Hermione shoved Harry away, hard. There wasn't far for either of them to go of course, and he bashed his head rather audibly against a low slung shelf. His feet slipped from under him and he slid gracelessly onto the floor at Hermione's feet.
"Harry tell me exactly what just happened"
"Huh?"
"Just do it Harry"
"Ok ok. Jeez. I was apologising to you, even though I can't remember… groping, you" He stumbled on the word again. "Then Filch was coming round the corner and you got it in your head we had to hide. So you dragged us into the closet. Then you shoved me into the wall. And now here we are"
The last sentence came out rather peevishly. Hermione stared down at him incredulously.
"So you don't remember…"
"I told you already Hermione, I don't remember what happened in History of Magic ok? I promise."
"Not that. You did it again."
"What!? What happened? What did I do? I didn't hurt you did I?"
Pure panic had spread across his face. It helped to soften Hermione's anger some. She really believed he didn't know what was happening.
"No Harry, you didn't hurt me. You… kissed me."
"Oh! I… Really!?"
"Yes. But that's not why I shoved you.
"It isn't?"
Hermione faltered. She should have pushed him away immediately of course. Could she still blame Harry? Did she… No, that's not the problem here. Focus Hermione.
"No… I called your name, and you said 'Who's Harry?'"
"Woah. That's not good I guess."
"Probably not. But at least it lends credence to you not remembering anything. Something must be happening to you."
Harry groaned and sunk his head into his hands. "Oh god. Why does this stuff always happen to me?"
Hermione couldn't help but smile. It really did all happen to him.
She crouched down next Harry. To her credit she only hesitated a second before laying a hand on his shoulder.
"It's ok Harry. We'll figure it out together. Just like we always do."
Harry lifted his head then, his eyes finding hers. How different those eyes seemed now. Filled with gratitude and friendship where moments they'd been filled with… something else.
"So you're not angry that I kissed you?"
"No. It's ok Harry. I forgive you."
Harry sighed deeply. "Thanks Hermione. I don't think I could stand it if you were angry at me."
That brought a bright smile to her face, and it was reflected by a bashful grin from Harry shortly after.
"So… Was I any good?"
"Wh… What?" Hermione spluttered
"Well, I've never kissed anyone before. Was I any good?"
"I. You. It... Never mind about that Harry! We have to figure out what's happening to you. Come on"
Hermione stood quickly back up, brushed down her robes, which she only now realised were creased and ruffled. She quickly put a hand out for Harry to help him up. He grabbed her hand and she yanked him up so quickly he bashed his head against the same shelf as before and slid once more to the ground.
"Sorry Harry!"
Harry rubbed at his scalp. "Ow. It's ok Hermione. I guess you deserved some comeback"
Hermione decided not to try help him up again and instead went to put her ear to the door. Not hearing anything she opened it a crack and peered outside.
"Coast seems to be clear now. Let's go to the library and see if we can figure this out"
"Sure, ok Hermione"
Half an hour later found Harry and Hermione ensconced in a private corner of the library.
"Ok Harry, let's start with this morning. It obviously started then, maybe before even, but then you weren't acting strangely yesterday. You woke up late and you said you had to have a cold shower. Why?"
Harry blushed. "Umm, well. I had a dream. And woke up with a… problem. So I had to have a cold shower to make it… go away" He didn't meet her eyes at all for the whole stumbling, mumbling sentence. Just like this morning.
"Harry I don't know what you mean. What was the dream about? What problem?"
"You know… The problems guys usually have in the morning"
"What? Getting out of bed? I know guys struggle to get out of bed in the mornings. Do cold showers really help? I mean, don't you have to get up to get in the shower?"
"That's not the problem Hermione" Harry groaned, blushing deeper.
"Ugh. Out with it then Harry. We haven't got all night you know. The library closes soon and I'm sure Ron's wondering where we are by now"
"Ok, ok, Hermione. Do you really not know?" One of Hermione's eyebrows went up and she gave Harry a dead pan stare. Harry sighed"
"Ok well, you know how guys get when they're… excited. Right?"
