my other stories as I like. So no schedule for this one.

I've got so many ideas and what are one shots right now that I want to work on. Anyways thanks for reading :)

-maybenotahufflepuff

Adrian POV

Adrian Pucey stood in a shadowy niche listening to her heart broken sobs. It was times like this that he cursed what flowed between them. Something in his magic was pulling him to her but he couldn't go, not yet. He knew that Krum would leave eventually, there was nothing for him here. Surely the older boy could feel that even as he wanted the brilliant witch in a multitude of ways she felt no passion for the quidditch star. It hadn't taken him more than a half dozen times of watching them in the library or walking about the grounds to get a clear picture of the situation. Logically, Krum could see her for what she was, perfection getting ready to bloom from the bud of youth. Chidingly he shook his head slightly. It was only her than could make him think thoughts verging on poetic.

Victor Krum was interesting to Hermione Granger and once she comprehended that there was no ulterior motive for his friendship she gladly accepted. Adrian had grudgingly admired Krum's roundabout way of getting her to spend time with him. He hadn't once shown in gesture the heat that sometimes flared in his eyes. Oh yes, Krum would love for her to give the smallest assurance he could touch her intimately. Adrian had witnessed him stand by the lake shore and wait for her to look up meaningfully into his eyes or to watch her gaze drop to his lips. It hadn't happened. From several encounters he knew what it looked like to have Hermione Granger gaze at your lips or bite her lower lip while a light blush shaded her cheeks. Perhaps she thought he didn't know who she was, outside of being Potter's muggleborn. If so this was one of the few times he knew of her being drastically far from understanding the situation.

The sound of Krum's deep voice grew less frequent and finally he heard the voice his whole being was attuned to. He hadn't been able to clearly hear Krum's words but hers came to his senses as if he was very near to her.

"Oh Victor, thank you. I hope I haven't ruined your evening. It was lovely and I had a wonderful time with you. It was just as much fun as you assured it would be to go with a friend and just enjoy the time, free of the usual worries. Are we still meeting with Petrov tomorrow in the study room?" Adrian's eyes closed as the fierce possessiveness he felt was slightly soothed by her words and the tone of friendly affection for the older wizard. He didn't listen to the reply Krum gave and prepared himself to see her. Tears would not placate the feeling inside him that thought he needed to step in. It felt as if the magic was pulling him for a reason, like it knew something he didn't. Something that was deeply troubling to the bond between them. Even if it was still a potential and not the thick coiled mass it would one day become. Best think of now, he admonished himself as he released the disillusionment spell that had allowed Krum to pass him without noticing, or without comment if he did know the Slytherin was there. Curious.

Deliberately he let his foot falls be heard so she wouldn't be startled when he slid down the wall next to her. This out of the way stairwell was one of her favourites. There was a window seat one landing above but she liked the view of the lake shore from this landing. Surely she could feel that he was approaching. It hadn't taken her long to mask her reaction to his presence, about halfway through her first year. That had been a relief, people would have noticed long ago if she hadn't. She kept her head down as he neared, probably assuming he would pass her in silence as he always did. After he had slid down the wall and pulled his knees up to mimic her stance she remained silent and still. Not even a flicker of a look to see him. This was concerning in many ways.

"What's on your mind Miss Granger? Weasley can't have brought you this low. Your vaunted intelligence must make it plain that he was jealous. Not your fault." He spoke quietly but observed the side of her face visible to him. This wasn't the problem, or not the only one. The derisive turn to her smile and the pale complexion were uncharacteristic. He made a snap decision and raised his wand.

"I Adrian Pucey do vow upon my magic that subject of this conversation will not be spoken of, with regard to you, by me without your consent." With that her eyes snapped to his and he had never witnessed such a flabbergasted look on her expressive face before. It only took about a minute before she was distracted from her bewilderment by him. There is was. Adrian revelled internally at the immediate awareness in her body. He knew it made her nervous to be so affected by him, it would with anyone. Raised in the muggle world she wouldn't know or really trust that magic could be just another sense.

He was beginning to let himself really look at her. The tamed bun her hair had been in earlier was beginning to lose the fight against her natural curls. There was some colour coming to her cheeks now that she was so close to him and he was looking at her. Surely she could feel some of the raging lust she inspired in him. Perhaps she didn't recognize it for what it was or just maybe she couldn't differentiate it from her own desire. Many of his fantasies began something like this. Him coming upon her alone and discovering her with her fingers inside her wet heat murmuring his name. There were many variations to this fantasy and he tried not to add fodder for his dreams by actively creating scenarios where it was parts of him in her. His sleeping mind did a fabulous job on its own. Her first words played right into his fantasies but her next words stopped his erection in its tracks.

"Well I suppose you are the answer to my wish. You could do quite nicely. I am considering transferring to another school and leaving the country. I don't know what you have noticed this past year or how much you know of the past generation, outside of your immediate circle. Though no one seems to be reacting to the series of events I have witnessed since my introduction to the Wizarding world I will make it plain how it looks to me. Voldemort is being resurrected in the not to distant future and Dumbledore knows this. More disturbing than that is the implications it casts on decisions and situations in regards to Harry." At this she broke off and her composure faltered.

