A/N: This chapter is the midpoint for the fourth year portion of the story, which means it's appropriate that some big things are happening. You'll finally start learning why the Veela are so interested in our young couple, for example. A couple of readers have expressed concern about the incident in the last chapter being unnecessary drama or angst for the sake of entertainment. Nothing could be further from the truth.
First, neither of the girls are perfectly well-adjusted and it would be wrong to write them as if they were. Their bond will help them get past their problems quickly, but they will have problems. Since the last serious issue between them was over 20 chapters ago, I don't think it's too much. Second, it will lead them to important conversations about themselves, their relationship, and the connection between love and magic. Where they are going as a couple will have a lot more value because of those conversations and the work they put into overcoming their problems. Third, it will affect other relationships and feed into significant plot developments. Big things grow from tiny seeds.
Recommendation: This chapter's recommended fic is "A Darkened World," by sprinter1988. When Ron abandons Harry during the horcrux hunt, he ends up taking Hermione with him… and that causes everything to fall apart. Twenty years later, Harry is still alone, still living in the tent, and still trying to fight Voldemort, when someone new and unexpected shows up.
Chapter 30 - When I Touch Myself
Monday, February 1, 1995, Morning.
Jasmine never returned to bed that night — Hermione knew, because she spent the night in Jasmine's bed rather than her own, thinking about what had happened. Being surrounded by the scent of Jasmine's shampoo and soap comforted her, even though she hardly got any sleep. Jasmine also didn't show up to breakfast, causing Neville and Ginny to ask about her. Hermione didn't have any answers — or at least, none she wanted to share. Both of her friends recognized that there was a problem, but neither knew what it was or what to do, so they didn't press.
Jasmine did show up to Herbology that morning, and she looked as exhausted as Hermione felt. She didn't return Hermione's tentative greeting and refused to even look at her except for one moment at the beginning, when she mouthed the word "Later." Hermione was torn between happiness at the fact that there would be some sort of conversation later and fear because Jasmine was so upset that she refused to look at or speak to her.
Susan and Hannah seemed to recognize that something was wrong, at least going by the expressions on their faces when they snuck glances across the greenhouse, but they wisely kept out of it. They knew that their relationship with the Gryffindor witches wasn't yet good enough to allow them to get involved beyond showing support from a distance.
Care of Magical Creatures wasn't any better, not that Hermione was surprised. Malfoy fortunately didn't seem to notice that there was anything odd about Hermione's or Jasmine's behavior, but he mouthed off as much as he usually did. Curiously, Jasmine didn't seem to react to anything he said, not even slightly. Hermione wasn't even sure if Jasmine noticed, which was very unusual.
That was the pattern they followed for the rest of the day. Jasmine didn't show up for lunch or dinner and remained silent in classes, not looking at or talking to anyone but still doing her work, albeit with a distracted air about her. Hermione just fretted and worried, knowing that she must have done something horrible but not sure what and so didn't have any idea what to do about it.
She was convinced that she had somehow ruined her relationship with Jasmine, just a month and a half after they started dating. She wasn't even sure Jasmine still wanted to be friends, which compounded her sense of loss and despair. She wouldn't find out one way or another until that night.
Monday, February 1, 1995, Afternoon.
Fleur had been shocked the previous day when her entire immediate family had arrived to participate in that evening's Imbolc celebration. In fact, almost everyone in attendance had been family, with her mother, sister, and grandmother playing key roles. Like other holidays, it was of course important to her family and community, but she could tell that their arrival at Hogwarts had more to do with the two English witches and their participation in the ceremony than anything else.
And they still weren't telling her anything!
"Maman," Fleur said a little petulantly in French as she sat down to lunch with her mother and grandmother, snuggling in between them on the couch, "when are you going to explain to me what is going on? I've done as you have asked and I haven't questioned your instructions, but I don't like being kept in the dark like this. And I wish I could tell more to Hermione and Jasmine — they are very sweet, very nice girls, and it feels dishonest to keep things from them."
