Secrets
Disclaimer: I do not own the HP Universe. The only things in this story I own are the plot and the Volaticus Panthera. Thank you!
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THOUGHT KEY: Hermione's thoughts… Snape's thoughts… Artemis' thoughts
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They began walking back, this time at a much more leisurely pace. Artemis was sleeping soundly in Hermione's gentle arms and it seemed as though everything was much more peaceful and beautiful now that they weren't afraid of walking into a trap. The trees above them filtered the sunlight, making a beautiful pattern around them and the sound of bird songs and Artemis' rhythmic purring created an almost sleepy milieu. She turned her head to look at Severus and saw that he had a small, content smile just barely curving his lips upward. She turned her head away quickly so he wouldn't notice and replace it with his usual scowl. However, she continued to steal glances at him out of the corner of her eye.
They walked through Hogsmeade, ignoring the strange looks they were getting. (Not too many folks go jogging toward the shrieking shack and then walk calmly back with a PANTHER, y'know?) Just as they were passing one of the local stores that she had not noticed before, Hermione stopped dead in her tracks. She approached the window, sighing. It was the most beautiful shirt she had ever seen… It was a dark, emerald green with bright gleaming white jewels embroidered into it in a spiraling pattern. It was a beautiful design, as well- tight enough to show a girls figure, but not so tight as to look tacky, with long sleeves that were open down her arms and closed tightly around her wrists. She looked at the tag and sighed again.
"Damn! 100 galleons? It must be made with real silk… and those must be real diamonds. It was even my size and everything!" she sighed and was about to turn and continue walking when she caught a glimpse of flowing black robes entering the shop. She stopped to wait and when he emerged she prepared to berate him.
"Here," he said, handing the bag to her. She opened it and saw the exact shirt that she had been admiring in the window and gasped. She opened her mouth but he held up a hand to silence her. "I know you wanted, you were practically drooling on their window. I told you I was going to buy you something today, and I did."
"But- this is far too expensive! What if the diamonds fall off? What if I lose it or it rips? It's much too extravagant for me…" she said, but, seeing that he was unwavering, clutched the handle of the bag in her hands and said, "Thank you."
"It was no problem," he said, "The money is not a factor, trust me."
"Well, now I have to follow this? I'm going to have to get you something spectacular," she said, "But what?"
He eyed her suspiciously. What have I started?
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They walked into Hogwarts and Artemis, sensing so many magical beings, uncloaked her wings and jumped to the floor. She looked around warily. Hermione smiled, already feeling an affinity with this animal. She kneeled next to her and stroked her back affectionately.
"It's okay Artemis. The people here are friends," Hermione said, and the cat immediately relaxed, "Good girl. Alright, so… I guess I'll be seeing you tonight?"
"I thought we might go and talk to Dumbledore about your new- friend," he replied, eyeing the creature.
"Oh! Of course, come on Artemis," Hermione said, walking with Artemis next to her. Surprisingly, she was only just barely larger than Crookshanks had been, but was in much better shape. As they walked up to the Headmaster's office, Artemis seemed to grow before their very eyes. By the time they reached the gargoyle statue, she was more than twice her original size. And then it dawned on Hermione.
"Oh- duh!" she exclaimed, "The Volaticus Panthera will not grow until it has met it's other half, at which point it will begin to grow at an extraordinary rate. Did you know that once it reaches its full size, the Volaticus Panthera is just a couple inches shorter than the original panther?" she continued this rate of speech even as the staircase ascended with them on it, "… They're nearly immortal, you know. They last many generations in a family… they're kind of like house elves, now that I think about it…"
"Hermione, if it will make you feel better about yourself, why don't you… I don't know…. Write a six foot essay on the Volaticus Panthera and ask hand it in?" he asked.
She actually seemed to ponder the idea for a moment, before Dumbledore opened the door to his office and beckoned them to enter. They complied, with Artemis still following them, very near her definite size. The top of her head now reached just below Hermione's waist. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at the creature, who took to the man immediately.
"I like him," a soft, dulcet voice suddenly said, making them jump.
They gaped at Artemis. "Excuse me?" Hermione stuttered.
"The old man… I like him. He has a good aura… so does the Dark One," Artemis said.
"You can talk?" she exclaimed, "I never read about that!"
"That's because no one ever let us stay around long enough to find out…" she said sadly, "And I can't actually talk- don't have any lips. What you're hearing is an open telepathic link. I also share a closed one with you, Hermione."
"Well… that's- that's-"
"Something you don't know!" Severus finished, "Finally!"
