Special Note:
It has recently come to my attention that, according to JKR (and the Harry Potter Lexicon), the gender of Blaise Zabini has been officially tied down and…HE is a wizard. Obviously this has come as a shock to me, but it really doesn't matter. For those of you on your first read through my story, this will make no sense as you have already read the character as a male. For those who have been here since this started, I apologise. I have edited the following – Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 21 and Chapter 27, just changing shes to hes etc. I have also slightly enhanced the mention of him in this chapter to clear up any doubts that may linger. Sorry for the mix-up, this will be the last (I hope) reworking I have to do.
End note.
Etean adjusted the pillow beneath his head then rested on his hand, letting out a quiet sigh of contentment. He stared at the ceiling, focusing on nothing in particular, and let his mind drift. Somewhere beneath his chin, Ginny stirred. If he were asked to give his true opinion of the best way to waste an afternoon then, in Etean's mind, there were few things that would top a couple of hours cuddled up in a darkened room with a pretty girl. Etean liked spending time with Ginny; she was…simple. It occurred to him that this might not be a good word to use to describe one's girlfriend, but compared to all the other things in his life, simple was a damned good thing to be.
Ginny lifted her head, coming into his field of vision. She looked down at him through her sleepy eyes and smiled.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked him.
"Nothing," he raised a hand and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, "nothing at all."
Ginny leaned down and kissed him briefly before returning her head to his chest. He heard her yawn. "How long have I been asleep?" she mumbled.
Etean freed his hand from behind his head so he could check his watch. "An hour maybe."
"An hour?" she said, "Why didn't you wake me?"
"Don't know," he shrugged. "You seemed happy enough. Besides," he grinned, "if I had woken you, I would have had to talk to you…ouch!" he exclaimed as she slapped him playfully.
"Serves you right," she grunted and laid her head once again above his heart. Etean brought his hand up from behind her back and started to idly play with her hair. "This is nice," she said after several moments of silence.
"Yes it is," he replied.
Ginny adjusted her head to a more comfortable position and snuggled closer to him. "I want to stay here all day…just like this." Etean could barely hear her voice.
"I wouldn't mind to tell you the truth, but," he lifted returned his free hand to beneath his head, "unfortunately we can't."
"Why?" she asked.
"It's almost half past five, that's why. Nearly time for dinner."
"So? We can make our own dinner here, can't we?"
"We could I suppose," he answered. "But…I have to go to Quidditch practice in an hour anyway."
"But," Ginny lifted her head, "it'll be dark by eight. By the time you get changed and all it'll be nearly time to come in."
Etean laughed. "Clearly you have never been on a team trained by Blaise Zabini." He shook his head. "The guy is a dictator and no mistake. He claims he wants us to train at dusk, in the half light, just to see if we can work together without relying on seeing one another."
"But," Ginny frowned, "that doesn't make sense. What do you need to learn to play in the dark for? All your matches will be played during the day."
"I know." Etean sighed. "But tell that to our glorious captain," he added sarcastically.
Ginny smiled. "Aww poor Etean." She kissed him quickly. "Why don't you forget about training …and stay here with me," she said suggestively.
Etean grinned. "Yeah," he took her hand and started to play with her fingers, "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"It could be fun," she whispered.
"Fun…" Etean let his voice trail off as he untangled his fingers from her hair and started to trail his them slowly down her back to rest on her hip. Her grin faded, she lowered her head toward him for a kiss. "Of course," he said suddenly when their lips were less than an inch apart. "How do I know that you don't have other motives?" He released her hand and traced a second line to her waist.
"Like what?" she asked, seeming genuinely puzzled.
"Well," he said, starting to run his fingers in little circles across her hips and backside, prompting a couple of involuntary twitches from her. A smile spread across his lips. "You could have been sent here by your Gryffindor cronies to distract the Slytherin Seeker. You know…keep me from training to increase your chances in the match."
Ginny drew back, her eyebrows rose in surprise. "You know, I never thought of that," she said thoughtfully. "That would be an idea, wouldn't it?"
"A very good idea if you ask me." Etean nodded, forcing his face to become serious. "You need all the help you can get if you are going to beat us."
"Is that so?" she asked, suppressing a smile. "Well in that case," she leaned in again, "it'll have to be a good distraction, won't it?"
Etean didn't get the chance to answer. Ginny trapped his mouth with hers, pressing her tongue out to part his lips. Etean didn't resist her in the slightest, preferring instead to occupy himself with exploring the warm recesses of her mouth. The kiss deepened, Ginny reached up and started to tug gently at his hair. With each passing moment Etean felt his pulse race harder. He felt as though he could carry on like this forever, but in the end it was a matter of will that made him break the kiss, that and a need for air,
"That's your idea of a good distraction is it?" he asked, making his voice sound bored.
A momentary flash of doubt crossed her face. "Isn't it?" she sounded slightly worried.
"No," he said flatly, "this," he kissed her for a second, "passes the time. But," his fingers tightened on her hips and he started to tickle her, "this…" he said amidst her fit of giggles, "is a distraction," he finished, intensifying the torture.
Ginny struggled and wriggled about, laughing all the time. Her hands flailed about wildly in an attempt to trap his long enough for her to get away,
"Stop…Stop it…" she yelped.
