AN: *sighs* I shouldn't really be this good to you, but as tomorrow is the date I consider as Hermione's birthday...
Thank you all for the wonderful reviews, the main reason I'm uploading this now. I hope I can continue to keep you all entertained.
On that theme, I must warn you: This chapter is one of those 'dark' chapters. Both Malfoy and Ron are going to be acting up. It's also not a chapter for you if you like Ginny. And while I might redeem the Weasels, there's no redeeming Malfoy. They still have good in them, buried and/or suppressed though it is. There's none in Draco. Exactly WHAT I'll do to him is still up for debate...
Hermione slept right through the morning once she returned to her bunk. After freshening up, she headed down the stairs just after twelve. But the noise from below caused her to hurry her steps.
She found the whole of Gryffindor House milling around in the Common Room, with McGonagall standing by the door out with a terrified look on her face. In contrast, Ginny was looking annoyed as she sat on the couch by the fireplace.
Hermione threaded her way across the chamber. "Professor, what's going on?"
"Miss Granger, thank Merlin! You had us all worried this morning!" McGonagall looked down at her in relief, though the panic and fear in her eyes remained. As Hermione opened her mouth to explain, McGonagall waved her hand.
"No matter. We have a more serious problem." She glanced around before she leaned forwards a little. "Harry's on the edge. He nearly lost control." She whispered.
"WHAT?" Hermione nearly screamed, but then moderated her tone. "How?"
"It seems that Miss Weasley approached him shortly before lunch. Some of the students report that she was almost dragging him away with her. He came back a couple minutes later, looking frantic. He fled, seemingly in a panic. I had all students return to their Common Rooms, as a precaution, until we can find him." McGonagall explained.
'Oh Ginny...' Hermione thought in exasperation. She had become friends with the younger girl, but her obsession with both Harry and Sex drove Hermione to distraction. It was all the young girl thought about. And with Harry in his current state...
"What do the other professors know?" Hermione asked quietly.
McGonagall looked her in the eye. "I told them that Harry has been cursed with a mood altering curse, making him unpredictable, maybe even violent. The Headmaster is currently out looking for him, along with the Prefects. The other Professors are either also searching or with their houses."
Hermione's sigh of relief from knowing that everyone was safe quick turned into panic as she remembered Daphne's situation. Her face paled as she thought of what could be happening to her friend right now.
"Professor... I need to get out there and find Da... er, Harry. I think I know of a way to cure him."
Minerva McGonagall was nobodies fool. She caught her star pupils slip of the tongue, and quickly realised there was someone else other than Harry that she was concerned about. She remembered Miss Greengrass from when they had told her about the curse on Harry.
She nodded. "Very well Miss Granger. But you are not going out alone. All the Prefects must be in pairs. Headmasters ruling."
'I wonder whose watching his back?' Hermione thought to herself. 'Or will be there to ensure that he treats Harry fairly?' For some time now Hermione had entertained doubts about the Headmaster and his treatment of Harry's situations. Time and again, he could have stepped in and spared Harry from going through the hardships he had had, but he hadn't. And quite frankly, his record on hiring teachers left a lot to be desired.
"I'll be right back." Was all she said however as she moved back towards her room.
Returning to her dorm, she quickly gathered what she needed. Potion kit... Notebooks... Map...Cloak... She stuffed them all into her bag.
"Packing, already?" The words behind her made Hermione pause. She slowly turned to regard Ginny standing in the doorway, watching her, arms folded across her chest.
"I'm going out after Harry." Hermione explained.
"Why can't you leave him alone?" Ginny suddenly snapped angrily. "You're constantly hovering over him, mothering him. None of the rest of us get a chance with you constantly there! It's no wonder Cho dumped him!"
"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, eyes narrowed.
"You're preventing him from getting a real girlfriend Hermione!" Ginny waved her hand. "You, and your brain. He can't even snog someone with getting confused and needing to turn to you!"
"What did you do with him earlier?" Hermione asked coolly, a suspicion forming in her mind.