Hermione's eyebrows sunk down into a frown as she parsed Harry's words. And as she figured out just what he meant they went back up again, and a blush came back to her face. She sure was getting tired of that!
"Yes. I know what you mean" she mumbled.
"Well sometimes, often in fact, guys wake up like that. Usually it just goes away pretty quickly. But recently mine have been different. They take longer to go away, or I have to you know, handle it. Then today I woke up later than everyone else so I didn't have time for anything but a cold shower"
Both teens were now blushing furiously and not looking at each other. But Hermione was still Hermione.
"Wait you said, recently. How long has this been going on for?
"I don't know. A few weeks. Not like every day of course. And nothing like this morning"
"Well… what was your dream about then?"
"Oh god" Harry sunk his head into his hands again.
"It's ok Harry. It's just your subconscious. I won't judge or laugh or anything"
He sighed deeply, seeming to brace himself.
"Ok, ok. So I was in History of Magic, just like this morning. And Professor Binns was talking about the Troll War again. But I wasn't paying attention, cos… uh…. I had my hand, on a girl's thigh."
Hermione's eyebrows shot up once again.
"What girl?"
"That's the thing. I have no idea. It seems like we knew each other, but I've never seen her in Hogwarts, or anywhere else I don't think. Oh yeah! And it's like my hands weren't my own"
He looked down at his own hands here.
"They were thinner. Longer fingers. Nicer nails as well I think."
Hermione let this sink in for a little while.
"Hmm. Ok. Well, what else"
"What else? That was it. My hand was on her thigh. She seemed to like it. And then I woke up"
"Give me more details. What exactly was your hand doing?" Hermione had a suspicion.
"Umm. Well I was moving my hand up her thigh, bit by bit. And… and rubbing"
Harry's blush was creeping up his neck now, and his words became clipped. Hermione's gaze sharpened however.
"Rubbing how?"
"In circles. Small circles"
"Huh."
"Huh?"
"That's exactly what you were doing to me"
"What?"
"Exactly the same. Have you had any dreams about kissing in broom closets?"
"No. I don't think so. But I don't usually remember many of my dreams"
"Maybe they're not your dreams"
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it Harry. Twice today you acted without being aware of it. You actually thought you were someone else the second time. And this morning you dream about something that you then repeated without even being aware of it."
"So you think someone else is doing this to me? But why?"
"We should probably figure out who first. Then why. Hmm, we should probably find out how as well. As far as I'm aware the only way to make someone do something against their will is the Imperius curse. But no student would be able to perform it. And no teacher would. And even more I don't think the cursed person forgets what they were doing. We're going to have to come back and do a lot of reading you know"
A small smile spread across her face, and though Harry couldn't get excited about reading like she did, he always liked seeing her happy, and he found himself smiling in return.
"This is a very strange situation isn't it Hermione?"
"Yes it is Harry. But we've dealt with strange things before haven't we"
"Yeah, we sure have."
Hermione wanted to stay and find a few books to take back to the dorm tonight, but Harry convinced her they'd be missing dinner if they did, and she settled for making an early start the next day.
"Hey Hermione?"
"Yes Harry?"
"Thanks. You know. For being you."
Hermione smiled
So they made their way together to the Great Hall, where they ate well, and chatted with Ron. They both managed quite well to act like nothing at all was the matter.
Harry's knee was pressed firmly between her legs, one hand rested on the bookshelf behind her, the other cupped her breast. He kissed her ferociously, stopping only briefly to let her pant a few quick breaths before diving back in. Her hips had started to gently rock against his thigh, her legs squeezing tightly as she seemed to try and pull his leg harder into herself. Her own hands trailed his back, his shoulders, his flat stomach. His hand trailed up from her breast, rested briefly on her sternum, pushed her out of their kiss and stared down into her hazel eyes. He let his fingers slide slowly up to take their natural position at her throat. He squeezed softly and she purred in delight, pulling herself yet harder into him. Harry felt himself stir…
Hermione tapped her foot impatiently in the Gryffindor common room. She'd asked Harry if he knew the alarm spell. Double checked it. Made sure in fact that he could cast it competently. And here she was, waiting around at twenty past five while Harry slept in. Typical.
