Harry and Ron were situated at their favorite spot in the common room... In front of the fireplace. Both their heads were down as they scribbled away on the parchments spread out underneath them. Obviously, they had not gotten the essays done last night and she highly doubted that they had given any attempt to work on them yesterday. They should be thankful she had made them wait, it gave them an excuse to actually work on their assignments…

She stood there and watched as the fire made shadows play across their faces, making them seem much more frightening than they really were. Or maybe that was just the way her mind had built up the coming conversation? The good news was by Ginny's assessment they were worried. That could very well play in her favor. Neither of them were likely to yell if they wanted news that she was okay.

Hermione stepped up to where they lounged on the ground in front of the hearth and cleared her throat. It was time to get it over with... There was no good reason to prolong her agony any longer than she already had.

Her heartbeat was just as hard as it had when she thought Zabini was bringing her over to a full group of Slytherins. Maybe harder... She sat down in her usual spot, a cushy maroon chair with a winged back that reminded her of her Dad's favorite at home. It was a small connection to her previous life that provided a measure of comfort when she missed him. More and more often she found herself nostalgic for when they both would cuddle up with their respective books while her Mum did needle point.

She blinked back the forming tears, there was no time to ease the ache. Nor would she be allowed to go back to that simpler time. Harry spotted her and nudged Ron with his elbow, nodding at her when the other boy looked at him annoyed from the interruption. They both sat their quills down and sat up so they could give her their undivided attention.

Harry smiled at her reassuringly and asked. "How are you doing?"

"I am fine. Both Pansy and Malfoy have done way worse, right?" Hermione responded off-handedly. It was easier to pretend it didn't bother her and she could use the practice before having to meet the eyes of all the other students later at dinner.

"Right!" Ron said enthusiastically, probably grateful that she wasn't a sniveling mess. He never knew how to handle it when she let her emotions get the better of her. Which was admittedly too often when it came to him…

Harry wasn't as easy to fool, he never had been. Even if he didn't always call her on it, he knew when she was upset by something. Usually he had so much going on himself that confrontation over something someone did not want to talk about was low on his radar of worries. Easier to concentrate on saving the world. And she couldn't blame him, if she was in his position she doubted she would have been able to get up out of bed every morning, much less be a completely functional person.

He watched her closely for a few seconds but let it slide in favor of going back to his essay, completely ignoring the manuscript for the tiny little notes scribbled in the margins. She really thought he should turn the blasted thing into Slughorn and use his copy instead. She didn't trust that book... It was wonderful that it was helping him get better grades. Especially since he wanted to become an Auror when they graduated, but a book with a mysterious owner who knew more as a student than experts in the field was… Fishy. The resemblance to Tom Riddle's Diary and Ginny was also too much to ignore. Nothing good was going to come of it, but he wouldn't listen to her about her feelings on the matter.

Ron sat there looking pensive, as if he wanted to ask her something but was afraid of her reaction. With the way their relationship had been lately it wasn't a surprise. Both of them had found themselves hesitating before asking simple things. Afraid that something tiny would ultimately lead to another epic row between them.

"What is it Ron?" She asked him, not willing to play the delicate game today.

"Er... Well... What was it like? Ya know, before Sue went rabid?" He asked, fumbling over his words, unsure of how his intrusive question would be received.

Hermione stared over into the fire, not wanting to make eye contact with either of them. She watched the low flames flicker as it gave off a comfortable warmth that spread throughout the large room. A nervous sweat broke out across her palms and she rubbed them against the thighs of her jeans before shrugging. "It was... "

Horrifying. Fun. Embarrassing. Awkward. Shocking. Her mind provided a hundred different descriptive words... But most of all, it had been... Transformative. Or at least what had happened afterwards had been. She could never tell them that though, so she settled for a sigh and some fidgeting before trying again. "It was exactly what we always thought. A bunch of pompous prats sitting around and getting drunk. I regret wasting my time. It would have been better spent cleaning dust from the bottom of my trunk. After Sue figured out who I was I snuck into the restricted section and did some more digging on who your little friend could be Harry... Still no leads."

Harry rolled his eyes but continued on with his work. She knew he wouldn't want another lecture and would straight out ignore her if she kept it up. Now it was just getting Ron to drop the conversation and she would be good to go back up to her bed and stay there until dinner when she would have to make another appearance to stop anyone from thinking Sue had gotten to her.

