Harry Potter and the Aevum of Eternity

by Thundercracker-TC

The survivors of the second wizarding war suffer the scars of Voldemort's reign as they struggle to pick up the pieces of their lives. Harry is spread thin across multiple responsibilities as he and Ron join the Aurors, where new challenges and mysteries await. Not all is as it seems though, and powerful forces lurk in the darkness, biding their time... Cover art by a.heesher

33. Chapter 33

Harry Potter belongs to JKR

Beta by FedererEx

Chapter 33

Hermione stared at the chaos of the Gryffindor common room; dozens of students packed together and moved about, and every last one of them seemed to be shouting, drinking, or tossing quaffles about. Her chest tightened for a second until Julia slipped a hand into hers, and her stress instantly started to ease. She quickly ran through one of the exercises Madam Schultz taught her to clear her mind, and the panic attack subsided before it really got going. She gave Julia's hand a squeeze in acknowledgement, and as she did so, her thumb brushed up against a bit of raised skin in the soft patch between Julia's thumb and forefinger, a ghost of a scar from long ago. She ran her thumb over it again, then realised what she was doing and let go.

"What was I thinking?" she thought.

Then they were in amongst the press of the crowd and she hoped her little mind calming exercises would be enough to prevent an episode. Hermione glanced up at the ceiling where little flying paper griffins and windup toys of popular pro quidditch players twisted and turned, zooming about and dodging around one other.

"Hey, there's White!" someone shouted. A cheer went up from the crowd and multiple students grabbed Julia and shoved towards the centre table, where the glittering quidditch cup stood in a place of honour. She managed to snag Hermione's wrist before she was completely out of arm's reach, and Hermione found herself dragged towards the cup as well.

"Drink! Drink! Drink!" came the cry. It seemed every Gryffindor had crammed into the common room, with every eye on Julia White. Eric Wildy filled the chalice with butterbeer from a tap fed from a barrel beneath the table, and passed it to Julia, who dutifully lifted and took several large gulps. She held it out to Hermione, who shook her head.

Julia raised an eyebrow then looked out at the crowd.

"What do you think? Should Hermione drink from the cup?" she asked loudly.

The resulting cheer nearly deafened her. Julia raised her eyebrow again and waggled the cup at her.

"I'll be right here," she whispered, barely loud enough for Hermione to hear.

The golden girl tried to suppress a smile as she took the cup in both hands and lifted it to take a small sip of the sweet concoction. A small groan went up, but the crowd, apparently placated, if underwhelmed, went back to their own conversations. Several loud explosions went off and Hermione's wand was in her hand in a flash, only for Julia to catch her wrist and pull it down. Hermione looked up to see a multicoloured fireworks glamour spreading across the ceiling. She closed her eyes tightly and felt Julia take her other hand, and when she opened her eyes, her roommate's face filled her vision.

"It's okay," Julia said.

"Finite!" someone said loudly from the doorway, and the explosions abruptly stopped.

Hermione craned her neck around to see past Julia and spotted Neville at the entrance to the common room, wand pointed up as paper griffins fluttered to the ground. The eighth year and assistant Herbology professor glared at the rowdy students.

"No more fireworks, yeah?" Neville said. The crowd murmured grudging acknowledgement.

Hermione glanced around to see several of the students, notably most of the older students, slowly opening their eyes or removing fingers from their ears. Julia turned back to Hermione with a smile, and she felt a flutter go through her chest.

"She's worried about me," Hermione thought.

"Maybe put that away," Julia said as she patted Hermione's wand hand.

Hermione slowly replaced her wand and waved to Neville in thanks. He spotted her and weaved through the crowd.

"You okay?" Neville asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," Hermione replied, "thank you."

"You'd think they'd bloody know by now," Neville said, an irritated expression on his stubbled face. Dean Thomas squeezed through the crowd to join them.

"Hullo ladies," he said, "Neville, right on time as usual."

"Hey mate, wicked match," Neville said with a huge grin as he punched him lightly on the arm. Dean Thomas grinned, they clapped each other on the back, then Dean took another swig from the cup.

"So I'm told, but I was so damn nervous the entire game is a blur, I can hardly remember a thing," Thomas said.

"You must remember that pick at the end, that was brilliant," Neville said.

"Oh yeah, that I remember," Dean said with a grin.

The four of them retrieved cups of their own from a Zippy's endless cup sleeve laid out on the table, held them out to be filled by Wildy, and moved off to the edge of the room by a window. A cool breeze blew through the open portal, and Hermione resolved to slowly nurse her drink; she wasn't a huge fan of butterbeer but she couldn't be without one at the championship party. She listened passively as Neville and Dean recounted plays, and Julia chimed in once or twice. Hermione spotted Marcos and Wilkes, the two beaters, and two other sixth year boys, sneaking quietly up behind Julia. She was about to say something when they sprung forward and grabbed her arms and legs.

"Quaffle Toss!" they shouted as they lifted her clear off her feet and walked off with her held horizontally between them.

Julia's eyes widened in panic for a split second, but then quickly hardened to anger.

"Bloody wankers! Put me down or I'll turn you inside out!" Julia shouted.

"Sorry White, it's tradition," Marcos said as someone fished out Julia's wand.

Hermione laughed at the sight of Julia, who had just earlier that day boasted of her duelling prowess, laid low by a quartet of junior boys, and Julia's eyes snapped to hers, and the pureblood's lips turned up despite her predicament. Then, Professor Winthrop ducked through the common room entrance.

"May I have your attention please," Winthrop said with his wand pointed at his throat. The Defence Professor's amplified voice cut through the din. The four boys quickly set Julia on her feet and placed her wand in her hand, where it quivered but remained unused.

"Congratulations on an excellent win, the cup belongs to Gryffindor once again," he said, "after all the excitement, I will be turning in early tonight. I trust I will not need to be awakened, and that the common room will be in pristine condition when the sun rises tomorrow. Good evening."

With that, the head of Gryffindor house turned around and departed the way he came. The murmurs of the party had barely started up again when Hermione noticed two new students arriving. She identified them as Adams and Noonan, the two chasers who were suspended from the final. On their foreheads the word 'cheater' stood out in bright violet letters. A few snickers echoed through the room but most people seemed to be connecting Winthrop's not so subtle threat with the punishment he'd obviously just inflicted on the two former chasers. Someone tossed a red bandanna to Adams, and he tied it around his head, but Hermione watched in fascination as the cloth quickly caught fire and he ripped it off and threw it to the ground.

Julia snorted.

"They should know by now that one of Winthrop's punishments won't be dodged that easily," she said.

"Professor Winthrop," Hermione said quietly, but she wholeheartedly agreed.

"After Wildy and his friends had been forced to wear those frilly pink outfits until Christmas, they definitely shaped up, and now look at them. Not only did they figure out a way to cut down on duels in the hallways, they put it into practise," she thought.

"Hey White, Thomas," Adams said. Hermione snapped out of her thoughts to notice both of the former chasers, the dark-haired Adams and blonde Noonan, standing in front of their group. Her eyes flicked up to the glowing letters on their foreheads, and she struggled to maintain eye contact.

"Have you seen Weasley anywhere?" Adams asked.

"She hasn't come up yet," Dean replied.

"Ah. Well," Adams said, "right, thanks for bailing us out, I'm pretty sure she would have murdered us for real if we lost."

Noonan nodded his agreement.

"You're probably not wrong," Julia said.

"Yeah…" Adams said as he scratched the back of his head, "I…we, were wondering if you could do us a favour actually, Julia."

Julia raised an eyebrow.

"Well… we're still behind in Defence, and you're supposed to be pretty good," he continued.

"You want help," Julia said.

The two former chasers nodded.

"Here's a chance," Hermione thought.

"Why not?" Hermione asked.

"What?" Julia asked as she shot her a look.

"We could do it together," Hermione said, "besides, we have to review 6th year Defence for NEWTs anyway."

Julia opened her mouth to respond, then closed it and then turned back to Adams and Noonan.

"I guess you're in luck," she said.

"Oh, wow, thank you Hermione, Julia," Noonan said, "we're gonna work hard, promise, and we'll make it up to you, whatever you need."

"Careful what you promise," Julia said with a smirk, "hey, the cup's over there, if you want a drink. You won the other matches after all."

Adams smacked Noonan in the gut and the two of them wandered off to take their traditional swigs from the quidditch cup.

"You weren't going to help them?" Hermione asked.

"Seemed like a waste of time, and we have things to do," Julia replied, "but I suppose it's just as well. At least I won't be by myself."

"It'll be fun," Hermione said.

Julia rolled her eyes, but Hermione could tell she didn't think she would mind the tutoring at all. Someone cleared his throat behind her, and Hermione turned to see Eric Wildy. Recognition and recollection of the tryst they shared in the hidden passage was almost immediately followed by guilt for what she'd done.

"That was some match," he said, "congratulations White."

Julia didn't respond, but she nodded and lifted her glass in acknowledgement. Wildy turned to Hermione.

"So uhh, are you enjoying the party?" he asked.

"Oh umm… yes, it's a bit loud though," she replied.

"Ugh, this is awkward, what happened?" Hermione thought.

"It's because of what you did," she replied to herself. She looked up to realise Wildy had said something and she'd completely tuned out, then a cheer went up from the crowd and she glanced up to see she had been saved by the arrival of Ginny.

"Weasley! Weasley! Weasley!" came the chant from the crowd, and Hermione applauded, then grinned as Ginny was hoisted into the air. The redhead laughed and pointed towards the cup, and the crowd moved her in that general direction, eventually propping her up to stand on the table next to the cup. Ginny held up her hands for quiet.

"This was a great year, thanks to everyone who came out to support the team," Ginny said, "now, this is a party, right? Someone fill this cup up, I need a drink!"

The crowd roared and Hunter Marcos obliged her. Ginny lifted the brimming silver chalice with both hands to take a few long gulps, then held it up by the handles as high as she could. She then passed it into the crowd, where the students started taking turns drinking from it and refilling. Ginny carefully stepped around the full Zippy cups on the table to hop off the back end, where Hunter and Dean Thomas stood. Hermione looked around to see Wildy had retreated (thank Merlin) and she moved down the wall, away from the centre table, and pulled Julia by the elbow as she went. They people watched as the drinks flowed, conversations grew louder, and a few couples started ducking out for private time. Less than an hour later, with the party still in full swing, she spotted a pair of couples, fifth or sixth years by the look of them, snogging on either end of one of the couches, completely oblivious to anything going on around them. Even with some people having left, the temperature continued to slowly rise until Hermione cast a cooling charm on herself. Julia nudged her and nodded towards the wall near the steps to the dorms, where Dean Thomas still stood chatting with Ginny.

"Didn't they used to date?" Julia asked.

Hermione nodded and they both watched as Ginny faux laughed and glanced to the side, looking for an exit, but Dean appeared undeterred.

"Yes. If he keeps going like that, he's going to end with bats crawling out his nose," she said.

"We could let it happen," Julia asked.

