'I think-I think it's worked professor,' Hermione breathed shakily.
'I can feel-' she paused, not yet quite able to put into words what she had just felt beating away inside her. 'I can feel something,' she looked down at her chest, hoping her meaning would be clear and that McGonagall wouldn't make her spell it out. The thing inside her felt unnatural and yet, it was a part of her now. One part of her anyway.
Together the two witches rose to stand, Hermione a little unsteady on her feet at first causing McGonagall's hands to reach over to steady her but Hermione just shook her head, 'I'm ok, really, I just feel a little.. odd.'
She pulled her cloak snugly around her, shoulders shaking a little with the cold and stormy night. She felt the cold all the more after what her body had just been put through. McGonagall waved her wand, wordlessly reinforcing her earlier warming charm.
They had already spoken about what she must now do. Firstly, Hermione would need to trust the potion had worked as it should. This was not the kind of magic to blindly follow, they had been meticulous in their planning and timing and had to now trust their efforts had not been in vain.
She would also need to have a great deal of trust in herself, she would need it for what came next.
McGonagall stepped away, closer to the railing and clasped her hands around it, leaning on it to look out over the grounds and into the night. 'When you are ready Miss Granger, close your eyes. It may take some patience the first time, but the form you will take should eventually present itself to you.'
She didn't feel too much anticipation at McGonagall's words, from her reading on the subject Hermione knew that it was almost always the case a witch or wizard's Patronus would take the same form as their Animagus, should they ever wish to attempt to become one.
Thanks to their training under Harry in the DA last year, Hermione, and roughly thirty other students, could now produce a Patronus charm years beyond when they otherwise would have learnt to do so.
Since she had managed that charm already, Hermione had only a half hope of becoming something other than the sea otter that usually sprung from the tip of her wand, swimming through the air in a silvery streak.
In its own way, it could be an invaluable animal to transform herself into. Being capable of traveling by both land and water did resonate with her as practical and, as McGonagall had pointed out on more than one occasion, it could greatly help her with her other task.
There were numerous drains and pipes that wound through and around the walls of the Hogwarts dungeons, and given she needed to keep close to Draco without arousing suspicion, the professor had quite rightly pointed out that being able to get around without necessarily being seen might come in very useful. Still, Hermione was not looking forward to wading through the castle sewers on a regular basis.
But, useful though it may be, and this could have been her Gryffindor pride surfacing, Hermione couldn't help hoping her soul would want her to take a more impressive form. A lion or one of the larger jungle cats would be very in keeping with her house and the majesty of becoming something so beautiful and grand did appeal to her, though she did acknowledge the complete impracticality of attempting to live as an unregistered lion Animagus roaming around the school.
She also thought hopefully about something that flew like an owl or bird. That would mean she could easily fit in without causing any undue suspicion around the castle and grounds. It would also make a pleasant change to fly without feeling sick the whole time her feet were not on the ground.
In her reading she had even come across some wizards who hypothesised that, although never proven outright, it could theoretically be possible to take the form of a creature as opposed to a commonplace animal. Hermione half hoped she would be the first to do so. Wouldn't that be an impressive achievement, she thought.
'Miss Granger, do not be afraid. Close your eyes.' McGonagall repeated her previous instruction gently.
Hermione took a deep breath and, much sooner than she had expected she would have the courage to do so, closed them.
She tried to empty her thoughts, clearing her mind and letting only a blank canvas remain in their wake. Her mind unfocussed itself and she concentrated on nothing except the steady breathing she was attempting to maintain.
From the darkness of her thoughts it came. First, there was just a formless blur, the faintest edges of.. something
Steadying the rhythm of her breathing, she began to notice the slight trail of a body. A long and slim body, its tail curled around it like a blanket. Whatever it was it seemed to be sleeping.
She saw feet and legs, they were tucked under the animals body but looked strong. She couldn't quite yet tell its size, she could have been looking at a sleeping lion from a far distance or something much, much smaller if it was close up.
Its tail flicked slightly and then the texture of the animal came into focus. At first, she thought she saw scales but they soon softened into a velvety sort of fur. The animal stretched and as it planted its paws to stand and she thought she saw dragon-like talons scratch the ground but on closer inspection the claws were closer in both size and length to Crookshanks'. The object of her attention turned its head to face her direction and began to move closer.