Apolline and Sybine shot each other an indecipherable look before responding. "Fleur, it is true that there is much that you do not know, but it is not because we do not trust you," her mother, Apolline, began. "Some of it is because we are not permitted to tell you. The information is protected by strong oaths taken by leaders and scholars among our people. I strongly suspect that you will be allowed access to that information sooner rather than later because of your position here and your relationship with those two witches, but for now we must remain silent."
"Other things," her grandmother, Sybine, continued, "we couldn't risk saying in a letter. We had to wait until we could talk to you in person. That's part of the reason for this lunch and why Gabrielle was not invited to join us. The other part is to discuss what happened last night during the ceremony."
"Speaking of which," interrupted her mother, "did you tell them that your family would be there?"
Fleur winced at that question. She had intended to remain quiet about the presence of her family, knowing that Hermione and Jasmine were anxious to learn what they knew. "Unfortunately," she answered, "I let slip the identity of Gabrielle when I explained what she was doing. Neither of them seemed to think anything of that, though, so I doubt they suspect that you were there."
"Good," Apolline replied. "We'll meet them eventually, but we didn't want them asking us a lot of questions that we couldn't answer. We'll leave Gabrielle here for a while to make it appear as though she was visiting you and that's why she was able to participate. She's been begging to visit you and Hogwarts anyway, and I think she can do with a break from her homeschooling program, so it works out well for everyone."
"It's not exactly the best season to visit Scotland," Fleur observed ruefully as she leaned in more against her mother, "but it will be nice to spend some time with Gabrielle. It's been very hard being so far from all of my family."
"Before we go on," Sybine announced, "we must have your word that you won't tell any of this to those two English witches unless we give you permission." Fleur tried to protest, but Sybine talked over her. "I mean it! Some of this you cannot tell them because if you try, Magic will prevent you — and if you managed to even give good hints, it could cause them great harm. They will find out eventually, but they must find out on their own when they are truly ready. It is the way of things. It is what Magic demands, and we dare not try to override it by imposing our own agenda or schedule on it."
Fleur still wasn't happy, but accepted that explanation and gave her word to remain silent.
"Good," Sybine continued. "Your mother and I watched those two closely last night and then talked about it for a while after they left. Our observations were not as conclusive as we had hoped they would be. The one with dark red hair seemed very uncomfortable and anxious to us, though the one with brown hair seemed to be very excited and happy."
"Yes," Fleur agreed. "Jasmine was far more anxious and uncomfortable than I've seen her before… well, except perhaps for when she was chosen for the tournament, but she was also rather angry then, too. It was not at all her usual demeanor."
"Really?" Apolline asked, looking over at her mother. "That's good to hear. If she's usually more relaxed around the other young witch and around you, that casts a better light on things."
"Indeed," agreed Sybine, leaning back in the couch with a glass of wine and a thoughtful look on her face. "Perhaps it was just the ceremony. You said that neither had ever participated in anything like that before, yes? Maybe she's just less comfortable in new situations with strangers."
"From what I've been able to tell through my own observations and what others have told me," Fleur responded, "Hermione is always eager to learn new things about almost any topic. She hung on my every word when I was explaining things last night."
Sybine nodded, seemingly pleased about this information. "Good, that makes me feel better. Now, as I was saying, we both watched them closely and we saw the same sort of connection between them that you told us about in your letters. Your description was, in fact, very accurate, and I'm proud of how far you're progressing in your ability to sense such things, Fleur."
The younger Veela beamed at this praise from her grandmother, a woman widely respected among the Veela for her skills in navigating emotional connections and bonds...
"A bond!" Fleur suddenly blurted out, surprising even herself with her outburst. She sat up straight and looked back and forth between the other two, who started smiling.
"I was wondering if you would figure it out on your own," Apolline said, pulling her daughter back and putting her arm around her. "Have they told you if they are involved in a romantic relationship?"
"No," Fleur said, her mind racing to reexamine all her observations thus far in light of this new information.
"I'm not surprised, given the English attitudes towards such relationships," Apolline replied, the unspoken criticism clear in her voice, "but I'm sure that they are."
"Then why have I not detected such a connection between others?" Fleur asked, remembering the time the two girls asked her about where else she'd seen such a connection.