Hermione thought of Wildy and his amazing experience, snogging his school crush, that he didn't even know about.

"Let's not. He's just won the quidditch cup, he should have a good night, or at least not a bad one," Hermione said, "not sure how we're going to diffuse this though, not without being obvious."

Julia smirked.

"Ha, bet you one favour I can get him away from her," Julia said.

"Peacefully," she added when Hermione was about to forbid hexing him; not only would that ruin his night, but Ginny might take offense at the thought she couldn't handle herself.

"What kind of favour?" Hermione asked.

Julia shrugged.

"What, you don't trust me?" she asked with a cheeky grin.

Hermione smirked, but she nodded anyway.

Julia pushed off the wall and walked over to Dean and Ginny and pulled Dean aside. She said a few words then nodded towards one of the couches, and Dean glanced over, then walked to start chatting with dark-haired Romilda Vane, the girl who had sent love potion laced chocolates to Harry during their sixth year. Julia spoke with Ginny for a few minutes, long enough for Romilda to get up from the seat and follow Dean out to the castle, then she swept in to take the vacated couch and motioned Hermione to join her. Hermione shook her head in disbelief and walked across the thinning crowd to stand next to her.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"Romilda's been making eyes at him for ten minutes, and he was oblivious," Julia said. She scooted up against one armrest and patted the half-seat next to her. Hermione eyed the space and tried to gauge whether her hips would fit.

"Are you sure? It looks a little cramped," Hermione said.

"I know I'm tired. I've been standing for the last two hours, come on," Julia said.

Hermione, feeling as if the entire room were watching her, squeezed in between the armrest and Julia. The oversized chair was meant to be roomy for one person, and the two girls barely fit in the seat. Being pressed up against Julia again had her recalling her fantasies about her tentmate, and again she wondered if her conjured images of her body were accurate. She forcibly stopped that line of thinking and sat back to sip her butterbeer and watch the party, and definitely did not focus on her thigh pressed up against Julia's.

Julia didn't seem to be in a talkative mood either, and the two of them watched as the party wound down. Eventually, two sixth year boys took turns levitating cups and trying to pour them into each other's mouths. As much butterbeer ended up sloshed on the carpet as down their gullets, and Hermione tsk'ed in annoyance.

"Who do they think is going to clean this up?" she said quietly. Then she stood.

"Alright, party's over," she said, "everyone help tidy up this mess before Professor Winthrop sees it tomorrow morning."

"Come off it Granger, the elves will get it," someone said.

Before Hermione could even figure out who said it, a yelp issued forth as a stinging hex struck the dissenter, courtesy of Julia's wand. She hadn't even raised her arm.

"Anyone else want to complain?" Julia asked.

"Right, we need to put it all back the way it was, let's go," Hermione said.

"You heard her, move it," Ginny said.

The redheaded quidditch captain led by example and laid down one scourgify charm after another on the rug where the butterbeer had spilled. Wildy was second as he started vanishing cups one by one, while Hermione worked on rearranging the furniture and Julia and Parks got the sleeping students off them and up to their dorms. One by one, the other students, the ones that were still awake anyway, grudgingly fell in line. With as many wands as they had, it was only about ten minutes before the sleeping students were roused and sent to bed, and the entire room was sparkling clean and smelling like daisies. Rather than make the trek down to the tent, Hermione climbed the steps to the dorm with Julia and Ginny, who carried the Quidditch Cup with her. She placed it on the desk by the window, adjusted it so it sat exactly in the centre, then polished off a spot, and then another, and then apparently realised it was a lost cause and left the rest for the following morning.

"Can't believe we did it," she said.

"It'll look even better in the sun tomorrow," Julia said, followed by a yawn.

"It's bloody late and I'm knackered, good night," she added.

Hermione felt the weariness in her bones too; it was well after midnight, and she collapsed onto her pillow without even drawing her bed curtains.

---

Hermione watched as Julia drew a diagram on the blackboard for the second time.

"She really is a decent teacher," Hermione thought.

They had been at the tutoring for nearly an hour, and had taken turns on the various Defence subjects that the two former chasers needed help on, and in Hermione's opinion, they clearly had their work cut out for them. On the plus side, she got to watch Julia lecture on banshees and flesh-eating slugs and the rest of the sixth year DADA curriculum. Julia made an exasperated sound and threw the chalk at Rory Adams, right at his 'cheater' brand, which now repeatedly scrolled across his forehead from left to right in scintillating glittering rainbow letters.

"Pay attention," Julia growled.

"Maybe she could work on her patience," Hermione thought with a smirk.

Apparently, the boys had tried to disenchant the brands, but instead of vanishing, they scrolled across their foreheads and flashed in a wide variety of colours. The two chasers decided to stop trying to get around their punishment for fear that more attempts would result in the letters projecting onto walls or making sounds.

"She really is beautiful when she's focused like this," Hermione thought as Julia rolled up her sleeves and added additional notes to the diagram.

Hermione swallowed as she felt a familiar warm sensation begin to coil in her belly, and her mind drifted again to her now near nightly solo sessions, all conducted in secret lip-biting silence while Julia slept mere feet away.

"You have a crush, what are you going to do about it?" Hermione thought. She uncrossed then re-crossed her legs.

"The end of the term is coming, what if I try something and then she doesn't want to have anything to do with me after we graduate?" Hermione thought, "but then again, what if she would, and I did nothing?"

The door opened from behind Hermione, interrupting her train of thought, and she twisted around as Daisy Vane, the blonde Hufflepuff Head Girl, and now Hogwarts Duelling Champion, looked them over.

"We booked the room," Hermione said.

"Time's up, it's my room now," Vane said.

Hermione cast a tempus charm.

"Huh, apparently time flies when tutoring alongside Julia White," Hermione thought. The Head Girl glanced at Adams and Noonan.

"Once a cheater, always a cheater," Vane said, "bet you thought it was clever to silence the chatterbox so only you could hear it. Not clever enough."

"You're the one who reported us?" Noonan asked.

Vane checked her fingernails and blew on one of them.

"Of course, it's my duty as Head Girl," she said, "I'm surprised you weren't expelled, to be honest."

"She looks pretty, but she's a bloody menace," Adams said, "I bet she purposefully waited until right before the final match to say something, so Weasley wouldn't have time to bring up replacements. Guess that didn't work out so well."

Adams smirked up at Vane, but the effect was somewhat marred by the glowing brand on his forehead.

"That's actually quite devious," Hermione thought, and she eyed Vane, wondering if it was true.

"Catching you cheaters and turning you in was the right thing to do," Vane said, "getting you kicked off the team a week before the final match was just a bonus."

"She's parroting Winthrop now, ugh," Hermione thought.

"Wow, you're even more annoying when you open your mouth," Julia said. She turned to Hermione, "I'm going to hex her."

"You can try, but you'll lose," Daisy Vane said as her hand drifted towards her wand.

Hermione's arm was already in motion before Daisy finished her sentence, and she snagged Julia's wand hand before she could draw.

"Nobody is hexing anyone," she said forcefully, "you're right, our time's up, we're going."

Adams and Noonan stacked their books and Hermione used her wand to wipe the board. It wasn't until she finished that Hermione realised she was once again stroking the small scar on Julia's hand, and she let it drop as they filed out of the meeting room. The door closed behind them, loudly enough that Madam Pince glanced sharply in their direction.

"What a bitch, can't believe she cost us a chance to fly in the final," Noonan whispered once the librarian looked away.

"You shouldn't have been cheating," Hermione whispered, "go on, we'll see you on Wednesday."

The two chasers walked ahead of them, still whispering. She looked over to see her partner with a small pout on her lips, and Hermione nearly laughed out loud at the absurdity of an almost adult woman wearing the very child-like expression.

"You know she was goading you," Hermione said.

Julia nodded, still pouting.

"So why were you going to hex her?" Hermione asked.

"I don't like her," Julia replied, "you don't like her either."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You can't just go around hexing everyone you don't like," Hermione said as she started walking.

"Says you," Julia muttered.

"Come on, patronus practise," Hermione said.

"Maybe if I hexed her until slugs came out of her ears and she begged for mercy, I'd be able to cast a full patronus," Julia said as she started moving to keep pace, "seems like that would be a happy memory."

Hermione sniggered but then suddenly fell silent as she caught sight of the individual rounding the entrance to the library. Draco Malfoy, eyes held perfectly straight ahead, passed within three feet of them. Hermione recognized the book he held under one hand as the one she'd helped author – the Rise and Fall of Tom Riddle Jr. She watched him out of the corner of her eye until he passed out of sight, the two of them not acknowledging each other's existence. Julia turned to stare at the back of his head.

"Psst," Hermione said, and she motioned for Julia to continue walking out of the library.

"What are you doing?" Hermione whispered.

"It's not often you see a real Death Eater up close," Julia replied.

"He's not a real Death Eater," Hermione said.

"He's got the Mark, hasn't he?" Julia asked.

She had a point.

"Still," Hermione said, "real Death Eaters are scary, he's just… pathetic."

Julia had some kind of fixation on Draco Malfoy, and Hermione certainly intended to nip that in the bud; nothing good could come of associating with him.

---

Water streamed down over Hermione as she reached for her wand. Normally, she didn't bring it into the shower, but Professor Winthrop had said they needed to look the part, and working outdoors in warmer weather meant shorts, which meant cleaning up a bit. Hermione hadn't bothered since the spring dance; who would notice beneath robes anyway? Going out into the muggle world was a different matter entirely though. She propped her foot up on a tiled step in the shower, leaned forward, and aimed the wand at her lower shin.

"Capillus evanesca," she said quietly, vanishing the body hair with only a hint of pins and needles. It was several orders of magnitude more convenient than shaving, but unfortunately, she'd only found out about the grooming spell in fifth year; they weren't in any school approved textbooks after all. She repeated the charm a few times for the rest of her legs and her armpits, taking extra care with her off-hand to not misfire and hit her scalp. She paused as she ran her fingers through the triangle of dark curls about her private area.

"I wonder what Julia would prefer," she thought. She imagined her roommate's naked body again, her skin would be even fairer there, and tried to picture whether she would leave it natural, remove some, or all of it. If one were to believe Witch Weekly, most witches and many wizards made liberal use of hair vanishing charms, but Hermione hadn't actually conducted a poll to find out how true it was.

"Sod it," she thought, and before she could change her mind, vanished all of it with three castings, each one eliciting a sharper sensation of pins and needles on the more sensitive skin. Now feeling more exposed than she'd ever felt in her life, she ran her hands over her body to ensure she hadn't missed anything, turned the water off, cast a drying charm and threw on her robe before returning to the tent. She passed Julia and resisted the sudden and inexplicable urge to kiss her as they passed. Once in front of her mirror though, she was faced with yet another decision as she held a short-sleeved t-shirt up against her body, then switched it out for a long-sleeved shirt, and back again.

"Dress the part, dress the part," she thought as she repeated Professor Winthrop's instructions. The warmer weather definitely justified short sleeves, but… she rubbed her transfigured and glamoured arm to feel the scars hidden beneath. The magic had held so far.