As the creature approached she realised it would be small after all. There were no wings beating behind away behind its back, and what had initially looked to be large spikes protruding from its head turned out to be whiskers. Soft, pale, silvery whiskers that framed its gentle face as they looked at each other in the space of her mind. Slowly, the creature came into the full light of her awareness and stood before her nothing at all hidden now so she could fully appreciate it for what it was.
Hermione breathed out a sigh of relief that she hadn't expected to feel and smiled. It felt like she was just greeting an old friend.
The image of her Patronus, her guardian, stood before her very real and full of everything that made up who she was. The otter regarded her with a curious yet welcoming gaze, and continued to grow larger in her mind until very little space was left for anything else. Eventually, it became so close to her that all she could now see of it were its warm brown eyes and she was touched to find they looked identical to her own. As the dark hazel of its irises became the only thing left she could focus on, her thoughts once again emptied into completely darkness and Hermione opened her own eyes again for the first time.
She was startled to find she was back down on the floor, her line of sight level with the hem of McGonagall's cloak.
On the floor before her rested a pair of small paws, dotted with the smallest claws at their tips and as she blinked in bewilderment she saw a collection of silvery whiskers feathering the sides of her vision.
Hermione froze in place, panic setting in and causing her to crouch low. She tried to wiggle her toes and found they felt like they were stuck in a binding glue, pushed together and not responding to her commands at all. Looking underneath to examine her feet closer, she saw both sets of toes were completely webbed together and between her legs a small furry tail was nervously tucked under.
Hermione's head darted around wildly. Her panic was rising by the second and she didn't know what to do except crouch lower to the floor.
A rustle of fabric caught her attention and she looked up to see McGonagall swiftly transform into a large tabby cat. The cat, or rather McGonagall, slowly moved towards where Hermione lay and settled down next to her. McGonagall looked incredibly comfortable and without any of the panic and confusion Hermione felt.
They stayed like that for some time and it was clear McGonagall was not going to go anywhere until Hermione was ready. She knew the professor would stay with her all night if need be.
It was only after a good while that Hermione noticed she no longer shivered with the cold. Where her fingers had turned white as their clasped around her cloak, her furry limbs remained clam and still, albeit a little tense having never been used before. To her surprise she found she was pleasantly warm.
Deciding she needed to pull herself together, Hermione stood on her fours and began to hesitantly take steps. The feeling of using her new body was so foreign and although it didn't exactly feel unnatural it was definitely clear these were her first little steps in this new form. She must have looked like she was moving in slow motion and internally she found it a comfort to giggle mentally at herself a little. McGonagall, as patient as ever, had rose to sit but had not yet moved otherwise. She was simply allowing Hermione the space she needed to get used to her new body.
Hermione seemed to still have most of her cognitive abilities, although not quite enough to fully control her emotions. It was like she was the passenger in a car, she could see and experience the ride much the same as the driver, she just didn't quite have full control. Her body moved on instinct rather than what she necessarily wanted it to do.
She encouraged her legs to walk a little faster and after some time they began to do so. Initially she started to walk in small circles, not veering too far from McGonagall, then once she had her balance and the feel of it down she began to increase her walk to a faster run, pacing back and forth across the tower, her paws making an almost imperceptible pitter patter as she did so.
As her confidence grew she began to actually enjoy the strange feeling in this new body. Well, it wasn't new exactly, it was technically still her body.
She moved towards the stairs and waited for McGonagall who had been eyeing her carefully. She waited at the top stair, looking back to her professor indicating she was ready to take the next step, in this case literally.
Together student and teacher, otter and cat, made their way slowly, and carefully, down to the bottom of the tower.
Already this was going much better than either had expected. McGonagall had explained most wizards usually would not maintain hardly any control of themselves the first time and in some cases not for the first couple of transformations. Hermione certainly didn't feel in control as such, but the initial bout of fear and panic had faded and she was now eager to explore the world in her new body.
They wandered around the castle perimeter keeping close to the walls, the shadows in the dark at this time of night ensured they were sufficiently covered should anyone spot them.
From a distance, and walking next to McGonagall, Hermione was fairly confident anyone who did spot them would just mistake her for another, slightly smaller, cat.
They were soon making their way down to the boathouse where the slope of the stairs started to get quite steep towards the bottom. Hermione's long body made it easy for her to continue hopping down each stair in turn, however McGonagall leapt gracefully up to walk along the wall that followed the stairs down.