Etean had no intention of stopping; he ignored her pleas and continued to tickle her harder than before. Ginny twisted and wriggled as she continued to try and escape. She rolled off him and onto the floor but even that didn't give her any peace. Etean rolled with her, landing on top of her on the floor, moving his hands rapidly along her torso. Ginny stopped begging for mercy. Realising that he wouldn't let her escape him, she decided to retaliate. Etean felt her fingers find the sensitive spots on his stomach and dig in. With his hands busy tickling her he was in no position to stop her. There was nothing he could do but grin and bear it, or rather laugh and bear it! They yelped and screamed, laughed and struggled together as they rolled around on the floor for a full five minutes before they were both exhausted. Etean came to rest lying on top of her, blinking away tears of laughter. Both of them were out of breath. They lay there panting and giggling as they struggled for air. When he felt his strength return, Etean raised himself off her and looked down into her eyes.
"Now," he said as his breathing finally slowed, "does distracting me still seem like a good idea?"
Ginny didn't answer for a while, she just lay there giggling. "Could be fun I think, yeah," she said eventually. He felt her fingers run over his abdomen again, though not hard enough to start off another tickling session. "Certainly wouldn't be boring that's for sure," she said with an impish, playful tone.
"Oh, I think I can guarantee that alright." He lowered himself closer to her. "But, you do realise what you've let yourself in for."
"What?"
"Well," he nuzzled her lips with his nose, "It's over two full weeks till the match. And if it's going to be your job to distract me from training, I'll have no choice but to return the favour."
Ginny's eyebrows rose again. "You think you'll be enough to distract me from Quidditch, do you?"
Etean didn't answer, he just nodded and brought his lips down onto hers, ending the conversation.
-
Hermione got fed up shoving her food around her plate and dropped her fork with a clatter on the table.
"Is there something wrong Hermione?" Lavender asked between mouthfuls of mashed potato. "You've barely touched your dinner."
Hermione nodded and sighed. "Not really hungry I guess."
"You said you were," said Lavender. "And you made short work of the bangers." She nodded at Hermione's plate of Bangers and Mash, now devoid of any bangers.
Hermione shrugged. "Well I just picked at them really." She checked her watch; it was heading for seven. Another long evening stretched out ahead of her, the long, slow march toward sleep. Thinking about it made her shiver. She knew that despite her will, despite all her efforts to stay awake, the dream would come again! Her mind painted a picture of it inside her head: she saw the sky, the mountain…the eyes! She shivered again as she saw them again and sat bolt upright. Lavender was staring at her with a look of deep concern on her face. Hermione smiled at her and stood up.
"I'll see you later," she said quietly and turned to leave.
"Yeah," Lavender replied, "later."
Hermione turned and walked slowly along the Gryffindor table. She passed by Harry; he had his back to her talking to Ron sitting opposite him. Hermione avoided looking directly at them as she passed but she could almost feel Ron looking at her. Their conversation drifted on the air to her ears.
"…Dean saw them I'm telling you. He said that she's with him right now, somewhere in the castle," said Ron. "Fuck knows what he's doing to her." He growled the last part.
"I don't think he's doing anything to her, Ron," replied Harry. "Not like you mean anyway…" Harry's voice trailed off.
"Of all the people she could have chosen, why him?"
"How should I know," said Harry. "Why don't you ask her instead of badgering and moaning at me all the time?"
"Sorry!" said Ron indignantly. "Forget I said it."
"Gladly," said Harry.
Hermione felt a tiny smile tug at her lips as she reached the doors of the Great Hall. Harry and Ron would always be the same no matter what. They would forever argue with one another over the slightest thing that came along and then be best friends again at the drop of a hat. How did they do that? She had lost count of the number of times she had been in the middle of one or other of their little spats. Her smile faded, she missed those days. Right now worrying about someone else's problems sounded like heaven. Hermione left the Hall and stopped by the end of the stairs to rub her temple. Her head hurt. Fresh voices floated on the air to her.
"You really like those awful sandwiches don't you?" said a familiar male voice.
Hermione turned at the sound of laughter to see Ginny emerge into the Entrance Hall from the first floor corridor with…Etean! They entered hand in hand, seemingly not aware of anyone else. Hermione's heart skipped a beat. He was here! Four days, she had gone four days without seeing him but now he was here. A fierce blush exploded across her cheeks. She wanted to leave, to run away before he saw her but she couldn't. There was nowhere to go without it appearing obvious, no escape for her this time. She stood there open mouthed and flat footed as the minister's voice came back to her again.
'Do you take this man, Robert Etean, to be your husband?'
'I do!'
Hermione shook her head and turned her attention to Ginny. She was laughing and smiling up at Etean with a doe-eyed expression.
"Yes, I do," she answered his question.
Hermione's stomach flip-flopped. 'I do!' The words kept echoing inside her head.
"They're nice!" Ginny continued. "They're good for you, too, and I won't hear another word against them," she said with a tone of finality like she expected that statement to be beyond question.
Hermione watched as a slight frown crinkled Ginny's brow as she looked at Etean. Hermione's eyes darted to him involuntarily and froze. Etean was looking at her, his eyes were like two shining balls of ice. Hermione felt her stomach cave in as she looked at them.
"Hermione!" Ginny said in a slightly forced tone, an edge of confusion more than clear. "Is something wrong?"