Whatever he might have imagined would be troubling her paled in comparison to the magnitude of her words. His pragmatic mind kept trying to interrupt the whirl his thoughts were quickly becoming. She could be mistaken or just have a skewed view. The look in her eyes told him that she believed these words to be true and moreover she had a far further view in mind than just a coming altercation. How much of her certainty was observable in her bearing and how much was information from the immature bond between them, he couldn't be sure.

The Dark Lord, Merlin. Was it possible that she could be right? Or perhaps his question should be if she could be wrong. It was cold perhaps but a natural reaction for Adrian to disregard Hermione's worries for her friend at the moment. Just a split second of thinking she could be right had filled his body with tension and his mind was racing. He knew about the grey tattoo on Micheal Pucey's left forearm, of course he knew of his fathers tattoo. The general history wasn't commonly discussed but he knew enough to be properly terrified and not enough to plan anything. Fear was not common to see on his fathers usually stern countenance, any mention of the Dark Lord made it visible to his only son. In his total surprise he had been thinking without processing his surroundings and was therefore surprised to see the tears wiped away and a somber look on her face.

In silence they sat there, looking at each other. Hermione was studying his face and her gaze frequently flicked back to his before roving over his face and what she could see of him. Adrian was trying to look at her with the same lens, of having her one day, that he usually used. Instead of the soft pull he usually felt there was what he could only think of as sharper tugs. This brought her statement about leaving the country to his mind again and suddenly he understood. If she were to leave the bond would lose its chance at life and he would lose the best hope for a real marriage that he would ever have.

As he traced the soft shape of her lower lip and the curve of her eyelashes with his gaze he struggled with what to say or do. Trying to put the overwhelming thoughts of the Dark Lord aside for later thought, he made himself think about what she had said. His witch was not one to walk away from a fight for something she loves. That would be why her statement about leaving Britain surprised him so much, why didn't she want to stay and help Potter? Why would running even occur to her?

"Perhaps I am missing something. Shouldn't you be getting ready to nail your banner beside Potter's, against all comers?" That probably wasn't the right way to ask that question but it was an effort to have a coherent thought let alone intelligible sentence. Ah yes, leaving had not been her first thought. No, this witch was not selfish or heavily endowed with self preservation so the question stood. Having watched her for years now there was little he didn't know about her. Again he forced down the thrills that rang through him when he thought about the things he knew about her that few others did. Her age for instance was older than her accepted one, due to her time turner use last year. The cords of the bond trembled when she moved through time, that mystery had taken several weeks to solve. It hadn't occurred to him she had access to something like that. Why did she have to bite her lip like that? Didn't she know what it did to him? Well she didn't he knew, it was as if she thought all these feelings and instances of knowing things were one sided. Silly witch.

Greedily he watched her tongue sooth the place on her lip that had been between her teeth and Adrian felt the lust ratchet several notches in him. Damn, she was so ripe for the taking now. Those golden eyes were steady on his and her was sure she could see something in his eyes, she blushed but didn't break his gaze. So fixated had become that when she started to speak he didn't comprehend that she was answering his question about Potter, not pertaining to them in the slightest.

"I don't know how much you know about me and my friends, not that there is much to know really. I love Harry and-. Adrian was sure that more words would have followed that would have made this sentence less threatening but he felt helpless to stop the sneer on his face from forming. This abrupt change brought her words to an immediate stop. Blinking she just looked at him and then a small pucker formed between her brows, probably in confusion. Slowly he took a breath and tried to reign in his disgust and rage at the concept of his witch loving another wizard. Even thinking about her falling in love with one, there was a reason that he made sure she seen him, every single day. Let his want and fascination with her ride those tendrils of the bond so she would feel an echo. Unwilling to let any of the thoughts in his mind come out of his mouth he had little choice but to wait for her to speak again. When she began he forced himself to listen to her words. If he really thought this witch was his future, his completely and he did, then he could logically tell his magic and his emotions that he had nothing to fear from her words.

"Harry is special to me. He should be special to everyone, not for what happened when he was a baby but what he is taking on and has had to persevere through every day since then. The first day I met him I could see the boy that wanted a home, and friends. Like me. You don't need to hear this but what I am upset about in regards this conversation is that Harry is being groomed, I don't know how else to explain it. Something changed after we saved Sirius last year. If I can be dramatic and totally honest I think it was a compulsion charm, or something similar." Adrian was trying to follow her words, from an overheard conversation last year when he found out she was in the hospital wing he knew they had saved Sirius Black and thought him innocent. Adrian didn't see how that could be true but he was curious about the last part, the mention of a compulsion. If there was one she shouldn't be able to talk about it so clearly. Her consternation at having mentioned Sirius Black was plain but she must have been desperate to talk to someone about this If she had plowed on and mentioned the compulsion. The latest dilemma of actually talking to her was how to do so without revealing how much he knew about her. He didn't want to explain why, felt he couldn't, yet.