They arrived at the docking area to find just a few boats tethered to their posts. A bright glow of a nearby lantern was their only source of light, yet Hermione found she could see rather well even as she moved to the far end of the dock. McGonagall stayed a few feet back, sitting and regarding Hermione with a curious expression.
She glanced down into the black depths of the water and a faint glimmer of her reflection looked back at her. It was too dark to see any real detail but she was strangely happy with what she did see. Unlike her Polyjuice mishap in second year, when the sight of her half deformed face and body had made her burst into tears, this time she looked completely natural, quite cute even.
The storm overhead had begun to pass and the rumble of thunder was growing more distant by the hour. She looked back at McGonagall first to see if her professor thought this was a bad idea but found her perched on a nearby shelf, her tail dangling over the edge and flicking contentedly, perfectly happy to sit there while Hermione took her new self out for a spin.
Shelooked back at the water, then up to the sky and down again before she plopped, not at all gracefully, into the water making the smallest of splashing as she did. She found herself naturally able to float there without having to constantly tread water with her feet and hovered on the surface for a few minutes, paddling her four paws to get the knack of it but soon realised her motion was better controlled with her body and tail. She used the force of her tail to propel herself forward, paws instinctively tucking themselves in close to her, and was amazed at the speed she was able to pick up with what felt like hardly any effort on her part. She only swam initially up and down the stretch of water that ran the middle of the boathouse dock between the rows of paddle boats. As the sensation began to feel more and more natural, and reacting instinctively to her body's desire to explore, Hermione decided to be brave.
She tucked all her paws in close and with a quick turn of her back she dove down into the depths of the black lake.
Friday morning came and Hermione woke to the sound of muffled chattering beyond her drapes. The familiar smell of vanilla and rose told her three things: first, she was back in her dormitory. Secondly that Ginny, usually the latest to rise, was up and ready for breakfast. Ginny always put on a small amount of perfume right before leaving for the great hall which Hermione suspected was for Harry's benefit since he had once mentioned he liked the fragrance on her. Lastly, and upon the realisation she threw herself out of the covers, Hermione was very late.
She practically fell over own her feet in her rush to the bathroom. In her haste she completely missed Ginny, who was on her own way out, almost knocking her backwards as ran past.
'Merlin- mmm-mione!' Ginny mumbled incoherently, she had a hair tie held between her lips and had been in the process of tying her hair up before Hermione had bumped into her arm, causing Ginny's long red hair to spill back across her shoulders again. She gathered it back into her hands and rounded on her friend prepared to yell, but Hermione was already shouting back to her, 'Sorry Ginny! I've slept in!'
Ginny rolled her eyes, 'No kidding..' she replied sarcastically. She paused in the doorway, watching as Hermione whipped around the bathroom at lightning speed; one hand already working her toothbrush away in her mouth furiously, her other gathering her brush and hair ties out of her bag. 'Where were you all night?'
'Library,' Hermione replied breathlessly, rinsing her mouth and moving onto her hair. The brush dragged and caught on something that had matted itself between her curls. She turned her back to Ginny as she wrestled with what looked like a weed tangled up in her hair and brush. It put up a good battle before she eventually pulled it out. Turning back to Ginny, Hermione found her wearing a worried expression with her nose wrinkled.
'Hermione, I don't mean to sound awful but you smell a bit... odd,'
'I know, I know- I need a shower but I'm late enough as it is and I've got charms in less than half an hour.' she muttered, scraping her hair back our of her face and rushing back into the dorm to change into her robes for the day. She was laying out her skirt and tights on the bed when Ginny coughed to get her attention.
'Unless you're going to die of hunger before lunch, I'd grab a wash first, and I'm not saying that to be nasty I'm saying it as a friend.. a friend who really cares but who also needs to walk away right now,' Ginny laughed, pinching her nose together.
When she had left Hermione threw her head back in exasperation and grudgingly went over to turn the water on for what would need to be the quickest shower of her life.
She supposed she should be grateful for Ginny's honesty, she knew she stunk of mud and pond water from swimming in the lake all night and it wouldn't do well for her to raise suspicions already. Plus, she wasn't the most feminine girl but she still had some standards for herself and knew she'd be distracted during charms if she was half listening out for people whispering behind her back.
