AN: Hello, fanfiction and Harry Potter fans. I do not own Harry Potter, but feel free to enjoy this or hate it. If you enjoy it, please leave a lovely comment, if you hate it, then leave some constructive criticism, thanks!

Can You Take the Jump?

Chapter 17

Hermione turned the corner to an empty corridor, hiding from the rest of the Hogwarts's population, ever since her Boggart incident. The whispers and eyes that followed her were rather unbearable. It made Hermione wonder if this was what Harry felt back in his 3rd year. At least, his Boggart turned into a dementor, when everyone expected Voldemort. He'd hit below their expectation.

"You're one hard person to find, Little Monster."

Hermione turned the corner to almost run into a familiar 7th year Slytherin leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face.

"Belby." Hermione wasn't stupid enough to assume that her acquaintanceship with his father made Belby a friend or even an ally, but she didn't pull out her wand. She knew he wasn't violent, but liked to play mental games, just like his father.

"It's what the students are calling you now. Did you know? You're practically a celebrity around here." He casually inspected his nails, then gave a sly look up at her with that bothersome little grin of his. "For once, the Hogwarts students have correctly nicknamed a student!" Belby clapped once more, letting an amused laugh. "It's too bad that they don't know how correct they are."

"What do you want?"

The Slytherin pushed himself off the wall and walked towards her. "What surprised me most about the entire story was how those Gryffindors threw their bodies at you to protect you! Even before that, when you fainted, they rushed you up to the hospital wing with such concern. I had no idea you could mingle with people so well! If I didn't know any better, I would have thought you a completely normal girl."

"Maybe I want to be."

"Bullshit. You walked into the Slytherin common room demanding Malfoy's presence when you were 11. Instead of walking out dead or at least bloody, you walked out with Lucius Malfoy decreeing that no one touch you."

"Maybe I did that so I can be a normal student."

"If that was your goal, you've failed epically." He emphasized. "You may assume that people have forgotten about the secrecy surrounding your incident in first year because no one knows anything, but you pushed a Pureblood out of school. A Yaxley. Yet, no one remembers the incident itself. People remember these types of anomalies."

"I highly doubt you came here to chit chat. Tell me what you want and go away."

"Can't I worry about my father's pet project without having ulterior motives?"

"No, you can't."

Belby smiled at her answer. "I'll get straight to the point then: I know that Fredrick Avery is your little Potions puppet."

Hermione raised her brow. If she feigned ignorance, would he believe her? She quickly scrapped the idea. Belby wasn't the type to confront her if he didn't have solid evidence. Besides, she knew someone would find out eventually, Avery was rather horrible in Potions.

"And?"

"And for not notifying Professor Slughorn of your cheating, I want you to help me. As you probably know, I've never received anything below an Outstanding in Potions since I've been in Hogwarts. Thanks to Professor Slughorn's help and the reputation my father has had for the last decade, my transcript has been sent to The Apothecary Academy in Germany."

Belby puffed his chest with pride, and Hermione admitted it was well deserved. The Apothecary Academy was founded by the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers, and was where the best Potion Masters have studied and where some of the most wildly used potions today have been invented.

"They're impressed with what they see so far, but Wizarding England is far too political, so I lost my chance at Head Boy to Malfoy. There has never been a student in The Academy who wasn't a Head Boy, but they agreed an early admission, even without my NEWTS, if I manage to wow them with a novel potion."

Hermione's jaw dropped and let out a laugh of disbelief at his implication.

"No way." Hermione's sardonic laughter stopped as she stared at Belby with a straight face. She shook her head, strongly denying his unspoken proposal. "No fucking way."

"Come on, it's not like it'll be hard for you."

"I'm NOT helping you develop your new potion!"

"Then I guess I'll tell Slughorn about your little cheating scam with Avery."

Hermione clenched her jaw, knowing Belby had the upper hand. Avery was too good of a card to lose. He may not be a Malfoy or a Black, but he was part of the Sacred Twenty Nine and would be a part of Voldemort's inner circle in the future. If Belby told Slughorn the truth, the three years Hermione devoted into pulling Avery's strings would dissipate into thin air.