"Because it's much, much more than just a romantic tryst," Sybine explained. "Your mother and I are convinced that they have begun a… well, a special bond. There is nothing else in our records which exhibits the signs we have all seen. Not even marriage bonds, which were originally created to mimic special bonds, exhibit such patterns of energy."
"Special bond?" Fleur asked. "You don't mean to say that Jasmine Potter and Hermione Granger have a s-s-s… ugh!" Fleur suddenly gripped her head in her hands. "What is the matter with me?"
"Don't drive yourself crazy trying to say it," her mother cautioned her. "Magic won't let you say it out loud, nor even think it clearly, until the couple involved understands and reveals it to you themselves. Even then, you'll only be able to use the correct label when in the presence of others who have also been told by the couple. True knowledge of the nature of their bond is magically hidden."
"Besides," her grandmother added, "technically the bond is still developing. They won't truly have the bond until they consummate it."
"A s-s-s-s..." Fleur sighed, then tried again. "They have a special bond..." Fleur finally managed to say, trying to remember what she had read on the topic and not coming up with much.
"And that's why you cannot say anything," her mother pointed out. "Veela know more about such bonds than anyone else, but even our knowledge is scanty. Nevertheless, the one thing everyone knows is that it's impossible to try to inform couples who are forming such a bond before they are ready — and when they are ready, Magic ensures that they find out for themselves. It is likely related to why Magic causes such bonds to be created at all."
"Many believe that that is also one reason why so little knowledge about such bonds has been preserved," added Sybine. "Magic has somehow ensured this in order to prevent those who are developing such a bond from inadvertently reading too much about the topic in some book. They may learn that a 'soul bond' is something that exists, but not too much about what it consists of or what it means."
Fleur nodded in understanding. She wouldn't risk destroying what Hermione and Jasmine had by trying to inform them about what was happening, not that it was very likely that she'd succeed anyway. "Is there anything at all that I can tell them?" she finally asked.
After her mother and grandmother considered it, Sybine said, "No specifics, no. If they press, you can tell them that as far as you know, there is nothing bad going on — not for them and not for anyone around them. Hopefully that will reassure them if they are worried. You can also tell them that certain Veela secrecy oaths prevent you from going into detail about what's happening, that that itself is something they need to keep quiet about, and that they will probably be let in on more in the future. This may placate them and prevent them from resenting you for being secretive."
"Technically there are no Veela secrecy oaths involved with these special bonds," Apolline said, "but they are involved with another, closely related matter. And that brings us to the events of last night, specifically those involving your sister. You do remember your lessons about the Veela prophet Cassandra Predire, right?"
Of course Fleur remembered — she was the most famous prophet in Veela history, despite the fact that knowledge of the details and exact wording of many of her prophecies were limited to only a select group of Veela. She was so famous because so many of her prophecies had come true, and no one wanted to risk someone interfering with any of the others or trying to force them towards any particular conclusion. In every case of someone meddling with prophecy, whether it was to thwart it or to "encourage" it, matters had turned out badly for everyone involved.
"Good," Apolline said when Fleur nodded. "That's one of the things which you may be let in on soon. One of the reasons we came here is that we suspect those two witches could be involved in the Great Prophecy, which is the most important prophecy Predire ever gave. You are now one of the few in the world who even knows of that prophecy's existence, and very, very few know what it says. Now, after having seen those two in person, we are more convinced than ever that they are part of it. The hissing serpent head by itself is somewhat curious, but not necessarily relevant as far as we know, however..."
"She's a parselmouth!" Fleur interrupted.
"Who? A what?" Sybine asked.
"Jasmine Potter is a parselmouth," Fleur said. "She told me so when she recounted the story about how she opened the Chamber of Secrets and killed a basilisk. Hermione asked her last night about what the serpent's head said to her, but she didn't want to talk about it. She doesn't like the ability because of how it's viewed in Britain and how she was treated when her ability was revealed to the school."
"More British narrow mindedness," Apolline muttered as she shook her head.
The two older Veela were intrigued to learn of Jasmine's ability and had Fleur tell them the whole story. They were shocked when they learned just how big the basilisk was that Jasmine had faced, and at the end, Apolline asked, "What did you say the basilisk addressed her as?"