She and McGonagall had initially planned for her to spend the day resting in her room but as her transformation back into herself had gone much smoother than expected, managing it on only her third try, they had agreed she could still attend her classes today. She had not expected to feel so normal on changing back. McGonagall had prepared her for all the possible side effects; fatigue, dizziness, vomiting, headaches.. But she had none of those. The only discomfort she had this morning was her eyes, which strained tiredly against the morning sun, although the fact that she had only managed two hours sleep probably accounted for that.
Twenty minutes later, smelling much fresher and books clutched in her arms, Hermione sped out of the common room heading towards the third floor. She cast a drying charm on her hair as she sped down the stairs, feeling much better once it had stopped dripping onto the cover of her textbook.
As she rounded the last corner before the classroom she nearly tripped over someone huddles down low on the floor.
'Ron!' she yelled in surprise. He was knelt down and looked to be fastening his shoelaces, eyes down and completely oblivious to the obstruction he was causing.
'Oh, sorry Hermione,' Ron said, standing up and brushing himself off before straightening his robe.
'Were you waiting there hoping someone'd fall over you?'
He mumbled back something that sounded like 'my laces', then together they made for class. The rest of their classmates had already filed in before them and were sat in their seats.
They both looked expectantly towards Harry but he and Neville were together on a larger table with Dean and Seamus. The desks either side of their usual one were taken as well so they shuffled towards two seats on the back row which were now the only ones left. Pansy and Draco occupied the two desks across the aisles either side of them, Pansy in the far right corner and Draco mirroring her on the left, both sat alone and as far from each other as possible, now with Hermione and Ron on the large desk between them.
'Weird,' Ron whispered as they took their seats, shooting a fleeting glance at the former Slytherin couple. There was clearly still tension between the two and neither made any of the usual snide remarks to Hermione or Ron, as had become customary whenever they were within a few feet of each other.
'How come you weren't at breakfast this morning?'
'I slept in,'
Ron's jaw dropped in mock horror. 'You're kidding? First time in five years, how come?'
Hermione was grateful for Professor Flitwick's cough grabbing their attention for the start of the lesson so she could keep her lie to a harmless three word reply, 'Library last night.'
Ron didn't even question it.
The lesson was spent teaching them the basics of water conjuring. Hermione couldn't remember a time she had ever missed sitting next to Harry more than that morning.
'Aquar-menti,' Ron cast. Hermione lifted the cup she had been keeping steady for him up to cover her face, just in time as large balls of cold water started shooting from Ron's wand, flying towards her. Professor Flitwick was doing his rounds of the classroom to see how they were getting on, most of the students had started to control their conjured water into a thin stream that was now steadily filling each of the cups they had been assigned as partners.
Keeping the charm constant seemed to be most everyone's biggest problem, as the stream from their wands would stop every few seconds like a tap switched off, and they would need to keep recasting.
Flitwick had promised a box of Honeyduke's chocolates to the first student who managed to fill their cup to the top. Hermione sighed and was resigned to the fact she probably wouldn't even get a chance to try for any prize today.
After she had managed a sufficient enough attempt to begin filling their cup on her second try, they had decided to make sure Ron at least got up to the same level with the spell everyone else had before the lesson ended. He too had managed to conjure it on his second attempt but Ron was having difficulty controlling what type of form the water would come out in.
So far he had managed a few short squirts that flew feebly like a water pistol, then a slow drip which ran down the length of his wand forming a small puddle on his lap and the latest were large water balls that seemed to propel themselves into whatever direction they fancied, most of them making their way towards Hermione. She had tried to catch the ones she could in the cup but most just hit her instead.
Flitwick appeared at Hermione's side to oversee Ron's next attempt. The professor had a stern expression on his face that Hermione strongly guessed meant there was going to be extra homework headed in their direction if Ron fired any more water balls at her.
This time however, as Ron yelled clearly, though in Hermione's opinion a little too loudly, 'Aguamenti!' a strong jet of water flew hard and fast through the air from his wand as her held it like a hose. Hermione and Flitwick both ducked in time so the powerful jet spray hurtled passed them, across the back row of the classroom and straight into Pansy Parkinson's face.
The sheer force of it knocked her off her seat and she landed hard on her back, her own half filled cup flew through the air and spilled water over her whole desk, drenching her books and notes while Pansy shrieked and flailed on the floor trying to stand. 'TURN IT OFF!' she managed to screech between taking in mouthfuls of water.
Flitwick waved his wand and a clear shield threw itself between Ron's barrage and Pansy, giving her time to get to her feet and shuffle out of the way.