She did her best to be quiet on the stairs up to the boy's dorm. Harry may have promised to wake up early with her, to solve his problem by the way, but the rest of the Gryffindor boys deserved the extra hour or so of sleep. She slowly and quietly opened the door to Harry's year's room. Harry's bed was easy to spot. It was the only one of the four posters with the curtains drawn. She'd taught Harry the silencing spell as well, so his alarm wouldn't wake everyone else. So Hermione tip toed around the room and ducked between the curtains at the side of his bed.
And was immediately greeted by a loud, atonal squawking. Harry's alarm had gone off. Had been going off for the past twenty minutes no doubt, and he was sleeping straight through it! Hermione dismissed the alarm spell with a casual wave of her wand, and her eyes went to Harry's face. He didn't seem to be in pain, in fact, there was a faint grin on his face. But there was also a flush on his face, and he seemed to be squirming under the thick duvet.
'He must be too hot' she thought, and immediately moved to draw down his covers.
As she pulled the blanket off of him she saw his hands were clenching, pawing at the mattress below him. His hips were lifting lightly off the bed. His pyjama bottoms were tented. His… his… His penis was hard. His penis was hard. She was staring at Harry's hard penis. His hands clenched again and his hips writhed, the movement sending the tent pointing one way then the other, Hermione's eyes following raptly along. She shouldn't be looking at this, but his pyjama bottoms had started sliding down his hips with the movement, and the top of the tent was already so close to the edge the thin material.
What was she thinking! Hermione shook herself, then quickly pulled the duvet back over Harry, right up to his chin. She then shook him by the shoulder.
"Harry. Harry! Wake up. Wake up!"
Hermione was shaking him with a hand on each shoulder now. He was practically dead to the world, well, mostly anyway.
"Huh? Wha… 'ermione?"
"You slept through your alarm silly, come on, we said we were going to the library remember?"
"Oh yeah. Umm…"
Harry looked down the sheets towards…
"Five minutes" she squeaked, and ducked quickly back out.
It took a bit longer than five minutes but when Harry finally came down to the common room his hair was wet and his teeth were chattering. Hermione frowned, and cast a quick warming spell on him. Harry smiled gratefully at her. Then a blush came to his face and he looked away. One came over her own as well. They were both thinking about his erection she realised. And the image of the tented pyjama bottoms sprung into her head again.
Hermione whirled on her heel and marched quickly to the door.
"Come on Harry. We've lost a half hour already this morning"
Harry padded quickly behind her.
"You two are up early dearies" the Fat Lady spoke in her sing song contralto.
"Yes ma'am, we're going to the library. We picked up the wrong book to finish up our homework"
Harry was always amazed at just how well Hermione lied when she felt she had to. Most of the time she was the most upright, honest, law abiding person Harry knew. But she also knew exactly when to throw all that to the wayside and do what was right.
Harry had a smile on his face again as he jogged up to walk by her side, and they made their way together to the library.
"Look Harry! I think I've something promising here in this chapter of Peter Geist's Compendium of Ghosts, Ghouls and Other Apparitions"
She felt Harry move up behind her and turned with the book in her hands. But Harry was much closer than she thought he'd be and she squeaked in surprise, clutching the book to her chest. One of Harry's hands shot above her head to the bookshelf above the other fell onto her hip. As he pressed her back into the bookshelf Hermione looked into Harry's eyes. They were burning again.
Before she could speak, before she could even think, Harry had ducked his head down to her lips. He was kissing her, again! He stepped closer into her, pressing his knee between her legs, forcing them slightly apart. His thigh was resting against her. His pelvis pressed into her leg. And he was kissing her, again! She tried feebly to push him back with the book in her hands, but he just plucked it from her hands, spun it around and slid it onto an empty spot of the shelf behind him. He hadn't even looked! How'd he do that? And oh why wasn't she stopping his ceaseless kisses?
