THREE
Wednesday, 16 September 2020
Hermione shifted in her seat as Professor Riddle took a look at her list of potential career options. He was behind the desk in his office, reclining in the chair enough so that he could prop his feet up on his desk. She sat on the opposite side, feet planted on the floor, knees pressed together, hands wringing in her lap. Her eyes were glued to his face, trying to gage his thoughts as he read it. While he might have had the best poker face in the world, she had learned to read his barely there expressions over the years.
"You crossed off one thing," he said after a moment, finally looking up at her.
"I told you it wasn't many," she countered, offering a small smile.
"You said some," he reminded her. "Some implies more than one."
She drew a deep breath and smiled sheepishly, wiping her palms on her knees. "How am I supposed to choose when I don't really know what each one is about?" She shook her head as she leaned forward to take her list from him. "As a Muggle, I would have had college to explore my options."
"Let me guess," he said, lacing his fingers together across his lap as he quirked a brow at her. "You had a similar list of Muggle jobs before you ever learned you were a witch."
She narrowed her eyes at him, distantly aware that he was making fun of her on some level. "Of course," she replied, choosing to rise above it.
"And what was at the top of that list?"
"Veterinarian," she answered without hesitation.
His smile was soft as he swept a hand in her direction. "Then why not go for the magical equivalent and talk to Professor Hagrid about your options?"
It sounded so simple when he said it and it felt right, but there was still something that held her back. "But what if I start down that path and find that I don't like it?"
"Then you start over with something else," he said. "The same as if you were going to college and you changed your major halfway through."
Hermione leaned back in her chair and sighed heavily, her eyes roving over her list nonstop. "What if I never like any of them?" she asked, her right leg beginning to bounce with nervous energy. "What if-"
"Hermione…"
Her eyes snapped up to his, watching as he lowered his legs to the floor so he could scoot forwards and fold his arms over the desk.
"You should go with your gut," he told her. "You're brilliant; even smarter than I was at your age. You can do whatever it is that you set your mind too. I know that you want to know everything about this world and I understand. But you have to know your limits. If you stretch yourself too thin trying to do it all, you'll never be happy with your choices." He stretched his hand out, beckoning his fingers in askance for the list again. She handed it over and watched as he searched it for something. "Here," he said after a moment, pointing to an item about halfway down. "You wrote 'care for magical creatures' twice; the first one being at the top of the list."
Hermione's eyes flickered up to the top of the parchment where, sure enough, the career option was written the first time. She blinked rapidly in surprise. Of all the times she had pulled out that list, stared at it, agonized over it, added to it, she had never realized that had been listed more than once. "Oh," she murmured, a small smile on her face as she took a deep breath. "I suppose that settles it then."
He set the list down on the desk and shrugged. "Talk to Professor Hagrid. He can tell you more about your options. Perhaps he can even arrange for you to talk to others within the field."
Hermione perked up at that, the smile that took hold of her lips stretching so far her cheeks began to hurt. "He's mentioned he and Newt Scamander get together on occasion. I would love the chance to pick his brain about a few things."
"See?" he said, smiling back at her as she reached for the list. "Five second after making a choice and you're already excited."
"I couldn't have made it without you," she said as she got to her feet, stashing her list in the front pocket of her bag in the process.
He rose from his chair as well, knowing that their tutoring session for the night was already over. It had ended right before he asked for her list, something she had hoped he would have forgotten about. "You had already picked it," he said, making his way around the desk. "I just helped you realize it."
"Either way, thank you," she said as they moved towards the door of his office.
He extinguished the candles within with one simple flick of his wand before they stepped into the hall. It was followed by another movement to lock his office door. They stood in front of it, facing one another for a moment, silence settling over them. "There was no right or wrong answer when it came to that list," he said when the silence became too much for them. "You would have excelled at all of them."
"Thank you," she said again, warmth spreading to her face, making her turn away from him slightly. "I'll talk to Professor Hagrid tomorrow and let you know what he says."
"I look forward to the report."
She knew they were lingering now, trying to keep the conversation going because neither of them wanted to leave. But before either of them could think of anything to add, Professors Snape and McGonagall turned the corner. They both took a half step apart from each other before they turned to greet the others.
"Ah, still carrying on with your tutoring sessions?" McGonagall asked.
"I need them now more than ever with NEWTs coming up, Professor," Hermione said.
McGonagall's chuckle was soft. "Oh dear, if there was ever a student who did not need help, it would be you. Of course, it would make more sense if you had a tutor who's lessons were more in line with your career goals."
"I appreciate that," Hermione replied, careful not to look over at Professor Riddle. "But I would rather be over prepared for things I hope to never encounter than blindsighted should the occasion arise."
Snape simply rolled his eyes while McGonagall's smile never wavered. "You really are too smart for your own good. Now off to bed, Miss Granger. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."
She gave a nod at the three of them, unable to keep her gaze from lingering on Riddle for a moment. "Goodnight Professors," she said and then turned to take her leave, her heart thundering in her chest as she hurried all the way back to her dorm for the night.
Saturday, 19 September 2020
Hermione should have known better than to trust Draco and Harry's definition of "just a few." Yet, she had gone and done it anyway. She tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, hoping that their hosting a party had just traveled by word of mouth. It would make her far less angry at the fact there were so many people in the common area of the Head's dorm she could barely move. Aside from the promise that she wouldn't have to lift a finger to clean up the next day, the only thing that kept her from reporting her own party was Draco tapping into his elite stash of Firewhiskey.
After a few shots of that, Hermione was much more open to the idea of being surrounded with people.
A few more and she was even having fun.