Fleur thought for a moment, then answered, "She said 'speaker,' I'm sure of it."
Apolline and Sybine gave each other a knowing look, then Apolline returned to what she had been saying before. "Thank you, that is more helpful than you can imagine. We should assume that the serpent said something important to her, and if you can, please find out. It may be more significant than we realized."
"I will try," Fleur responded, "but it may be a while before she trusts me enough to talk about it in such detail, and I promised not to pester her about it."
Apolline nodded in sympathy. "I understand. Of more immediate importance is what your sister said. It was clearly a prophecy, and she had no memory of having said anything when we asked her about it later."
"Truly?" Fleur asked. "A legitimate prophecy?"
"Yes," Sybine answered. "And because it was said here in Britain, we have to assume that their Department of Mysteries now has a record of it. They can't listen to it, but if we are right about the importance of those two, then anyone who looks will find out that a prophecy involving Jasmine Potter and Hermione Granger has been made. That could cause us trouble, so we'll have to be careful. And we want you to keep an even closer eye on them, do you understand?"
"Yes, grandmere," answered Fleur distractedly, her mind jumping back and forth between a million different things. She had come to England to watch and maybe participate in the Triwizard Tournament, but now she found herself involved in the unfolding of the Great Prophecy of Cassandra Predire! Predire's predictions had been a touchstone of Veela culture for a thousand years, and here she was right in the middle of one of them… perhaps the biggest one of all!
Although few had been granted the privilege to learn the contents of her as-yet unfulfilled prophecies, they were the subject of extensive speculation — one of the drawbacks of such strict secrecy. Some Veela believed they foretold of an apocalypse that would destroy the magical world. Others believed they foretold of the creation of a new magical paradise. Still others believed that they foretold both — that for the latter to occur, the former had to happen.
There had even been a few militant cults that had arisen from time to time, all based around one or another belief about what was in Predire's unreleased prophecies. The only thing those cults had really managed to accomplish was to prove the wisdom of keeping the contents of prophecies secret, because anyone who tried to rush, control, or manipulate prophecy only ended up causing misery for everyone.
Fleur wasn't sure if she should be more hopeful or afraid. The guarded looks on the faces of her mother and grandmother didn't inspire much optimism.
Monday, February 1, 1995, Evening.
For the second night in a row, the soul of Tom Riddle was feeling happy. Not only did he not feel any pain — neither the sharp spikes of agony that had been regularly hitting him since before the holidays nor the the underlying ache and discomfort that had settled in — but he in fact felt good.
We can't remember the last time Our body and magic felt this wonderful, he mused to himself. Maybe it was when We tortured and killed that muggle family in Inverness back in '78? Or maybe it was when We killed that whole family of muggleborn, including their filthy, extended family of muggle relatives, in Amesbury in '75?
While Riddle lay in his bassinet and reminisced about his happiest memories, Peter Pettigrew sat in the other room and thanked whatever deities were looking down on him for this respite from torture. It had gotten to the point where he was being hit with the cruciatus curse almost every day, usually in the evening. If it hadn't been for the fact that the power behind his master's cursing had grown weaker, Peter was sure that he'd have been driven insane by now, destined for a bed in St. Mungo's next to the Longbottoms.
His good mood was tempered, though, by the fact that he was sure that it wouldn't last. They still knew nothing about the source of the pain, which meant that it would probably return, as would Peter's punishments for either having caused the pain or for failing to stop it (whichever excuse his master wanted to use at the time).
In a dark corner, Nagini lay curled up, watching her master. He had been feeling good the past couple of days, and that made her feel better, too; but she was still suspicious of what had been happening to him and didn't trust the changes any more than Peter did.
Monday, February 1, 1995, Night.
After dinner, Hermione found a note on her bed from Jasmine asking her to come to the Room of Requirement when she was free. It wouldn't have mattered what Hermione might otherwise have had planned, though: getting to Jasmine was her top priority, and she fairly flew out of the common room and to the seventh floor. When she arrived at the Room of Requirement and peeked inside, she took heart from the fact that it was similar to the romantic room that had been created for their New Year's Eve date. The table and dance floor were absent, of course, but it was the same loveseat and fire.
