Getting closer to Rowle.
Sophia pulls Granger and Rowle together. Sophia's exit is set up. A canon event occurs. Thorfinn feels like killing someone! A kiss, a final promise and a departure. A return, a present received, another kiss.
Sophia and Granger were walking around the Black Lake. For once, it was just the two of them. The rest of the girls had elected to stay in the library. Sophia was teasing Granger about Rowle. It was hard to not see the crush when the only time she paid attention at Quidditch practice and games was when Rowle was the one being discussed.
"He's cute, don't you think?" Sophia asked, bumping Granger's shoulder. Knowing she wouldn't be here much longer, she was going to try her best to transfer Rowle's attention from her to Granger.
Granger smiled, looking down. "Yes, yes, he is cute. He's slightly scary, in a way. Before you showed up, he frowned. A lot! And he snapped at everyone, even the other Slytherins!"
"That's just a front. He tries to hold people at a distance. That way they can't hurt him, you see. You know, it's not too easy, getting to know Rowle. He makes himself seem very aggressive so he's always in attack mode." Sophia told her.
"But you got through." Granger pointed out.
"Yes, well, you have to understand. I caught him off guard. I'm pretty sure he wasn't expecting a first year to come at him with the very same bad attitude that he showed. That's just what I did." Sophia shrugged nonchalantly.
"May I ask you something, it might be too personal." Granger hesitated before continuing at Sophia's nod. "Are you and Rowle getting married? I heard some of the other girls talking about a betrothal contract?"
"Me? And Rowle? Merlin, if we are, it's the first I've heard of it! Whoever told you THAT!" Sophia laughed incredulously. "No. As far as I know, we are not getting married any time soon, nor do we have a betrothal contract set up. Goodness, I'm only a first year, he's only a fourth year. That's entirely too young to be talking betrothal contracts."
"It was just some of the other girls." Granger hedged, clearly not wanting to tattle on anyone.
"Well, some of the other girls clearly need to ask me before yakking about something like that. It could get Rowle into serious trouble if some of the uptight parents took them seriously." Sophia frowned, wondering who in their motley crew was trying to spread rumors about her and Rowle. Surely they knew that would hurt Granger, too. She was always with them, except in the Slytherins common room!
"Why not? Everyone says you're the perfect couple." Granger wondered, looking slightly downcast.
"We might be what everyone THINKS is the perfect couple but we have different ambitions. He wants to be an international Quidditch star and I want to settle down somewhere. Quidditch and settling down don't exactly blend together, Granger. He'd be traveling all the time and he's just arrogant enough to want his wife right there beside him. Do you KNOW much publicity those players get, especially a flashy player like Rowle?"
Granger shook her head. "So if he were to propose to you, you'd turn him down?"
"No matter how it looks, Granger, Rowle and I are just friends. Very close and dear but still just friends. Yes, I'd turn him down. Then I'd very gently point him in the direction of someone much more suited to him. Like you." She dated a sideways glance at the girl, whose mouth dropped open in shock.
"M-me? B-but I, I don't even like Quidditch! I spend most of my time in the library. I'm constantly getting on Harry and Ron's last nerves because I nag them about their homework! Besides, he hates me! He has ever since I told him off about putting Harry, Ron and the others on the wall that time! He wouldn't want anything to do with ME!" She protested.
Sophia shrugged. "What is it the muggles say, 'there's a thin line between love and hate'? Think about it. He doesn't stick you to the wall like he does the other firsties. He takes you out to see the giant squid. The only other firstie he's ever taken out there is me." She turned away and grinned slyly as the girl considered what she was saying.
"But he doesn't stick you to the wall, either." Granger tried to rally an argument.