"Who else knows?"

Belby grinned, knowing he had her now. He was impressed that she caught on as quickly as she did and even more impressed that she knew the right questions to ask. He always wondered what she offered to Malfoy to get him to make his decree, but now he could say with confidence that unlike the rumors, it wasn't money or her servitude.

"Malfoy knows."

Hermione sighed cursing Avery's name in the process. Of all the people he could get caught by, it had to be the two most cunning Slytherins attending Hogwarts.

"If I promise to make sure Lucius doesn't say a word, will you take my deal?" Belby offered. "Don't worry, I'm not Avery. I'm not incompetent."

Hermione rolled her eyes at his 'comforting' words.

"Do you even have a project in mind?"

Belby smirked. "Does it mean you will help?" He sighed at Hermione's unwavering stare. "I do have a project in mind. You've actually been my inspiration. I think artists would call you a muse."

"Me?"

"Yes. To be more specific, you and your monster inside you."

"You want to fix Obscurials?"

"No, they're too rare! A child once in a decade might turn up with a true Obscurial. And they'll likely die before they spend money on my potion. I'm talking about the others: vampires, werewolves, veelas."

"Veelas?" Hermione asked in surprise. "Aren't veelas the one thing that straight men want to keep around?"

"Perhaps, but I wouldn't be selling it to men, would I?"

"If sales are your biggest goal, then you shouldn't target Veelas or vampires. Since both are able to maintain and regulate their non-human side relatively well."

"Werewolves it is then."

There was a time when Hermione truly admired Damocles Belby for his invention of Wolfsbane Potion. The intricacies, the ingredients, the details required to brew the difficult potion was beyond what Hermione could have even imagined as a child, but now she couldn't help but wonder if he used the same methods to attain his fame the first time around.

"So, do we have a deal?" He reached his hand out, waiting for her to shake on it.

Hermione peered up at him with suspicion, but sighed in reluctant agreement. History changed the second she stepped into this world, what more harm could she do by helping develop Wolfsbane? Perhaps she could help push its initial production and marketing so that it was less expensive for those who need it.

"You get Malfoy to never say a word about my puppeteering of Avery's public image, then we have a deal." She grabbed his hand and gave him a single, but firm shake.

…

"Malfoy!"

Lucius turned and raised a brow at Damocles Belby running towards him.

"Belby."

"I was wondering if we could talk."

The two walked away from everyone else's hearing range. Belby rubbed his hands awkwardly before looking directly into Lucius's eyes.

"Have you told anyone of Avery Jnr's lack of potioneering prowess? And who might be helping him perpetuate that particular rumor?"

"No, not yet." The directness of the question made Lucius internally sneer.

"Keep it to yourself." Belby demanded.

The blonde scoffed at his audacity. "And what do I get in return for protecting young Avery's scandal?"

"Information."

Lucius shook his head. Hermione Evans had pulled the same bullshit, and he'd gotten the much shorter end of the stick. He would not fall for this trick again.

"If my silence is so important that you'd come to me for the first time in all of our Hogwarts years together, your information should reflect it."

"Information on Hermione Evans and the truth behind that sighting Narcissa witnessed at St. Mungo's over three years ago." Belby smirked confidently. "Now what will you do to guarantee your silence?"

Lucius's throat dried at the idea of learning even the smallest bit of information on the mysterious Hermione Evans. He hated the way Belby's eyes glinted, knowing he had gotten his attention.

"If I ever open my mouth, I will tell everyone that it was you who deserved Head Boy."

"Wow." Whatever offer Belby had expected, this went beyond it. "You really want to know about Hogwart's Little Monster, don't you? Now I want you to talk."

"Never in my entire life do I think you deserved this badge more than I. It's why I'm offering it as a guarantee for my silence." Lucius growled. "Now, my information."

Belby stepped forward and leaned in close to Lucius's ear. "Hermione Evans is, and always will be, a patient at Janus Thickey ward because she's an Obscurial."

…

"Mudblood, my coffee."