She was soaked through, her hair completely covering her face and looking as thought she had just emerged from a fully clothed swim.
Hermione grabbed Ron's wand and the spell ceased immediately. She laid it back on their table, shooting him a look that told him not to pick it up again, as Flitwick made his way over to check on Pansy. That was when the sniggering started and to her amazement it wasn't coming from the Gryffindor's at all.
'Anyone lost a drowned rat?' Malfoy asked. Nott and Zambini were sat in front of him and the pair turned around to grin nastily at his comment.
Pansy was looking around desperately for her wand and trying to wipe her hair from where it stuck plastered to her face. She grabbed it from the floor and in a shaky voice tried to cast a drying charm but her hand movements were completely wrong and she instead started shooting red sparks at herself. Pansy had never been the most talented student in their year and clearly under pressure she didn't perform well, the sparks shooting from her wand were becoming faster and more erratic the more the class laughed at her. She looked up at them all, probably hoping one of her friends would come to her aid but instead every Slytherin remained in their seat, continuing to snigger and smirk at her.
Flitwick moved to help, he cast the charm expertly and a gush of warm air started to dry Pansy off.
Hermione nudged Ron in the ribs, luckily he got the hint and, albeit half-heartedly, offered something of an apology.
'It was an accident, I didn't mean to-'
But Pansy wasn't even looking at him. She shot a pleading look at the desk behind them to Draco, who had his back to her and was laughing snidely at something Zambini had just whispered. Pansy's lip trembled then, without warning, she hastily grabbed her things and ran out of the classroom before Flitwick had finished drying her robes. Hermione was almost certain that she had seen tears starting to make their way down her cheeks.
She could only put what she did next down to a moment of madness, probably due to skipping breakfast and her head already being frazzled from the potion and subsequent transformation the night before. After Flitwick dismissed them, Hermione followed the the trail Pansy's still half-soaked robes had left on the floor and went to check on her.
To say she did not like Pansy was an understatement. The girl had bullied her without remorse for the last five years. The cruel jibes and comments aimed at both Hermione and most of her friends, had made Pansy one of only a few people Hermione truly hated. The usual gang of Slytherins attached like glue to Malfoy made up the rest of that number.
Still, Hermione was not a vindictive person, and though she was half prepared for the torrent of insults Pansy would probably throw her way, she remembered a time only a few years ago when she had ran crying to the girls toilets herself and only wished someone then had had the decency to think to check in on her. Enemy or not.
She followed the dripping trail to the girls bathroom and stopped just before the long row of cubicles when she couldn't see Pansy anywhere. She paused for a second not sure whether to call out or not when she heard the sniffling.
Pansy had locked herself in one of the furthest stalls and Hermione approached cautiously, still unsure exactly what she should say. How are you? seemed a bit redundant given the obvious.
As she walked up to the stall, she made sure her footsteps were as noisy as she could so Pansy would hear her approach and not be taken by surprise. Outside the door, she wasn't sure what to say so in the end decided to stay quiet. Pansy would know someone was there, that was all that mattered.
The crying continued for a few moments then Pansy quietly sniffled, 'Daph?'
Hermione froze for a moment then cleared her throat, 'Um-no. It's Hermione,'
Almost immediately, the sniffling ceased and the stall door flew open.
'What the hell do you want?' she spat. Her eyes were red and puffy, she had her wand tightly clutched in one hand and a bunch of crumpled tissues in the other.
'Nothing, I- I was just checking you were alright,' Hermione said briskly.
Pansy scowled, her face contorted with both confusion and contempt, 'What the hell for?'
'The rest of your lot didn't seem to care, you forget we're not all completely heartless.' Hermione shot back.
Pansy flushed bright red and started to raise her wand. Noticing, Hermione held her hands up quickly and turned to walk away. 'Ron didn't mean to it was just an accident,' she said over her shoulder.
Pansy scoffed. 'Sure it was, pathetic Weasley can't do anything right!'
Hermione didn't look back as she replied, 'And yet he can manage a simple drying charm easy enough.'
She ducked around the door just as she heard Pansy screech a stinging jinx at her back to find Harry and Ron waiting just outside for her.
'Now I know you're not about to tell us you went to see if Parkinson was ok..' said Ron.
She looked at them both and shrugged her shoulders. 'She ran out of there crying..'