"Exactly, Granger. And they call US the perfect couple." Sophia gazed meaningfully at her. Granger's eyes widened as she realized what Sophia was trying to tell her. She and Sophia were the ONLY ONES that Rowle even paid attention to now. Their study session was the only one Rowle crashed, whenever he deigned to go to the library. At dinnertime each evening, he and Sophia would be waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase. He made sure he walked into the Great Hall, holding hands with her and Sophia. He even had Astronomy on the same nights and would slip off from his class to join their class on the Astronomy Tower.
The day after her little heart to heart chat with Granger, as she was watching the Slytherins practice, she was both surprised and slightly uneasy when Corbin Yaxley swooped down from the pitch, landed in front of her and plopped into the seat next to her. He casually slung his arm around the back of her seat as he watched his players. He didn't need to be on the field currently as they were training a reserve Keeper for the team. He still had another year to go but didn't want to take the chance of leaving them unexpectedly down a Keeper.
She still felt uneasy around both him and Tony. But now she had a chance to look at him closer. He didn't look as much like his father as she'd first thought. Unless he changed a lot between now and his father's age, he wasn't going to look nearly as brutish as him. His face was definitely going to be on the thin side, unlike his father's wide face. Now that she'd had a chance to analyze him, she needed to take another look at Anthony Dolohov.
She stole another look at him, right as he spoke. "How are you doing, Sophia?" she jumped, startled. She hadn't thought he or Tony had even remembered her first name. Frankly, she didn't know they had even known her first name! All she'd ever heard them call her was Snape or firstie, following Thorfinn's lead.
"I'm doing well, Cory." She replied, cautiously using his first name.
"Getting more settled in at Hogwarts now?" he looked at her.
"Um, trying to. I'm still not comfortable with the House system. We didn't have that at Beauxbatons. Also Madame Maxime would sit in on at least one class a day, no matter what. And she always mingled with the students on the weekends. We never see Headmaster Dumbledore except for mealtimes, Quidditch or if someone is in trouble. He doesn't seem to mingle with his students." She replied.
"So you're debating whether to remain here or go back there, to Beauxbatons?" he looked back at his players in time to see Thorfinn look down, noticing him. He seemed mildly alarmed at seeing his Captain sitting with Sophia until she smiled and waved at him. Then he relaxed and continued flying, chasing the Bludgers.
"If you do go back, we'd all miss you, especially Thorfinn. I expect you already know that, though." He mentioned.
"Yes, I know. I've made a fair few friends here and I'll seriously miss Thorfinn as well. Just recently though, Madame Maxime has written me, asking when I think I'll be returning. Even when my mother died and I was told I'd be coming to my father, she treated it as if it would be just a temporary visit. I'm a favorite student of hers, you know. I think it was because my mother was also a favorite student. It certainly helped my mother get me into Beauxbatons early."
"She's told me that my name is still on the attendance list and all my teachers, except the Potions master, are asking how much longer I'll be visiting my father. They want to know when I'm coming home. She told me, since I seem to be getting along so well with father, that we can make arrangements for the holidays and summer break. But she really needs me to come back soon. You know, when I first started there, I was so much smaller than the other students. From the first day, she took me under her wing and treated me almost like I was hers." Sophia quickly fabricated a story. This would be the cover story Snape would give as a reason why Sophia Snape was no longer a student here.
Cory raised an eyebrow. Clearly, Madame Maxime was much more involved with her students' lives than Dumbledore was. It was clear to him that Sophia had only fond memories of Beauxbatons. They were likely much better than what she'd experienced here at Hogwarts, so far. "So she's urging you to hurry up and finish visiting your father. You're needed back home at your 'real' school." He joked. She laughed and nodded.
She turned and looked at him seriously. "I know you, Tony and Thorfinn all heard me that first night. Talking about my mother's husband and the meeting, me having my own mask and robe. You knew I was talking about a Death Eater meeting, didn't you?" Cory nodded.
"How bad is the threat over here? Is there any chance of it affecting any of you?" she stared at him intently.