Ginny drew herself upright. "I thought, since he's been so down lately, that he needed a good snog to cheer him up. Something that you clearly wouldn't do for him! But when I finally get him somewhere we can have some privacy, he starts acting odd! One second trying to pull away, the next almost forcing himself on me. After a half minute, he pulls away, looking scared! Then he has the gall to say your name!
"Well, I told him to wake up, your not here, I am! He looked at me oddly, then runs like hell itself is chasing him!"
Ginny now advanced menacingly. "Just what have you done to him, The Boy Who Lived, to make him such a scared little boy?"
"What I've done?" Hermione spoke quietly, stunned. After a moment she shook herself. "I don't have time to deal with you Ginny." Hermione stepped past the younger girl.
"Oh get real Hermione!" Ginny snapped as she spun around to glare at the older girls back. "He's never going to look twice at you!" Hermione stopped as Ginny ranted on. "You've got no figure, and you're a bookworm! There's nothing sexy about that!"
Hermione counted to ten in her head before turning around slowly. Ginny's confidence and bravado faded when she realised that Hermione had her wand in hand.
For a long moment neither girl spoke. Then Hermione sighed.
"You need to grow up Ginny. It's up to Harry who he finds attractive. Nobody can script his life out for him. Not you, not Dumbledore, not me." She pocketed her wand and looked sadly at the younger girl. "If you truly cared for Harry, you'd respect his needs, and try and help him overcome the loss he's suffered, instead of trying to get into his pants." With that Hermione turned and walked back down the stair sedately.
Left there, Ginny stood stock still, still trying to process what Hermione had said. She knew her words made sense, yet she couldn't believe it. All her life she'd been brought up to idolise the heroic 'Boy-Who-Lived'. When Molly had learned that Ronald had befriended him, the two Weasley women had started planning the wedding of Harry to Ginny. After her first year, when he'd so heroically rescued her, Ginny was convinced that they were destined to be together. She'd been in love with him ever since her mother told her the story of him, and she'd dreamed of being 'Mrs Ginny Potter' far more times than she could count. Even her boyfriends this year had all been solely to practice so that she could ensnare Harry Potter.
After several long seconds she stood tall and haughty once more. She'd get Harry, no matter the cost...
When Hermione returned to the door, she found Ron standing besides Professor McGonagall, looking very put out and disgruntled.
"Miss Granger, stay with Mister Weasley at all times until the situation is under control, understand?" McGonagall said firmly, eyeing her star pupil, hoping she got the hidden message she was sending. Though she didn't fail to notice the look on the youngest male Weasleys face...
"Yes Professor." Hermione answered quickly, her mind fixated on finding her friends... both of them. She did however let the corner of her mouth twitch, reassuring her Head of House that she understood the hidden message.
Slipping through the hole, they both found themselves in the empty halls. After the Portrait had closed, the silence quickly began to close in on them. Shivering, Hermione gripped her bag a little tighter. "Come on Ron." She said, starting to walk briskly. Ron tramped along loudly in her wake. He muttered as he did, but Hermione paid it no mind.
After a couple of minutes, they reached the main stairs. Stopping there, Hermione drew the map out and activated it. She began to intently look all over, hunting for two sets of footsteps.
Ron found Harry first. "There he is! At the top of the Astronomy Tower!" Sure enough, there were a set of foot prints wandering back and forth, with the image of a small strip of parchment bearing the name 'Harry James Potter' above it.
"What's he doing up there?" Ron wondered cluelessly, but Hermione barely noticed his words. She was still looking, more frantically now. She'd already checked the Slytherin chambers, and Daphne's names hadn't been in the crowd there. That meant she was still outside...
There! In a broom closest on the ground floor, a single, still pair of footprints. The nametag revealed that it was her. The area around her was crawling with the Slytherin Prefects, and Snape was close by...
Ron's hand suddenly pushed across her field of vision, folding the map up. She looked at him sharply. "Ron!"
"Relax Hermione." Ron told her, continuing to fold the map up absently. "We've done our bit, we've found Harry. Now we can tell the Professors and let them deal with his temper this time, while we..." His other hand came up and took a hold on her upper arm.