"You're being irrational. It's held for months, what are the odds that the spell would unravel today?" she thought. She pulled the t-shirt over her head, then tied her hair back and away from her neck, checked herself in the mirror again, and nodded.

Julia waited for her outside the tent and pushed off one of the potion tables as she emerged. The brew to cure her parents sat stewing near the far wall; only another month to go. Julia wore one of Hermione's muggle t-shirts and a pair of light blue shorts and white trainers, and if it wasn't for the wand twirling between her fingers, Hermione would have thought she was a muggle teenager.

They joined Professor Winthrop and a half-dozen other students from his extra session in the grassy field between the castle and the quidditch pitch. All of them wore similar style muggle clothing, even Professor Winthrop. The sun peeked through an overcast sky, and a stiff breeze blew across the grounds, stirring their hair.

"Perfect, that's all of us," Winthrop said, "now, a few points of safety before we go. Follow instructions at all times, and if you're not certain, ask. Remember the Statute, and if you encounter any muggles, you're to tell them you're working on a charity project for disadvantaged families. For Merlin's sake, don't let them see you performing magic. If you think any of them have, come find me immediately."

As Winthrop spoke, Julia nudged Hermione's uncovered arm, and the skin-to-skin contact made Hermione jump. She glanced over to see Julia nod down at her arm and give her a small smile of acknowledgement. Hermione smiled in return and felt her heart rate increase.

"She didn't even do anything, what's wrong with you?" Hermione thought, "…she noticed, didn't she? And she's proud of you."

She had never thought of herself as a blusher, but as Winthrop continued speaking, heat rose to her cheeks until she was sure they were as red as apples.

"Right, if there are no questions, everyone take hold," Winthrop said. He motioned to a large cardboard box lying on the grass. The students crowded around to lay a hand on the portkey, and Hermione felt the familiar sense of being pulled backwards through space by her navel. They landed, some better than others, in soft dirt next to a cleared off area, large enough for a single-family home. Large pallets of supplies covered in plastic sheeting lay all around them. As Hermione glanced about, she noticed red bricks, bags of powdered concrete, rows of wooden planks and plywood, entire doors, windows, and cabinets, rows and rows of piping, both metal and plastic, massive coils of wire, and numerous boxes of nails, braces, doorknobs, hinges, moulding, screws, and dozens of cans of paint and boxes of brushes. Further away, Hermione spotted several other plots adjacent to an access road, and beyond them, the road disappeared into a forest. Deep grooves in the dirt marked where a truck had dropped off the construction materials.

"Right, everyone take a pair of work gloves," Winthrop said, "we'll build the first one together."

Hermione picked up a pair of thick work gloves from the brand-new box and slipped them on.

"Aren't we going to use magic to build the houses?" one of the other students asked as he fumbled with the gloves.

"Of course, but we need to keep up appearances," Winthrop replied.

He waved his wand and the pallets began unwrapping themselves.

"We don't have to use magic though. There is a certain satisfaction that comes with pounding a nail into lumber to fix it in place," Winthrop said, "the muggle tools are there, if anyone is interested."

He gestured to another box, set farther away from the rest of the pallets. When no one took him up on the offer, he continued unwrapping.

"Right, we'll start with the foundation," Winthrop said, "Hermione, Julia, let's excavate some holes, this deep, here, and here, and I'll show you the charms to mix, pour, and dry the concrete…"

They got to work with Winthrop showing them how to build the house, step by step, beginning with the foundation, putting the frame in place, affixing the braces, building the brick chimneys, erecting the exterior walls, assembling the interior walls, building the steps, adding the plumbing, the wiring, the outlets, then affixing the doors, the cabinets, the moulding, and finally painting the whole thing. For lunch they picnicked in the shadow of the partially constructed house. They finished the first house by late afternoon and started on the second, and managed to finish the frame before the light started to fade.

"Good work everyone," Winthrop said, "let's get some rest, and we're back at it tomorrow."

They took the portkey back to Hogwarts and met up again the following morning after breakfast to continue the work. Winthrop set Hermione and Julia, as the most advanced students, on building the rest of the foundations and frames, while he continued to instruct the other students on how to finish constructing the second house.

The sun climbed higher, and Hermione and Julia worked in tandem on the housing frames, levitating the posts and planks and concrete and setting them in place. It was work that would have taken them ten times as long, with a lot more physical exertion, to do by hand, and Hermione almost felt as if they were cheating by using magic. Even so, she paused to retie her hair to keep it off her neck in the heat.

"It's bloody hot, are you using a cooling charm?" Julia asked as she wiped her brow.

"No, are you?" Hermione asked.

Julia stared at her.

"What, you don't think I can take the heat without one?" Julia asked.

"I didn't say that," Hermione replied.

"No, but you were thinking it," Julia said, "if you're not going to use a cooling charm, then neither am I."

What Hermione had meant was she wasn't planning to use a cooling charm yet, but after Julia made it a competition, well, she certainly wasn't going to lose. Even as the temperature soared in the middle of the day and sweat dripped off her chin and soaked her neckline, she refused to give in. Julia was, apparently, just as stubborn. Hermione knew the pureblood was overheated, her glistening skin and pink cheeks gave it away, but the set of her jaw was determined, and Hermione couldn't help but internally roll her eyes while fanning her shirt to try and cool off.

"So what, it's only sweat," she thought as it clung to her skin when she stopped.

They stopped for a water break and Hermione caught herself staring as Julia took in large quenching gulps.

"Ahh," Julia said as she took a breath. She spotted Hermione and smiled, then her mouth dropped open in an 'O' shape as she spotted something over Hermione's shoulder.

Hermione twisted to see behind her where a pair of dark-haired teenage boys on bicycles, perched on top of a mound of dirt, stared at them. The two boys, realising they'd been seen, turned and vanished behind the small hill.

"Do you think they saw anything?" Hermione asked.

"Sod it, we can't take the risk," Julia said as she drew her wand. With a pop, she apparated, and Hermione turned back to see her at the top of the dirt hill. Another pop and she was gone. A few shouts echoed from beyond the hill, and Hermione, not confident enough in her apparition to appear directly on top of a hill like Julia had, hiked up the large mound. The soft dirt shifted around her feet as she climbed making it more difficult than it looked at first glance. As she crested the top, she spotted Julia with both muggle boys, about thirteen or fourteen years old, magically bound and gagged and looking terrified as she levitated them along with their bikes.

"They bloody split up," Julia said as she huffed.

"Damn," Hermione said as she took in the fear on both boys' faces.

"Don't worry, it's going to be okay," Hermione said, though she didn't think it helped at all.

They walked with their captives down the access road to where Julie Parks sat out front of the house they were working on.

"Professor, we have a problem," Hermione called as they approached.

"He's at the next house over," Parks said, "Merlin, are those muggles?"

"Yes, we need to ask him what to do," Hermione said.

Winthrop had apparently heard the commotion, and met them halfway between the partially constructed homes.

"Hmm," he said as he regarded the two boys, who by now were literally shaking in fear.

"I knew this was too risky, we'll have to call the obliviators, and that's a Statute violation on our permanent records," Parks said.

"It's the right thing to do though, helping the muggles," one of the other students said.

An argument broke out amongst the students, and Hermione knelt down next to one of the muggle boys and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, everything is going to be fine," she said quietly. He blinked and said something she couldn't make out through the gag.

"Should we obliviate them sir?" Julia asked, "Hermione and I could handle it without an issue."

Winthrop seemed lost in thought for a moment, then he held up his hands for quiet. As one, the students fell silent to hear what the professor had to say.

"I wouldn't want you implicated if anything went wrong," he said, "and fortunately, we won't need to call the Ministry. Ms. Granger, would you be so kind as to apparate to Hogwarts and retrieve Madam Schultz please. She has decades of experience."

"Should we cancel the project?" Parks asked.

"Of course not," Winthrop replied, "there is no danger of a large Statute breach, so all that is at stake here is our reputation. A small price to pay for over a score of muggles and their children to have homes, wouldn't you say?"

The effect was instantaneous: Every student immediately nodded their head in agreement. Hermione agreed as well; after all, how could she possibly weigh the impact of dozens of families who would otherwise be on the streets against a minor blemish on her record?

Resolve so bolstered, she turned on the spot, apparated to Hogsmeade, and took long strides up the path towards the castle, emboldened by the righteousness of their cause. She found Madam Schultz just as Dean Thomas stepped out of the room the mind healer used for her sessions.

"Hi Dean," Hermione said.

"Oh, hey Hermione… I was just… yeah," Dean said. He turned and started to quickly walk away.

"Dean… it's okay," Hermione said, "I um… I get it."

The dark skinned muggleborn stopped and turned to give her a curt nod, then continued on his way. Hermione pushed open the door and looked up to meet Madam Schultz's sharp blue eyes.

"Good afternoon Miss Granger. Ve do not have a session today, do ve?" Schultz asked.

"No Madam," Hermione replied, "Professor Winthrop needs your help with a situation, he asked that you side-along with me."

The wizened old woman stood up straighter and Hermione explained what had happened as Schultz retrieved a small cloth bag from where it hung near the door, slipped it onto her shoulder, then donned a grey travelling cloak.

"Ve had best be off then," Schultz said.

The aged mind healer easily kept pace with Hermione as they walked the halls towards the castle entrance.

"How do you know Professor Winthrop, if you don't mind my asking?" Hermione asked.

"I am… an old friend of his family," Schultz replied.

"And you met in Europe?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, a long time ago," Schultz replied quietly.

Curiosity piqued, Hermione was about to ask another question, but Schultz cut her off.

"Vat do you sink of ze Professor?" she asked.

"He's a great man," Hermione replied, almost automatically, "I'm almost disappointed that we'll be going our separate ways at the end of the school year."

"Zat he is, fraulein, zat he is. You are fortunate zat he favours you so," Schultz replied.

Hermione felt her chest swell with pride at the statement from the mind healer, who apparently had a deeper relationship with Winthrop than she'd realised.

"Here we are, grab hold," Hermione said as she held out an arm. Schultz wrapped her chill fingers about Hermione's bare forearm, then turned her head for Hermione to catch a glimpse of her icy blue eyes.

"Shit, the scars," Hermione thought.

She turned quickly and apparated back to the construction site. Schultz released her arm and bent over slightly to take a few steadying breaths.

"Wait, what are you worried about? She saw the memory of the torture in your memories; she already knows," Hermione thought. She realised that Madam Schultz had probably been worried about injuring her, as the scars had a tendency to open up on their own. For her part, Schultz did not give any indication that she'd noticed anything, and the two women walked up to the partially constructed home, easily identified by the pair of muggle bicycles leaning against it.

"I am here Professor," Schultz said as she stepped through the doorway, "vere are zey?"

"Good afternoon, Madam Schultz," Winthrop said, "just here."

He led them across partially constructed planked wooden floors to where the rest of the students milled about drinking water, and gestured to the two boys, now leant against the wall beneath an empty window frame with their eyes closed.