Cory sighed, not wanting to answer, but the girl deserved to know the truth. "If the Dark Lord ever managed to return, Thorfinn, Tony and I would be the first three sacrificed to the cause. We would be the first ones Marked because our fathers are some of the highest ranking Death Eaters in the Inner Circle." He reluctantly revealed, hoping like hell he hadn't just blown Thorfinn's chance with this girl right out of the water.
Her eyes teared up and she hugged him, much to his surprise. "Let's hope he never makes it back then, aye?" she teased him this time.
It was his turn to smile then. "Aye, let's hope he never makes it back."
Just then, a second figure hovered in front of them. It was Tony. She gazed at him as intently as she had Yaxley. His father was big, more lean than burly and also had a wider face than his son. She could tell that, same as Cory, Tony was going to be much more slightly built than his father. They had to have taken after their mothers, looks wise. Both of them were going to be much more gorgeous than their fathers. Tony dismounted his broom and sat in the seat on her other side. He, though, was intent on a player in the sky. The new Seeker they were also training. He paid no attention whatsoever to her and Yaxley.
"How's he doing, Tony? Is he worth recommending?" Yaxley asked him quietly.
Tony, his eyes never leaving the sky, nodded and shot him a thumbs up. "He might not be able to beat Potter but he'll fly circles around the other two."
"It doesn't matter if he can't beat Potter. WE can beat Gryffindor on sheer strength. All Potter can do is catch the snitch, to stop the score from reaching ridiculous numbers in our favor." Cory ruffled Sophia's hair as he and Tony stood as one. They remounted their brooms and shot back into the air.
After practice, Thorfinn swooped down and scooped Sophia onto his broom again. Then he aimed for the Black Lake. By now, Sophia knew he wouldn't let her fall. She held her arms out to her sides, laughing in delight as the wind pushed her back against Thorfinn. She could feel him laughing behind her. They raced the giant squid again. This time, Sophia reached down and trailed her fingers alongside Thorfinn's. Then they headed back to the castle.
As usual, Thorfinn went to clean up and Sophia sat down on the staircase to wait for Granger. This time, though, she still hadn't got there by the time Thorfinn was back. She saw Lavender and Parvati walk by. "Lavender, where's Granger? She's running late."
"I don't know if you'll see her tonight, Sophia. We were in class today, she was trying to help Ron Weasley and he insulted her. It hurt her feelings really bad. She's been in the bathroom, crying, ever since classes were over with." Lavender whispered to her, just before Ron Weasley walked by, with Harry Potter beside him craning his neck looking for Granger.
"Should we go get her? She'll miss everything." Thorfinn asked her. Sophia had frozen. It WAS Halloween! 'Damn, she'd forgotten about this! It was a linchpin event and she couldn't change it without fucking up the whole future! This was the event that really tied the bonds of friendship between Harry, Ron and Hermione!'
"Finn, I'm not really hungry. I think I'll go back to the common room. I'm not feeling so good." She tried to get him to go on into the Great Hall. After practice, he was always starving. "I'll be on our couch, doing my homework. I promise I'll go straight there." Seeing his skeptical look, she pushed him towards Yaxley and Dolohov. 'Make sure he eats. We have Astronomy later tonight." She smiled at him, then turned to go to the Slytherins common room. She knew the troll wouldn't be inside yet. It had been near the end of dinner their first year when the DADA teacher had rushed in with the announcement.
Yaxley and Dolohov pulled Rowle into the Great Hall. "Come on, you're starving. Eat. Then we'll help you pull a little meal together for Sophia. Where's Granger?"
"I don't know, somewhere crying, that fucking little tosspot Weasley is going on the wall tomorrow. He hurt her feelings." Thorfinn growled angrily. His temper was always a little shakier than normal when he hadn't eaten yet.
"All right, come on, settle down. Have some pudding. Take some of it to Sophia." Cory coaxed him as Tony kept a tight grip on him. He was bursting to go across and stick the little tosspot to the damn podium but they wouldn't fucking LET HIM GO!