Hermione clenched her jaw to prevent her teeth from clattering as her body shivered in the cold dungeons. Stripped of her Slytherin crest adorned clothes, Hermione stood in the 7th year Slytherin girl's dormitory in her undergarments as Bellatrix Black and her group of vicious little hyenas cackled at her state.

"Didn't you hear me? My coffee!" Bellatrix demanded, as she sent a stinging hex right to Hermione's calves. She jumped from the pain and stumbled to the floor.

Hermione lifted her head and glared at the mad Black.

Bellatrix was the definition of terrifying beauty. She had voluminous black shiny hair, with not a single split end in sight. Her skin was flawless, while her thin straight nose gave even more dimension to her carved-out bone structure. Thin brows framed her face, while full red lips made her look like a real-life Snow White if it hadn't been for the eyes. A part of Hermione always wondered if Bellatrix was crazy before Azkaban or after, but one look at those wide grey eyes, she knew, there was always crazy in this woman, long before prison.

"Ah yes," Bellatrix spoke unfittingly softly. She smiled as she bent down and lifted her face with the tip of her wand to meet her own. "It doesn't feel the same if you don't react like this."

Hermione was famous for her non-reactions, but this was a different level of humiliation than she was used to.

"Hmmm," the 7th year pouted with a mock consoling voice. "I hold my wand at you, yet all you do is glare. I wonder what that boggart did that scared our little Mudblood so much?"

Hermione clenched her jaw, uncomfortable with the thought of having to share an intimate detail of her psyche with this mad witch. She gripped her fist tightly and sat in resolute silence. Annoyance grew on Bellatrix's face as her beautiful features crumpled into distaste. She poked her wand deeper into Hermione throat, causing her to cough in reflex. Having been on the other end of that wand several times, there was no way Hermione couldn't recognize the threat.

"Do you know what surprised me most?" Bellatrix asked, "What surprised me was how Lucius reacted to the whole thing. I've kept my distance ever since his decree because I thought he planned on marrying me." She cooed, pitying herself. "He's always indifferent, so cold. That was until your name popped up today."

A manic grin spread across her pale face, sending chills down Hermione's spine. "I wonder what he'd do if I killed you right now."

"You'd risk Azkaban for me, Bella? How touching." Hermione retorted.

Her grey eyes twitched.

"I hear it was a dagger. Your boggart came at you with a dagger, yes?" Bellatrix pulled her wand back, wild eyes searching for something else.

The beautifully mad witch caught the shifting eyes of her 'friends'. They knew the pattern to Bellatrix's abnormally cruel behavior, so they knew as much as Hermione what was about to come next. It was all fun and games when it was just pure humiliation, but physically injuring her was a direct violation to Lucius Malfoy's rules.

Suddenly Bellatrix moved impossibly close to her ear, their skin only a millimeter apart that Hermione's vellus hairs were probably tickling Bellatrix's lips.

"You might have whored yourself to Lucius and he might have been stupid enough to fall for it, but Malfoy doesn't control me. He's weak, a mere Malfoy, but I'm different. The Blacks have always been stronger than the Malfoys."

She cast a nonverbal summoning charm, causing a sharp cheese knife from the snack platter - delivered to them by a poor personal House Elf - soared through the air and into Black's awaiting hands.

"Let's show do a re-enactment." She cried, charging at her, blade in hand.

Hermione reacted quickly. She used her arms as leverage on the floor and swung her leg back and around to kick the bitch on her ribcage. Bellatrix lost her footing and crashed on to the floor. The girls around them screamed, jumping out of the way from the fight and causing a large commotion.

"Ugh!" Bellatrix cried in anger.

Hermione jumped up and ran to the girl who had her wand, tackling her to the floor. She ripped her wand out of the witch's hand and threw a stupefy over her shoulder, at Bellatrix's general direction, without even turning around.

"Argh!" Hermione and Black cried out in unison.

A warm liquid spilt from Hermione's right shoulder and back. She didn't even need to look to know that it was blood. The smell was engraved into her mind, making her want to vomit. She looked over her shoulder to see the handle of the cheese knife sticking out of her body. She must have miscalculated how long Bellatrix's arms were. The girl that was trapped beneath Hermione screamed when she noticed the flow of blood streaming down her shoulder and back.