"Hmm, zis vill not be a problem," Schultz said, "quiet please, everyone."

"Stand back, give her some room," Winthrop said.

Hermione watched as Madam Schultz drew her wand and woke the first boy. She whispered quietly with her wand pointed at him as she stared into his eyes. She then repeated the process with the second boy. The wand motions were extremely familiar to Hermione, even if she couldn't hear the words, she knew exactly what she was doing: Placing a memory charm and a compulsion on them.

"It is done," Schultz said.

Winthrop waved his wand and the bonds and gags vanished. The two boys stood up and shuffled out of the house, retrieved their bicycles, and rode off.

"Zey vill not vish to return for some veeks," Schultz said.

Murmurs of astonishment rose from the students, but Hermione only frowned, what had happened to the two boys was almost exactly what she had done to her parents.

"It's for their own benefit," Hermione thought as she tried to quiet her second guessing.

"You truly are an expert, Madam Schultz," Winthrop said.

"Thank you, sir," Schultz said. She took a step towards the exit, paused, and turned back around.

"I vould like to talk vis you, perhaps later today or tomorrow," she said.

Winthrop nodded.

"My door is always open to you," he said.

Schultz left the room and vanished with a soft pop.

"Right, let's wrap it up for today, and you may all take a break tomorrow while I set up a few extra precautions," Winthrop said, "we don't need a repeat of this."

---

Sunlight filtered through the leaves and dappled the dirt trail beneath their shoes as Hermione and Julia walked around the Black Lake and skirted the edge of the Forbidden Forest. With the day off from construction, Hermione reasoned it was the perfect time for patronus practise. She turned her head slightly so she could take a glance at Julia. Her friend wore a frown, and Hermione wondered what was going through her head. Then Julia glanced over and caught her staring, and Hermione flicked her eyes forward again as if she'd only taken a quick look.

"Damn, think of something," she thought, but nothing immediately came to mind.

"This should be a good spot," Hermione said.

They stopped and Julia cast around for what had attracted Hermione's attention.

"Here," Julia asked, "this spot, that's essentially exactly the same as every other spot between the forest and the lake?"

"Yes," Hermione said with a nod.

Julia raised an eyebrow.

"And I thought sunshine was supposed to improve one's mood," Hermione said.

"This is my improved mood," Julia deadpanned.

Hermione sighed and pursed her lips. She was so damn stubborn. The muggleborn drew her wand.

"Expecto patronum," she said by way of demonstration. Her blue-white otter formed out of the tip of her wand. Not as brilliant in the morning sun, it filled the area with its warmth nonetheless. Hermione glanced at Julia out of the corner of her eye as the pureblood watched the patronus swim and twist and leap out of water that wasn't there, and a small smile graced her lips.

"It never fails," Hermione thought; Julia always smiled when she saw her patronus.

"Alright, over here, let's watch," Hermione said to the otter. Her patronus swam over and more or less perched on her shoulder.

"You're going to make it sit there and watch me practise?" Julia asked.

"Mmm hmm," Hermione replied.

She'd promised to help Julia learn the patronus charm, and she meant it. The idea had really come to her on a spur of the moment, but the more she thought about it, the more sense it made.

"And why not?" she thought.

Julia struggled and failed to contain her smile, and eventually feigned concentration as she turned away. Hermione felt a giggle bubbling up inside of her but she tamped it down.

"Hermione Jean Granger, you do not giggle," she thought.

Her otter held no such principles, and it rolled in silent belly laughter by her head. Julia, still facing away from her, now with wand in hand, sighed deeply, the motion causing her shoulders to rise and fall ever so slightly. She looked over her shoulder, and her hair swung just so as she caught Hermione's gaze, and a flutter went through Hermione's chest.

Hermione swallowed as Julia turned back to face the forest.

"Expecto patronum," she said.

Blue-white light burst from her wand, and Julia's mouth fell open as it resolved into a winged form that flew up towards the trees, then banked around to glide between the two of them.

"A raven," Hermione thought as she identified the bird. Happiness and pride in her friend swelled in her, touched by the slightest bit of disappointment that her patronus was an animal so different from her own.

"That's impossible," Julia whispered.

"Nothing's impossible if you put your mind to it," Hermione said.

"If we put our minds to it," Julia said.

Hermione waved her wand a little bit and her otter leapt up to join the raven in a twisting and tumbling dance with the new patronus. They took to each other immediately, almost as if they had minds of their own, racing between Julia and Hermione while ducking and dodging about. Hermione looked away from the two glowing creatures to see Julia watching them, mouth open in wonder, a moment of unfiltered emotion on her normally guarded features.

"Now, kiss her, it's perfect," Hermione thought.

Her Gryffindor courage failed her though, and she stayed rooted to the spot.

"We should celebrate," she said instead.

The raven winked out of existence, followed by the otter.

"Celebrate how? Expecto patronum," Julia said. Grey mist sprayed from her wand. She frowned and concentrated.

"Expecto patronum," she said, more forcefully, and the raven made a second appearance.

"Yes, that is a good question Hermione, celebrate how?" Hermione thought.

"Ice cream," she said, the literal first thing that came to mind.

"Bloody Fortescue's is always packed on weekends though, and you know the press is going to show up and ruin everything," Julia said.

That was a good point, although…

"Do you have muggle clothes with you?" Hermione asked.

"Yeeessss," Julia replied as she narrowed her eyes.

"Let's go then, I don't want to waste time walking back to the castle," Hermione said. Before she had a chance to think about what she was doing, she recklessly grabbed Julia's warm hand and started dragging her back the way they came. Her thumb found the small scar again, and her heart raced as Julia let herself be pulled along. As they emerged from around the side of the lake and Hermione caught sight of students in the distance walking back and forth to Hogsmeade though, she released Julia's hand and slowed down to a more casual pace.

"Don't want anyone to get the wrong idea," she thought.

"You know, you still haven't told me where we're going," Julia said.

"An ice cream parlour, in London," Hermione said.

They reached the edge of the wards.

"See you at Madam Malkin's," Hermione said. She turned on the spot and apparated, and Julia appeared next to her with a small pop. They entered the nearly deserted clothing store and Hermione ducked into a booth to change into jeans and a white t-shirt, and added a dark wool cardigan. Then it was a short walk to the Leaky Cauldron. The sun shone here as well, and a gentle breeze blew wispy clouds across a brilliant blue sky as they exited onto the London streets. Hermione took a moment to orient herself, then grabbed Julia's hand again.

"This way," she said as she turned right, leading her friend through the busy streets.

---

Bellatrix let herself be led through the London streets, and every now and then Hermione ran her finger over the skin between her thumb and forefinger, sending shivers all the way down to her toes. Rather than say something and ruin the moment, she kept her mouth shut as they traversed the city, and apparently Hermione didn't feel the need to speak either. They walked in silence for several minutes until Bellatrix spotted a large ice cream cone hung above a doorway. A massive glass window showed their reflection: a pair of teenage girls connected at the hands, smiles on both their faces.

"Here we are," Hermione said. Tucked into a quaint little road in a quiet corner of the city, Ken's Cold Creamery was crammed in between chic boutiques and fast-food eateries and bistros. Further down the street, a sign proclaimed the entrance to a private school; the ice cream parlour was perfectly placed to take advantage of the hordes of students who would no doubt find their way here after being disgorged from their daily imprisonment. As it was a weekend, only a few tables were occupied by several young families treating their children. The girls walked up to the counter where a muggle in his thirties wearing a white apron and wielding a round, metal ice cream scooper gazed down at them over a dozen large buckets of multicoloured ice cream.

"Dark chocolate and cherry sundae please," Hermione said.

"Rum raisin," Bellatrix said, picking a flavour at random.

Bellatrix let Hermione pay with muggle currency, while she picked up the spoons and napkins, then they found an empty booth near the wall. Hermione sat down and Bellatrix almost sat next to her, then changed her mind at the last minute and sat opposite.

"Coward," she thought to herself.

"So what was it?" Hermione asked.

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow.

"Your happy memory, for the patronus," Hermione said.

Her smile. Helping her get ready for the spring dance, and then sharing a moment in the Great Hall. Embracing after the quidditch final. A glowing blue-white otter, the visible manifestation of Hermione's happiness.

"Her happiness is my happy memory," Bellatrix thought. She swallowed, and Hermione's expression changed from curious to concerned at the hesitation.

"Oh… If it's private, that's…, um," she said, then focused on her ice cream.

Bellatrix took a bite of her own and let the rich flavour envelop her tongue.

"Just a hint of alcohol taste, these muggles aren't bad," she thought.

"Is that a cherry?" Bellatrix asked as Hermione picked the bright red fruit from her whipped cream and placed it on a napkin.

Hermione's brows came together.

"Yes?" Hermione said, "oh, right, it's a maraschino cherry, perhaps it's a muggle thing. They're a bit sweet for my taste."

"Do you mind if I have it?" Bellatrix asked.

Hermione blinked.

"Your cherry, do you mind?" Bellatrix asked as she reached for it.

"Not at all," Hermione replied.

Bellatrix picked it by the stem, held the fruit between her teeth, and plucked out the bit she didn't want to eat while Hermione stared for a moment, then busied herself with her ice cream. Bellatrix took another bite of her own.

"Not bad," Bellatrix said, "want to try some?"

She pushed her ice cream across the table, closer to Hermione.

Hermione's spoon hovered over the dark coloured dessert and she glanced at Bellatrix, as if to ask if she minded if she used her spoon.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes, reached across the table, dug out a large scoop of Hermione's cherry and chocolate, and shoved it in her mouth. Hermione smirked and took a small bite of the rum raisin. She started to slide it back to Bellatrix's side of the table, but Bellatrix shook her head.

"Budge over, this is ridiculous," she said as she slipped around the table to sit next to Hermione. They squeezed in on one side of the booth and faced the street together, sharing ice cream and commenting on passer-by. Bellatrix tucked one foot under her leg and let the other swing freely as she ate. She couldn't help but steal glances at Hermione, something about the way she opened her mouth, the way she slipped the spoon out, had her stomach doing Wronski feints.

"Managed a real patronus, getting to spend free time with Hermione… I haven't felt this good in… well… ever," she thought, "ice cream in the muggle world was a fantastic idea. She always has fantastic ideas."

Before long, silver spoons lay in empty bowls, and Bellatrix leaned back to let her feet rest on the opposite seat.

"What now?" she asked.

"Now? I suppose it's back to the castle," Hermione said.

Bellatrix nodded.

They stood up to visit the loo, made sure it was empty, then apparated from the stalls to Hogsmeade.

---

"Back to the castle, idiot," Hermione thought.

She mentally kicked herself. Things had gone wonderfully at the ice cream parlour and now, instead of doing something else together, they were hiking up from the village to Hogwarts. It was only early afternoon and they still had half a day.

"Wouldn't be surprised if she goes off to work on whatever project is next, now that she's managed the patronus and the potion just needs a little bit of tending here and there," she thought. For some reason the thought of Julia leaving her alone had her in a bit of a panic. She stopped walking. Julia stopped a few steps ahead of her and turned to look back.