Hermione frowned slightly and was about to respond when Etean spoke. "What could be wrong, Ginny?" he said calmly. There was no trace of emotion in his voice, though a slight, barely noticeable smile twisted his lip. "It looks to me as though Granger is a little embarrassed about something," the hardness faded from his eyes as he looked to Ginny, "not a big deal."
His tone stirred something in Hermione. The eerie suspicion she felt whenever she saw him returned stronger than ever. It added to her already shaky state of mind and made her feel distinctly uncomfortable. Now that she was free of his stare, Hermione was able to look away. Her gaze moved to Ginny; she was staring at Etean, a confused frown still on her face. Etean smiled at her.
"What?" he asked innocently.
The feeling of suspicion was joined by a noise inside her head, a deep growling sound. She felt the hair stand on the back of her neck as she watched him ignore her and continue to talk to Ginny as if she weren't there. After a few whispered comments were exchanged, Ginny's expression softened. She smiled and reached out to grab his tie. Tugging at it she drew him into a kiss. Hermione averted her eyes, fighting back the sudden urge to scream at them to stop.
"Go on then," Ginny laughed when they finally separated, "go train with the Slytherins. I'll distract you later."
They both laughed at this comment, though the source of the humour was beyond Hermione's understanding. She watched them smile and banter with one another for several moments before she realised that she was staring and snapped out of it. She moved past them to head up to the stairs and was halfway up the first staircase when Ginny called after her.
"Hermione, wait." Hermione turned round. "Are you going to the dorm?"
"Yes," Hermione answered.
"Cool," said Ginny, turning back to Etean, "I'll walk up with y…"
Her voice faded away as Etean kissed her again. Hermione again felt uncomfortable with their behaviour but found herself unable to look away. The growling noise in her head had faded when he had looked away from her but the suspicion remained. Something about Etean wasn't quite right. He was hiding…something. She shook her head to dismiss the thought. Logically, there was no reason to suspect him. But then logic hadn't been a big part of her life lately, had it?
Ginny and Etean finally separated, Ginny shoving him back with a wicked laugh. Hermione waited patiently as Ginny walked backwards up the stairs, blowing Etean a kiss at each step. He just stood there, smirking as he watched her. Ginny drew level with her and turned round to head up to the dorm. Etean's eyes darted back to her again for an instant. The growl rose in volume again as an icy gleam flashed across his eyes, sending a shiver down her spine. She shuddered slightly and turned away, jogging to catch up with Ginny on the second landing.
"Seriously Mione," said Ginny, "are you alright?"
"What? Oh…why does everyone keep asking me that?" Hermione snarled. "And don't call me Mione, you know I hate that stupid nickname."
Ginny giggled. "Yeah, right," she said. "Sorry, I forgot. But really though," she stopped and took hold of Hermione's arm, "you look awful…exhausted."
Hermione sighed. "Why does everyone say that to me too?" She shook her head and continued on up the stairs.
-
Etean watched with a smile as Ginny blew him kiss after kiss, backing up the stairs away from him. He smiled and continued to watch her until she reached Granger and turned around. His eyes moved to Granger and he was unable to quash the momentary surge of emotion. His vision blurred slightly as raw ethereal power flashed in his eyes. Granger turned away; Etean sensed her fear with a degree of satisfaction. A tingle of sensation ran down the back of his neck. He extended his senses slightly, just enough to identify the person approaching from behind him.
"Hello, Theo," he said without turning round, sensing a surge of surprise from Nott as he stopped behind him.
"How do you do that?" Nott asked, sounding slightly annoyed.
"It isn't too hard." Etean smiled as he turned round. "You should maybe lay off the cologne if you are planning on sneaking up on people in the future. The bottle says 'apply liberally', not 'open bottle and bathe!'"
He turned to look at Nott. His smile faded when he saw that Nott wasn't looking at him. He was looking past him toward the stairs with a strange, hungry expression on his face. Etean turned to see what he was looking at. There was nobody in sight on the stairs except for Ginny and Granger. Nott was looking at them…looking at Ginny!
Etean turned back to Nott. "Ah-hem." he cleared his throat with a little force to get his attention. When Nott looked at him he raised his eyebrow, letting his expression ask the question for him.
Nott looked slightly confused. "What?" he asked.
"That is what I was about to ask you actually." He flicked his head toward the direction that Ginny had headed. "Taking a good look are we?" he asked, letting an edge show through his voice.
Nott frowned for a second then barked out a laugh. "Relax! I'm not interested in your little Weasel."
"Careful…" Etean warned him.
Nott ignored the warning and shook his head. "Whatever mate. I swear I don't know what you see in that girl."
"I see none of your business, Theo." Etean moved away. "Get the point?" he asked over his shoulder. He made it three steps before it hit him. Nott was staring at…"Granger?" he spat the question as he turned around to face Nott again. "You were staring after Granger?"
"Oh don't look so shocked," he said, walking to join Etean as they both turned and headed out of the castle. "You can't tell me that you haven't noticed her. I've seen you looking at her when you think that nobody's watching you."
"Believe me," Etean snarled, "you are way off on that." He stared ahead of him as he walked on, forcing himself to calm down. "I am somewhat surprised at you though. She doesn't strike me as your type." He managed to keep his voice even.
Beside him, Nott shrugged. "Not my type eh?" He laughed. "You've got that right."
Etean frowned. "But then…"
"It's not like I want to marry the girl or anything," said Nott, "I know I'm too good for her. I mean she's fucking Mudblood of all things, and a particularly annoying one at that, the little 'know-it-all'."