I guess this is where she's been spending her time, Hermione concluded. At least she's been somewhere safe, and I'm sure Dobby has been taking care of her.
Very slowly and hesitantly, Hermione stepped into the room and shut the door. "Jasmine," she called out somewhat uncertainly to the girl already sitting on the loveseat. The auburn-haired witch turned to the door, and Hermione saw that her face showed not only the exhaustion from a sleepless night, but also a mix of fear, worry, and sadness.
Moving more quickly now, Hermione came over and knelt in front of Jasmine. She started to automatically reach for Jasmine's hands, but then she hesitated, in the end simply resting her own on the edge of the loveseat. When she spoke, her voice was quiet but earnest. "I'm so sorry, Jasmine. Whatever it is that I did, I'm so, so sorry. I never meant to hurt you or scare you or whatever. I only intended to have a short, romantic..."
"Ssshhh," Jasmine said soothingly. "It's not you, it's me. I'm… I'm the one who's sorry, Hermione. I'm not sure what to do about this. I'm not even sure how to explain it." She shuddered with the intensity of her emotions and stared down at her lap.
Hermione rose to sit next to Jasmine, trying to face her in the close quarters of the loveseat but carefully not touching her, and said, "Then please, start at the beginning. I'll do whatever I need to in order to help make this right."
Jasmine laughed bitterly. "I'm not sure what anyone can do to help me." She fell silent for a long while, and Hermione patiently waited for her to collect her thoughts. Finally, Jasmine said, "You know that the Dursleys didn't treat me well and were especially harsh whenever it came to things that were 'abnormal.' Well, one thing that I haven't talked about is the fact that magic isn't the only thing they disapprove of as not being appropriate, proper, or normal. I can't imagine what they'd say about me right now…."
After taking a ragged breath, she continued, "I don't remember how old I was at the time that it happened. I was five or six, I suppose, and I can't even really remember the incident clearly. It's all just brief flashes. I had been taking a bath — apparently that's a little young to leave a child completely alone in a bath, but they always did, probably hoping I'd drown. Anyway, I took too long in my bath, and Petunia barged in, demanding to know what was going on. The reason I'd been taking too long was because I'd discovered… well… I'd been, uh, touching myself and lost track of time. Petunia was outraged. She dragged me right out of the tub and took me, still naked and dripping wet, straight to Vernon, telling him about what I was doing."
Jasmine was clearly having trouble speaking now, and Hermione wanted to reach out to her but wasn't sure it would be welcomed.
"Both of them started screaming at me about my 'unnatural' behavior and how only 'freaks' touch themselves like that. They then gave me the worst beating of my life — and Petunia almost never hit me, unless it was to swing a frying pan. She usually left that job to Vernon, and even he seemed to avoid it. I got the impression that he didn't like the idea of hitting a girl. After that, every trip to the bathroom — bath, shower, or toilet — was timed. If I even looked like I was touching or scratching myself somewhere 'inappropriate,' I'd be punished. Even if I just scratched my chest, I'd be punished. It was pretty much the only reason they used physical punishment on me."
Hermione was horrified at what she was hearing. She thought that she already had plenty of reasons for hexing the Dursleys into next week, but all of that paled in comparison to what she was learning now.
While saying this, Jasmine had been slowly curling in on herself, as if she were trying to protect herself from being hit. "I'm sorry, Hermione, but when you touched me like that, I… I remembered all the times I was punished. I panicked and ran. When I finally stopped running and had a chance to think, I realized you weren't going to hurt me, but I also realized that what you were doing might seem normal to you. And I… I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I can do the things you must want from me. Merlin, Hermione, I'm not even sure why I'm able to say this much to you — a year ago, I never would have admitted any of this to anyone. I feel… I'm so messed up. I feel like I'm broken and can't be fixed."
Inside, Hermione was torn between rage at the Dursleys and pity at how Jasmine had obviously suffered. She kept a tight rein on her reactions, however, because neither emotion was going to help the girl beside her just then.