"I don't want to go back to the castle yet," Hermione said.

"Okay," Julia said with a hand on one hip, "then what?"

Hermione had no idea.

"I don't know. Something outside, we should take advantage of the weather," Hermione said.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, then Julia's face lit up and Hermione felt herself smile in response.

"This way, I know a place," Julia said. She took Hermione's hand and led her to the right, off the path and down towards the Black Lake. The afternoon sun warmed her hair as they walked past several small copses of trees and eventually splashed across a stony lake-fed brook. It wasn't long before they crossed beneath the dark canopy of a cluster of ash trees; the underbrush thickened enough it snarled her trainers as they pushed through.

Just when she was about to ask where they were going, she spotted a small clearing ahead of them where no bushes or trees grew, only long, uncut grass. Julia led her to the far side where a large flat rock lay, easily two metres across, tilted slightly towards the castle. Dense trees surrounded the clearing and blocked the view of the castle and the lake, leaving only the sky open to view. It was a tiny, secluded nook, still within the wards of the castle, and perfect for watching clouds or stargazing.

"And she's sharing it with me," Hermione thought.

"How did you find it?" she asked.

"Exploring one day," Julia replied with a shrug. She sat on the edge of the rock and pulled a trainer off, then hit it with a drying charm. It was the work of seconds to dry the other trainer and her socks before she slid her wand into its pocket. She lay back on the rock, crossed her ankles, and patted a spot next to her. Hermione's shoes were waterproof, so they didn't need the same treatment. She lay down on the sun-warmed stone and stared up into the blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds. Then she folded her hands on her stomach and sighed as she tried to relax, and the sound was echoed by Julia. They lay like that for several minutes, simply watching the clouds float by, and Hermione felt absolutely content to let her mind wander in their comfortable silence.

"Have you booked your trip to Australia yet?" Julia asked.

Hermione shook her head.

"There's plenty of time after NEWTs," Hermione said.

A smaller cloud drifted closer to a larger one, and Hermione watched the point where they would meet.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Julia asked.

"What, to Sydney?" Hermione asked.

Julia nodded and turned her head; Hermione looked over to make eye contact.

"I mean, not to actually be there when you bring their memories back, that's family business. Rather, just in case something goes wrong," Julia said.

Hermione frowned and looked back to the sky.

"I've been trying not to think about that," she said.

"What if it doesn't work? Or worse, what if it does work and they're furious with me?" Hermione thought.

"Not that I think it will go wrong, it's just… well, if you'd rather go alone, you can tell me, I'll understand completely. Most people annoy me in anything more than small doses so I won't take offence," Julia said.

"No no, it's alright, I was just thinking," Hermione said, "I'd be happy for you to come. If everything goes well, it can be a celebration, and if not… well I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Good, I'm glad," Julia said.

They fell quiet again and Hermione closed her eyes, let the sun warm her face, and listened to the wind stir the nearby trees for some minutes.

"You know, deep down, most people are nice, and normal. You could give them a chance," Hermione murmured.

"Or is it that most people are broken? Or maybe broken is normal," Hermione thought, "or some level of brokenness is normal, and that varies by person, depending…"

"You taught me the patronus charm, somehow," Julia said, "also, I do give them a chance, a very, very brief chance."

Hermione understood what she meant. 'Not you, you're not normal. I enjoy spending time with you.'

"Harry taught a lot of us, you only needed the right teacher," Hermione said as she attempted modesty, even as she felt heat rising to her cheeks.

She felt rather than heard Julia turn her head, and she glanced to the side again to catch her lips curl up at the corners, a sign of admiration from the usually stoic girl. She felt herself start to smile, bit her lip instead, and then looked up, back to the sky. She did let her hand drift over to find Julia's, and her stomach tightened as Julia interlaced their fingers. Julia's hand was small compared to Ron's, and Hermione's thumb again found the small scar. They lay like that on the rock, holding hands and quietly watching the clouds and listening to the sounds of the leaves in the wind, until the sun dipped below the trees of the clearing and the temperature took a slight chill. Hermione sat up and took her hand back as she stretched.

"I suppose we should head back, otherwise we'll miss dinner," she said.

"I guess," Julia said. The reluctance was clear in her voice as she sat up and reached for her trainers, left by the bottom of the rock, and Hermione stood and waited while she slowly laced them up. Julia stood, and Hermione turned to walk back the way they came, but Julia grabbed her arm and spun her back around. Hermione was about to ask what was wrong but Julia stepped forward, and Hermione's eyes widened, and then fluttered shut as the pureblood's lips pressed against her own for a full second and a half before she broke contact and stepped back.

"So soft!"

With Ron, there had always been a hint of stubble, even if he'd recently shaved. Viktor was the same, and even Eric Wildy had some rough facial hair, but Julia's lips were the complete opposite, incredibly soft and smooth. The reality of what had just happened crashed through her, and her heart thumped against her ribs as if it were trying to escape. She realised she'd stopped breathing, and took a shuddering inhale.

Julia let go of her arm and Hermione blinked as her eyes focused on her face: mouth open slightly, a small crease between her eyebrows.

"I've never seen her so apprehensive," Hermione thought, "of course you fool, she just kissed you and now she's wondering if you liked it, or if she's just ruined everything! Do something!"

Hermione stepped forward and tentatively placed her hand beneath Julia's ear and partially around the back of her head, warm beneath her hair. She pulled her close and closed her eyes as their lips made contact. That simple action seemed to burst a dam within Julia, and Hermione felt arms wrap around her, one about the nape of her neck and the other grasping against her back as Julia pressed their lips together. The sudden ferocity caught Hermione off guard and she gave a small 'mmf' sound as Julia's hands moved to the front to cradle her face and then again about her shoulders and back, seemingly trying to touch her everywhere at once.

"Oh, I can't believe this is actually happening," Hermione thought as she wavered between the need to catch her breath and the need to immerse herself as deeply as possible in the sensation of quenching her desire for someone who so obviously and completely desired her in return.

Hermione took a step back but Julia matched her, and Hermione started to wonder how long she could go without taking a full breath. A finger run down the edge of her ear sent a shiver down her spine, and Hermione threw caution to the wind. She opened her mouth to invite Julia in, and the pureblood eagerly obliged; her tongue flicked lightly at first, and then tangled with Hermione's. Hermione stepped back again but her leg hit the edge of the stone, and she sat down, breaking contact. The setting sun caught Julia's hair and illuminated her glamoured highlights until they almost glowed; her half-lidded eyes captivated Hermione's as her chest heaved and her heart thudded. Julia pressed both hands onto Hermione's shoulders and slowly pressed her back onto the rock. The pureblood planted a knee between hers and pinned both her wrists. She paused for a second to look down at her, and Hermione's breath caught as she glimpsed her face through her curtain of hair.

"Desire, want, lust, need," she thought as Julia stared at her in that instant, and she imagined her own expression was probably much the same. She freed a hand and pushed herself backwards, further onto the rock, and pulled Julia towards her. With their bodies now flush against one another and Julia's weight pressing down on her, the warmth in her stomach spread south as Julia moved to kiss the corner of her mouth, and then down to her neck.

"Tender kisses on my neck," Hermione thought as hair tickled her throat, and she felt Julia's cheek against her jaw. She looked up at gold limned clouds, and gasped for breath as Julia trailed more kisses and tugged at the collar of her t-shirt to reach her collarbone. Hermione dimly became aware of Julia grinding against her hip and Hermione gasped and wrapped a leg behind Julia's thigh. The pureblood nibbled on her earlobe, sending quakes through her limbs as her heart raced. Hermione tried to grind herself against Julia's thigh in a futile attempt to relieve some of the burning need for release, while Julia fumbled with her t-shirt beneath the cardigan and managed to get it untucked enough to slip her hand beneath and slide directly against her stomach.

"Oh," Hermione said at the skin-to-skin contact.

"I want you," Julia whispered in her ear. At those words, Hermione realised how exposed they were; true, the trees blocked most line of sight, but anyone could see them if they approached anywhere close to the clearing.

"Wait. Wait!" Hermione said, "not here."

Julia stopped with her hair mussed, breath heavy, cheeks rosy, and lips swollen, and looked her dead in the eye.

"Tent?" she asked.

Hermione nodded.

"Umm, dinner first though," Hermione said.

Julia blinked.

"It'll have to be Hogwarts dinner," she said.

"I don't… I just… I'm hungry," Hermione said.

Julia took a fortifying breath and caught her lower lip between her teeth as she stared at Hermione; her wide eyes spoke volumes and caused Hermione's insides to quiver.

"Me too," she said, "dinner first."

Hermione nodded again, then wondered what she'd just signed up for. She stood up and smoothed out her clothes, re-tucked her shirt, and ran her fingers through her hair. Her skin, hyper sensitive with arousal, seemed to feel even the slightest movement of every thread of her clothes, and her bra now seemed uncomfortably snug. She did her best to ignore the distinct feeling of slight dampness and general unfulfilled desire in her knickers as they walked hand-in-hand through the woods and onto the grounds. In a second of self-consciousness as they cleared the trees though, worried someone would see them, Hermione released Julia's hand.

"Bugger, what if she takes it the wrong way, will she be insulted?" she immediately thought, but she couldn't very well reach out and take her hand again. Still, Hermione wasn't sure she was ready for anyone to know they were an item.

"Are we, in fact, an item?" she thought, "you just snogged, and you're planning to again, it is a fairly safe assumption at this point."

The pureblood didn't give any indication she cared, though, and they walked across the grounds to the castle and into the Great Hall. Dinner was in full swing and although Hermione imagined everyone would be able to tell what they'd done just by looking at them, nobody really paid them any mind as they found empty spots at the Gryffindor table. All through the meal, unsated tingling heat burned between Hermione's thighs as she repeatedly crossed and uncrossed her legs. Images of what was to come flashed across her mind: Julia in the tent, her clothes being torn off, either by herself or by Hermione, falling into bed together. Her heart raced and her stomach twisted itself into knots and she couldn't focus on her food at all. She felt like Julia could have asked anything of her at that moment, any depraved sexual act she wanted, and she would have agreed. Julia didn't though, she barely acknowledged Hermione's presence as she mechanically placed food in her mouth and chewed. Another tingle spread through her body.

"Apparently even that is enough to turn me on," Hermione thought, "but, what if she's having second thoughts?"

"Are you… okay?" Hermione asked.

Julia turned slightly to look at her with her eyes slightly out of focus.

"Yes, you?" she replied.

"I'm okay… I think I'm done eating, if you still want to head to the dungeon?" Hermione asked, even though she hadn't intended to phrase it like a question.

"Absolutely, let's go," Julia said as she stood up. The glazed look stayed as she waited for Hermione.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, I'm just… I'm practising Occlumency right now because I want to… It's really difficult… because," Julia said.

Hermione caught a glimmer of desire on Julia's face when she glanced over, and then it was gone, masked over by a neutral expression again.