Etean sighed. This was one conversation he did not want to have. "I have a feeling that there is a 'But…' coming here soon." He glanced sideways at Nott.
"But…" said Nott smiling, "well the fact that she's beneath me shouldn't stop me from having some fun, should it?" His smile turned wicked. "In fact, I think that having her beneath me would be a lot of fun. I think that there are one or two things I could show her. Things she definitely doesn't know about."
"Stop it," Etean snapped. "Just stop it, will you? I'm going to throw up in a minute here!"
"I didn't take you for a prude, Etean," said Nott in an amused tone.
They reached the outer door to the stadium changing rooms. Etean stopped and turned to Nott. "Oh, I'm no prude, believe me. I would simply prefer it if you keep your little fantasies to yourself in future. They annoy me."
"Fair enough," was the answer from Nott, spoken through a smirk. Etean made to pass him and enter the changing rooms but Nott stopped him. "Eh…one thing before we go in."
"Yes?" said Etean impatiently.
"It's nothing really, sort of an automatic thing between friends. I feel I really don't need to ask but…"
"But what?" barked Etean.
"Well…I hope you understand that this…conversation is to be kept between us." He paused and pointed to the door of the changing room. Etean imagined that the other team members were already getting changed within. "It isn't any of…anyone else's business," finished Nott.
Etean paused for a moment, savouring the moment of hesitation on Nott's face. "This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain Slytherin Chaser, who just so happens to be your girlfriend, does it?" He smiled at the reaction.
Nott shrugged innocently. "It might do."
Etean laughed. "Little Miss Annabelle Turner wouldn't be too happy to hear about your sordid little musings, eh?"
"You can say that again," Nott winced. "So…between us?" he asked.
Etean nodded. "Fine! Believe me Theo I have no desire to repeat this conversation to anyone." He turned and entered the doorway. "But," he couldn't resist adding over his shoulder as he walked down the short corridor to the changing room, "I just hope I don't let something slip at the wrong moment." He glanced back to see Nott pale as he heard the comment. He opened his mouth to say something but Etean opened the changing room door and cut him off.
"You're late!"
The words hit Etean almost before he had entered the room. He looked up to see Blaise staring daggers at him. Before he could answer, Nott appeared behind him, "My fault, Captain," he said quickly to Etean's surprise, "he was waiting for me while I combed my hair. You know how I like to look my best."
There was a quick burst of laughter from Annabelle, who was sitting off to Etean's left. Blaise silenced her with a glare. "Forget the jokes Theo, and get dressed. BOTH of you," he bellowed and headed for the door, "meet us outside in two minutes."
The last order was hollered in the door from outside. The rest of the team filed out. Annabelle was the last to leave, she hung back to grin at Nott before departing. Once they were alone, Nott rounded on Etean.
"Relax before you sprain something." Etean interrupted him before he could speak. He turned away and lifted his team robes down from their hook. It was a real effort to keep from collapsing with laughter at the look on Nott's face. It was hilarious, somewhere between panic rage and desperate fear. "I won't breathe a word, not tonight anyway." Etean smiled. Nott looked at him suspiciously. Etean laughed and grabbed Nott's robes from the wall. He turned and hurled them at him. "Here, get changed. I don't know about you, but I don't want to listen to Blaise screaming at us for being late again."
-
"Da-dum-daDUM, da-DUM-dadum," Hermione hummed to herself idly as she rummaged about inside her trunk. She started sorting through her books when she realised - 'The Wedding March?' she thought. 'What the hell has gotten into me?' She knelt down and rested on the edge of her trunk, shaking her head. 'That blasted dream, why can't I stop fixating on it?' She ran her fingers through her hair and tried to empty her mind. 'It was a dream, Hermione, nothing else. It doesn't matter. None of them do.' She kept repeating it over and over in a stubborn attempt to make herself believe it. It didn't really work. She stood up and snarled in frustration as she tugged her tie loose and tossed into her trunk as hard as she could. Her eyes settled on it as it landed on a pile of blue cloth. The robes Malfoy had given her! Her insides formed into an icy lump. Malfoy…no, Draco…was in so much pain. She couldn't even begin to comprehend the depth of it and she didn't want to. Thinking about his situation made her feel even worse than she already did. 'But,' she laughed quietly to herself, 'At least its proof that I can feel worse.' The humour faded nearly as fast as it had come. When she thought about him in that room all alone, Hermione couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He hadn't deserved what had happened to him. Nobody deserved that. She pitied him, she really did. Then she frowned as she remembered his reaction to her pity, his anger – he had hated it.
She supposed she didn't blame him. Were she – god forbid – in his position, she wouldn't want anybody's pity either. Seeing that kind of pity in people's eyes would only serve to make her fixate on the very thing that had caused her pain. She wouldn't want that and neither did he. "I don't need your pity," he had said. Maybe he was right; maybe he didn't need her pity. So what did he need? What could she do to help him? She couldn't pity him, but was there anything she could do? Try as she might, she couldn't think of anything. In the end she sighed, was it even her place to try? Probably not, was the best answer she could come up with. Thinking about it, why would he accept help from her of all people? For most of the time they had known each other, they had shared nothing other than mutual loathing. Until this year! She swore to herself under her breath. For some unknown reason that she couldn't comprehend, things had started to change between them. They had stopped being enemies and started on the road to being…well, she wasn't sure what they were becoming. But then, even before she had really realised what was going on she had betrayed him and reset the board – back to square one! She sighed and shook her head. Thoughts of that night still made her angry at herself. Could Draco ever forgive her for what she had done? Hell, how could she expect him to forgive her when she couldn't even begin to forgive herself?