Harry's free hand went back to her hip, but it didn't stay there long. It started to slide upwards, upwards. As Harry's hand cupped her breast over her robe Hermione left out a soft moan into his mouth. She hadn't meant to, it just slipped out. Harry leaned back and stared into her eyes again. Those vibrant green eyes, burning, burning. Her mouth parted, started to speak his name but he took it as an invitation, plunging his tongue into her open mouth, assaulting her own tongue, the back of her teeth. Assaulting her senses as her squeezed again on her breast, harder this time, and rotated his hips upward, into her. She felt her nipple start to harden under his palm. Hermione felt Harry stir…
Hermione finally broke their kiss and tried to push him away. But this time Harry was using his position and greater weight to advantage and she couldn't get the leverage. Harry grinned down at her, gently massaged her breast and tried to kiss her again. She quickly brought a hand to his mouth. But Harry opened his mouth and closed it around her index finger. He ran his tongue along her finger, then sucked lightly on it.
He rotated his hips again and she could feel it rubbing against her leg. He was hard. Harry was hard from kissing her and groping her breast.
"Harry." Hermione tried for stern and bossy, but all she could manage was a breathy whisper.
Harry languidly opened his mouth and let her finger fall from his mouth. He gave her breast another squeeze, but then mercifully moved up and away, resting his palm, fingers up, against her upper chest.
"Harry." A little louder this time. That was good. Progress Hermione.
Harry slid his hand up her chest. Up to her neck. His fingers wrapped around her neck.
Something in Harry's eye changed. There was a flicker of… something. And it was as if Hermione had a bucket of ice water thrown over her. The heat that had been gradually building vanished all at once.
"Harry!"
"Who's..."
Before he could finish Hermione brought both hands up to his facing, practically slapping him between them in her fervour.
"Harry!"
"Huh, what. Hermione?"
Harry's eyes seemed to have slid from burning and predatory to glazed and confused. He looked down at her, and kept looking down. At his hand around her throat, his leg between hers. He realised he was hard, painfully hard, and pressing himself up against Hermione's leg.
He leapt back off her with such force he once again hit his head on a shelf.
"Ow! Shit!"
Hermione rushed forward to help, but as she did she caught sight of the bulge in his school robes. He might be back to himself but he was still hard. She froze, not sure quite what to do.
Harry looked down at his hands, then up at her. Horror and fear were written clear across his face.
"It's just like the dream!"
"What dream?" Hermione asked, though she already had her suspicions.
"The dream I was having this morning. You woke me up from it. It was just like last time. I was in the library with a girl, a different girl from before. And my hands weren't my own. And we were kissing and I felt her… And then I grabbed her throat. And that's when you woke me up. And now when you woke me up again we were in the exact same position as the dream!" He peered about him.
"I think we may even be in the same part of the library."
Hermione digested all this.
"So it seems to be linked to places. If we go to the same place as this other you was at in the dream, he takes over somehow. But in History of Magic I was still talking to you, but the other you had his hand on my leg. Then in the broom closet you lost all control, and memory. But you said you never dreamt about a broom closet before right?"
"Well, I don't think so. I don't really remember my dreams remember? I definitely haven't had one as vivid as History of Magic and the Library"
"Have you had any other vivid dreams like that?"
"Not yet"
"Yet?"
"I don't know, just a feeling that this is going to keep happening"
Hermione frowned, but didn't know what to say to that.
She went back and collected the books she'd been reading, her heart fluttering as she grabbed the book that had started the whole affair. She glared down at the heavy tome in her hands. 'You better have the answer we're looking for' she thought venomously, 'or I'm throwing you on the fire!'
Returning to the desk she found Harry with his head in his hands again. She came up behind him and placed a hand lightly on his shoulder. He looked up at her and she saw wetness in his eyes and anguish on his face.
"Oh Harry, it's alright"
"But it's not Hermione. Something's going on with me and you're paying the price. It's not fair."
"Well better me than someone else"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
What did she mean?
"Well I am your friend aren't I? I'm used to strange things happening around you. Any other girl might have got quite the wrong idea"
Good save Hermione. And it seemed to be what Harry needed to hear.
"Ha! I guess you're right Hermione. But what do we do now?"