She leaned her head against the winged partition of the chair, already tired enough for a nap even though she hadn't been up for a full two hours yet. After Ginny left she had gone ahead and had a good cry. Then she ate the pastry that was left for her, charmed her bruise to disappear and hung around her dorm until she thought the boys had to be close to sending a younger year up to find her.

"Well that sucks 'Mione. Hopefully it blows over soon and stuff can get back to normal." Ron said, looking at her sympathetically.

"I am sure it will." She responded neutrally as she watched him pick up his quill and continue scratching away at his messy work. Her eyes drifted to read one of the paragraphs upside down. "Seriously Ron... It's two counter-clockwise turns. Not three. How you can mess up copying off of someone else will always be a mystery to me."

He looked hurt at her words but she couldn't take them back now. And it was the truth! She watched as he crossed out the incorrect answer and etched in the correct one, his face taking on the unattractive shade of a tomato. Feeling guilty she stood up and stretched before heading back towards the staircase to her dorm. She didn't offer up any farewells. They would probably assume she was worried about how tonight would go. While they were not necessarily wrong that wasn't where her distractible mind was.

Once back in the solitary solace of her dorm she climbed back into her bed and pulled the blankets back up over her head, intent on blocking out the world now that her responsibilities were fulfilled. Her mind wandered back to the moment that Ron had blushed... She couldn't help but compare the goofy boy downstairs to the confident mystery that had stood over her last night. He would have told her to bugger off... No, that wasn't true. He would have never gotten the question wrong in the first place.

She sighed as the replay of the delectably taboo kiss started across the back of her eyelids... And she once again fell asleep to visions of her hero.

-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-

That night at dinner was not as bad as she had imagined it would be. There were many a snicker and bowed heads conversing in gossip when she walked by, but no one said anything directly to her. Most were probably afraid of being on the receiving end of another one of Ginny's hexes. The girl was sweet as sugar but could also be a menace that was released on the student population every year.

Hermione had kept her head high. Not allowing herself to look defeated. When she had allowed herself a look over at the Ravenclaw table she noticed that Sue was not there. Depending on how potent of a hex she had been hit with… It could be days before her head was back to normal size. Something she took a sick sense of satisfaction in.

Blaise, Pansy and Theodore Nott had all huddled up and started whispering when she had walked in but Draco was also mysteriously absent. Something she wasn't sure she should have noticed. She didn't need to start an obsession on where Malfoy was at any given moment. It was not any of her business and she needed to keep it that way. The whole repetitive rerun of their stolen moments thing was enough of a mind fuck to deal with.

Later that night she was doing her rounds, checking to make sure the corridors were clear of students down by the kitchens. Hufflepuffs were not known for sneaking out like Slytherins and Gryffindors but it happened enough that it was worth the occasional walk around their "turf". Usually if she was going to catch anyone it was an older year trying to sneak back into their common room after a rendezvous with a member of the opposite sex. Or the same (depending on how the offender swung).

She was humming a muggle song that had been pretty popular earlier that summer.

It felt like springtime on this February morning.

In a courtyard birds were singing your praise.

I'm still recalling things you said to make me feel alright.

I carried them with me today.

Now, as I lay me down to sleep.

This I pray that you will hold me dear.

Though I'm far away.

I'll whisper your name into the sky,

And I will wake up happy.

She let herself get lost in the song, running her fingers along the cold stone walls at her side as she walked.

I wonder why I feel so high.

Though I am not above the sorrow.

Heavy hearted, till you call my name.

And it sounds like church bells,

Or the whistle of a train.

On a summer evening, I'll run to meet you,

Barefoot barely breathing.

Her fingers lost purchase and found air as she passed the doorway to an alcove with a suit of armor inside.

As I lay me down to sleep.

This I pray, that you will hold me de…

Suddenly a hand was around her mouth and nose. Stopping her from being able to scream. She reached for her wand but an arm quickly wrapped all the way around her body, right at the elbows. It yanked her back against a hard chest, pinning her arms to her sides. She felt herself being pulled back into the dark little nook. There was a small section of space between the wall and the knight that inhabited it, just enough for two bodies to fit undetected.

She needed to think quickly to get out of this one, but the only thing that came to mind was how the past two days had been nothing but a string of bad luck... She knew that thought process wasn't going to save her from this attack.

But what would?

-\?/-\?/-\?/-\?/-\?/-\?/-\?/-\?/-\?/-\?/-

Ack! Who do you think is the mysterious attacker?

As Always…

Much love,

SlytherclawLuv

Song Credit Goes to:

Sophie B. Hawkins for the song, "As I Lay Me Down". At least until it was rudely interrupted...