BAM!
Hermione jumped, coming out of her reverie when the bedroom door slammed. She looked up to see Lavender leaning out of breath against the door, looking very flushed.
"I…am…going to…kill that boy," she stammered between rasping breaths.
"Which boy?" said Hermione.
"Finnegan!" was the not too surprising answer. Lavender shook her head and crossed to her bed. "He's just spent the last five minutes trying to force me to eat a sweet."
Hermione frowned, trying to switch her brain into communication mode. "So what?" she said. "You don't like sweets all of a sudden?"
"Sweets I like," said Lavender, "But not these ones. He got them from Ron."
"So?"
"So…Ron got them from Fred and George."
"Oh," Hermione said, catching on. "Now I get it."
"I heard the boys whispering about them earlier," Lavender continued. "They smuggled them in this morning." She shook her head. "I have no idea what they do, but I do not want to find out."
"Good plan," said Hermione, smiling. Whatever they were, if the twins invented them, they were not to be touched. Not if you valued your skin that is.
Lavender nodded. "Just be careful what you eat. They're trying to sneak them to everyone. Thus far they haven't been able to find anyone stupid enough to try one, but…"
"But they won't give up until they do. Thanks for the warning."
Lavender kicked open her trunk and started to rummage. "You're welcome," she said as she straightened up holding a large textbook. "Right," she said as she tucked it beneath her arm, "study time!"
Hermione jumped to her feet. "Hold on," she exclaimed. "You…studying? When we don't have an exam or an assignment to do?"
Lavender turned to look at her. "You are not the only one who can study you know?" she said, sounding offended.
"I know, and…I'm sorry. It039;s just that you surprised me is all. In five years I have never seen you volunteer to study so happily."
Lavender scowled for a moment, then smiled and took a step toward Hermione. "I know," she said conspiratorially, "and so does Seamus. I'm really only doing it to annoy him. We'll see how he likes it when I prefer to study rather than…" she paused awkwardly, "spend time with him," she finished, blushing slightly. "You coming down?" she gestured to the door.
Hermione thought about it, the company of the Gryffindors might be a bit much to take right now. Still, her mind would only start racing again if she stayed on her own, "Yeah," she nodded as she hefted her bag from the floor beside her bed. "But I have some real studying to do."
The Common Room was fairly crowded. Seamus, Harry, Dean and Ron were gathered around the fireplace, huddled over a brightly coloured box. "Hermione!" said Seamus brightly when he saw her enter, "You want a sweet?" he offered her the box. Hermione could see that it was full to the brim with a multitude of sweets and toffees. There was absolutely nothing unusual about them to look at. If Lavender hadn't warned her she might have taken one, but as it was..
"No thank you, Seamus," she replied as innocently as she could. "I'm not hungry."
"Aww, go on," he pleaded as she walked past him across the room. "They're really nice."
"Save it Finnegan," Lavender growled at him. "I've already warned her about you and those sweets."
Lavender scowled at him and the others then proceeded to plonk herself down on the end of the couch beside them. She curled her legs up underneath her, set her book on the edge of the couch and started to read. Hermione crossed to the corner where Ginny was sitting at a table by herself reading. There was room enough for two at the table so she pulled out the other chair and sat down.
"You don't mind sharing, do you?" she asked Ginny quietly. The only answer she got was a small shake of her head. Hermione settled down and opened her transfiguration text. She glanced back to the fireplace and watched with a faint smile as Lavender pointedly ignored Seamus' attempts to distract her. Lavender was managing to keep a straight face, though Hermione was at a loss to know how. She smiled. 'Those two,' she thought to herself. 'How do they put up with each other? They're always arguing yet seem to never tire of each other.' She suppressed a shrug. 'It must be love.'
The Portrait Hole swung open and Colin Creevey entered the room. The boys were quick to select him as a new target. "Colin!" exclaimed Dean with a huge grin on his face. "Over here mate." Dean beckoned Colin over. Hermione saw him reach out to take the green sweet he was offered.
"Don't… Colin," she cried, but was too late. The sweet disappeared into Colin's mouth. He turned to her as he started to chew with a confused expression on his face.
"Mhwath?" he asked through toffee cemented teeth. The rest of the Common Room fell silent, waiting to see what was going to happen. Hermione shared their anticipation, mixed with a slight sense of dread. Colin blushed as he looked around, becoming aware that he was the centre of attention. He swallowed the sweet. The tension mounted as everyone waited for the reaction. "What did I do? Hic!" Colin hiccoughed, making everyone jump.
Dean took a step back from him, "Wait for it…" he said in a high pitched squeal.
"Wait for wh…HIC," a second, louder hiccough interrupted Colin as he tried to figure out what was going on. A moment later, "HIC!" he went again. A tiny green bubble escaped from his mouth. Everyone focused on the bubble as it hovered in the air. It bobbed up and down for a moment before it popped.