"What in Morgana is going…"

Someone burst in the door, but stopped midsentence at the chaos that was the room. Girls were screaming, Bellatrix had been blasted with enough force to break one of the posters on the bed before crashing onto the floor as an unconscious heap, and Hermione was straddling a girl while bleeding from a stab wound.

What a sight this must've been to walk into.

The girl beneath Hermione pushed her off then scrambled away, her hands and knees getting covered by Hermione's blood in the process.

Hermione dropped her wand in the process, but slumped on the floor, gripping her injured shoulder. Ironically, the knife was controlling the rate of blood loss by acting somewhat of a plug for the wound, but even so, she was rapidly losing blood. That crazy bitch had severed a major vein. She needed to remove it in order mend herself, but once she pulled it out, she would bleed out quickly. She needed help.

The newest occupant in the room crouched down in front of her, their blond hair swaying with the motion. The same shade of grey eyes as Bellatrix appeared in front of her, however it was much less crazed and filled with shock and concern.

"Wh-what should I do?" Narcissa Black trembled at the bloody mess. "I don't know what to…"

"I need you to pull it out. Then put Wound-cleaning Potion." Hermione grimaced in pain. The shock of the attack had faded and now she could feel the pain radiating. "Murtlap… Essence with dittany… and blood… blood-rep… replenishing…"

Narcissa nodded quickly, "Carrow," she called out to one of the girls who was tending to Bellatrix's unconscious form. "Go get the potions she needs."

"You're going to save her?" She scoffed. "Just pass her off to the Hospital Wing."

"There is a bloody knife sticking out of her body! Look at the rate she's bleeding! If the school medi-witch finds out about this, my sister will be framed for attempted murder!" Narcissa shouted for the first time in public. "If this girl dies, my sister will spend the rest of her days in Azkaban and my engagement with Lucius is finished! Will you take responsibility for that?!"

Carrow's shut her mouth, but the displeased expression on her face didn't disappear.

"GO!"

The girls scampered off, fetching the necessary potions, while Narcissa turned back to Hermione.

"Ready Evans?" Narcissa asked as she tried to steady her own nerves. Without waiting for a response, she gripped the hilt of the knife embedded in the younger girl's body and used all her might to pull it out.

The scream that erupted from Hermione's mouth was caused Narcissa's ears to ring. To her gruesome realization, the knife was curved and serrated, pulling out bit of her muscular flesh. Narcissa wanted to vomit at the sight.

"YOU FUCKING IDIOT! I meant, pull it out when the potions were here!" She screamed. Blood was now gushing out of her wound in a steady rapid stream.

"Y-y-you said—" Narcissa tried to tell her, but it was no use. The gaping spewing crimson liquid creating a rapidly increasing pool around them. The sudden and quick loss of blood caused Hermione's eyes started to roll back.

"No! Mudblood! You need to hold on." Narcissa insisted to Hermione, trying to force her to remain conscious by shaking her. "What do I do? Mudblood?"

Hermione couldn't speak, she couldn't bring herself to focus on the words spoken by the blond Black.

"Mudblood!" Narcissa called to her louder, but got no response. "Evans!" With shaking hands, she instinctually put pressure on the wound, but the hot blood seeped out between her fingers. It was scary how fast the girl was turning pale and how big the puddle of blood beneath them was growing.

There were footsteps at the door, Narcissa turned around in tearful hopes that it was Carrow and the other girls, but it was the one person whom she wished didn't show up.

Lucius Malfoy.

"What in bloody hells—" He stopped at the sight of his fiancée crouched next to Hermione's pale, bloody, and almost naked body. His breath left his body. She was limp and lifeless on the floor; her skin was almost the color of the white bedsheets next to her. Her auburn hair and blood looked almost fluorescent, now that the natural flush of her skin was gone.

"Lucius…" Narcissa started, but was cut off as the Head Boy rushed to Hermione by pushing Narcissa aside.

Lucius almost cried in relief was he saw her chest moving up and down, in just the slightest motion. She was still alive! He could save her! He gathered Hermione in his arms; forgetting the fact that he would be covered in her dirty blood. She was much smaller and lighter than he ever imagined, fitting snugly into his arms and chest.