Professor Snape saw Yaxley and Dolohov struggling to hold down an angry Thorfinn. He wondered what had set the youngster off. It had been quite a while since his last true show of temper. That had been on Thorfinn's last day as a third year. The Weasley twins had accused him of cheating during the last game of the year. He had retaliated with an accidental flare of magic and thrown Fiendfyre at them. Snape had barely managed to keep him from being expelled for it. Dumbledore hadn't liked being told some of his pet Gryffindors had brought it on themselves by provoking the boy. He followed the boy's furious glare and wasn't surprised at all when it landed on yet ANOTHER annoying Weasley. He wondered what the little witless wonder had done to piss off his best Beater. 'Come to think of it, he could see neither Granger nor his daughter anywhere.'
Dinner was nearly over and Potter was still almost anxiously searching for Granger. Yaxley and Dolohov had managed to coax Thorfinn into eating and he'd settled down, slightly. He was still glowering at Ron Weasley, though. Yaxley had transfigured a napkin into a small box and they were dropping little goodies into it. Sophia would have a good meal as soon as they got down to the common room.
Suddenly the doors burst open and their Defense teacher burst through, screaming at the top of his lungs. "TROLL! In the dungeons!" he stopped in front of the Head table. "Thought you ought to know." Then promptly passed out.
Chaos reigned for just a moment until the Headmaster used a Sonorous spell to calm everyone down. "Prefects, lead your charges to your common rooms. Slytherin prefects, lead your charges to the library. DO NOT leave the library until your Head of House comes for you."
Thorfinn grabbed Yaxley's arm. "Sophia! She's in the dungeon! I have to get to her!"
Before Yaxley could tell him no, Dolohov pushed him up. "You're the prefect, you get everyone else to the library. I'll go with Thorfinn. We'll stay in the common room with Sophia. Go!"
Yaxley nodded and stood up. "Slytherins, line up and follow me. Stay close and keep up. Follow me." He shouted firmly as he got the Slytherins organized. The younger Slytherins' fear of him got them lined up and out the door before the rest of the students even calmed down.
They were so busy worrying about Thorfinn and the younger students, they didn't notice their Head of House slip out the side door. Harry, however, did see him as he firmly told Ron they needed to go find Hermione. "It's our fault she's not here. We have to find her!" Ron reluctantly agreed as he followed Harry out the door.
They vaguely registered the presence of two older students ahead of them, not recognizing Thorfinn and Dolohov from the back. The students turned left down a hallway. Harry and Ron ran on past, towards the girls' restroom. The rest of their adventure would be known the next day.
Thorfinn and Tony raced out of the Great Hall and down the hallway, hanging a left to run down to the Slytherins common room. Yelling the password, they waited impatiently for the door to open. Running inside, they almost collapsed in relief at seeing Sophia right where she'd said, on her and Thorfinn's couch. Thorfinn ran to her and grabbed her close to him, again resisting the urge to kiss her. Instead he buried his face in her hair.
Tony walked slowly over and sank onto the couch beside them, knowing Yaxley would be down soon with the rest of the students. Depending on how long it took to locate and take care of a troll, of course. Never having faced a troll, neither he nor Thorfinn were aware of the struggle going on above them involving Thorfinn's other little firstie. She would have the pleasure of regaling them with that tale in the days that followed.
Sophia allowed Thorfinn to keep her clenched tightly against him, knowing there was a possibility of this being the last time she would ever this close to him again. She intended to savor every embrace, every small touch, every small look and glance. These would be her only memories of him when she went back and she wanted to collect as many memories as she could get. They had an Astronomy class tonight, with Granger. She wanted to leave that class knowing that he was as firmly entranced with Granger as he was with her, currently. Therefore, she intended to let Granger do most of the talking with him. She'd be there to help them keep the discussion going. 'When,' she thought in amusement to herself, 'was the last time she'd ever played matchmaker for her own self?!' She wondered how hard it would be getting Rowle's arms around Granger, at least once, during their lesson.