"Hmm, well I guess we wait for another dream. Then we go to whatever place appears in it"
"What? That's a terrible idea. The same thing will happen again What if I… What if we…"
"Oh please Harry. I'll know what's coming this time. You only got as far as you did because you caught me by surprise you know?
Harry laughed again, and Hermione tried her best to believe what she'd just said.
"But what then? So you catch me before I get too handsy. What then?"
"Then we try and figure out who this other you is."
Harry's day dragged dismally along. Try as he might he couldn't pay attention in any of his classes. He lost ten points for Gryffindor in potions, Snape delighting in his distraction. He couldn't stop thinking about these dreams that kept coming true. Was that it maybe? Some sort of divination? He should ask Hermione.
Hermione. In his dream he'd been kissing the girl, feeling her breast up before he'd grabbed her neck. Harry only remembered holding Hermione's neck, but if he was acting just like the dreams, had he kissed her again? Felt her up? He hadn't had the nerve to ask her this morning, straight after it had happened. Not after Hermione had put such a brave face on it. He really didn't deserve a friend such as her. He should just go straight to Madame Pomfrey and take her out of the equation all together. But he didn't want to have to talk to the stern old matron about his erotic dreams and their real world mirroring. But that's the right thing to do of course. It's what Hermione would tell him to do.
But… she hadn't.
He looked over to her. And found her looking right at him. They both flushed and looked away.
Well, if she asked him to, he'd go to Madam Pomfrey. And he'd make it up to her either way, that's for sure. He had to start thinking of a great Christmas present for her.
And so Harry lost another five points in Transfiguration.
Harry and Hermione didn't get another chance to talk in private again till after classes had ended.
"I'll come and wake you up tomorrow morning. Five thirty ok?"
"What? How come?"
"Don't you remember sleeping through your alarm today? Almost missing breakfast yesterday?"
"Oh, yeah. Alright, thanks Hermione"
The classroom was deserted, dark, only dimly lit by the light of the Crescent Moon. Waning. Soon, the full dark of the New Moon. For now he could put from his mind from the pleasures the night of full Dark would bring, by focusing on the pleasures of this night. Each of his hands was squeezing a bum cheek, kneading, nails digging and retracting. He let the brunette's lower lip slip out from between his teeth, revelling in her soft mewl of displeasure as he turned his head to the blonde. Her lips were parted with her pants of pleasure, red and abused from the fierce kissing that had already come. Her eyes were locked on Harry's, the deepest black of her pupils more than half eclipsed the luminous blue of her irises. Harry plunged his head down to capture her lips once again. Oh how this one yielded to his strength. His iron control quite nearly slipped whenever he grasped this delicate one. How easily she would break. But no, not now. Not here.
Two sets of hands roved his body as he devoured his helpless rabbit's lips. One clutching desperately, as though she might fall, the rabbit. The other bold, demanding, and they slid down now, down his chest, down his belly, down, down.
Harry felt himself stir…
Hermione was staring at Harry's hard penis. She was supposed to just wake him up. That's all. Instead, when she'd found him grinning and writhing and difficult to wake again, she'd found herself pulling down his covers. His pyjama bottoms had slipped down enough that fully half of his shaft stuck out into the cool morning air. Hermione's breath was coming short and shallow. She shouldn't be doing this. Well Harry had already taken all those liberties hadn't he? He had. And she didn't want to be looking at his hard penis anyway. He just looked too hot under the covers, she was being a good friend by taking them off. It was just unlucky chance she happened to be staring now at Harry's hard penis. It seemed to throb to the beat of his heart. Throb throb, throb throb. And every now and then it would twitch like a thing alive.
Harry made a low sound in his chest, almost a growl, and Hermione jerked out of her reverie. She quickly pulled his blankets back up and shook him forcefully awake.
"Huh? Ughh... morning Hermione." Harry mumbled. "Thanks for the wakeup"
"Good morning Harry. Did you dream again" she asked, knowing the answer.
Harry flushed and looked away
"Well?"