Sobbing now, Jasmine laid her head dejectedly on Hermione's shoulder. With that, Hermione put an arm around her girlfriend and pulled her close, resting her cheek against Jasmine's hair and whispering to her that it would all be alright. She wasn't sure yet exactly how she'd make it all alright (especially since she didn't think there was anyone she could go to in order to get advice about this), but she wanted to think that Jasmine's problems were surmountable. It could have been worse, she realized. For a moment there, it sounded like she might be leading up to something that was definitely worse. Not that this isn't plenty bad enough....
In retrospect, she also had to consider the role her own hasty actions played in this because she hadn't taken the time to talk to Jasmine about what she had wanted to do on the night of Imbolc. I really shouldn't have assumed that Jasmine wouldn't have a problem with any of it, she thought guiltily.
We're going to have to have a very frank conversation about some uncomfortable things, Hermione concluded. However, that conversation will have to wait. Tonight, I need to focus on comforting her. Tomorrow night, maybe, we'll get to talking.
And so for the rest of the evening, until well past curfew, they sat there holding each other.
Tuesday, February 2, 1995, Morning.
Jasmine wasn't exactly "back to normal" the next day, but everyone who had noticed her mood the day before could tell that she'd improved. She no longer looked quite so scared, but she still had a worried air about her.
Hermione showed the biggest improvement, but instead of worried she looked more thoughtful, and it was clear that she had something on her mind — something that distracted her during every class. This didn't make any difference in History of Magic because Professor Binns didn't even notice when students were absent or sleeping in class, never mind if they weren't paying close attention. Transfiguration was another matter entirely, though.
After spending so much extra time with her two favorite lionesses, Professor McGonagall had become fairly adept at reading them. Even the occasional glimpse in the halls the previous day had been enough to tell her something was wrong, if only because they were apart; and that was aside from Jasmine's absence from meals. Today she could see that matters were better, but still not settled.
At least the problem with Mr. Longbottom's wand has been dealt with, she thought to herself.
"Hey, Neville, is that a new wand?" Hermione asked, shaking herself from her distracted mood when she noticed how much better Neville was doing with his transfiguration spellwork.
"Yeah," Neville said with a broad smile. "Apparently, Professor McGonagall wrote a very strongly worded letter to my gran about forcing me to use an unmatched wand and hampering my magical development. I haven't read it, obviously, but based on what my gran wrote to me, I suspect she questioned whether Gran was deliberately trying to sabotage my magical education. That seems to have really gotten her mad, but there wasn't anything she could use to argue against it, so she gave permission for Professor McGonagall to accompany me to Ollivander's this past Sunday."
Neville's smile turned a bit sad when he added in a quieter voice, "Gran didn't show up, though. It's like she's still refusing to admit that she did anything wrong, or that I might be better matched with a wand other than my father's."
Hermione tried to steer the conversation away from that sensitive area. "It looks like you're doing a lot better, so I guess this turned out to be a good wand for you?"
Neville's smile returned as he raised up his wand for inspection. "You bet. It's thirteen inches, cherry wood with a unicorn hair core. Few other wands in his shop resulted in any sort of reaction, and I was starting to despair at finding anything better than my father's, but Ollivander assured me that I was simply a tricky customer and that that wasn't unusual."
"That's true," Jasmine said, finally entering the conversation. "I went through dozens and dozens of wands myself before I finally found one that reacted well to me."
Neville nodded in understanding. "And when I first held this one," he continued, "it was like I was finally introduced to a missing piece of myself. When I do magic now, I can almost feel it coursing through me. All my spells are much easier. In fact, sometimes I feel like I need to hold back in order to avoid overpowering them."
When he looked up at Hermione, he could see the smirk on her face. He rolled his eyes before saying "Yeah, yeah. You told me so. You don't need to say it and rub it in."
"Say, Neville," Jasmine started to say slowly. "Since you have a new wand that's letting you cast spells so much better, would you be interested in doing some training with us?"
"You mean, the training you're doing for the tournament?" Neville asked.
"Not exactly," Jasmine said. "It's mostly for the tournament, I guess, but it's also just to be able to better handle whatever problems come my way. That's why Hermione is doing a lot of the same things — she gets caught up in what happens to me so often that she needs the extra practice, too."
Neville looked pensive for a moment, then asked, "Wouldn't I just slow you two down? I mean, considering how you're both… you know."