Shortly afterwards, the rest of the students were back, all chattering excitedly about the incident. Yaxley rushed over to check on her, scolding her about giving him, Tony and Thorfinn such a fright! She took it all in stride. She hadn't realized, by staying with Thorfinn so much, she had quickly inched her way through their defenses. Now they were every bit as protective of her as they were of Thorfinn.
Professor Snape strode in last, to assure everyone the troll had been taken care of and safely removed from the castle. He would be transported back to his mountain home in the morning. He came to check on Sophia and added his own scolding for giving everyone such an attack of anxiety. He didn't add that, hearing the commotion from the bathroom just moments earlier, he had fully expected to see both her and Granger! He'd been highly relieved at only seeing Granger. He allowed her to embrace him, very briefly, there in the common room. It was rare for them to show affection in front of the other students but he knew he needed the hug as much as she did. She'd be gone soon and he'd just started growing accustomed to being a 'dad'. He reminded her and Thorfinn they had an Astronomy class to get to and that he'd be in his office should anyone else need to see him.
She and Thorfinn got their bags and set out for the Astronomy Tower. Thorfinn kept her hand firmly clasped in his the whole way there. As soon as they got to the top of the tower, they could hear the other Gryffindors buzzing with excitement. Thorfinn frowned as soon as he heard the words 'Granger, Weasley, Potter and troll' all in the same sentence. Granger stood across from them, with Potter beside her and Weasley slightly apart from them, frowning at her. They strode across as Sophia yelled. "Granger! Potter! What happened?"
She maneuvered slightly further away from Thorfinn as Granger came running. Thorfinn bent lower as he realized she was running straight to him. Sophia marveled at how easily that had happened. Just like that, Granger had come right to Thorfinn Rowle for comfort! The fourth year held his other firstie as he checked her over, noticing every little cut and bruise on her. He playfully scolded her. "No fair, firstie! Between the two of you, I'll be dead of a heart attack before the year is over!" Granger giggled at him as he eased down to the floor, holding both her and Sophia close.
Their Astronomy teacher had long since given up trying to make him go back to his own class. She simply approached, told the first years their assignment and added his own fourth year assignment to the mix. Potter sat down near them, Weasley by his side. Granger whispered to them that, without Weasley around, she and Potter were almost like the brother and sister neither of them had. She nagged him about his homework and he jumped to her defense when the other students harassed her. Thorfinn nodded in approval. It was good to know his other little firstie had another protector for when HE couldn't be there.
"Reckon how much longer we have?" he whispered to Sophia, low enough that only she could hear him. She shook her head, tearing up slightly. They had grown close enough now that she had started dreading having to go back. Even knowing she couldn't stay, she whispered a little prayer of thanks every morning that she woke up, still in this time. Knowing he would miss her the most, she was slowly getting Rowle tuned in more to Granger. Even now, he had his arm around her as Granger nestled against him, doing her homework.
Suddenly, she felt a jolt go through her body. It didn't hurt, it was more like a tug? She lifted her hand to place it against her navel, where the tug had come from. Her eyes widened as she registered the fact that her hand was translucent! She quickly held up the other one, still solid.
"Thorfinn, I need to go! Now! I have to get to Professor Snape!" she hissed quietly and held up what should have been her left hand to show him. His eyes widened and he glanced down at Granger. He nodded and slid over to where Neville Longbottom had joined Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. He told Neville and Harry to make sure Granger got back to the castle all right. She might THINK she and the little Weasley tosspot were friends now but Thorfinn still didn't trust him. The little cretin still made fun of her for 'associating with Slytherins' and he wouldn't be surprised if he tried to 'accidentally' bump her off the top of the tower! And, like it or not, the little wanker was STILL going on the wall for making Granger cry! He hugged Granger and kissed her on the forehead, telling her he'd see her tomorrow morning at breakfast. She nodded and waved goodbye.