"Can't you give me a moment Hermione?" he asked piteously. Hermione had sat down on the bed next to him, pulling the duvet tight over him, showing quite clearly the bulge he created.
"No. The best time to remember a dream is right as you wake up. Plus it will be hard to get another chance like this to talk openly. Muffliato remember? And everyone is still asleep with no idea I'm here"
"That's not the problem here Hermione. Remember, morning issues?"
Hermione blushed.
"It's fine Harry. You've already rubbed… it, against me remember? I know it won't bite" Hermione tried to make her voice light and dismissive, but she hesitated on the 'it'.
"Now stop stalling and tell me. Did you dream, do you recognise the place?"
Harry sighed.
"Uh, yeah. I had another dream. There were, uh, two girls this time"
"Two... Two girls!?" Hermione's voice went up an octave
"Uh, yes. The brunette girl from the first dream, and a blonde."
"Two girls. Quite the playboy this Other Harry" Hermione's voice had gone flat and she fixed Harry with a stern look. Harry squirmed under it. What was he supposed to do about it?
"Anything else you can remember?"
"The moon. Is was almost a new moon. Isn't it almost a new moon now?"
"Three days"
"So that can't be a coincidence right?"
"It's not very likely no."
"What should we do?"
"Hmm. Let's stick to the plan. "
"But how? I have no idea which room it was. And what if it's not going to work with only you and me?"
"We'll take a chance. If it does work if might work to our advantage. Other Harry will be confused as to where one of his paramours has suddenly gone to"
"Yeah, ok Hermione."
"Good. We'll grab your Invisibility Cloak tonight, and go looking for empty classrooms. How many can there be?"
As it turned out, there were a great many empty classrooms. Hogwarts was huge! And barely a few hundred students attended, with a few dozen staff. They wandered from empty room to empty room. They'd open each door slowly, and peer inside from out in the hall. Hermione thought just being together in the right room might bring out Other Harry, so once they were sure the coast was clear, they'd take off the Invisibility Cloak and Hermione would go first into the room. Once she was in the middle and had turned to face Harry, wand in hand, Harry would follow inside. So far nothing had happened.
And as the night drew on and classroom after classroom proved a failure, they were growing exasperated. It didn't help that they were crammed tight next to each other every time they shared the Invisibility Cloak to get around. Hermione was trying to remember if she'd ever read about anything like this, anywhere, but rogue thoughts kept derailing her. They'd stop at a corner, listening carefully before turning it, you could still barrel right into someone in an Invisibility Cloak of course, and Hermione would suddenly find herself thinking about how he smelled! And as they moved slowly and carefully to keep the cloak from slipping off or letting a limb show, he kept rubbing up against her. And of course that couldn't help but make her think of the last time Harry, other Harry she corrected herself, had rubbed up against her. And it made her think about what he had been rubbing her with. And that she'd been staring straight at it just this morning. And the fact that she couldn't blame anyone but herself for that last one.
Harry himself was hardly any easier off, his own scattered brain running one way then the next. Hermione. So soft next to him. And she smelled fresh, and flowery. And he had kissed her! But he didn't remember it. Did that count? But no he shouldn't even be thinking about this at all. Hermione was his friend, sacrificing her own comfort and safety to help him, like always. And there was this Other Harry. How many girlfriends did he have? How far had he gone? That brunette girl certainly didn't seem shy.
So with the night growing old and their tired minds distracted they can perhaps be forgiven for not really checking this last room properly before Hermione marched inside. Harry followed, and they waited a few pregnant seconds. Hermione sighed deeply.
"It's hopeless Harry. I'm sure we've been to every empty class room. But with Hogwarts being what it is, some might be hidden, or only show up for students belonging to one house or year, or both."
"And maybe we've already been to the right room, but we really do need two girls"
"Yes, maybe you're right. But we can't exactly go grab some other girl to drag around at night. What would we tell her? 'Oh we're just going to squeeze the three of us into an Invisibility Cloak made for one and shuffle our sweaty way from one empty classroom to the next, hoping that Harry loses control and starts kissing and groping us. How does that sound?'"
"Oh that sounds lovely" Came a dreamy voice from the dark.