"Ron, let go!" Hermione snapped, a little startled and afraid now.
His face darkened. "You're a bloody nightmare Hermione! One moment you lead me on, the next you're pulling back and running!"
Hermione stared at him. "Leading you on?"
"Yeah, you know... the constant flirting arguments. We're always doing that. Just proves that you're mine!" With that his grip tightened and he pulled her towards him, his eyes locked on her mouth.
"Ron!" She jerked her head to the side, causing his slobbering mouth to miss hers.
"What? You only whore yourself out to Harry now?" He snarled, pushing her against the low wall that bordered the landing they were on.
"What?" Hermione was stunned.
"I heard you last night." He replied, smugly. Suddenly his other hand came up and groped her through her robe forcefully. Hermione gasped from the sudden pain. To Ron however, she was gasping from pleasure. An amazed look came over his face.
"Damn girl, you have plenty under there! I can't wait to see that!"
Hermione stilled, before looking him in the eye coldly. Ron barely had the chance to wonder at her change when he was struck hard in the crotch.
He staggered back, his hands leaving her to clutch himself. His face white as a sheet, he looked up in time to just see her fist heading for his face.
Her right hook sent him sprawling across the floor, and Hermione allowed herself to breath a little. And also to feel the shock of Ron's actions. What had gotten into him?
Across the landing, Ron's face turned red with anger. "Oh you'll pay for that you mud..." He froze however when he lifted his eyes to find her wand levelled at him.
"You 'What'?" She asked sternly, all the warmth of the Arctic in her voice.
The two of them looked at each other, neither moving. Ron found his eyes darted between the tip of her wand and her eyes, and the fire that was burning in them. The expression on her face prompted him to recall what he'd said about her four years ago. 'Brilliant, but scary.'
Hermione took a moment to calm herself as she decided that her friendship with Ron was now over for good. Harry would not be happy, but then she thought about his reaction if she ever told him what Ron had started to say. "You'd best go back to the Common Room Ron. I can manage on my own."
"But... McGon..."
"Professor McGonagall trusts me." Hermione stated. "I have a plan on how to help Harry. I just... need to do this alone."
A change came over Ron's expression. His eyes hardened and a sneer he might have stolen from Malfoy creased his face. "What, you going to whore yourself to him again?"
Stung, Hermione instinctively cast a Stinging Hex. Her spell struck Ron in the temple, prompting a yelp from him. "What' you do that for?" He yelled angrily, one hand leaving his crotch to grasp his forehead.
"Because it seemed the best way to tell you I'm 'Not Interested'." She snapped in response. Inwardly Hermione was feeling vindicated. Honestly, she'd wanted to do that to him for the last five years! "I have to do this alone."
Ron snorted, then stood up, brushing himself down as he did. "Fine! Run along if you think you have to! Don't see why though. Harry always gets into, and then out of, these kinds of thing..." He continued to mutter as he stomped away.
Sighing, Hermione turned and started walking herself, picking up the map as she did. She glanced at it every few moments, checking on where everyone else was. She really didn't what to come across anyone else on her way.
She was only one floor above her goal when she looked at the map again, and her blood froze. Daphne was now out of the cupboard, and she was not alone. The names 'Draco Malfoy', 'Pansy Parkinson', 'Gregory Goyle', 'Vincent Crabbe' and 'Milicent Boulstrode' hemmed her in against a wall.
Hermione broke into a run, fearing the worst. As she went to deactivate the map, she saw a couple more tags that gave her hope. 'Susan Bones' and 'Erin Macmillan' were nearby, as was 'Professor Sinstra'. Thinking quickly, she reached into her pocket and withdrew her charmed DA Galleon. While most of the DA had the older version, Hermione had secretly created one more, a more advanced version, and had upgraded her own and Susan's. That extra Galleon had gone to Daphne, allowing the three to exchange messages quickly and in confidence. Thinking of her message, she held her wand tip to the rim of the coin at a certain point. Once it was sent, she put the coin and the map away: she was going to need her hands free.
Turning a corner, she moved down the hall... from down which came the sounds of a struggle.