He pulled out his wand, but paused, realizing he had no idea what spell he was supposed to use. Any old healing spell would be pointless against an abrasion this large and deep.

"I…I don't…" Lucius mumbled to himself, panic in his eyes. The girl before him was shivering like crazy. Her normally pale skin was almost translucent. "Mudblood, what do I need to do?"

Hermione's eyes struggled to open to the new voice, as if she was lifting weights with her eyelids. Once they were open, her vision was blurry and unfocused.

"…ulne…ana...eu..."

"What?"

"…uln…san…te…"

"I don't underst—"

Hermione's lifted her arm, reaching out shakingly. She grimaced, but managed to grab Lucius's wand hand.

The boy jerked in surprise as the bloody hand gripped over his own. "What are you doing?!" He demanded, but didn't pull his hand out of her grasp. He felt a weak tug, so he allowed her to guide his wand closer to her injury.

He couldn't hear anything, but he could see her lips moving, repeating the same phrase over and over again. Lucius felt something weird stirring in his stomach, like there was something being pulled out of him.

"Oh my…" Narcissa gasped.

Lucius almost jumped again, forgetting she was even there. He looked at what she was pointing at, and his mouth dropped. There was no light coming out of the tip of his wand, but sure enough the deep gash on the girl's skin was slowly closing, every muscle fiber and nerve were mending themselves, and the bleeding was stopping.

"How are you doing that?" Narcissa asked in amazement.

"I'm not." Lucius denied.

The two students shared a look of bewilderment, then looked down at the bloody hand on Lucius's.

"How can she focus enough to produce magic like this with a wand that isn't her own?" Narcissa wondered out loud.

Lucius stayed silent, but this time he knew the answer; she wasn't using her own magic. She was using his magic through him, he could feel it.

As the wound closed more and more, Hermione's breathing got deeper and steadier.

"We're here, is the Mudblood dead yet?" Carrow asked as she calmly walked into the dormitory, but stopped at the sight of Lucius's body crouched over Hermione.

"L-Lucius."

Reality crashed into Lucius's conscious. At the sight of the bleeding girl, Lucius had momentarily forgotten who she was, who he was. He was so absorbed in making sure that this girl would be alright that he'd shown unforgivable weakness. He slowly removed himself from Hermione Evans's body, making sure not to react hastily as if he was caught doing something wrong. It would simply aggravate the situation and cause even more suspicion.

Narcissa's eyes went from Lucius to Alecto Carrow's suspecting gaze. She removed his hand from Hermione and stomped up to Carrow. She said no words, but her eyes were enough to tell Carrow that she was in big trouble. She took the potions out of her hands then quickly rushed back to the fallen girl.

Lucius stepped back and allowed Narcissa to open the bottle of Blood Replenishing Potion and tip the vial into the Mudblood's mouth.

"What were you doing?" Carrow asked the Head Boy.

He maintained a cold expression, trying to think of a good way to explain this situation, but he was coming up blank. He glanced up at Narcissa's grey eyes who was staring expectantly at him which made him want to look away in shame.

"I—"

Narcissa stood up and strode towards Carrow, "What are you doing?" She asked calmly, but everyone could hear that there was anger bubbling beneath the cool façade. "Did I not tell you that if that Mudblood died, then my sister would have gone to Azkaban and my engagement would be over?"

"I got the potions, like you asked."

"Yes, and you sure took your sweet time getting them." Narcissa spoke so sweetly, it was sickening. "Look at the blood on the floor! If it hadn't been for Lucius's brilliant magic, that Mudblood would have died and the Black name would be tarnished from Bella's imprisonment. No amount of money to the Board of Governors can cover up a murder charge on Hogwarts soil as long as someone like Dumbledore is in charge!"

The younger Black took a step closer, causing the older witch to step back—a universal sign of submission. Although Alecto Carrow was older, the Blacks had more power and status to their name.