"Could you explain the circumstances of the compulsion incident? You shouldn't be able to say." Deciding he had to know, had to know if she knew something made her less susceptible to such magics. The evolution and complexities of compulsive magics were extensive. Several centuries ago it had become common to introduce other complementary magics and the spell evolved into things even more insidious. Tempered with wand movements to encourage inability to articulate, confusion when contemplating the curse and other such tweaks.

Hermione sighed and then took a deep breath.

"I think it's the option I've given myself to decide to leave that is making me speak so freely. Maybe it's something else though. My extensive searches in the library and bookstores have not yielded very much, so I only have my words to describe it. We, Harry and me, went back into the hospital wing after saving Sirius and he was despondent. His first chance at a home, a real connection to his parents, had been snatched away and it was heartbreaking. When we woke up though, both of us felt understanding of the circumstances. Even though Harry would love nothing more than to be able to have a relationship with Sirius and it's clearly in his best interests to do so, nothing. Well furtive letters and stolen seconds of floo communication is all there is. Sirius wanted Harry, still wants him I am sure, but Dumbledore says it can not be and that is the end of it. Back to the compulsion, and my sad attempt to explain. Sometimes I am can feel magic touching mine, it's not the usual ambient magic or how it feels to be close to another's magic. It's literally connected to mine. Anyways this was how I realized the compulsion, or whatever it is, was there. It happens in the library mostly and it happened while I was thinking of Sirius and Harry the first night back to school. At first I didn't understand my increased frustration and sadness. Then it happened again, after that I almost carried out an experiment. When I felt the touch I would think of it, once I knew something was going on and could think in those times of clarity I was sure. Now I can remember how I actually feel and when the magic is there I can obviously talk about it." There was a light in the witches eyes that blazed with her victory over the spell. Adrian gave her a lazy grin, that she returned. His witch was beyond the usual brilliance she was credited with. Deciding to ignore her mention of the bond, not that she called it that, he asked another question.

"What are your theories on why?" So caught up in his curiosity it wasn't immediately obvious to him that she was aware the magic was touching hers now.

"I have several, none of them proven. The most obvious is that we would fight to get Sirius' name cleared. Even with the kiss on sight order we could manage to get him a trial surely. This one tops the list because of all it would change, to much to explain right now. Bottom line is that it would almost certainly eliminate the grooming I mentioned earlier. This whole thing started with me thinking about leaving. I just don't see how it can be done. Whatever plan Dumbledore has must include Harry. Some things I can't talk about, I've said more than that vow will cover really. This world is so segregated that I can't talk to anyone about this. The loyalties are so important and opposing that it seems impossible to imagine an after." The witch looked sad and forlorn. She was right too, if the Dark Lord did come back to life their whole world would be turned into another place in an instant. The life he had thought stretched before him, gone in just a moment. His future with this witch and all that meant, could be taken from him by events outside their control.

"This is a lot to process, you know there isn't anything I can say to help right now." He felt terrible at the lack of surprise or disappointment in her eyes. Independent by temperament and circumstances it probably hadn't occurred to her that he could help. Of course she hadn't expected he could help, or even that she would have this conversation. How could he help her? It was clear that the bond wanted him to do something, change her temperament in regards to leaving here. This would require some thought and more than a little bit of planning. His Hermione wouldn't accept platitudes as a reason for staying here and something would have to be done about Potter if she was going to agree that Wizarding Britain was always meant to be her home.

"Of course there isn't anything you can do, there isn't anything I can do either. I can't even talk to Harry about this out of school as letters carried by anyone not Hedwig, that's Harry's owl, seem to get lost. Even the muggle letters I've tried to send got no reply. As far as I know he never got them. I've tried to write Professor Lupin from school and have got no reply from him either. It just seems so hopeless. What can I tell my parents? How can I tell them I need them to leave Britain but I want to stay here. They may be muggles but they aren't stupid, I would have to tell them all the things I have lied about. To much to even think about. Thank you for listening to me Pucey. I don't know why you sat down here beside me but thank you." As she finished speaking her eyes were on his lips again. Merlin he would never get tired of seeing her interest. This was so much better than stolen glances or feeling emotions without seeing her face. Never had he been so close to her for so long. She was right though, it was past curfew and they really couldn't be caught together. Plainly the time for avoiding her had passed and she needed help, but how to speak again without raising suspicion. Pucey, he looked forward to hearing her call him by his given name one day, very soon.

Adrian stood and held a hand out to her, not daring to let his face show any of the emotions he felt at offering her his hand, that her taking it would evoke. Slowly she reached for him and allowed him to steady her as she rose. The lovely pink colour climbing her cheeks threatened to break his mask but he held firm. Allowing himself to hold her hand gently while he spoke, that would have to be enough for now.

"I will get a message to you when I have an idea or something to help. Will you meet me again?" It was so hard to be so close to her, the smell of her skin and the floral fragrance of the perfume she wore tonight were making it difficult to think or keep from touching her further. Later he could let all the wants and needs flow through him. Alone in his room, he could give in to the desire she evoked in him. It was a moment before she responded and she was looking at their joined hands.

"Alright. I will be waiting." Hermione pulled her hand from his and blushed deeper before she turned and began walking to the stairs heading up, in the direction of her common room. Minutes later he finally moved from the landing and headed down the stairs, in the direction of his.