He gathered Sophia into his arms, hurried down the steps and across the lawn as fast as he could. He burst into the lobby and raced down towards the dungeons. Without thinking, he burst into the Potions master's office without knocking. He found himself and Sophia staring at the business end of the teacher's wand!
"Sir! Sophia! Her hand!" after running all the way there, carrying Sophia, all he could do was gasp out short phrases. 'Damn,' he thought desperately. 'I'm not ready to lose her yet!
"Professor! Sir, I think it's time for me to go back now. I'll tell you the cover story I told Yaxley this afternoon. It'll explain why I'm gone. You might want to let everyone think I was sick enough to be taken to St Mungos for a few days before you tell them I'm gone." She held up what should be her left hand and explained about the tugging behind her navel. He nodded as that clearly showed her body was already trying to pull her back to her own time.
He led them to the library and over to the very spot where she'd first appeared. Snape knelt down beside her as she hurriedly told him every detail that she'd told Yaxley just a few short hours ago. She threw her arms around him, already missing the stern teacher, even though she knew she'd see him again shortly.
Thorfinn, however, was a different story. She knew there was no guarantee that she'd ever see him again once she was back to her time. He was frowning fiercely, trying not to cry. Snape discreetly walked to the end of the row, carefully keeping his back to them. She wrapped her arms around Finn and held him tightly. "You are the best part of this whole experience. I hope you realize that." He tried to smile for her. "Listen, don't resume hostilities with Granger, she'll need you. And technically, you aren't actually losing ME. She IS me, just younger. Promise me. All right?" Thorfinn just nodded and held her, not trusting himself to speak.
She reached up and ran her hands over the braids that Granger had fixed his hair into. He still hadn't bothered to remove the unicorn fasteners. That by itself told her he was more attached to Granger than he thought. Grabbing the short hair on the sides of his head, she held his face still and leaned up. Pressing her lips firmly to his, she kissed him. Thorfinn jerked back and bumped into the shelf behind him. He'd thought over and over again about kissing her but he hadn't thought anything about the possibility of HER kissing HIM! He'd figured, if he did kiss her, he'd have to take her by surprise. Now, damned if she hadn't turned the tables on him! He looked so shocked and surprised that she had to laugh. "Just in case."
"Just in case what?" he asked, wide eyed.
'In case I never see you again.' She thought sadly. But she smiled brightly and said out loud. "Now I can go back knowing I'm the only first year who has ever kissed Thorfinn Rowle!" He reddened, slightly abashed by that thought. Snape, hearing them from the end of the row, snorted out a soft laugh.
With those words, Sophia Snape faded out of existence. Thorfinn, mimicking his present day self, sank down and stared brokenly at the spot he'd last seen her. Snape came back, crouched down beside him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "She's right, you know. You're not really losing her, you still have her younger self to protect for a couple of years." He helped Thorfinn to his feet and they left the library.
As they passed by the bottom of the staircase, they heard a small sniffling sound. They looked around. It was Granger, tears pouring down her face and clutching her stomach. Thorfinn looked at Snape, who nodded at the girl. Thorfinn went over and sat down. Before he was fully seated, Granger was in his arms, clutching his neck. "She's g-gone, isn't she? I-I can feel it, right here." Pressing her hand on her stomach. "Y-you're going to start h-hating me again!" she sobbed.
Thorfinn shushed her as he rubbed her hair. "No, no. No, baby girl. I'm not. No more fighting between the two of us. I promise you, sweetheart. No more fighting." He rocked her for a few minutes then seemed to come to a decision.