"Do you know what my family would have done to yours if Bella was expelled and sent to prison because of your tardiness?" Narcissa asked softly. The threat lingered in the air unanswered, but there was no need. Everyone in the room knew what would have happened; anything and everything. That was the amount of power and influence the Blacks had in their society. They could remove the Carrows entirely from British Wizarding society if they so wished.

"Are you saying that Malfoy saved that whore, for you?" Carrow asked brazenly. She was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.

"Are you saying that he didn't?"

Carrow's eyes switched back and forth between Narcissa and Hermione Evans. The mudblood wasn't exactly conscious again, but she was breathing better and there was a slight pinkness to her skin once more, indicating that she would indeed be fine. Her eyes trailed to Lucius. The mudblood's blood covered his expensive robes and even splattered on the Head Boy's face, a stark contrast against his pale skin and hair. His eyes made contact with hers and a chill went down her spine. There was a coldness emanating out of those grey-blue eyes that made her want to shiver and hide.

"No. I'm sure he did it because he loved you, Narcissa." Carrow hollowly admitted. There was not an ounce of belief in her own words, but nevertheless, the statement was made and they would have to leave it at that. For now.

"Go take my sister to the Hospital Wing." Narcissa pointed to her unconscious sister. "Say that she was practicing her dueling with your brother and got stupefied."

Without another word, Carrow and the other girls filed out of the room with Bellatrix's levitated body in tow. The only ones left in the room was an unconscious Hermione Evans, Lucius, and Narcissa.

"If you ever embarrass me like that again…" Narcissa trailed off, her voice shaking at the end. She stopped and composed herself. "What ever it is you feel for her: stop."

"I don't feel anything for her."

"DON'T you dare. I saw you! I saw the look in your eyes!" Narcissa put her hand out, refusing Lucius's futile denial. "Remove the protection you have around her."

"Then she will die."

"That is none of your concern!"

"You just told Carrow—"

"I did that for you!"

The two stared at each other, shocked to see the flood of emotions that ran across each other's face. One of jealousy, anger, and betrayal. The other with panic, concern, and relief.

"I made a promise. I am a man of my word."

"Your word to this Mudblood is more important than maintaining your fiancée's pride?"

After a pause that felt much longer than it actually was, Lucius replied, "Both are important."

Narcissa clenched her teeth and looked away to hide the tears that welled in her eyes. That was not the answer she wanted nor needed. She took one deep breath of composure, then turned around again.

"You'll be late for your Quidditch game, my love. I'll stay with your Mudblood until she regains consciousness."

"She not my Mudblood." Lucius fervently rebutted to his fiancée, but he was ignored. With one last glance at his future wife and the mudblood, he exited the room and headed to the Quidditch pitch.

…

Hermione's eyes blinked open to an unfamiliar sight. For a moment she didn't know if she was dreaming or really awake.

"You're up." Someone spoke to her, leaning into her peripheral vision.

"Narcissa Malfoy?" Hermione croaked.

"No…not a Malfoy yet."

Hermione frowned, the haze in her mind not fully disappeared yet. Suddenly, she sat up quickly, gasping in fright and clutching her shoulder where Bellatrix had delivered her blow.

"You lost a lot of blood and the cut was deep, but you should be okay now." Narcissa told her calmly, as she sat up from the edge of the bed. "If you're better now, I'll get going. I'm late for the game."

Hermione nodded, until her eyes saw the large dark stain on the wooden floor.

Narcissa followed her eyes, "You lost a lot of blood. I tried getting rid of as much as I could, but it wouldn't come off."

"Blood is difficult…" Hermione muttered knowingly before scanning her surroundings to note that she was still in the 7th year Girl's dormitory in Slytherin's dungeon. On the bedside table were empty potion bottles, her wand and her clothes that Bellatrix had forced her to remove.

At least they didn't have any blood stains on them.

"How long until the Quidditch game starts?" she asked as she slowly set her foot off the bed and started getting dressed.

"It's already started, it's been around 15 minutes?"

"Oh fuck, I'm late." Hermione hurriedly threw her clothes on, but abruptly stopped as she felt extremely light-headed, causing her to sway where she stood. Pain pulsed in her right shoulder and arm as she tried to pull on her shirt. Surprisingly, Narcissa gave her a helping hand, making sure to move gently and slowly to prevent any further injury.