"GINNY IS REALLY CUTE!" Colin's voice boomed around the room, nearly deafening Hermione. Colin clapped his hands over his mouth in embarrassment. Shock kept the room silent for the moment. Hermione's eyes moved from Colin to Ginny who was blushing bright red and staring at Colin in disbelief. The silence hung in the air for several seconds. Hermione looked back to Colin. Behind his hands, she could see the fear and embarrassment in his eyes. He trembled and lowered his hands to try and explain but as soon as his mouth opened…Hic…Hic, HIC! Three more bubbles shot out of his mouth. Colin made a mad swipe to try and bat them from the air but missed. They all popped at almost the same moment.
POP!
"SHE'S REALLY SEXY!"
POP!
"I LIKE THE WAY HER BUM WOBBLES WHEN SHE WALKS!"
POP!
"I WONDER IF SHE'D LET ME KISS HER!"
That was it, the whole Common Room exploded in laughter. Colin slapped his hands over his mouth again and ran out of the Portrait Hole in mad embarrassment.
"HIC!"
Pop!
"I REALLY WANT TO KISS HER!"
The laughter echoed around the room as the Gryffindors rolled about on the floor in hysterics.
"I told you," yelped Ron when he caught his breath, "I told you they'd work."
"Wha…What did you call them?" Seamus managed to say while fighting a cramp in his side.
"Well…" Ron looked at the box. "What did you give him?"
"I think…" Dean answered. "It was a green one." Ron rummaged about in his robes and pulled out a piece of parchment. He wiped his eyes and consulted it.
"Green…green…" he said. "Oh here. HA!" he laughed. "Truth Toffees – Suck em and they suck the truth right out of you!" He grinned as he read out the Weasley twin's by-line, prompting another round of laughter.
Harry turned to Ginny. "Looks like you've got an admirer, Gin," he said between laughs.
"Colin and Ginny sitting in a tree," a couple of third year girls started to sing, "K I S S I N G!" They stopped, overcome with laughter.
"Colin and Ginny?" laughed Dean. "Nah, couldn't happen. I mean, he'd probably trip over his own tongue every time he tried to talk to her. Let alone…" the giggles overtook him again. "Let alone anything else."
Ginny, for her part, didn't appear to think that the situation was very funny. "Oh grow up guys," she scowled as she turned her back. "As if."
Hermione didn't find it very funny, either. Colin was a nice guy, if a little easily led. It wasn't fair of them to make fun of him like that. She was about to scold them for it but stopped herself, there was no point. They hadn't ever listened to her before, so she didn't think they would now. She shook her head and turned back to her book, trying to ignore the continuing sounds of laughter as the Gryffindors relived the moment over and over. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Ginny shake her head and mumble under her breath. "Stupid immature idiots," she grumbled.
Hermione reached out and laid a hand on Ginny's arm. "Don't listen to them," she said.
Ginny looked up at her. "I'm not listening to them," she snapped, "I mean as if me and Colin…"
Hermione smiled in an attempt to cheer her up. "It was just a joke."
"I'm not interested in Colin alright?" said Ginny forcefully.
"Ok ok," said Hermione, "I didn't say you were."
Ginny turned back to her book and started to flip the pages rather forcefully. Her blush had faded but Hermione could tell that she was still really embarrassed by the incident. It was only her pride that stopped her from running out of the room as Colin had.
"Em, what are you reading?" Hermione asked, trying to change the subject.
"A book," said Ginny in a terse tone, belying her emotional state, "Etean gave it to me to read."
She emphasised the name, Etean! The sound of it derailed Hermione. The tingling sensation in the back of her neck returned along with the strange growling in her ears. 'Get a grip Granger!' She pushed the thoughts aside and returned her attention to the book. She didn't recognise it. It was small and looked handwritten. All the pages were split down the middle. The inside column was in English, though it was too small for her to read clearly at this distance. The outside column was covered in strange, twisted, interlocking symbols and figures that she had never seen before. "What is it about?" she asked.
Ginny shrugged. "The Valkar," she said simply.
"What is a Valkar?" said Hermione.
"It's not a 'what'," replied Ginny, "it, or rather they were a 'who'. A whole race of whos, actually."
"Huh?"
Ginny sighed. "According to Etean, the Valkar were a race of quasi-mythical beings that lived on Earth a couple of thousand years ago. This book is kind of a summary of their lives. Who they were, what they did and all that."
Hermione had never heard of the Valkar. It was rare that she came across a topic that was completely new to her and she was intrigued. She shuffled her chair closer to Ginny to get a better look at the book. "And what were they like? What did they do?"
Ginny frowned before she answered. "I don't know," she said quietly. "To be honest, I can't really follow this stuff." She pointed at the book. "It's all full of really big words and complicated explanations." She moved the book around the table so Hermione could see it better. "Could you em…help me figure it out?"
Hermione scanned the open page. The foreign symbols were as much of a mystery as they had seemed from the side view. The English however, was another matter. She scanned the paragraphs, lots of wherefores and therebys. But it didn't look insurmountable. "Maybe, why are you studying it?" she asked Ginny.
"Don't know" Ginny shrugged. "Etean and I were just talking about them one day. He studied them for years with his grandfather. He knows all about them and he made them sound kind of interesting. I just…wanted to know more about them that's all. This is supposed to be the best place to start – Sort of a simple overview kind of thing." She shook her head. "But if this is simple, I don't want to know what passes for complicated."
Hermione turned the pages slowly, scanning the general content. It certainly looked like an interesting subject, a bit of a diversion for her. "Alright," she said, looking up to see Ginny beaming at her. "I'll have a read of it for you."