"She feels the same way as me," Hermione thought, "only she's hiding it better."

Somehow that turned her on even more, and she increased pace as they descended the steps to the dungeon at a decent trot. They rounded the corner and Hermione reached the door first, and held it open for Julia. No sooner had Hermione slammed the door shut behind her and clicked the lock that Julia fell upon her, grabbing her face with both hands and kissing her full on the mouth again. With her eyes closed she could only feel Julia tugging at her cardigan, pulling it down about her upper arms. Once again, Hermione was struck at how different it was to kiss a girl; whereas she looked up to kiss Ron or Victor, and either could have easily physically overpowered her if they wanted to, Julia was more similar to herself in stature and strength. Not that she wanted to resist, at all. Hermione shrugged out of the cardigan and pressed Julia back towards the tent without letting their lips break contact.

Teeth clamped on her lower lip, more than a mere nibble, and Hermione's eyes flew open at the sharp pain, only to see Julia grinning cheekily at her with her lip held between her teeth.

"Ow," Hermione said as Julia released her and Hermione ran her tongue over her swollen lip.

"That actually hurt," she thought.

"Shh," Julia said, and she moved in slowly to take Hermione's lower lip in her mouth again, this time tenderly running her tongue over it and sucking gently.

"Oh," Hermione said as a soothing sensation washed over her.

Julia took her hand and led her inside their tent.

"Funny, when did it become our tent?" she thought. Analysis of that switch would have to wait though, because Julia slipped out of her trainers without untying them and started kissing her again. Her small hands cupped her cheeks as their lips touched and then slid around behind her neck. Hermione caught a hint of smell akin to fresh sawdust, Julia's scent, and she breathed deep as she struggled for a second to get her own shoes off, all while being pulled towards the bunks. Julia stopped at the foot of the bed and pulled her t-shirt over her head, and Hermione's eyes instinctively flicked down to the swell of her pale breasts hidden by her bra, and below that her pale stomach and navel. Hermione's mouth went dry.

Julia kissed her again, and Hermione felt her shirt being pulled out of her jeans. Soft hands slid around her waist and up her back, lifting her shirt up, and she felt a sudden need to be free of her clothes. Hermione yanked her t-shirt up and over her head to see Julia tugging at her own jeans down and struggling to get them off.

"She has matching knickers," Hermione thought.

Julia had gotten the jeans somewhat snarled about her calves and kicking at them wasn't helping. Hermione pushed her tentmate down to sit on the bunk, knelt, caught the end of Julia's jeans and her socks both, one in each hand, and pulled them up, and everything slid off at once.

"She's beautiful," Hermione thought as she let the clothes drop to the floor. Julia wrapped her legs about Hermione's calves and drew her close enough to hook a finger about the waistband of her jeans and pull her right up against the bunk. Hermione held the pureblood's head as Julia simultaneously kissed her stomach and twisted the rivet of her jeans. She started to tug them down, then stopped before they were over her bum.

"Take them off," Julia said. Hermione smirked and ignored the little voice in her head that said she absolutely must stop undressing in front of someone else; she shimmied out of her jeans and socks, leaving them both in just their undergarments. Julia took her hand and pulled her down to the bed, though she couldn't fully get onto it, so one leg was on the bunk and her other foot rested on the floor when Julia pressed down on top of her, body to body, only separated by small scraps of fabric. Sensation flooded her from every corner, and Hermione thought she might explode right then and there, but Julia growled.

Hermione glanced at her to see her glaring at the narrow bunk.

"Get up," Julia said.

Hermione stood up and resisted the urge to cover herself with her hands as Julia fished out her wand from the discarded duelling holster. She pointed it at the night table that separated their bunks and dragged it out of the way with a scrape of wooden legs, then wordlessly slid her own bunk next to Hermione's, putting the beds together. Hermione recognized the 'Z' shape of a sticking charm.

With a moment to think about what was happening, part of her brain thought they might be moving too fast.

"Shut up, don't you dare ruin this," Hermione thought back at her brain.

"Fixed," Julia said. She turned back to Hermione but didn't get to finish her sentence, because Hermione covered her mouth again with her own in a scorching kiss. The wand clattered to the floor and they stumbled back onto the two beds made one, with Hermione trying to simultaneously touch all of Julia's body with her own. She felt herself pushed, gently but firmly, and rolled onto her back where Julia straddled her, putting their mounds together. Hermione found it difficult to breathe, to think. The pureblood shrugged out of her bra to let her breasts fall free and Hermione's eyes drank in the sight of them, slightly larger than her own and with a darker areola, nipples already taut with arousal. She leaned forward to kiss Hermione again, her hair draping down to tickle Hermione's neck and jaw. Hermione awkwardly twisted and reached around behind herself to undo her own bra clasp and slip out of the undergarment, and they came together again, topless and with hands roaming wherever they could reach. Hermione let her hand drift down below Julia's back, to the cool, smooth skin of her bum, only to realise she felt no fabric. She glanced down to see Julia kicking the last of her clothing away, and then grin at her. Then she was ravaging Hermione's ear and neck, and Hermione's eyes rolled back as she gasped at the sensation. She became aware of a hot wetness pressed against her thigh; curiosity got the better of her, and she glanced down to see that, at least in Julia's case, Witch Weekly had been correct, and the sight of Julia grinding her bare sex against her leg nearly pushed her over the edge right then and there. Julia thumbed at the waistband of her knickers, and Hermione knew she wanted them off, to be completely naked together. The thing was, she'd never actually been fully naked in front of anyone before, and fresh anxiety at being so exposed and vulnerable threatened the edges of her arousal.

"It's okay, it's Julia. You've already been through so much together; you can trust her," Hermione thought, "you're in your own bed, in your own tent, behind wards you put up yourself, in the dungeon of Hogwarts, the most secure castle in all of Britain."

Thinking about it like that actually made a huge difference, and she felt her insecurities melt away. She joined Julia in pushing her knickers down, and together they both managed to wrangle them off the end of Hermione's foot and kick them away. Julia hovered over her for a moment and let her breasts just barely brush against Hermione's, apparently relishing the anticipation as her lower lip trembled.

"I've never done this before," Hermione thought, and she was about to say it out loud, but Julia ducked down and, while looking up into Hermione's eyes, lowered her head to Hermione's chest to give one nipple a long warm lick. That simple motion had Hermione's head falling back. She knew she should be doing something to reciprocate, but sensation overwhelmed her as Julia alternated licking and caressing her breasts, and it was all she could do to keep breathing and stroke Julia's body wherever she could. One hand dipped down across her inner thigh, and Hermione shifted a little bit to give her better access. When Julia's finger briefly drifted across her groin as she switched her attention from one thigh to the other, her legs came apart on their own until she lay there more exposed than she had ever been before. It was taking far too long, and she was more than ready.

"Please," Hermione whispered.

Julia must have heard her because she wiggled slightly and repositioned her hands to Hermione's most sacred of places. Hermione felt herself spread apart as Julia's fingers began to explore. She heard herself give off a half gasp, half moan as they brushed across the centre of her pleasure. One finger circled around, while the other teased her entrance. It was all she could do to clutch the sheets as one of Julia's fingers gently slid inside.

"Okay, okay," Hermione whispered, and she felt Julia press deeper, and then withdrew to slather moisture the length of her slit up to her clit. She'd never been so turned on in her life, not even during her most intense solo sessions. She felt the wave swell within her, deeper and farther away than she'd ever felt before, a build-up of pleasure that was so intimately familiar and completely alien at the same time. It rose higher and she heard her own pants grow heavier and more insistent. She realised she was biting her lip out of habit, but the necessity of staying quiet no longer applied, and Hermione let out a sensual moan, one built up over weeks of silent solo climaxes in the dark. The double sensations of Julia's fingers from both within her and the caresses on her clit drove her to the point that she nearly blacked out as every muscle tensed, winding tighter and tighter. The wave suddenly crested and crashed down, washing over her so completely that everything aside from convulsing pleasure was pushed aside like a massive tsunami carrying everything out to sea in a jumbled disorganised mess; nothing made sense and nothing mattered apart from her all-encompassing release. When she came back to her senses, she realised Julia had covered her body with her own, and they were engaged in a slow, tender kiss. The pureblood broke away, and Hermione took a few steadying breaths as her limbs and quivered with small aftershocks.

"Oh my god," Hermione said, a phrase she barely ever used, but which seemed at once both cliché and perfectly appropriate for the situation, "I had no idea."

Julia gave her a small smile and clasped her hand. Hermione instinctively ran her thumb over the small scar.

"You've done this before," Hermione asked.

"Yes, once or twice," Julia replied, "I mean, I think I must have. I can't remember any specifics."

Sadness and jealousy rose simultaneously in Hermione's chest; she didn't want to share Julia with anyone. Both feelings faded quickly as she realised Julia hadn't yet had her release, that she had looked after Hermione's need first, and even now patiently waited for her to finish coming down.

"Roll over," Hermione said as she pushed gently, and Julia didn't resist.

Hermione followed and cupped her… girlfriend's? lover's? Julia's bare mound with her palm, which caused Julia to throw her head back and writhe beneath her. Hermione didn't exactly have a strategy for how to proceed, but figured she couldn't go wrong by doing what Julia had done to her, and what she had found worked for herself through experimentation. Julia's body was almost exactly as Hermione had pictured in her mind's eye, except for several small white 'X' scars in various spots, something she'd be sure to ask about later. Hermione slid down to put herself lower on the bed and as Julia spread her thighs wider, and Hermione actually felt something inside her twitch in arousal at the encouraging movement.

"Focus, Hermione," she thought.

She carefully spread Julia's lips, exposing her engorged clit, and, staying away from it at first, stroked the slick wet folds, relishing the moans and little reactions she evoked as a result. Hermione bit her lower lip as Julia's arms slid limply to the bed, as she surrendered total control. She considered using her tongue, then decided she wasn't ready for that yet, and instead circled her fingers about Julia's slick entrance a few times before delving into the warm depths with a single digit, while simultaneously teasing around the spot she knew to be most sensitive. The sight of her lover splayed out before her, chest heaving as she grew closer, had her tingling again, and she idly wondered if they might do this simultaneously later.

"We have all night, after all," she thought.

Julia's breathing became ragged as Hermione added a second finger, and the pureblood's head started whipping back and forth on the pillow. Then her whole body tensed, toes curled, back arched off the bed as her mouth worked soundlessly. Hermione felt a small trickle across her hand drip onto the bedsheets. The pureblood collapsed down onto the bed as if her strings had been cut, and fought to catch her breath. Hermione, a bit chill from being completely nude and out from covers, took her time to crawl up Julia's body to cover it with her own, while marvelling at her own daring and confidence. Their breasts pressed together as Hermione pinned Julia down with a lingering kiss, their tongues battling for dominance as Julia's feather light touch flittered up and down her flanks. She pushed herself up and rolled to one side, a hand trailing across Julia's toned stomach as she looked down into Julia's smouldering eyes, and the pureblood just smiled, a genuine, satisfied expression.

