Chapter 113: The Unfettered Desires Of A Naïve Heart

A/N: Here's Another Update...

My Thanks To All My Readers And Reviewers-S.S.

The Girl's Dormitories, Gryffindor Tower, Hogwarts Castle, Scotland, Wizarding World...

Hermione Jean Granger had been at a loss for words as she attempted to make sense of the swirling thing before her that Ginny had told her was a kind of contraption that registered whether or not a witch had been pregnant. She had been feeling a bit under the weather for quite some time as the tension lingered in the air about the dangers of the impending war getting more and more real every time she turned around. Unbeknownst to her husband, Hermione had taken it upon herself to exercise a bit of caution on the part of her Muggle parents and erased their collective memories of her and their life together while sending them on an expedition to Australia. She had only sought to keep them save now that Death Eaters were openly attacking Muggle towns and anyone remotely close to Harry Potter.

She'd been especially stressed about what he'd been doing over the course of the war. She had been privy to Lucius Malfoy's arrest being something that had upset him and had not seen hide nor hair of him outside of class since then. She wondered if he'd been keeping his distance from from her due to Dumbledore but she shook it off as she found herself contemplating what she'd been trying her hardest to ignore in the first place.

She still hadn't been feeling all that well and the latest news of Arthur Weasley being attacked while working At The Ministry Of Magic Offices courtesy of Voldemort's snake Nagini had kept her awake more often than not. She knew her husband and Harry had collaborated in a bid to save the older Weasley's life and for that she was grateful at least for Ron's sake. Severus had not said much to her about the event but she noted that he had not been getting much sleep since that last night she'd spent in his quarters.

Hermione sighed as she sat up in bed annoyed by Ginny's overzealous observation about her contraption being able to predict pregnancy in witches as if she'd been a licensed med witch to create such a thing. The seemingly exhausted young Gryffindor witch rolled her eyes when the thing lit up all bells and whistles when Ginny aimed it at her and then it appeared to malfunction and break down all together.

She filed out of bed despite he stomach being in knots and ventured out to the common room noting that everyone had been on their way to The Great Hall for lunch. As she decided to pull herself together despite how her stomach felt, she thought it would be good to get a look at Severus if nothing else, provided that he had not been in yet another of his numerous meetings with Dumbledore.

It had not been lost on her that Dumbledore would do anything to keep them separated for long durations in accordance with his plan to do so once the school term began. Hermione sighed as she made her way out of the tower and down to The Great Hall. She breathed a sigh of relief when she laid eyes on her husband sitting in his usual seat beside the rather poised Headmaster Dumbledore and deputy Headmistress McGonagall.

He had looked as if he'd seen better days given his still being upset about Lucius Malfoy being arrested as he turned his attention to his meal despite not having much of a taste for it. Snape's eyes had never left her the moment she entered The Great Hall and sat with her friends. He seemed to note or lack of enthusiasm for lunch as well while he took a drink from his goblet before putting it back down on the table once more glancing in her direction.

Hermione treated him to a sad smile before turning her attention to her own goblet as she drank down some of the juice inside hoping that it would settle her churning stomach. Harry and Ron had been endlessly chatting about what Harry had done to Draco who had been mysteriously absent from The Great Hall following Harry's explanation that Snape took him to the infirmary without elaborating as to why.

"Harry you didn't?" said Hermione knowing all too well how her husband felt about his godson.

"So what if I did?" asked Harry narrowing his eyes at Hermione. "Draco attacked Katy Bell and he tried to kill Dumbledore with that necklace."

"You have no proof of that." replied Hermione narrowing her eyes at her best friend.

"You sound like Snape." muttered Harry bitterly.

"You're just fortunate that Dumbledore hasn't expelled you and that Snape was there to save Draco, I told you that spell book was dangerous and that you should put it back!" said Hermione only so low that Harry and Ron could hear her.

"Okay." conceded Harry recalling how he'd nearly killed Draco in the bathroom. "Okay, you were right, I need to get rid of this book but I don't know where to put it where no one can possibly find it."

Hermione sighed as she nodded in agreement before an idea came to her.

"I know just the place." she said assured.

Harry nodded in agreement.

They would get rid of the book after lunch and he'd never think about it again after seeing how dangerous it could be when the wrong spells were used from it.

"You were right Hermione." said Harry looking a bit tired after having gotten that off his chest. "You were right."

Harry turned up his goblet despite his hand trembling and how nervous he'd been under Snape's rather murderous gaze. He had not said a thing to Professor Dumbledore but Harry had highly doubted that Snape's word would count for much given his known animosity towards Harry when it came to The Headmaster, but he had known he couldn't be too careful, Draco wasn't the only death eater amid the students.

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Later...

The Room Of Requirement, Hogwarts Castle, Scotland, Wizarding World...

Harry and Hermione had been looking all about the place as Hermione waved her wand and the room of requirement opened for Harry as he quickly tossed the potions book he'd been holding onto all year into the darkened abyss never to be seen again they had hoped and with even less of a chance of it falling into the hands of dark wizard's like Draco Malfoy. The image of the bloodied blond junior Malfoy had been all that Harry could see following his assault on the suspected Death Eater.

Hermione hugged Harry for a few moments before they gathered themselves and made their way back to their respective classes. They had not mentioned the strange potions book again as Harry attempted to put what happened with Draco out of his mind. Given the severity of his injuries, Harry had assumed that Draco would be in the infirmary for a good deal of time and not only was Dumbledore safe but so was any other innocent students from getting caught in the crossfire.

Unbeknownst to Harry Potter...

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Elsewhere...

Draco Malfoy had been on his feet and on the mend sooner than he believed as he moved about the castle in secret until he came to the similar vanishing cabinet that had been stashed inside the Room of Requirement that linked back to the one in Diagon Alley. He'd been practicing for weeks to get them both up and running to allow for the secret invasion of Hogwarts by way of his Aunt Bellatrix and a few of the snatchers and Greyback. On this day, he'd gotten it all to work just fine and after Harry Potter's stunt in the bathroom, he ahd been more than ready to take on Dumbledore, if only to save his father from a fate worse than death at the hands of the legions of Dementors that occupied and watched over Azkaban.