"Thanks Mione," said Ginny, getting a scowl for her trouble. "Ooops, sorry. But really, thank you. I want to figure this out so I'll be able to really impress him."
Hermione frowned. 'Him?' she thought and instantly regretted it. There could only be one 'him'.
"You and Etean…" she said, "you're getting on well?"
Ginny laughed. "I suppose we are." She closed her eyes and giggled under her breath at some private memory. Hermione felt overcome by curiosity, she had to know what it was about him that was creating this reaction in her head.
"What's he like?" she asked, "I mean, really."
Ginny paused for a moment. "He's…" she shrugged, "he's Etean," she said simply as if that somehow answered the question. "I've never met anyone like him before. He's smart, funny, sweet and," she giggled, "a little bit crazy."
"Crazy?" Hermione asked, leaning forward on her elbows. "How do you mean?"
"Just some of the things he says," She smiled, "and the way he says them. He makes me laugh." Hermione was starting to get uncomfortable now; the growling in her head was starting to annoy her. She turned her attention to the book, hoping that Ginny would get the message. She didn't. "But you know what I really like about him?" she asked, bringing her head closer to Hermione and lowering her voice to a whisper.
Hermione shook her head. "No," she said.
"He listens," said Ginny. "I mean he really listens to what I have to say. Not like the way some boys pretend to listen to while paying no attention. Etean understands me, he…"
"Ginny," Hermione interrupted, trying to change the subject. She was still struggling for something to change it to when a hand shot between them rapidly and snatched up the book.
"What are you two giggling about?" said Ron as he stepped back and scanned the stolen book. "What the hell is this?" he asked.
"Give it back Ron," Ginny hissed, trying to stand up.
Ron put his free hand on her shoulder and held her down. "What is it?" he repeated.
Ginny struggled to free herself from his grasp. "I said give it back!" her voice was rising to a shout.
"No," Ron laughed, holding the book just out of her reach, "Tell me what it is," he demanded.
"It's a book," said Hermione coldly, feeling her anger rise at his childish behaviour. "Even you should be able to figure that out," she spat at him.
Ron froze in surprise. He stared blankly at Hermione for several seconds. "A book?" he asked when he remembered his voice.
"Yes," said Ginny, freeing herself from his grasp and standing up. She made to grab the book but Ron turned his back to her, keeping it from her grasp. "It's a book you idiot," she snarled as she tried in vain to get round him to the book. "Etean loaned it to me. Give it back before you damage it."
"Etean gave it to you?" said Ron sarcastically. He shoved Ginny back and turned round, holding the book close to his chest. "Well in that case I had better take extra care of it hadn't I? It must be valuable." He stroked the book like it was some sort of treasure.
"I'm warning you Ron." There was real anger in Ginny's voice as she spoke now. "Give it here or else…"
"Or else what?" he said. "What are you going to do? I mean," he laughed, "I'm only looking at it for Merlin's….OUCH!" he yelped suddenly and dropped the book to the floor. He hopped back, shaking his fingers and hissing in anger.
"Ron!" Ginny shrieked. "You dropped it." She stepped forward and froze. Hermione looked at the book where it was lying on the carpet. The cover – before, nothing other than plain black leather – was now glowing with weird, bright silver light.
"The fucking thing burned me!" hollered Ron, still shaking his hand. Ginny knelt down and reached out. Her hand paused inches from the book, frozen in fright. The light from the cover burned brighter for a second then faded. For a moment, just before it disappeared completely, Hermione saw an odd image form on the leather. A curved, jagged beak and a large silver eye stared out at her for an instant and then it was gone. Ginny reached out to the book.
"Careful," Hermione warned.
Ginny ignored her and reached out to tap the book. She didn't yelp or scream, the book made no reaction. Ginny reached out again and took the book up. She knelt there cradling it in her arms like a baby.
"Erm," Dean's voice shattered the tense silence. "What the hell just happened?"
"What happened?" barked Ron. "That bastarding book burned me, that's what happened. Etean must have enchanted it or something – Hexed it to attack people at random, or worse." He stood up straight and took out his wand. "Put it down Ginny," he said, taking aim at the book.
Ginny looked up and saw his wand. "What?" she yelped, then she realised what he was going to do. "No!" she screamed and turned round, putting her body between the book and Ron, "don't you dare."
"Ginny, it's dangerous," Ron said. "I mean it could take someone's arm off or something."
"It is not dangerous, Ron," said Ginny.
"It nearly burned my fingers off, Ginny. Now put it down and step aside before it hurts you."
"It won't hurt me, Ron," said Ginny stubbornly, moving further away from him. "I've had it for over a week now and it hasn't hurt me at all."
"Just because it hasn't, it doesn't mean it won't," said Ron, taking a step toward her, looking for a clear shot at the book. "You should listen to me. Remember what happened the last time you started playing around with an enchanted book?"
Ginny paled at that. Hermione couldn't believe her ears. She knew that Ron was referring to the time almost four years ago when Lucius Malfoy had given Ginny a diary that had once belonged to You Know Who. Ginny had nearly died under its influence and was understandably self conscious about it. It was not an easy subject to discuss around her and, consequently, none of them ever spoke about it. Hermione couldn't believe that Ron would bring it up for any reason, and certainly not in front of the other Gryffindors, many of whom didn't even know about the diary.