Hermione looked up at the girl's blank face, "Thank you. For everything." She told her sincerely. Narcissa Black was a vain and arrogant girl, but it didn't necessarily make her evil. Hermione would forever be thankful to the girl in front of her for saving Harry in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Narcissa eyes flitted down to Hermione's almost bare body. Her pale skin had a surprising number of scars, most likely from Bella's assaults in the past before her fiancé's decree. Neither accepting or declining her thanks, Narcissa finished helping her get dressed, then moved to the exit. She paused at the doorway and turned to Hermione.

"Leave the magical world when you can." Her voice was soft, there was no threat or malice in her words. "It's not personal, take it as cautionary warning. There are people in this world who will stop at nothing to see your kind disappear. It's a level of hatred that you won't be able to handle."

Hermione stared at the bloodstain on the floor, "I know."

…

Hermione watched as the students filed into the castle after the Quidditch Cup finals was over. Gryffindor vs. Slytherin; the biggest match of the year against the two rival houses. It was possible that every single student had gone to the match, except Damocles Belby and herself.

"Oi, are you listening?" Belby snapped his fingers in her direction. Hermione turned her head back to the work she'd been previously doing. The long table was filled with various prepped ingredients, swirling flasks, and bubbling cauldrons. Inventing a potion was incredibly tedious and cumbersome, but pretending not to know how to make it was even more exhausting.

"Huh?"

"You're 20 minutes late, and now you're distracted." Belby tutted and shook his head. "I said, how are we going to stabilize a reactive ingredient like wolfsbane?"

"I'll think about it, but I think we have to stop. The game is done."

Belby peered over her shoulder to look out the window.

"Alright, we'll stop here for today." Belby cast a long-duration stasis charm on their latest batch, then carefully gathered up all their notes in the correct order.

"Who do you think won?" Hermione asked.

"Well for my sake, I hope its Slytherin. If not, the common room is going to be painfully depressing."

The two of them packed their belongings and exited the room. They walked distantly from each other, in case someone saw them, but the halls were empty.

Hermione slowed her pace to match his.

"I bet 5 galleons that Gryffindors won." She suddenly prompted.

"I bet 10 galleons that Gryffindors won."

Hermione let out a small laugh, "That's not how betting works."

"I never bet on the losing side. Why else would I risk becoming a social outcast by doing this potion with you?"

"Gee thanks," Hermione responded sarcastically, rolling her eyes, but smiled at the backhanded compliment nonetheless. She turned back around to walk properly, but stopped at the sight of white blond hair at the end of the hall.

"Fuck." Belby swore, clearly having seen Malfoy as well.

Hermione whole-heartedly agreed with his reaction. Her blood loss caused her memory to haze, but she remembered his face, his voice, his magic, and his touch. A part of her wanted to turn around and walk the other way, but it would be too obvious that she was avoiding him.

Belby seemed to have come to the same conclusion as she did, his steps getting smaller and smaller as he approached the Head boy.

"Relax, it's not like we were caught snogging." Hermione spoke quietly. "We're just walking."

"Yeah, walking and talking. Oh, and you also just fucking smiled. You smiling is equivalent to seeing two enemies up against the wall and snogging." Belby spoke through a clenched jaw.

The closer they got, they could read Malfoy's facial features clearer and clearer. His grey eyes were filled with suspicion as they shifted between them. His brows were furrowed with distain and his lips curled with disgust.

"Malfoy, how was the game?" Belby gave a convincing smile to his fellow Slytherin Housemate, as Hermione attempted to walk past them like any other student would, but Malfoy stuck his arm out, stopping her at her place.

"We lost." Malfoy responded to Belby's question monotonously, but continued to look down his nose at Hermione. She tried to duck under Malfoy's arm, but this time, he pointed his wand towards her. He didn't say the words, but Hermione knew he was asking 'where the fuck do you think you're going?'

"Can I help you?" Hermione asked, finally looking up at him.

Belby's eyes quickly jumped from Malfoy to Hermione. This was his chance, "I'm going to console my friends on the Quidditch team. I'll see you, Malfoy."