"There will be rules, however." He sat her on the steps and knelt in front of her. "When we're alone, you can call me Thorfinn or just Finn. I'll call you Hermione. When we're in front of everyone, you're firstie and I'm Rowle, got it?" Granger nodded. "Weasley made you cry so he's going on the wall, no arguments. Anytime he or Potter make you cry, friends or not, they're going on the wall! No ratting me out when you catch me breaking the rules, unless you are prepared to spend detention WITH me!" Granger giggled and nodded.
"On the Quidditch pitch, you're only allowed to cheer for ME, unless we're playing Gryffindor. Then you cheer for me and Potter only!" he smiled at her then. He gave her one last hug and sent her up the stairs. Then they turned to go to the common room. Snape looked at him. "Should we tell them tonight, that Sophia is gone?"
Thorfinn shook his head. "No, she said to make it sound like she was sick enough to go to St Mungos for a few days. Then we could tell them. I say that's what we do, it'll seem more realistic that way." Snape nodded as they descended into the dungeons.
Present time
Hermione Granger gasped and sat upright. She leaned on the bookcase a moment as her head seemed to spin. It felt as though she had just woken up from a dream. 'Had she really gone into the past?!' She looked down at herself and gasped upon realizing she was dressed in an almost too small Slytherin robe!
'It hadn't been a dream!' she stood and stared at the yearbook that had caused all the trouble. 'Did she dare touch it again?' she gingerly edged it out. Then she cautiously flipped it back open to the informal shots of the students. Again she found a picture of herself and Thorfinn Rowle. It was a very different pose, however. The first shot had been him holding her against the wall, his wand pointed at her, smiling menacingly. This shot was again them against a wall. They were sitting side by side this time. She was looking one way smiling, he was looking the other way laughing. One had to look closely to see he had an arm casually draped over her shoulder.
Hermione frowned at that. It was almost if they had never been enemies. 'Surely he had reverted to his old ways after she left. She wasn't fool enough to think her words would have a lasting effect on him.' She put the yearbook up and went to go find Harry. He'd be frantic with worry! She just hoped he hadn't killed Malfoy while she was gone!
She stepped through the doorway of the common room and there was absolute silence. Then "Hermione!" Harry tore over and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Merlin, Hermione! Don't you EVER, EVER scare me like that again! I thought you were dead! I can't lose you, too! I've lost too many people already! From now on, young lady, you get no more than two feet away from me, unless its bedtime. I'll walk you to your stairway every night, you hear me?!" he tried to sound stern but she wasn't worried. It was good to be back and Harry was still fine.
"Oh, I've got something for you. Some of your Muggle friends sent you some stuff." Harry pulled her with him, not willing to let her out of his sight this soon. She laughed as he, Ron, Ginny and Neville went to the boy's dormitory. He opened his trunk and pulled the package out, laying it on his bed for her to unwrap.
He let her read the note. She frowned. It sounded like it was from her mother but the writing looked,, off. She shrugged the doubts away, 'maybe her mother had written it in a hurry.' She reached for the smallest box first. It was like it was calling her name. Inside was a beautiful, fragile filigree necklace with the design of a phoenix on it. Ginny gasped as she raised it without hesitation. "Hermione, wait, you haven't even read the note yet!"
She rolled her eyes as she held the ends of the necklace together. But she dutifully looked at the note. Her eyes skimmed it, then she dropped it and continued fastening the necklace. "Hermione!" Ginny cried. "You did not read that note that fast!" It was too late, she saw, as Hermione fastened the ends together and turned the necklace around, admiring it in the mirror. Then she went back and gave her full attention to the note. As soon as she read it, she wished she'd heeded Ginny's warning. She had a sneaking suspicion of who Finn, Cory and Tony were but she was afraid to say it out loud.
"What else did you get, Hermione?" asked Ron who been waiting impatiently to rip into the package.