"Ron!" she and Harry exclaimed at the same moment. They locked eyes for a moment in surprise before Hermione spoke again.
"How could you?" she asked. She stepped round the table, putting herself between Ron and Ginny.
Ron rolled his eyes. "Stay out of this, will you, Hermione. This is between me and Ginny."
"Oh give up Ron," she snapped, batting his wand hand away angrily and turning round. "Ginny?" she said quietly, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?" Ginny didn't answer; she shook Hermione's hand off and ran out of the room.
"Ginny, wait," Harry called after her as she disappeared up the stairs to the girls' dormitory. "Well done, man," he said, turning to Ron. "I mean, you handled that just beautifully," he added sarcastically.
"Me?" said Ron in apparent disbelief. "I'm not the one that was messing around with a dangerous book, mate."
Hermione ground her teeth. She just was not able to fathom how Ron could be so fucking stupid. "For FUCK'S sake, Ron," she yelled, advancing on him, "Doesn't it ever occur to you that just because you don't understand something, it doesn't necessarily follow that it's automatically dangerous?"
"It fucking burned me," he said indignantly.
"I know it did, which proves only one thing: That it's clearly a very intelligent book."
Ron reeled. "What?" he said.
"Had you thought about it, even for a second, it might have occurred to you that the book might just have an anti-theft charm on it. One designed to stop people stealing it maybe?"
"I wasn't stealing it," he said sulkily.
"You took it from her and wouldn't give it back." She laughed. "How is that not stealing?"
Hermione didn't wait for an answer, she turned and grabbed her book from the table and marched over to the staircase without as much as a backward glance. "Where are you going?" asked Ron.
"To find Ginny," she replied without turning. "You see, I actually care about her."
If Ron answered, she didn't pay attention. She climbed the stairs and stopped outside the Fifth Year dorm. "Ginny?" she said quietly as she knocked at the door. "Are you in there?" There was no reply, but she knew that Ginny was indeed in there. Where else would she go? Hermione pushed the door opened and entered. Four four-poster beds stood inside, one for each of the Fifth Year Gryffindors. Though which was which, she hadn't a clue. The curtains on each of them were drawn back, hiding the beds themselves. Was Ginny in here? Hermione stood still, listening for a sound, some clue of her location. Nothing…nothing…SNIFF!
Hermione rounded on the source of the noise and crossed to the bed. She drew back the curtain and looked down. Ginny was sitting cross-legged on the bed, cradling the book in her lap, crying. Her fingers were running all over the leather as she continued to sniff and snuffle. Hermione sat beside her.
"Is it OK?" she asked gently.
"Yeah," Ginny replied. "Not a mark on it." Her head snapped up. "It isn't dangerous. He wouldn't have given it to me if it was…he wouldn't." She shuddered. Hermione put an arm round her,
"It's never done that before?" she asked. "The glowing?"
"No." Ginny shook her head. "It's never done anything like that before. It's just a book that doesn't like to be messed with, that's all."
"OK then, so we don't mess with it. I doubt Ron will again, that's for sure."
"Serves him right, the little git," said Ginny as she wiped her eyes.
Hermione reached out to take the book. "May I?" she said hesitantly, hoping it wouldn't repeat its earlier performance. Ginny handed her the book. The leather felt pretty normal to the touch as she held it. Hermione turned it over in her hands and looked at it. Nothing, not a sign of any enchantment showed itself.
"Anything?" Ginny asked nervously.
"Not a thing," Hermione replied. "Just a book."
"Just a book," Ginny repeated, "Did you em…see that picture on the cover, just before the light faded?" she asked.
Hermione ran her fingers over the leather again and nodded. "What was it?"
"I think," said Ginny frowning slightly, "it was Etean's family crest. It looked like the one on his ring anyway."
"Oh," Hermione said. "So Etean did enchant it then?"
"I guess he did," said Ginny, "but it wasn't meant to hurt anyone," she said desperately. "It was just…oh I don't know."
"I think I do," Hermione smiled. "A pretty effective way to keep it from being nicked, don't you think?"
Ginny smiled in relief. "Yeah, I suppose it is."
"So em," Hermione said. "Do you still want me to read this for you?" she asked.
"Yeah," Ginny answered. "That's if you still want to. If you aren't afraid it'll take your hand off or anything."
Hermione laughed and stood up. "I'll risk it," she said. "Are you coming back down?"
"No." Ginny shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere near him again tonight. Who knows what I'm liable to do? Besides, I'm supposed to meet Etean later, after he's finished practicing."
Hermione caught a scolding remark on the tip of her tongue. Ginny knew full well that sneaking out of the dorm late at night was against the rules. As a prefect, Hermione should stop her, but something in her tone stopped her. It sounded like Ginny was looking forward to meeting Etean and despite Hermione's doubts about him, she wanted to see Ginny happy. "Right," she said as she turned to leave, "I guess I'll see you later."
"Later," Ginny said. Hermione left the bedroom and stopped. The voices of the people in the Common Room drifted up the stairs as clear as a bell. By the sounds of it, they had managed to get some other poor soul to try one of the Weasley twins' sweets. She really didn't want to listen to Ron and the others in the Common Room. She was about to head up to her room when she remembered the reason she hadn't stayed there in the first place. 'Just grin and bear it, Granger,' she thought to herself as she headed down to the Common Room.