Julia took hold of Hermione's hand and before Hermione realised what she was doing, sucked two fingers in her mouth, the ones that had just been inside her, swirled her tongue around them, and finished with a long, sensuous lick. Hermione swallowed a moan and wondered if she should have done the same.

"Round two?" Julia asked.

Hermione laughed and rolled away to collect the blanket from where it had fallen on the floor, and threw it over them as she settled on her side, face to face with her lover.

"Maybe later," she said as she ran her fingers through the pureblood's hair.

"Still glamoured, I wonder what it really looks like," she thought as the sensations on her fingers didn't quite match up with what she saw.

Reality started catching up with her; there was a whole mess of considerations once they stepped outside their tent.

"I'm famous, you know," Hermione said quietly. She regretted bringing a serious tone between them, but she also wanted to address it as early as possible.

"Are you really? I hadn't heard," Julia replied.

Hermione smirked at the snark.

"We have to know what we're getting into," Hermione continued, "once we're out of Hogwarts, everything will change."

"Pff. If you're talking about Skeeter, don't worry, I can handle her," Julia said.

"Not just Skeeter, everything. They're going to pry into every little detail of our lives. Your life," Hermione said.

Julia just looked at her directly.

"I don't care about any of that," she said. Hermione found herself so uncomfortable in the intensity of her gaze she felt forced to kiss her to break it. Unlike earlier, this one was long, unhurried, and Hermione internally sighed in contentment.

"I'm really glad you feel that way," Hermione said once they broke apart again, "it's just… I want us to go into this with both eyes open, is all."

"One step at a time," Julia said. Then she ran a hand lightly down to Hermione's bum, grabbed a handful and squeezed, then pushed her onto her back and followed to straddle her again.

"And right now, I haven't had nearly enough," she added as she ran both hands up Hermione's stomach and over her breasts.

Hermione couldn't help but agree.

---

Bellatrix awoke the following morning with her legs tangled around something. It took a moment for her groggy brain to sort it out, but she realised she was tangled up in the bedsheets, and she was naked. She glanced to the side to see Hermione still asleep on the impromptu double bed. Bellatrix brushed a lock of frizzy brown hair away from Hermione's face to better admire her while she slept. As she watched the rise and fall of her chest, she smiled as images and feelings of everything they'd done before she'd passed out under the muggleborn's gentle caresses came flooding back.

"This is the start of something very special, I'm sure," she thought, "and it's incredible how it's come to this point."

Everything that had happened had led to this.

"To think, I created Julia White to enrol with the purpose of killing this girl," she thought as she stroked her smooth stomach. Such an action seemed as impossible to her now as kissing a mudblood had just nine months earlier.

"And we're so far beyond kissing now. If I hadn't discovered the Dark Lord's lies, if my parents were still alive… this would be impossible," she thought.

She shook her head at how close she'd come to resurrecting the Dark Lord; it had been a very near thing. She realised that Hermione was also completely nude beneath the sheets and a tingle spread through her groin anew. She grew impatient waiting for her lover to wake up and snuck a hand beneath the sheets to find Hermione's knee, then walked her fingers up her thigh towards her hip. Hermione's eyes fluttered, and just as she inhaled and opened them, Bellatrix was there with a good morning kiss. Hermione breathed in sharply in shock, then relaxed and kissed her back.

"Morning," Hermione said with a knowing smile when they broke apart.

"Morning yourself," Bellatrix replied, "how are you feeling?"

"Really good," Hermione replied with a smile as she pulled the sheets up higher, "last night was the first time I was ever with a… um-"

"A pureblood?" Bellatrix asked.

"A girl," Hermione said.

"Oh," Bellatrix said, "I'm not sure myself."

"Liar," Bellatrix thought as memories of steamy nights shared with sultry Leana Zabini during the second half of sixth year came to the fore. She quickly pushed them away.

"Definitely first time with a muggleborn, which is a bigger deal," Bellatrix said, "if my parents were still alive, my father would disown me, or maybe try to have me killed. Hahaha…"

"Shut up, you're babbling," Bellatrix thought to herself as she clamped her mouth closed.

"Hmm," Hermione said, "I've seen what some of the more fanatical pureblood families will do. I'm glad you don't have to choose."

"I've already chosen," Bellatrix thought, but rather than speak this out loud, she kissed Hermione at the corner of her mouth, then trailed kisses down to her neck. The sheets slid from under Hermione's unresisting hands to reveal her breasts again, nipples already hardening. Just as Bellatrix thought they might go for a morning session, she heard a buzzing sound from the floor. She stopped and glanced around.

"Alarm, it's Monday," Hermione said, "we have to get ready for class. But I definitely need a shower first."

Bellatrix wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet.

"We have time for a wake-up quickie if we use a few scented charms instead of a shower," she said.

"No," Hermione said as she thwapped her on the head with a pillow, "we'll have plenty of time for that tonight."

"Well, when she puts it that way..." Bellatrix thought. She stood up and started picking up discarded clothing.

"Pass me my pouch?" Hermione asked. Bellatrix found it on the ground and tossed it over, then she picked up her own and pulled out her toiletries. She felt eyes on her and looked over to catch Hermione staring. Bellatrix forced away the slight sense of embarrassment at being observed without a single thread of clothing on, and leaned to one side and placed a hand on her hip.

"Sorry, it's just…" Hermione said, and her voice dipped, "you're beautiful."

"So are you," Bellatrix replied.

Hermione looked away at that.

"Should we leave the beds?" she asked. It was an obvious attempt to change the subject, but Bellatrix didn't care.

"I don't see why not, nobody else is coming in here except us," she replied as she found her bathrobe and pulled it on.

She stood near the flap of the tent while Hermione donned her own bathrobe. They made their way across the corridor to the public showers, washed quickly, and returned to change for class. Bellatrix waited until Hermione had hung her bathrobe and hadn't yet dressed to ambush her from behind, wrapping her arms around the muggleborn's waist and kissing her full on the neck. She wanted to bite, to hear Hermione's wince of pain, and then the sigh as she licked the pain away, but she held off.

"Tonight," she thought.

"Stop, we're going to be late," Hermione said.

Bellatrix giggled.

"Fine, I'll stop, but only if you leave these here," she said as she plucked the plain white knickers from Hermione's hands.

"What?" Hermione said.

"Don't wear them today," Bellatrix said.

Hermione made a grab for them but Bellatrix was too fast, and moved them out of reach while also snatching up her bra.

"Julia!" Hermione said.

She made a futile attempt at grabbing them, more of a seizure-like wave than anything else.

"Give them back," Hermione said, "I can just get another set you know."

"No," Bellatrix said, and Hermione's brow furrowed as she pulled her bathrobe back on to cover up.

"You're really starting to annoy me now," Hermione said, eyes flashing threateningly.

"Oh Merlin, she's hot when she's angry," Bellatrix thought.

"You'll be wearing work robes, nobody will know," Bellatrix said, "besides…"

She lowered her voice.

"I want to think about you all day not wearing anything underneath," she breathed.

Hermione paused. Her expression softened and turned mischievous.

"Fine, but you can't either," she said as she licked her lips.

Bellatrix nodded. As far as she was concerned, that was even better. She tossed the undergarments onto the bed and focused on putting on her robes, watching Hermione in her peripheral vision to make sure she kept her part of the deal. Seeing Hermione in her school uniform, knowing she was naked beneath, had her heart racing. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea after all. One look at the flush on Hermione's cheeks though and she got over it.

"Why do I feel like I'm doing something extremely naughty?" Hermione said.

"Just try to focus on classes, would you, and not on what we're going to do tonight," Bellatrix said.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. Apparently, she took this as a challenge. They exited the potions classroom, but when Bellatrix tried to take Hermione's hand, she pulled it away and shook her head ever so slightly.

"I'm… I'm not ready for everyone to know yet," she said as she glanced around the mostly deserted corridor, "think we could keep it our secret for just a little longer?"

"Alright," Bella replied, attempting to hide the disappointment in her voice, "but you know it might be a good idea to let the word out before we graduate, so the press can have their field day before we're out in public."

Hermione paused.

"Let me think about it," she said.

"Of course," Bellatrix said.

She reluctantly assumed the spot next to Hermione, walking beside her as if they were friends and project partners and nothing more. She didn't like it, and she wouldn't stand for it for long, but the thought that Hermione had eschewed bra and knickers that day for her was confirmation enough to take the sting off keeping their relationship secret. That, and competing sensations of freedom and exposure from not wearing any underclothes distracted her and made her self-conscious about how she walked. She ended up taking smaller steps to minimise the sway of her breasts even though it was likely nobody could notice anything beneath her work robes anyway.

Time seemed to crawl during classes, and Hermione didn't even acknowledge anything was different, while Bellatrix had to resort to occlumency several times to keep herself from doing something that would give them away. After classes but before dinner, they stopped by Professor Winthrop's office to start putting together the submission for the Council of Master Healers. Hermione walked up to the door and paused, and Bellatrix quickly glanced both ways to ensure they were alone, then planted a quick kiss on Hermione's cheek and grinned.

"Stop!" Hermione hissed as she looked around while Bellatrix snickered, "someone's inside."

Bellatrix fell quiet to listen to the muffled voices within.

"Thank you, Clara," Winthrop said.

"It vas good to see you again, sir," Madam Schultz said.

"Yes, and hopefully we will meet again soon," Winthrop said, "in the meantime, you know how to contact me."

"Ya," Schultz said. Hermione backed up and Bellatrix stayed with her just in time to not appear suspicious as the door opened to reveal the wizened mind healer, this time wearing flowing white healer robes.

"Ah, Miss Granger," she said, "it is good I saw you. With the end of the term nearly here, our sessions are complete, and I am returning to Germany. Apologies for ze short notice."

"Oh, am I… better, then?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, I have done vat I can, please continue your exercises," Schultz said, "it has been a pleasure. You have a most beautiful mind."

"Oh… thank you, you've been an immense help, I feel so much better. More centred," Hermione said.

Schultz nodded as she fished around her robes.

"Here, if you are ever in Germany, or anywhere in Vestern Europe, I vould be happy to meet for tea," she said as she held out a card with an address.

Hermione accepted the card, glanced at it and smiled.

"And if you are in Britain, Madam Schultz, I would be happy to extend the same courtesy," Hermione said.

"Certainly fraulein, I suspect ve shall see each other soon," Schultz said, "Miss White, good day."

Bellatrix waved politely as the mind healer walked off. Bellatrix glanced to Hermione; she wanted to ask about the conversation they just heard, but Hermione shook her head as if to say 'not now' and walked ahead of Bellatrix and passed through the door first.

"Hello Professor. The Headmistress suggested we speak to you about preparing our submission to the Council of Master Healers," she said.

