"I told you it would be too small," Ron whispered, shuffling closer to Harry and Hermione in a desperate attempt to cover more of his body, "You can still see my legs."
"Shh." Hermione hissed, eyes trailing the shelves in front of her; she'd have worked much faster on her own, but they'd insisted on coming with her. If she was entirely honest with herself though, she enjoyed their company, Hogwarts had felt very lonely when they'd refused to talk to one another.
"What is it you're looking for again?" Harry whispered, turning to search the other shelf.
"Unusual and dangerous magical messages, that's what the book said anyway," Hermione shrugged tucking her hair behind her ears.
"You know, maybe the book was wrong. It has been known to happen." Ron peered over Hermione's shoulder.
"And how would you know, you're practically allergic to them?" Ron flashed Hermione a grin.
"I just know when to trust them and when not to trust them."
"Which is ne... Oh, here it is." Hermione reached up, her fingers brushing against the binding but unable to grasp it.
"Here let me." Ron reached up his chest brushing Hermione's back making her blush. She often wondered if he was ever affected by their interactions, knowing that his very presence seemed to elicit emotions and reactions within her that she was very often not prepared for. A quick peek at his face told her that she was the last thing on his mind, his tongue poking out his mouth in concentration as pulled the book from its place.
"Here you go, Mione." She gratefully took the book from him, thankful she had something to distract from her embarrassing thoughts.
It was a relatively thin book, leather-bound, pages yellowed with age. Hermione opened it up, holding her breath. She could sense both Harry and Ron leaning over her shoulder nosing at the information. It was typical of them really to only consider studying when it was staunchly against the rules. Hermione turned the page and released the breath she'd been holding. There it was, the Sensieve. The picture of the white bowl glowed faintly in the light from her wand, silvery mist rising from it slowly.
"Sensieve? I've never heard of that," Ron muttered turning to Harry, "What about you?" Harry shook his head slowly.
"It must be rare."
"It is," muttered Hermione.
"What's it say?" Ron tried to lean forward again, bumping her shoulder gently
Hermione cleared her throat and began to read, "Caution reader, the Sensieve is a rare, highly powerful object, dangerous to make and volatile when used. What little there is recorded of its use and creation hint at terrible and dark magics that should never be attempted no matter how powerful the witch or wizard.
Some scholars have thought, quite wrongly, that the Sensieve holds the power to give its creator eternal life. This is a fallacy, while half the creators' soul is merged with the Sensieve so that their memories and ideals may live forever, they themselves will not." Hermione paused taking a deep breath."Much like its less powerful relation, the Sensieve works in much the same way as the Pensieve; in that stored memories can be viewed. However, this is where the similarities end; the Sensieve pulls the viewer into its depths and allows them to experience the memory first hand, feeling everything, both emotional and physical. Once the Sensieve has been entered, a bond is created between the viewer and the object, that will grow with each use. Not enough is known about the extent of the powers it holds, but some have reported its ability to draw viewers to it from anywhere in the world."
"Sounds dangerous, what the heck would be the point in giving half your soul just to store memories?" Hermione nearly jumped as Ron's hand closed around hers to turn the book so he could see it, thankfully Harry's voice snapped her out of it.
"Look it says here, the main idea of the Sensieve is to relay important information or messages that could not be relayed in the Wizard's life." Hermione wondered what message Mina wanted to relay.
"So rare it's considered a myth." Harry said in awe, "What do you need this for Hermione?" He took the book from her, glancing at the pages more closely as if the book would somehow reveal more about the strange object.
"Erm...extra studies, I'm writing a paper on rare magical objects." The words left her mouth before she had time to think about them, they were hurried and tasted like betrayal.
"Why does that not surprise me?" Ron snorted.
"Well," Harry shrugged, placing the book back on the shelf, "It's a good magical object to write about. Can't imagine it would be much fun experiencing some memories though."
"No," Hermione thought of the fire, of the pain, "no, I guess not."
"Come on guys, let's get out of here, this place at night gives me the heebie-jeebies." Ron pushed the pair of them gently in the back and they began to shuffle towards the library door.
"The way you avoid it, you'd think it gives you the heebie-jeebies in the day too," Hermione commented, smiling slightly to herself when Harry tried to suppress his laughter, his shoulders shaking so violently that the invisibility cloak slipped off them, falling gently on the floor.
"Did you guys hear that?" Ron whispered, grasping Harry's arm as he bent down to retrieve his cloak. Ron's face had turned the particular shade of pale reserved for dark places and big creepy crawlies with eight legs.
"Hear what?" Harry asked confused, tipping his head slightly.