"I was going to say that it was really cool, but it's definitely something I didn't know," she said, "Which is pretty cool in itself. I don't get many surprises."
Artemis chuckled softly, as did Dumbledore. "You two are funny," Artemis said.
"Yes… well, Headmaster, we did come here for a reason," Severus said, composing himself, "We came to ask your opinion on what exactly to do with Artemis."
"What is there to do? You can't exactly hide her, Severus. The school will find out eventually," Dumbledore said, "So I suggest you get ready for dinner, as I'm sure you have- plans afterward, am I right?"
Hermione and Severus exchanged a glance that communicated one simple phrase. 'He knows…' They nodded and left the office, parting outside and going their opposite ways.
"So, Artemis, what do you like to eat?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, just about anything," she said, "I'm not too picky."
"I think you're going to love my friends," Hermione stated, grinning, "They're going to love you."
"You really think so?" Artemis turned her brilliant blue gaze up to Hermione, her eyes clearly displaying a blatant hope.
"Of course…" Hermione said, scratching the back of her neck lightly, making Artemis purr loudly.
Thankfully, there were no students around at this time and they made it to Gryffindor Common Room without incidence. However, entering it was a different story. As soon as they all saw Hermione they opened their mouths to bombard her with questions about her 'date', but when they saw her- ahem- companion, they fell silent. Hermione smiled. I told you they'd like you…
Sure doesn't seem like it.
Oh… just wait.
Sure enough, Harry and Ron were the first to break the silence and rushed over to Hermione. They hesitated a moment before Hermione nodded and they kneeled beside Artemis and began senselessly doting upon her. This created a general riot as everybody began fighting for a turn to approach the gorgeous black cat. Artemis had folded her wings into her back, so they were no longer in the way.
Hermione couldn't distinguish one question from the next so she finally held up her hands and cleared her throat. "Um... could I maybe sit down? I'll tell you everything I promise, if you'll just let me sit down."
They obeyed and soon Hermione was sitting in a large plush chair with Harry, Ron, Ginny, Seamus, Dean, Neville, Lavender, Parvati, Colin, Dennis, and about 7 other Gryffindors gathered around her. Artemis was lying at her feet, tail swishing contentedly. Many of the other Gryffindors had left, having only wanted to see the rare beast, not hear the origins and life story of it.
"Okay, to start off, her name is Artemis, after the Greek goddess of the wilderness. She is a Volaticus Panthera, which is Latin for Winged Panther. They are a breed thought to be extinct…" she noticed that Neville had his hand up, "Neville this isn't class, what is it?"
"If it's a 'winged' Panther, then where are its wings?" he asked.
Artemis unfolded her wings, flapped them once in an almost lazy gesture, before folding them once again into her back. "That answers that question," Seamus said.
"Right… Anyway, they're supposed to be extinct, though they obviously aren't. They possess strong magical powers and are immune to all spells and curses- yes, Harry, even the Unforgivables. They pass this trait on to their familiar, who will still be slightly affected by strong curses and not affected at all by weaker ones," she said, grinning when she noticed that none of them had lost interest, "Each Volaticus Panthera has only one person who is compatible with them and can be called their familiar. I found her in a tree after she controlled Sev- ah… Professor Snape's body and made it walk to the Shrieking Shack, actually. She just jumped into my arms."
"That thing jumped into your arms?" Dean exclaimed, "Ouch!"
"Oh, she was much smaller then! You see, they don't grow until they meet their other half and then they grow very, very fast," she said. Major Déjà vu!
Tell me about it… I really think your friends should read more often.
Welcome to my world! Hermione laughed to herself, wondering how she had managed to be worthy of such a creature.
Just lucky, I guess… This only made Hermione chuckle more. "Well, that's the story, so if you'll excuse me, I have to get to dinner," Hermione said, "Do you want to wait here, Artemis?"
Her only response was a soft growl, but she stood and walked over to Harry, who took to scratching her ears. Hermione chuckled. I'll take that as a yes…
I'll catch up.
Hermione nodded, walking down to the Great Hall. She sat down at the table and was soon joined by the rest of the Gryffindors. She silently wondered where Artemis was, but figured that she was enjoying a little cat nap before dinner. Just as she was biting into a chicken leg, Artemis' voice rang in her head. Can you open this infernal door? I've been trying for a few minutes, but I've got no thumbs!
Hermione stood up and walked up to the doors, ignoring the confused looks that were being shot her way. She opened the doors and Artemis strolled in as though she owned the place. Dumbledore sat forward in her seat, waiting for the students' reactions. They simply stared and Hermione rested one hand on the large creature's back and proceeded back to her spot at the Gryffindor table. As soon as she sat down, the buzz of whispers began.