"Over the table you two." Draco's voice drifted down, sending a chill up Hermione's spine... and a surge of fire in her gut. How dare that twisted, evil little cockroach still be here!
Daphne was pleading now, crying out. "No, No! Get off me you slime! NO! Not there! Let me go!"
"Oi, Pansy! Gag this bitch!" Draco snapped.
"Nnnoo..." Daphne was cut off, but the sounds of a struggle could still be heard.
Hermione was almost ready for anything, but what she saw as she rounded the last corner stunned her for a few seconds. Daphne was being held face down onto a table by Crabbe and Goyle, her legs held open and her skirt thrown up over her back. There was no sign of her underwear, but then Hermione saw a scrap of white fabric sticking out of her mouth. Her cheeks were glistening with tears.
Pansy Parkinson and Milicent Boulstrode were stood close by her head, grinning. Pansy appeared to be resting a hand on her belly, while the other was pinning Daphne's down. Milicent had the other hand.
And Draco was stood directly behind Daphne, between her legs. His hands were already gripping her hips, and he seemed to be taking a moment to relish the moment.
The next second, a cold fury exploded within Hermione, and her wand snapped up. "Stupefy!" She snarled, sending a red bolt shooting out across the space to slam into Boulstrode. The Slytherin girl was thrown back into a wall, out cold even before she struck.
Three heads snapped up to look at her, while Draco spun around. Even before she registered his opened pants, Hermione had already sent a second spell out, this one striking Pansy. She too was propelled backwards to collapse onto the floor.
"What? Get the Mudblood!" Draco cried. Hermione however was faster, and in seconds both Goyle and Crabbe joined the girls on the floor. Draco found himself once more on the business end of her wand, and all the blood drained from his face, making him look even more like a ghoul.
"You really are a foul monster, aren't you?" Hermione snarled, the anger in her voice clear. Then her eyes drifted down; she couldn't help herself. "And that is the result of making sure that your bloodline remains 'pure'?" She hitched an eyebrow as a smirk danced at the corners of her mouth.
Draco's face went even whiter, an impressive feat, as he moved his hands to cover himself. Not a hard task in itself, as his rather puny member was wilting to an even smaller form.
A clatter of footsteps came from another side corridor, forestalling any other actions. Professor Sinstra was the first to emerge, with Susan and Ernie flanking her. Sinstra gasped sharply at the sight before her, while Susan's eyes widened sharply before she moved forwards, shouldering Draco aside to kneel down by Daphne, who was still crying.
Sinstra looked about at the unconscious Slytherins, then back to Draco, whose trousers were threatening to fall down. As she took in the placement of his hands, the open flies and the look on his face, Sinstra's darkened. Daphne Greengrass was her favourite student. Pure fury pulse through her veins.
"You won't be returning in the fall, Mister Malfoy." She hissed, causing what little colour that was left in his face to vanish. "And do your trousers up!"
Hermione allowed her stance to ease up as Sinstra drew her own wand. Taking a breath to settle herself, she stepped over to where Susan had her arms around Daphne. Crouching down, she saw that her friend was a little more collected now, though the tears were still in evidence.
"Miss Bones, Miss Granger, look after Miss Greengrass. Mister Macmillan, gather these... students, wands." It was clear that the normally polite and softly spoken Professor wanted to say something much harsher. She sent off a messenger spell before turning to start reviving the other Slytherins, much as she wished she didn't have to. From the fire in her eyes, it was clear she wanted to use some other forms of magic on them. Such as potentially lethal hexes.
"You'll regret this, mudblood!" Draco whispered harshly, thinking Sinstra couldn't hear him. "I'll get you for this... and your lesbo friends!" He glared at Susan and Daphne, both of whom looked up at him, hate in their eyes.