"Hold your horses, Ron, I'm looking!" she held up a beautiful fur lined traveling robe of heather gray. She and Ginny ooohed over it. She slung it around her shoulders, enjoying the warmth of it. Then she pulled out what could only be an official Quidditch jersey, judging by how excited Harry, Ron and Neville were. It was emblazoned with the number twelve across the front and the name Rowle sprawled out across the back. There were two Transfiguration books she'd been wanting to buy along with a diary which featured the Ballycastle Bats season schedule on the back and a picture of Thorfinn Rowle, hitting the Bludger on the front. The last two items were a package each of Sugar Quills and Ice Mice.
The diary and the jersey confirmed her suspicions. Thorfinn Rowle had sent her this package, under the guise of it being from her Muggle friends and Harry, dear, sweet, naïve Harry, who loved her mother because she never forgot his birthday, had accepted it. 'How Rowle found out anything about her Muggle parents' names or addresses were a source of concern but more than that, why was he sending HER presents? What was the purpose of it?'
Down in Hogsmeade, Thorfinn Rowle, who had been sitting quietly on the couch, suddenly sat up. He was staring fixedly at the coin he held on a necklace. He smiled victoriously. "She's back." was all he spoke. Cory and Tony knew exactly who he was talking about. They weren't sure, at this point, whether it would do more good to wring Granger's pretty, little neck or beg her to see Thorfinn! The boy looked rough. He had a small beard growing out and looked, quite frankly, like death warmed over! Maybe now, the boy would actually lay down and sleep for a while!
Instead he jumped up and headed out the door. They looked at each other and raced after him. "Thorfinn!" Cory called. "You know they won't let you into the castle, especially not this late!"
"I don't need to go to the castle. She'll come here." Thorfinn stopped beside the bookstore. He backed into the alley and seemed prepared to wait there. He stared intently up the street towards Hogwarts, clutching the coin tightly in his hand. The other two ducked into the alley behind him and leaned back against the wall.
Up at the castle, Hermione was putting her presents away. She had gotten around the question of how her Muggle friends had ordered obviously magical gifts by saying she'd sent an order form already filled out and her friends had simply sent the money in to pay for the presents. True to his word, Harry had walked her directly to the prefects' stairway. Now, she felt a sudden urge to go to Hogsmeade but how to get out without anyone seeing her? She put on a short, black dress with black tights and black heels and threw the traveling robe on over it. She headed into the prefect bathroom and left by that door. It completely bypassed the common room. She kept the hood pulled over her head and made her way down the staircase. She exited the front door, making a mental note to herself to be back by six thirty, no later. She had to be back to study with Harry, in the common room. If she wasn't, he'd raise the alarm and have people searching all over hell and creation for her, again. That gave her thirty minutes to get down there and back.
She reached the village in ten minutes and headed straight for the bookstore. As she was reaching for the door, she was aware of a large shadow looming up behind her. Before she could scream or even pound on the door, she was snatched up. The large male had his hand over her mouth and his other arm tightly around her. He carried her into the alley, all the way back to the wall behind the bookshop. There, he turned her around and pinned her. Pressing against her to keep her screams muffled, he got both of her hands and brought them up over her head, sticking them to the wall. Then he leaned down towards her. With the hood over his face, she still couldn't tell who her attacker was. She took a deep breath and prepared to scream as loudly as she could. Instead, she found herself with two hands full of hair as he proceeded to kiss the breath out of her. Whoever he was, he was extremely skilled at kissing!
"Come on, mate! Give the girl a chance to say hello before you go jumping her bones!" a voice spoke up teasingly. It sounded familiar but at the same time unfamiliar. The man kissing her smiled against her lips and began chuckling softly. He drew back, hood still covering his face and she looked breathlessly into the face of Corbin Yaxley. Behind him, peering curiously at her was Anthony Dolohov. She got a tingling feeling in the pit of her stomach. 'If those two were here, that could only mean the third one, the one KISSING her…!' She looked up, up, up into the burning blue eyes of Thorfinn Rowle!
A/N: And there you have it! The Big Kiss. I debated leaving out the first one but I wanted to have a sort of before and after kiss that Hermione could remember.