For the most part, she knew all of those in attendance and was glad to see that it was only Fifth years and above. However, as she went about the room, striking up a conversation with whoever crossed her path, she realized not everyone knew what the party was for. It confirmed her theory of people just wanting to get out and have a good time. It kept the attention off of her at least, which, if she were honest, was the real reason she hadn't wanted a party in the first place.
But it didn't matter how much Ogden's Finest was flowing through her system, when her limit for social interactions had been reached, she wanted the solace of her own space to recharge. Only, when she stepped into her room, she found that her bed was already occupied by not one, but three other students. Too embarrassed to even make her presence known, she yanked the door closed and took leave of the party altogether.
It was a relief when she slipped out of the dorm and into the quiet halls of the castle. The contrast was like night and day, the silence almost as deafening as the party. She wandered the halls, one had stretched out, her fingers ghosting along the walls as she went. The slight chill in the air as fall settled into the Scottish Highlands made her wish she'd had her robes. Sure, she had her wand, but there were times when magic felt like a copout. If it got too cold, she would cast a warming charm. Until then, she allowed the cold to sober her up.
Hermione hadn't set out with a destination in mind, but it wasn't until she ended up turning down the same corridor as Riddle's office, she couldn't help but smile. She thought of their last encounter; the way they had stood outside the door, thinking of any reason that would allow them to linger, neither wanting to leave. She wondered what they would have said or done had Snape and McGonagall not come around the corner and interrupted them.
"Miss Granger?"
Hermione jumped at the sound of Riddle's voice from outside her head. She whirled around to face him, instantly regretting the sudden movement. She swayed on her feet, her hand flying out to grip the wall before she fell. Only, instead of stone beneath her fingers, she felt flesh as Riddle stepped forward to keep her upright. She blinked up at him, a sheepish smile on her face as his eyes narrowed, roving over her with concern.
"'Fessor Riddle," she mumbled.
His eyes widened as he realized she was drunk. "This is new for you."
"'S my birthday," she said, his grip tightening on her arm as she started to lose her balance again.
"And here I thought you would have wanted to remember such an occasion," he said.
Hermione's lips pulled into a pout at the tone of his voice. "As if you've never been blitzed before?" she countered, trying to pull away from his grasp.
He loosened his hold, but didn't relinquish it. Instead, he took a step towards his office, pulling her with him. "I have," he replied after using his wand to unlock the door. "But never in front of a professor."
Hermione tried to imagine what Riddle would look like with as many shots of Firewhiskey as she had taken. She was sure her brain wasn't doing reality justice, but it brought forth a bout of laughter all the same. One that he simply hummed at as he led her to his desk and sat her down upon in.
"Draco was right," she said after the laughter had ebbed.
One side of Riddle's mouth curved as he gave a soft snort. "Further proof you over indulged."
"I mean it," she said, her brows furrowing as he moved to the other side of his desk. She heard him rummage around for something, but didn't turn to watch, knowing it would be a bad idea to move. "He said I should loosen up."
She heard Riddle sigh from behind her; a moment before the sound of a drawer closing reached her ears. "It's one thing to blow off steam and another to change oneself entirely," he said as he came to stand in front of her again. "Surely you won't be doing the latter," he added, lifting a vial of Sober Up between them.
She made no move to reach for it, letting her gaze simply flicker over it before coming back up to lock with his instead. Her shoulders lifted half-heartedly as she shifted on the desk. "It's my birthday," she breathed.
He inclined his head, keeping his gaze level with hers. "So you've said."
Hermione's tongue darted out to wet her lips, an action that made her heart skip a beat as Riddle's eyes flickered down to track the movement. Her breathing became shallow as she continued to watch him, the grey of his eyes darkening considerably the longer he started at her. Without a word, her hand came up, but instead of going for the potion he held, she wrapped her fingers around his tie. There was a brief moment in which they both paused, but when it passed, he leaned in at the same time she tugged him forward.
Her legs parted further as he closed the fractional gap between them. She heard the clink of the vial landing on the desk as he let go of it in favor of settling his hands on her hips. He pulled her closer as he wedged himself between her thighs, his lips descending over hers.
It was like coming home. Like the smell of rain in the spring. Fresh air unlike anything she had ever encountered before.
Hermione's attraction to him had always felt wrong before. Indecent. But here, in this moment, with his hands on her waist, his lips moving in a hungry rhythm with her own, it had never felt more right.
She squeezed her eyes shut, choosing to concentrate on the heat of his hands as he dug his fingers into her hips to pull her closer. Savoring the way he tasted; a combination of the Firewhiskey on her tongue as well as a bit of sweetness. She marveled at the way they gained confidence with each passing second. And when the timid hesitancy of the moment had passed, Hermione saw stars.
It was the small moan that fell from her lips into their kiss that had him turning his head to the side to end it. Both of them stayed where they were, wrapped up in one another, panting to catch their breath. His fingers flexed against her hip as his forehead pressed against hers. She kept her eyes closed, knowing that if she opened them or moved in any way, it would be over.
"Hermione…"
"Don't," she breathed, her voice cracking as much as his. Tears gathered behind her eyes, threatening to spill past her lashes as she let go of his tie. It had been too perfect of a moment for him to turn around and tell her he regretted it. Even if that were the case, she wanted a moment to pretend.
Despite wanting nothing more than to stay in the confines of his arms, Hermione knew it was time to leave. Without a word, he stepped back to let her up. She felt his gaze on her as she took the potion from his desk and tipped it to her lips. When she was finished, she set the empty vial back down and turned to go. But instead of being able to, his fingers wrapped around her wrist, pulling her to a stop.
"Happy birthday," he whispered, the warmth of his breath ghosting over her skin as his lips sought her cheek.
Hermione looked up at him then, her eyes wide as she searched his gaze. She swallowed hard as she gave a nod as he let go of her wrist, allowing her to finally go.
A/N: well hello again! thank you for sticking with me on this one.
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