"Yes, yes, she mentioned that, come in," Winthrop said, "as you know, the Council reviews all treatments to ensure safety, and grants recognition and ownership of new healing discoveries. We're to document your findings and methods and they'll need to be accepted and approved before they can be used by St. Mungo's, or any Ministry department. That's where the bulk of the royalties will come from, so it is in your best interests to get it right the first time. Here are several that have recently been approved."

Hermione and Bellatrix both pulled out parchment and quill as Winthrop discussed the format for the submission and handed them each several rolls of parchment. The submission process was complicated, needlessly so, Bellatrix thought; she blew her fringe away from her face.

"Though, that's par for the course for anything when the Ministry is involved," she thought. They wrapped up before dinner, and by then all Bellatrix could think about was getting back to the tent. Despite the multiple rounds of lovemaking the night before, a full day of anticipation had her body primed for more. She idly wondered if anyone else in the Great Hall knew just how aroused she was, or if perhaps they were in the same position. She glanced around at the other students and noted a few who seemed consumed by their own thoughts. Her gaze settled on Hermione just as she shifted in her seat and took another bite. The thought that Hermione quite probably felt the same way had her tensed up, coiled like a spring.

"Ready?" she asked after she finished most of her meal.

Hermione met her gaze with a challenging look and nodded deliberately. Bellatrix caught a glimpse of her own desire reflected on Hermione's expression; the thought chased a shiver down her spine. They walked back to the dungeon, Bellatrix nearly skipping down gloomy stairs as they went, and she unconsciously hopped over a trick step. This time they didn't stop until they were inside the tent, but as soon as the flap closed behind them, Hermione was on her, wrapping her up in a passionate embrace, their lips locked together. Bellatrix freed a hand to cast off her outer robes and absently loosen the red and gold tie in an attempt to get it off without breaking contact, but then an idea struck her. She grabbed Hermione's tie before the muggleborn could remove it, and pulled it firmly downwards.

"Oof, hey," Hermione said as the tie forced her head down

"Shh, no more talking," Bellatrix said as she held the end of the Gryffindor tie. She tugged gently and Hermione, bent slightly and controlled by the neck, was forced to follow.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked as Bellatrix led her to the bunks.

"Take off your clothes," Bellatrix said, "I want you in nothing but this tie."

Hermione hesitated.

"Trust me," Bellatrix said.

"Okay," Hermione breathed. She began moving exquisitely slowly. The outer robes came off first, followed by the white shirt, one agonising button at a time. Hermione let it fall open as she glanced up; her eyes bored into Bellatrix's but Bella couldn't maintain eye contact, as she now had an intermittent view of Hermione's bare breasts through the open shirt.

"That little minx, she's teasing me," Bellatrix thought. She knew she should do something to take control back, but the end of the tie was like a lead weight in her hand as Hermione's shoes came off just as slowly. Stockings came next, a slow slide, and finally her skirt, lowered just enough to remind Bellatrix that Hermione wasn't wearing knickers.

"Okay, fuck this," Bellatrix said. She whipped the tie off with a sliding motion and Hermione grinned in triumph. Bellatrix responded by roughly pulling the muggleborn's skirt down around her ankles, and considered thrusting her tongue into her folds right there and then, but pushed her back onto the sheets instead.

Hermione sat and continued grinning as she slid back, forcing Bella to follow. She managed to undo one of the pureblood's shirt buttons and slide a hand inside to cup a breast. Bellatrix paid her back by running her fingers over Hermione's naked hips and outer lips. She thought she had the advantage until she felt another hand slide up her inner thigh beneath her skirt to grope her own tingling warmth. Bellatrix growled and ripped at her shirt, spraying buttons, and she grabbed both of Hermione's wrists, pinned them, and straddled her lover, chest to chest and stomach to stomach as they kissed again. Bellatrix released a wrist to slide her hand down, past Hermione's waist and between her legs to find the hot wetness there. She teased the slick folds for a second as she slid lower, then without warning, found the soft flesh just above Hermione's breast, and took it between her teeth. Hermione's wince of pain had Bella's clit throbbing, but she forced herself to only hold the bite for a few short seconds before she let go and gently licked the spot she'd hurt to soothe the pain away. Questing fingers slid down between Hermione's legs and started to caress in small circles. Merlin, she wanted to taste Hermione, or perhaps charm an object in the bedroom to vibrate and get her off that way, but decided it wasn't time for that yet.

"Baby steps," she thought.

This time she watched Hermione's face as she climaxed and tried to commit all the little expressions to memory. The thought that it was her bringing Hermione to orgasm served to turn her on even more. She wanted more than anything to straddle the golden girl's face, make her use her tongue to pleasure her, but fear of pushing too far, too fast held her back, and she settled for stroking her smooth stomach and chest, and kissing her soft lips until she came back to herself. Hermione opened her beautiful chocolate brown eyes, and her smile nearly melted Bellatrix's heart.

"Is this love?" Bellatrix thought, "it must be. I can't imagine love being any stronger, or more intense."

The fledgling feelings she'd had for the Dark Lord seemed a poor simulacrum in retrospect.

This time, Hermione took her fingers in her mouth to lick them clean, and Bellatrix's mouth fell open as she felt the muggleborn's warm tongue sliding over them. Hermione pushed her onto her back and, still somewhat shell shocked, she complied without protest. Hermione leaned over and kissed her, trailing her lips down her collar to her chest. Then she took some of the flesh of Bellatrix's breast in her mouth between her teeth, and the pureblood inhaled in anticipation of the pain of a retaliatory bite. It seemed Hermione lost her nerve though, and settled for a small nibble. She moved lower and her tongue sought out a nipple. She took it into her mouth to lick while her hands pushed the skirt down and away, then dove between her legs. The combination of sensations from Hermione's tongue swirling about first one nipple and then the other, with one finger teasing her clit and the other hand easing several fingers inside her drove her close to the edge. It was the thought that it was a fully naked Hermione doing all this to her, that had her shuddering in release again.

"She's a quick learner," Bellatrix thought as her convulsions subsided, "of course she is, otherwise you'd have nothing to do with her."

They went several rounds again that evening, and the following one as well, until making love between class and after dinner became their unspoken routine. Unfortunately, their all-consuming after-hours lovemaking had cut into Bella's time probing the Dark Lord's shade, and by Friday, she'd resolved to have another session with him. Hermione nixed that plan at dinner though.

"I think we should go to the common room tonight," Hermione said.

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow as she fingered the stone in her pocket.

"What's in the common room?" she asked.

"Us, and other people," Hermione said, "I think we should… you know, be close, and let other people see us."

"Are you sure?" Bellatrix asked.

Hermione nodded.

"There's no reason not to… and you're right, better to do it sooner rather than later," Hermione said.

After dessert, they left the Great Hall and made their way up the steps to Gryffindor tower.

"Hope springs eternal," Bellatrix said.

They entered the common room and a few students looked up, but the attention was brief and the junior Gryffindors quickly went back to studying or playing exploding snap. Hermione led Bellatrix over to a large orange couch set to one side of the fireplace, sat down on one end, and patted the spot next to her. Bella sat down, and Hermione laced their fingers together and stroked the soft skin next to her thumb, as was her habit. Bellatrix felt her tense up as some of the students looked over and started whispering, and she squeezed her hand in reassurance. Very deliberately, Hermione leaned her head onto Bella's shoulder and just rested there, staring into the fire. Soon enough, the students went back to whatever it was they were doing. They sat for hours, snuggled up and relaxed as more students came and went. At one point Hermione stood up, kicked off her shoes, and lay down on the couch with her head in Bella's lap. Bellatrix looked down at her bushy haired muggleborn, and the two of them smiled at one another.

"Hope springs eternal," Bellatrix thought, "fitting."

All her life she'd never imagined she could feel this content, this happy, this hopeful about the future. From a very young age she knew she'd be married off to another pureblood, not for love, but for pragmatism and to strengthen the blood, wealth, and influence of the House of Black, and to try and salvage and protect what remained of their way of life. The day she learned Father had arranged a match with Rod Lestrange, what little hope she'd had of a happy, loving marriage had died in the ashes of disappointment. Now, her house and their ways were all but destroyed, along with all of her duties and expectations. Nobody knew who she really was, and if she was careful, nobody ever would. Against all odds, she'd found something better than a cause worth dying for: A life worth living for.

She stroked Hermione's hair as the lights flickered three times. Other students retreated to the dorms, but Bellatrix ignored the curfew warning and stayed on the couch; Hermione didn't move either. Julie Parks and Michael Karume glanced at them as they passed through the common room to start rounds, but the prefects apparently didn't think it worth bothering a war hero if she wanted to stay up late. The lights dimmed and the fire burned low, and still they stayed, even as Bellatrix watched Hermione's eyes close and her breathing start to deepen. Bellatrix leaned her head back and dreamt of tinkling bells as she fell asleep, still holding and stroking Hermione's hand.

The next thing she knew, she awoke with Ginny Weasley standing over her in her school uniform, with her wand pointed at her face. Sunlight streamed in through the castle window.

"Hi, um, Ginny, good morning," Hermione said as she sat up and stifled a yawn. The robes where her head had lain on Bellatrix's lap stuck to her skin, and Bellatrix stood up to let it fall away.

"You two were completely out, I had to use a rennervate," the redhead said as she tucked her wand away, "…so..."

Ginny paused, waiting for an explanation.

"Err, right," Hermione said with a nervous chuckle, "we're um… dating."

"Ha, I knew it!" Ginny said. Then she eyed Julia and opened her mouth to say something else.

"Don't even start, I want this," Hermione said, and Bellatrix's heart swelled as she felt her lips widen in a smile.

Ginny closed her mouth, turned back to Hermione, and scratched her temple with one finger.

"Fine. Do you want to tell Harry or shall I?" Ginny asked, "because odds are Harry's going to tell Ron, and you know that's going to be a spectacular conversation."

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut; clearly, and to Bellatrix's pride, she had completely forgotten about Ron Weasley.

"Oh… you know what, go ahead," Hermione said, "to be perfectly honest, it's not really any of his business now anyway, and you and Harry are, well, you know."

Ginny quirked her lips to the side in a smirk.

"Right, I'll let you know how it goes," she said, "you two had better get ready, breakfast is almost over."

The youngest Weasley pulled out a small journal as she exited the common room with a spring in her step, leaving Hermione and Bellatrix alone again. Bellatrix stretched and stood up, but when she reached into her pocket, her fingers found nothing but fabric, and panic seized her chest.

"Shit," she said. Her eyes immediately searched the floor and the couch, then she started digging between couch cushions.

"You lost something?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," Bellatrix said as she pulled out her wand and wordlessly levitated the cushions. She couldn't even muster her usual sarcasm, and Hermione seemed to pick up on the urgency.

"What was it?" she asked as she knelt beside her to start looking as well.

"It's umm, a small trinket, but with sentimental value," Bellatrix replied.

She got down on hands and knees and lit her wand to search beneath the couch, lifted the edges of the carpets, even scanned the fireplace, but after ten full minutes of searching with Hermione's help, there was no mistake… The Resurrection Stone was gone.

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Chapter 33 Trigger Warning: F/F Sex