'It was only an accident - jeez! I didn't aim it at her on purposes!' Ron protested. Harry chuckled a little but tried to stop himself when he saw Hermione glaring.
'Oh come on Hermione, it was funny, lighten up,' He tried to appease her but Hermione just rolled her eyes and started for the great hall. They all had a free period now and she hoped there would still be something left from breakfast the house elves hadn't cleared away yet, her stomach had started to rumble already and lunch was still hours away.
The two boys set off after her and she heard Harry mutter to Ron under his breath, 'Next time aim for Malfoy,'
Hermione was grateful the rest of Friday passed quickly. Ron and Harry both headed down to the pitch after their last lesson with Ginny in tow whilst she headed up to the library to cram the whole week's homework into one sitting, if she could manage it.
It was almost the weekend and she planned to spend as much of it as possible practicing her Animagus transformation. She wanted to get over her initial trepidation as soon as possible and longed for the time when the process would feel as natural to her as changing clothes, as Sirius had once described it. Once she had it under control, she would be able to make good on her promise to McGonagall to keep watch over Malfoy. The thought of getting close enough to spy on him unnerved her much less now that she knew it was possible without risk of being caught or recognised.
The evening wore on and the library grew quieter and quieter as students started to make their way down for dinner. She was the only one left when she realised the time and grudgingly began to pack her things away. She had only half a page of her ancient runes translation left to finish which she would easily find the time to fit in before bed, leaving her weekend wide open.
As she made her way to the hall, her hand throbbing from holding her quill for the last few hours, she was stopped by the sound of an all too familiar drawl.
'I heard you tried making a new friend today Granger,' said Malfoy. She turned to find him coming down the stairs, just a few steps behind her, both of them headed for dinner. He was alone and she thanked Merlin she didn't have to face the rest of his cronies as well, she was too tired.
'I don't know what you mean Malfoy,' turning back, she continued on her way but heard him follow.
'You and Parkinson. Bosom buddies now are you?' he laughed darkly.
'Hardly.' She quipped, trying to supress a yawn, suddenly realising both how tired she was and how much she wished Malfoy would leave her alone right now. To her complete frustration, he didn't.
'I don't know what's more pathetic,' he continued, the heels of his shoes clicked noisily on the floor as he kept pace behind her, 'Parkinson running off crying to the toilets like a complete brat or you desperately pouncing on any chance to play the hero..'
Hermione laughed, 'Or how about the sad little son of a death eater who's rotting away in prison? I'd say that's fairly pathetic, don't you think?'
She heard him seethe and turned around in time to see him draw his wand at her back. She just raised her eyebrows, in her exhausted state of mind she found she really didn't have the energy to be scared of him right now. It gave her an encouraging sort of confidence.
She walked back up the steps until the tip of his wand was aimed squarely at her chest and tilted her head up towards him, not being afraid to look him squarely in the eyes as she spoke, 'Or cursing someone when their back is turned?' She met his stare for a moment and then shook her head slightly, 'You really are just a coward Malfoy.' She made to turn her back and continue down the stairs.
Before she could, one of his hands shot out and grabbed the top of her arm, his fingers gripped it tightly keeping her firmly in place, not letting her look away from him as he leered down at her with a dark warning in his eyes,
He continued to stare at her threateningly, long enough to make her feel uncomfortable, before he said, 'You don't know the first thing about me Granger.' His grip tightened around her arm to the point she had to bite her tongue to stop herself crying out as he nipped her skin, 'You have no idea what I'm capable of.' She looked into his eyes and saw the implicit threat linger there, he wanted her to fear him and she was not going to give him the satisfaction.
Not dropping his gaze, she jerked her arm out of his grip and almost lost her footing on the stairs. She managed to take a few steps down, further away from him before a gaggle of first years came barrelling down the stairs.
In the middle of them, she saw a head of bright golden hair which she easily recognised as the boy she had helped on the first night. He beamed when he saw her, 'Hi Hermione!'
She smiled back, grateful for the excuse to escape Draco, and made her way down to dinner with the group, leaving him alone on the stairs though she still felt his eyes follow her even as she walked away.
Only when she sat down next to Harry in the hall for dinner did Hermione realise her wand was now in her hand. She stowed it back inside her robes, not fully remembering when she had drawn it. As she did, she couldn't help notice that where she had gripped its handle her knuckles had turned a stark white.
A/N: Thanks again for reading. The next few chapters will be where things start to turn a little darker, so stay tuned.