"MISTER MALFOY!" Sinstra snapped, whirling around. "You will keep a civil tongue in that mouth! Two hundred points from Slytherin! And three hundred points, plus four months detention with Flitch or Professor Hagrid each, for assaulting and attempting to rape a fellow student!" She turned back as the other Slytherins began to protest. "Quiet, or I'll see you all expelled!" Her sharp tone was made worse by her own internal frustration. She personally thought that each and every one of these… these… monsters, should be sent straight to Azkaban. But the Headmaster had set limits for punishments years ago, and only he could exceed them. Expelling a student was at his discretion, as was informing the DMLE. Every time in the past that another professor had contacted them directly, he'd cut off the DMLE and told them that he was handling the matter as an 'internal Hogwarts matter'. Madam Bones was furious the last time, but she'd been forced to back down. The Headmaster was lord and ruler of Hogwarts, and as he was also the Chief Warlock, who presided over all trials and criminal investigations, her hands had been tied. McGonagall had tried for years to change his mind, but he'd remained unbending.
Hermione inhaled sharply. Such a deduction totally destroyed all the gains that Slytherin House had made under Umbridge's rule, putting them rock bottom! And detentions with Flitch were nightmares for many students, as he had then cleaning the worst messes without magic. What Hagrid might have them do when he learned of this… The half giant was normally a kind hearted, gentle figure. But this… she could just picture his fury.
Taking the bundle of wands from Ernie in her free hand, Sinstra looked coldly at the Slytherins, venom dripping form her tone. "Come along now. We'll see what the headmaster has to say..." She glanced over to Hermione. "I may need for Miss Greengrass and yourself to submit your memories of this... incident, Miss Granger." She spoke softly.
Hermione nodded silently. Daphne was still for a moment, before nodding jerkily. Satisfied, Sinstra directed the detained students away, gesturing for Macmillan to come with her. As they walked away Hermione turned back to Daphne. "You okay?"
"Now, yes." Was the shaky reply. From within Susan's embrace she looked up curiously. "How did you find me?"
Hermione flushed red. "An item of Harry's." Only then did she recall the state of her best friend. "Harry!" Heedless of the others – besides, she knew she could trust them – she pulled out the map and engaged it again. Susan and Daphne's eyes leapt open at the sight of the map, showing the progress of Sinstra and the Slytherins towards her office. Hermione however looked directly at the tower, and sighed in relief. The headmaster was walking away from the lower entrance, while Harry was still at the top. Sinstra's message must have reached him just as he was about to ascend to the top.
"Listen, I've got to go help Harry. Here's the cloak." She pulled Harry's cloak out of her bag and piled it on Daphne's feet. "Stay safe." With that Hermione rose and rapidly moved off.
Behind her the two girls watched her with narrowed eyes. After they watched Hermione disappear around a corner Susan turned to look at Daphne. "Did you figure out what she's planning?" Daphne was the better of the two at deciphering Hermione's thought processes.
A small smile appeared on Daphne's tear streaked face. "Yes. And there's only one place where she can pull it off." Standing up, she reached into the cupboard she had been hidden in and withdrew her bag. "Head back to your dorm and grab your potion kit. I doubt she'll have enough of the ingredients for all three of us."
Susan was baffled. "What? And where do you mean?"
Daphne shook her head. "No time to explain right now. As for where... the Room of Requirement. If we hurry, we can get there before she does with Harry."
Stepping out onto the roof of the Astronomy Tower, Hermione instantly saw Harry pacing back and forth before her. As he walked back, she stopped to take in his face. He'd grown so much from that skinny, gaunt, innocent little boy that she'd found in that compartment. Then again, she had also come a long way from that cute, if rather bossy and abrasive little girl.
While Harry was still on the lean side, a solid ten months of being able to eat as much as he liked had filled his frame out, putting flesh on his bones. He was still lagging behind his fellow male students in terms of physical development; those years at the Dursley's would leave a mark for some time. But he was growing into a fine, handsome young man.
Of more importance to her however was that which lay behind those brilliant green eyes. Despite everything that Harry had gone through, all the hardships and trials, all the pain and agony, he was still a Good Person. He had, somehow, maintained his innocence. He was the humblest person on the planet, yet would throw himself into the path of danger for almost anyone.