Hermione merely smirked.
"Oh no! Hermione, stop that! You look like Snape when you smirk like that!" Ron exclaimed.
"The Dark One?" Artemis asked, sufficiently silencing the entire Great Hall. Severus, Dumbledore, and Remus, who had been rehired to teach DADA this year, were the only ones who seemed unfazed by all of this. (Remus had been filled in on the whole thing by Dumbledore.)
"His name is Severus, but yes… the Dark One," Hermione replied, glaring at a couple seventh year Ravenclaws who were gaping.
"Oh… I've never seen him smirk," Artemis replied, not noticing the shocked expressions on everybody's faces.
"Attend one of his classes and you'll see plenty of smirks…" Hermione muttered, "Now would you all quit staring? If you're so confused, try looking it up! IN A BOOK!"
Harry and Ron burst into laughter, breaking the ice at the Gryffindor table. Hermione turned back to her dinner, grabbing a large pork steak and a blueberry roll, placing them on an extra plate that appeared out of nowhere, and setting it down in front of Artemis. Three more rolls and two more steaks, along with a chicken leg and a bowl of apple cider was Artemis' dinner.
"Jeez, Hermione, could you spoil her a bit more?" Ron said sarcastically.
Hermione laughed. "I can't help it. Artemis is my equal, so she should be treated as such, shouldn't she?"
"Well… yeah, that makes sense," he said.
"Of course it does. I'm Hermione Granger- I'm never wrong!" she said, raising an eyebrow and grinning at him cockily.
"Hey Hermione," Draco said, walking over to her, patting Artemis on the head briefly.
"Hey Draco…" she said, glancing at the Head Table and seeing Severus narrow his eyes. She slid over, motioned for Parvati to do the same, and Draco took the seat. Hermione leaned into him, whispering something into his ear that made him chuckle.
"More games?" he asked, and she nodded, "Naughty girl…"
"I know… did you want something by the way?" she asked.
"Yes, actually, I wanted to know what time the meeting would be." Draco replied, raising his eyebrows.
"Oh, that… what time is it now?" she said.
"About six thirty," Harry answered.
"Right… how about eight o'clock? That'll give me an hour and thirty minutes to compose my thoughts and such," she said.
"Perfect. So… how was your date with Sev?" Draco asked.
"Obviously it went pretty well," she said, "I have a familiar, as you can see."
"Yeah… real cool. Although I though that the Volaticus Panthera went extinct," he said.
Hermione threw her arms around him. "Thank Merlin, you know what she is! Finally someone who reads!" she exclaimed.
"Actually, my mum told me stories about them. I heard a lot about mythological creatures when I was little," Draco said.
"I don't care, the important thing is that you know!" she said, kissing him on the cheek.
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Severus watched with distaste at the affectionate display below him. He narrowed his eyes to mere slits when she kissed him. How dare the boy sit there and openly undermine his claim on Hermione? Whoa! Hold on Severus. Since when have you had a claim on her? And since when do you get jealous? Get it together!
He still couldn't help the pang in his heart when he heard her melodious laughter float up to him. His expression softened when she flashed him a brilliant smile. Still… he would have to talk to her about what exactly is going on between her and Draco. He watched as she stood up and walked out, with Artemis in tow, and followed only a few minutes later.
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Hermione was pacing in his office, eyes darting about the room nervously. Her thoughts had been gathered long ago, so she had no idea why she had requested such a late meeting. She would need to be well rested for tomorrow anyway… Oh Merlin! Tomorrow! I don't even have a dress! I don't know if Mum and Dad are coming… I don't know what-
Hermione… calm down! Sit down, okay? You'll be fine.
Hermione complied and sat down in the large recliner near the hearth. The door slid open and she jumped up. She turned quickly to see Severus enter. She sighed and nearly sat down- until she saw his expression. He looked angry and- frightening. He shut the door behind him and she met him halfway across the room.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"What exactly is your relationship with Draco?" he replied, sounding as though he was restraining himself.
"What are you-? Oh! That! We're only friends, trust me. He's head over heels for Ginny, how could I ever betray her like that?" she grinned, "Oh dear, I've said too much."
"Then why, exactly, are you constantly hanging all over him?" he asked.
"Listen, we were only playing… we noticed that you looked kind of jealous the other day and decided to explore that notion further," she said, "That's all! Do you honestly think I would fall for the Prince of Slytherin when I've got the King right in front of me?"