"Shhh, listen." Ron placed his finger over his lips and both Harry and Hermione paused, jumping slightly when they both heard a faint rustle, like someone turning the pages of a book.
"Someone else is in here," Hermione whispered, glancing into the shadows and dark corners of the library, trying to find the stranger.
"Who?"
"Give me a second to consult my crystal ball, Ron," Hermione spat, rolling her eyes at his stupidity.
"Well you're the one that usually knows everything," Ron countered, crossing his arms moodily, his fear momentarily forgotten. Hermione was preparing her retort when Harry spoke.
"We should check it out."
Hermione was about to lecture Harry on the idiocy of his idea, but the messy-haired boy was already making his way to the sound, his invisibility cloak trailing along behind him.
"You know what I think is a better idea? Moving in the opposite direction to the strange person hanging out in the Library at night," Ron stuttered as they caught up with Harry.
"Where's the fun in that?" Harry asked, grinning cheekily.
"I'm thinking less about fun and more about safety."
Hermione let her mind wander, pondering what she'd read. The book had been right about one thing; the connection she felt to the Sensieve was undeniable. She'd spent the entire day been drawn back to the stairwell, her feet guiding her back there if she didn't concentrate entirely on where she needed to be. She wondered what would happen if the connection got stronger, she imagined that there would be some serious questions if she simply disappeared into thin air.
"It's Malfoy," Harry spat quietly. Hermione snapped out of her thoughts glancing down the aisle, hardly able to believe it. Sure, enough the Slytherin was gazing at a book, his wand lighting up his face making his blonde hair shimmer in the dark.
"What's he doing here?" Ron spluttered. Hermione didn't answer, but she knew. She recognised the desperation on his face, he needed answers just as much as she did.
"Maybe we should scare him?" Ron grinned evilly and Hermione shook her head.
"Let's just go, we got what we came for." She went to turn away but neither boy moved, and the cloak slipped off her shoulders slightly. Hermione huffed and hopped back underneath it quickly.
"Guys?"
"I'm with Ron on this, he's been a particular brand of stuck up sod recently."
"Come on my, sweet." The voice came from somewhere behind them, and all three of them jumped. Filch wandered into view, lantern stretched out in front of him, sneer on his haggard face. Hermione glanced back down the aisle and found that Malfoy had already made his escape.
"We need to get out of here," Ron whispered desperately, he'd always been scared of Filch ever since their first year. Most times Hermione found it funny, but she had to admit that Filch in the dark and stillness of the library looked something akin to a phantom
Slowly they shuffled towards the door, Ron tripped and swore. "It's Mrs Norris."
The cat meowed loudly and Filch turned suddenly to where the three of them stood, hidden by the invisibility cloak. "What is it, my sweet? Students out of bed?" Mrs Norris meowed again, heading back towards Ron. He reeled back, the cloak slipping off his shoulders making it seem as though he'd stepped out of thin air.
Filch lifted his lantern, "Stop right there."
"Run!"
No sooner were the words out of Harry's mouth the three of them ran full pelt for the library doors, rushing through the corridors, steps echoing off the walls. When they reached the Fat Lady, they were all struggling for breath. The large woman was snoring happily in her picture frame and Hermione had to practically shout the password to wake her up.
"Oh, what are you three doing out of bed?" she scowled, pinning them each with a disapproving stare.
"Erm…nothing, just please let us in." Harry said, turning to check if Filch was coming.
"Now hold on a second there, young man. You can't just come and go as you please you know, there are rules."
"I know and we're sorry, it's just I... I left something in the Great Hall and had to go and get it," Hermione said, lifting up the invisibility cloak in Harry's hand. The Fat Lady stared at it for a moment, before sighing.
"Very well, "she said swinging open, "but make sure it doesn't happen again, can't have students wandering these halls at night you know. A fine lady like myself has got to get plenty of beauty sleep."
Hermione watched as Ron fell back onto the sofa near the fire, his arm falling across his eyes.
"That was a close one." Harry nodded, a grin spreading across his face as he fell back onto the sofa too.
"That paper better be worth it, Hermione." Hermione grinned at Ron's words and went and joined them, staring into the flames, thinking of Mina. She knew as soon as she was able, she'd go back and figure out what message was hiding within the Sensieve.
Draco Malfoy had done an incredible of avoiding Hermione Granger; he'd left rooms as she'd entered them, deliberately backtracked down corridors as she'd started walking towards him and even taken the longest possible route to classes, all in the name of avoiding the bushy-haired witch and the barrage of questions he knew she'd chuck his way. He knew she wanted to back to the bowl, its large sparklines presenting a tantalising mystery that a Gryffindor like her just couldn't resist, but nothing would persuade him to revisit the experience. Draco's heart hammered in his chest as he thought of the agony he'd been in, the torture and the inability to do anything about it. He woke up every morning afraid that he'd be back in that man's body, unable to move, unable to speak.