"Belby?" Lucius called out. "You and I will talk later this evening in the common room and you will not make me come find you."

"Right." Belby mouthed a 'good luck' at her then ran off, trying to get as far from boy who looked as if he had bubbling rage within him.

The second Belby was out of earshot, Lucius turned to her with a furious look on his face. "Where the hell do you think you're—"

He was cut off when a small group of Hufflepuffs in Gryffindor gear coming from the quidditch pitch. The students recognized the odd duo and stared, but a single lift of Malfoy's brow made them scurry away.

"Why are you walking around? You almost died."

Hermione raised her brows, acting visibly shocked. "How do you know that?"

"What do you mean, how do I know that?" Lucius let out an exasperated laugh. "I was the one who helped you!"

"Did you? I only saw your fiancée when I woke up." Hermione maintained her confused and clueless look, knowing that Malfoy was searching for a hint of a lie.

"She…" He choked. "She did help you." He conceded.

"I told her that I am grateful. She may be your fiancée, but I don't believe I need to extend my thanks to you as well."

Lucius had left the game immediately after the Gryffindor seeker caught the snitch to make sure he could beat the crowds to check up on her, but apparently his concern was wasted. She looked completely different from the dying girl that he saw just before he left for the game. She was still quite pale and the normal healthy flush hadn't fully returned to her face, but she was talking and standing and breathing. Just the sight of her made him wonder what he was so upset for in the first place.

"Hermione!"

Hermione's twin sister and her roommates making their way back into the castle. She opened her mouth to tell Malfoy that he should get going, but the boy was already walking away in long strides.

Gryffindor students, as well as students who supported Gryffindors, walked up and down the halls, screaming, shouting, and whooping like mad to celebrate the victory. At the center of the crowd was the Gryffindor Quidditch team, being praised like kings. Enjoying the moment at the center of it all, next to Captain McLaggen, was Sirius who whooped louder than anyone else.

The only person missing from all the celebrations was James Potter.

"I'm guessing you guys won?" Hermione smiled at her sister and the Gryffindor party approached her. "Congratulations."

According to the detailed accounts given by the overly zealous Gryffindors, namely Lyana and Marlene, the Gryffindors won by a close 20 points. Apparently, her own House had attempted many dirty tactics, but Gryffindors triumphed at the end when the replacement Seeker finally caught the Snitch.

"Come to the victory party."

Lily gave her the best puppy eyes she could produce.

"I don't think…"

"Come on, Hermione. Your House already hates you, how much more hate could you possibly get by coming our victory party?" Lyana threw her arms around Hermione's shoulder. Hermione had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from crying out in pain as her damaged shoulder was pulled by Lyana's strong arms.

"Lya!" Lily's roommates scolded the girl for her bluntness.

"No, she's right." Hermione agreed.

"See?!"

"But won't the rest of the Gryffindors not want me there?" Hermione protested as she inconspicuously slipped out of Lyana's arms.

"Oh, nonsense! You're probably the one Slytherin that is welcome!" Mary waved away Hermione's protests. "The more the merrier!"

The group agreed with Mary's statements. They surrounded Hermione from all sides as they pushed and pulled Hermione along despite her objections.

Lily smiled at her sister's predicament, but was glad her friends were really opening up to her. She would normally never pressure Hermione into something that was so clearly outside her comfort zone, but today was a good day and she really wanted to celebrate it with her sister.

"Please, Hermione?" Lily pouted.

They'd argued after the boggart incident. Lily wanted to know who Ron was, why he was trying to kill her, and most importantly, why she almost let him. Her sister was insistent and demanding, so Hermione told her the same thing she told Professor Goldstein; "a character from horror tv show". It was a laughable excuse, but she'd bullied her sister into accepting it as truth.

Hermione took one look at Lily's green eyes and knew there was no way she could refuse any longer.

Lily hadn't smiled at her since that argument, so seeing her now, giving her that look and that smile, she knew she lost the fight. She allowed the girls to pull her up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower. The group stopped at the portrait of the Fat Lady, and swung the door open to revealing the Gryffindor common room in 1973.

…