"So it was just a game?" he said, sounding hurt.
"No! It wasn't a game, I swear, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't imagining it!" she exclaimed, "Besides, I kiss all of my guy friends- on the cheek."
"Not Draco. It was a bit more than just a friendly kiss on the cheek this morning," he said, unable to help himself. Why am I getting so worked up over something so trivial?
"Listen, I have never kissed any guy the way I kiss you, okay?" she said, hoping that that would help to ease any insecurity she may have created.
"Really…" he said skeptically.
"Yes- really!" she said, reaching up and pulling his face down to hers, "Nobody else is worth kissing."
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Eight o'clock rolled along rather quickly after that. Hermione and Severus sat on the floor with Artemis and Cassandra, who had joined them, perfectly content in each others' company. Just one big happy family… Hermione thought, smiling to herself. A knock sounded on the door at eight on the dot. Hermione and Severus stood, and Hermione answered the door. Surely enough, there stood about twenty Slytherins. Among them were Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, and Andrew Green. Hermione felt a pang at guilt when she recognized Andrew as one of her petitioners. However, she pushed it aside and ushered them in.
She shut and locked the door, turning to the group of former enemies. "Now, what I am about to tell you must be kept a complete secret. In order to make sure that it remains so, you all must commit to a wizard's oath. You, as well, Severus."
He sighed and approached the circle. "Alright," she continued, "Just stand in a circle- like you are- and hold out your wands." She walked around the circle, uttered the incantation, and touched her wand to each person's, just like in her fifth year. "This oath is one that I invented, finding the previous one… lacking. Every time you try to tell someone who is not completely trustworthy, whether by your knowledge or not, your voice will cease to work. If you try to write something about it, your fingers will do nothing but write out absurd phrases, and if you try to mouth it, your lips will disappear."
Draco and Blaise couldn't help but snicker at this thought. They were both, no doubt, imagining a voiceless, lipless Pansy. Hermione grinned. After explaining what the DA is and what it is for she asked the room if they were all still interested. She smiled when she got an affirmative from every occupant. "That's great! You all have no idea how thrilled this makes me- or how thrilled it will make the rest of them. We've been dying to induct more Slytherins all year."
"Well of course… you can't have Dumbledore's Army without school unity," Andrew said.
"Exactly! Here are your galleons… I explained them already. Always keep it with you, and if you have trouble finding the room, I'm sure Draco or Blaise can help you find your way. Now… Holy shit, it's nearly eleven!"
Every occupant of the room looked to Severus to see his reaction to her outburst. However, he had suddenly sparked up a conversation with Artemis about the weather. This drew several giggles from the girls and shakes of the head from the guys. Hermione merely shrugged.
"Right, we'd all best be off to our dormitories before curfew. I hope to see you all at our next meeting! Bye!" she called as they filed out, conversation about the DA buzzing through them.
As soon as they were all gone, Hermione practically collapsed onto the floor. Artemis walked over to her with Severus. He shook his head at her and she sent him a rather un-ladylike hand gesture. He chuckled, hoisting her up.
"Do you think you can make it to your dorm?" he asked.
"No… and I don't really want to, either," she replied.
He carried her into his room, followed by Artemis and Cassandra, and set her down on his bed. He nearly turned away, but Hermione caught his sleeve in her hand.
"I'm not kicking you out of your own bed," she stated groggily.
"Surely you aren't implying that…" he raised an eyebrow.
"That a man sleep- and nothing else- in the same bed as his fiancée? Never! Come on, don't be so old fashioned. It's not like we're going to shag or anything," she said, propping herself up with her elbow. She almost added a 'yet' onto the end of that statement, but thought better of it. They would get to that when it was time. "Come on… nobody will have to know, but I won't have you sleeping on the couch. If anybody should sleep on the couch it should be me."
It seemed as though not only Hermione, but Cassandra and Artemis, too, were looking at him expectantly. How on God's green earth did he manage to saddle himself with- not one- but three nagging women? He sighed and climbed under the covers with her.
"This is to remain our little secret," he said, pulling her impulsively into his arms.
She snuggled backward into the warmth of his hard chest. "Right," she breathed, basking in the feel of his arms around her, "Our little secret…"
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There! Done! I am sooo proud of myself! I'm getting good at this long chapter thing… don't ya think? Review review review! I'm making longer chapters because of all the reviews I get, so props to all who review! Yay for you!! There should be a parade at the end of the story in YOUR HONOUR! In fact- there will be! So Review if you want your name mentioned in Sara's Parade for Reliable Reviewers! TTFN