Oh, he had flaws, just like everyone else. He was slow to forgive, slow to trust, and so unassuming it sometimes drove Hermione mad. But his most distressing flaw was that he directed all his anger and frustration inwards, letting it build up and fester. She had been on the end of his ire during the early part of the year for his isolation during the break before. Hermione too had been frustrated with the decree Dumbledore had handed down, but she had gone along with it. Why, she was no longer sure.
Yet, for all his faults, Hermione did love Harry. When he smiled it lit up his whole face, erasing the harrowed, haunted look from his eyes. And his eyes... Hermione had found that she had to be careful, lest she found herself lost in their depths.
As he turned once more, the light from the evening sun played across him, and she found herself running her eyes down him. Having just seen Malfoy's bare 'equipment', a small part of her wondered just how Harry stacked up... Her mind froze in its tracks however when her eyes landed on the front of his pants.
"Hermione!" Harry's startled outcry made her jump, and she looked up at his face, her own reddening like mad. In his eyes she could see that he had caught her looking, and she blushed even more.
Harry had been pacing back and forth, trying to settle his mind. Of all the times for Ginny to come on to him! He'd known for a long time of her insane 'Fan-girl' crush on him, but normally he could just shrug it off. He just didn't have it in him to tell her to give up her dream, to tell her that she just did not excite him. Quite apart from the fact that she was also his best mate's little sister.
But today, she'd almost him dragged off, and hadn't even given him a chance to speak. And he knew that she wouldn't even have managed that if it hadn't been for this bloody curse! Despite his mind screaming 'no', he'd allowed her to kiss him, even starting to return it.
Then the semi-hard erection in his briefs had flared up in a full blown hard-on, putting intense pressure onto his waistband. That tightness had startled him, allowing his sanity to claw him back from the brink. The haze had threatened to descend again when Ginny pressed herself against him again, but he'd managed to wrest control back and escape the cupboard she'd pulled him into.
Once out however, he'd seen many more young women, and realised that his control was slipping. Desperate, he'd run, searching for the quietest, loneliest place he could. The top of the tower, as well as being both, was also chilly from the wind that whipped down from the mountains. It was not a cold shower, but it had helped.
But all of his efforts were nearly undone when he turned and found Hermione standing there! Harry had grappled with the contradiction that plagued him whenever she was close. His lust and desire grew stronger, but so did his determination to maintain control. Last night, when she'd come to borrow the cloak, he'd been on the verge of ravishing her then and there.
Harry knew that he cared for her a great deal. That fuelled his determination to maintain a grip, so that he wouldn't hurt her. But why did his lust spike too? It didn't with any other girl, not to the same degree...
But now his train of thought went right out the window when he saw her looking at him with a look in her eyes. It took him a moment to place it, but he couldn't be right.
There was no way she'd look at him hungrily!
Looking closer, he could see her face turning bright red as she looked him in the eye. Then he realised where her eyes had been... He hastily wrapped his robe about him. "What are you doing here Hermione?" He pleaded. "You know..."
"Yes, Harry, I know the risks." Hermione interrupted. "But I've found a way to cure you."
"Really?" For the first time in the last week Harry felt hope. "How?"
"In a bit." She replied, drawing her wand. "Firstly... I'm really sorry about this..."
"What?" Harry asked, confused.
Hermione answered his question. "Stupefy!" She put everything she had into her spell; she didn't what him waking until she had everything ready.
The force of her spell knocked him flat on his back. She winced when she heard his head strike the stone floor, despite the cushioning spell she shot underneath him. Sighing, she murmured another incantation, and his body lifted from the floor and floated at waist height. Gritting her teeth, she began to guide him down the stairs.
She just hoped that they wouldn't meet anyone on the way to the Room of Requirement. Especially the Headmaster.
AN: And thats the last of the 'build up' chapters. Next chapter will be the one you've been waiting for, Hermione's 'cure'... *grins*
EDIT: After a second look at that bit, prompted by a couple of reviews, I've added some more to the end of Malfoy's attempt. I hope it's clear that while Professor Sinstra would expell them on the spot and dump them in the hand of the DMLE, she's constrained by limits imposed by Dumbledork. I'll explain more about 'this' incaration of the Headmaster in a later chapter.