"I don't think so," Hermione responded with a shake of her head.
"Well," Neville said. "I'm interested, but... let me get used to using my new wand. I'm still having trouble at times."
"OK, that's fine," Jasmine replied.
When Professor McGonagall stopped by their table to check on their transfiguration work so far, she tried to subtly find out what might be wrong with the two witches; but Hermione indicated that they were handling it, whatever it was, so she didn't pry. She knew that sometimes too much help — especially when it's forced on someone — can be worse than no help at all. She had made a mistake in previous years in not being sufficiently proactive with Jasmine Potter, but she didn't want to make a new mistake in smothering the girl.
I'll have to ask them when we meet next on Sunday, she concluded. Perhaps then they'll be ready to open up and tell me what's going on.
Tuesday, February 2, 1995, Afternoon.
Potions was unusually trying that day. Unlike Malfoy, Professor Snape seemed to recognize that something was wrong with Jasmine and so took delight in singling her out for extra abuse. Had this happened the previous day, Jasmine probably wouldn't have noticed, thus inspiring the potions professor to ever greater fits of sneering rage. As it was, Jasmine did notice and did react, but only barely.
"Potter, you need to add the pickled acromantula hair after you take the cauldron off the fire, not before!"
"Yes, Professor," Jasmine replied in a dull monotone.
Thought you could get away with not being prepared for class, did you?"
"No, Professor."
"Arrogant, just like your father. Ten points from Gryffindor."
"Yes, Professor."
"You need to slice the toad testicles more finely. Don't hack at them like a butcher."
"Yes, Professor."
"And another five points from Gryffindor for your cheek."
"Yes, Professor."
Jasmine might have been in a mood that allowed her to mostly ignore the jibes from the Potions Master, but Hermione was seething inside. She knew Jasmine was having a bad day because of the revelations last night and the conversation they were likely to have later on that evening. She also knew that Jasmine was probably thinking a lot about the abuse she suffered at the hands of the Dursleys, thus distracting her. Getting more abuse from a professor was only making things worse, but Hermione could hardly jump up and say that in class.
Of course, if Professor Snape could behave in a professional manner, that wouldn't be necessary.
Defense Against the Dark Arts was better, but only because Professor Moody wasn't in the habit of verbally abusing his students. He had, however, gotten into the habit of watching Jasmine very closely — or at least, that's what seemed to Hermione to be happening.
It was hard to tell sometimes, what with the way his magical eye could move around, but Hermione was convinced that he was watching Jasmine more closely than he was watching any other student. Maybe it's because someone put Jasmine in danger by getting her name into the Goblet of Fire, she considered, and Dumbledore wants her watched more closely, but it's still excessively creepy. The more time that goes by, the less I trust him. It's not like we've had a lot of luck with Defense professors in the past.
Fortunately he wasn't their only source for information and spells when it came to defensive and offensive magic. In addition to the practice supervision being provided by professors Flitwick and McGonagall, there was the slightly illicit help being provided by Sirius Black.
That morning, Jasmine had received another message from her godfather. Despite the fact that the two witches felt slightly awkward around each other due to their unresolved issues, she showed it to Hermione when they were alone. Once the password had been spoken, it revealed that he wanted to meet them that Saturday in Hogsmeade again, at 10AM like last time.
Hermione hoped that he would be bringing them some useful information from the Black family library — something to help protect the hostages, information on how to protect their minds, and maybe some good offensive and defensive spells. If there was any place that they'd be able to get some old or unusual spells, it was from Sirius Black's family books.
Tuesday, February 2, 1995, Early Evening.
Like Jasmine had done for her the day before, Hermione left a note on her girlfriend's bed to meet her in the Room of Requirement. It was the best place in the castle to create an appropriately relaxed and secure atmosphere.
Jasmine had admitted to a lot last night — she had revealed a lot about some demons she'd been keeping locked up inside for a long time. Hermione was going to have to be equally open and honest: not about any inner demons, but about some topics that were difficult to talk about. If Jasmine could do it, though, then Hermione was sure she could as well.
I must have been sorted into Gryffindor for a reason, she thought to herself, so let's show some of that courage...