He'd been so lost in his own thoughts he didn't notice the Gryffindor till she was storming right for him a determined look on her face. Draco panicked turning to duck out of sight but cursing when a crowd of students, heading for their next class, blocked his escape. Hermione stopped in front of him and Draco begrudgingly turned to her.
"Out of my way, Mudblood," His voice more an exasperated sigh than the command he'd been hoping for. He tried to quickly dodge around her only for the know-it-all to block his path, her eyes shimmering defiantly as she looked up at him.
"We need to talk." Malfoy rolled his eyes.
"What makes you think I have anything to say to you?"
"You were there too, and I know you saw something." Hermione poked him in the chest with a long finger, watching closely as the blonde visibly paled, his throat moving as he gulped heavily. He quickly shoved his shaking hands into his pockets hoping to appear nonchalant.
"I don't know what you're talking about, bucktooth." Hermione ignored the insult, stepping closer.
"Oh please," Hermione scoffed, rolling her eyes dramatically, "just tell me what you saw."
"I didn't see anything." Draco lifted his chin as if suggesting that his words were final. Hermione took the gesture as a challenge and lifted her own in response, her eyes twinkling slightly as she spoke.
"So why were you in the library?" Hermione saw his eyes widen in shock and smirked triumphantly.
"Stalking me now, Granger? That's low even for you."
Draco cut his eyes at two younger students who seemed to have taken an interest in their conversation, looking over at the pair and whispering furiously to each other intermittently. His furious gaze, however, seemed to have had the desired effect and the pair of them scuttled away, their heads pressed close together.
"So? What if I was in the Library? It's not a crime," He shrugged.
"You were there after hours," Hermione wagged her finger in the air, "I wonder what could be so secret that you would have to wait till that time."
"A bit of last-minute homework," Draco said sardonically.
"I didn't think that kind of thing bothered you." Hermione noticed his jaw clenching in annoyance and had to suppress a small smile, she found annoying Malfoy strangely enjoyable.
"I'm surprised you'd be waltzing around in the Library after hours given your reputation for having a stick wedged firmly up your arse." Hermione bristled at the comment and Draco watched with fascination as anger flared in her eyes.
"Look…" she paused, breathing past how much she hated his guts, "I saw a memory too, well-lived it...I know how scary it was, just tell me, what did you see?" her voice was soft, almost imploring and for a brief moment of madness he thought about telling her.
"I... it doesn't matter. It's not going to happen again." He brushed past her dismissively, gritting his teeth when she continued to buzz around him, her footsteps hurried to keep up with his long strides.
"But we need to go back, we can't just leave it. What if there is more for us to find?"
"I don't care."
"But...But what if we were meant to find it?"
"There is no we, there is no us. You can go stick your nose into whatever magical bowl you so desire but leave me out of it." Hermione sped up and he could hear her shoes clicking against the floor. He was always slightly surprised by how infuriating he found her very existence.
"I already tried on my own, it doesn't work."
"Not my problem," Draco ground out.
"I read about it and it seems the Memoria Luxareo, that's the carving we found, it seems it doesn't work unle…"
Draco didn't let her finish, he stopped in his tracks and turned to her sharply, his hands curling into fists as he stepped forward. Hermione faltered, pulling her head back to create some space between them.
"Listen, Mudblood, I couldn't give a toss what any book said about it, I'm not going back there and if - for some unbelievable reason - I have a lapse in common sense and do end up back in that room, it will not be with you. Now leave me alone."
Hermione felt a little hurt by his words but was curious about how scared he seemed. Her eyes widened in realisation.
"The memory, you were there too, weren't you?" He recoiled at the suggestion, but Hermione read the truth of it in his eyes.
"Leave me alone." He turned away stomping down the empty corridor.
"Was it, Arden?" He didn't stop. "Edward?" Hermione allowed herself a satisfied smirk as Draco froze, his shoulders rigid and she could see his hands shaking.
"Just stay out of my way, Granger," He muttered. Hermione watched him leave, letting out a long sigh as he disappeared around the corner. She wanted to get back into the room, needed to, but without Malfoy, there was no chance. She'd tried every spell imaginable on the Memoria Luxareo and none had worked. She would wait, maybe if she left it a while the blonde Slytherin would change his mind. She didn't fancy her chances, but it didn't hurt to hope.