Hermione's Crush

The first month since his return to Hogwarts went by in almost no time at all. His former friends, Ron and Hermione, blatantly ignored him, which suited him well enough considering he had no intention of being involved with them anymore. Ron's younger sister Ginny on the other hand, became something of a stalker, with him catching her following him around the halls at random times, her eyes never seeming to leave his body. And whilst his former friends ignored him, he did on occasion catch them following him around the castle, and if he didn't know any better, he would say they were spying on him.

Truth be told, there was not a lot to catch him doing. Since his return, he had put on the facade of being a model student, putting all of his effort into his classes and performing on par with Hermione, much to her chagrin. The only thing he was doing that could be classified as even slightly questionable were his one on one meetings with various potential allies such as Josephine Rosier, Elphias Selwyn and the Carrow twins. The irony that most of his new potential allies came from Slytherin house was not lost on him.

His meeting with Josephine had been interesting, to say the least. His wife had demanded she sit in on the meeting, but with Aries seeing how aggressive she was acting simply with the idea of him meeting her, he declined her, stating the importance of making a good first impression and that it would not bode well for Daphne to begin hexing her. This turned out to be the right decision, considering just how forward Josephine was with her flirting. She had even gone so far as to tell Aries that one day before the end of the school year, she would 'take him' even if she had to tie him to the bed.

Aries could not help but use his imagination and savour the image, feeling only slightly guilty about it when he thought of Daphne. Whilst he did feel love for the girl, they were still very young and their marriage was one brought on by politics. It took all of his self restraint to not allow the Rosier heiress take him there and then. She had simply stated that she enjoyed a good chase, and that she would enjoy the challenge.

The meeting with the Selwyn heir had been strange, yet fruitful. With Lord Greengrass handling the negotiations between the families, Aries had yet to meet any of them first hand. Elphias Selwyn made a great impression on him, being quite friendly and open for a Slytherin. But Aries could tell that there was more to him than met the eye. Elphias held a certain amount of inner strength that he kept hidden behind the friendly facade, but he certainly held no malice towards Aries.

The Carrow twins had creeped Aries out, giving Fred and George Weasley a run for their money with their twin speak. The difference being the monotonous voice they used, making Aries almost shiver. The twins were apparently from a different branch of the Carrow family, with their Death Eater cousins Amycus and Alecto having been thrown out in shame.

He needn't meet them all himself considering Lord Greengrass was laying down the groundwork for him, however he felt it prudent to meet his new allies in person. So far he had been impressed by them, going as far as to think about formally inviting them into the Empire as Imperial Spellcasters. 'I honestly need to change the name, it sounds bloody awful' he thought to himself with a small chuckle.

On his first day back at the school, he had been called to the Headmasters office for a meeting regarding his personal quarters. He was infuriated when told that Daphne could not stay in his quarters, married or not. The only reason he was allowed was due to his station as Lord Black. And even then, Dumbledore had tried talking him into remaining in Gryffindor tower and making nice with his former friends. Aries had scoffed, informing the Headmaster that he had no need of them. It sounded arrogant, but it was true. Ronald Weasley wasn't exactly a decent friend, considering his past experiences, such as his fourth year when he abandoned him and accused him of cheating his way into the goblet of fire.

Hermione Granger was a different kettle of fish altogether. She was exceptionally smart, however she was too narrow minded. Her absolute faith in authority figures never failed to astound Aries, considering how many times they had been let down by their teachers and other adults. That's not to mention the fact that the girl would view everything Aries planned to do as evil. No, it was much better without her interfering.

He had begun talking more with students from other houses as well, not counting his 'official' meetings. His status as Lord Black and not to mention his changed looks had made him rather popular. 'Who knew that growing to over six feet tall and changing his hairstyle would change so much' he thought. His hair was now slicked back on the top, with a skin fade on the back and sides. He thought it made him look much more rugged. He had been careful not to flirt blatantly with girls in public, especially after the look Daphne had given him on their first night back in the castle. They had spent a night or two together in his room however, which more than distracted Daphne from those thoughts.

Currently, Aries sat at the Ravenclaw table speaking with Lisa Turpin, discussing their lessons and plans for the Yule break. Whilst Lisa knew of their family alliance, she was unaware of the power at Aries' command, something he planned to change. He was actually planning on inviting a fair number of his Allies over to introduce them to the Imperial Commanders under his command. He already planned to induct Elphias Selwyn into the Empire properly, as a Spellcaster. They would form his 'Praetorian Guard' as he decided to call them. The Carrow twins however, he believed would be suited much better as his Acolytes. He would have to test them properly.

A tap on his shoulder interrupted his conversation with Lisa, causing him to turn around and see one irate looking Hermione Granger tapping her foot. With a sigh, he got up and turned to smile at Lisa. "We will talk more tomorrow, Miss Turpin." He shot her a friendly smile to which she responded in kind, before he began walking out of the great hall, gesturing for Hermione to follow. Leading her into a small room just off the entrance hall and using the force to lock the door behind them, he turned to her, arms folded across his chest and a look of annoyance on his face. "Well? What is it?"

Hermione's face reddened slightly which baffled Aries, but her tone was angry. "What have you been doing?! First you run away from your family's house, then you turn up with those strange soldiers, and you've turned into a real arse, Harry Potter! Not to mention you're married!" Her voice had become a screech at the end, causing Aries to flinch.

"Hermione, what I do is my business, nobody else's. And of course I've changed, I was sick of being everyone's bloody punching bag and a puppet! And just look at how you're reacting, is it any wonder I've not been talking to you?! You can't even get my name right!"

Hermione puffed up her chest and went to continue, but stopped herself, letting out a deep breath and closing her eyes. She was silent for a moment before speaking again, in a quiet voice.

"I miss you. I hate that you are changing so much and leaving us behind… I just.. Always thought… you know…" Hermione's face became thoroughly crimson, causing alarm bells to go off in Aries' head.

"Uh… know what?" He articulated, absolutely stumped.

Hermione narrowed her eyes before charging forward, knocking Aries to the floor in surprise. He was about to start defending himself when he felt a pair of lips smash against his own, her tongue demanding entry. Aries was frozen in shock, this was not the girl he had been friends with all these years, surely? He was pinned to the ground and in his moments of surprise, had little control of the situation. Sure enough, Hermione's tongue won the battle, parting his lips and darting inside his mouth, running along his own. His eyes widened, and using the force, pushed her off him and across the room.

"What the bloody hell are you playing at Hermione?!" He shouted, still in shock.

Hermione groaned from where she had been thrown, and looked back at him in surprise. She groaned slightly from the pain of hitting the floor, but began to speak again in a soft voice. "I've always wanted you… I just… thought I had more time to win you over."

Aries' jaw dropped. "Hermione… I've always thought of you as a sister… I've never seen you in the way you claim to see me. Even if I did, I'm married now! I can't believe you just did that, knowing I'm married!"

Tears began to run down Hermione's cheeks as she got up from the floor. Hiding her face in her hands, she quickly whipped her wand out and cast an unlocking charm on the door and ran, leaving Aries alone in the room to contemplate what had just happened.