AN: Welcome back, readers! I hope you all had a nice holiday. And I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Warnings…lemons ahead…
{ 39 }
"What in Salazar's name are you doing?"
I found Hermione in the study Wednesday morning after Arithmancy class. She had a mug of coffee next to her, and several sheets of parchment spread out in front of her.
"It's called a project plan." She didn't even look up from whatever she was writing.
"A project plan?" I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and examined the table she was constructing. "Oh, good Merlin. Is that a study table?"
"Of course. You do realize we still have to take our mid-year exams in four weeks, right?" She rolled her eyes and kept writing.
"So, what? You are prepared for your NEWT's, but not for mid-year exams?"
She blinked a few times and tilted her head to the side.
"This isn't for me." She slid the parchment over to me.
I stared at it for longer than necessary. My tongue darted out to lick my lips.
It's color coded, for Salazar's sake!
What the fuck am I supposed to say to that?
"You don't have to use it." She rolled her eyes and sighed. "I was just trying to figure out a schedule to work on research, practice and data collection for our project and I wanted to make sure I didn't forget anything important. Like time to study for our exams."
She picked up the parchment and returned it to her stack of papers.
I want to laugh at her for being so, well, Granger. Truth be told, though, I had completely forgotten that we still need to take our mid-year exams.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed.
"Give me the bloody table."
Her lip tilted up on the end as she slid the parchment back over in front of me. I picked it up and really looked at it this time.
She had a time scheduled for everything. She even remembered to schedule my meetings with Edinfield, my training with Tristan, and my downtime in the Slytherin common room.
She set aside two hours each day, right after lunch, for studying. She even marked which subject to study each day.
"You forgot to schedule bathroom breaks," I joked.
Without looking up, she smacked my arm with the back of her hand.
"Ow! Watch it, witch." I laughed. "I don't have free time to go to the hospital until tonight."
She turned slowly and glared at me.
"I'm just joking. It's brilliant." I grinned at her.
She rolled her eyes and turned back to the parchment she was working on.
"Did you notice breakfast in the morning?" She asked with a hint of smug laughter in her voice.
I looked at the table again. In red writing it said, 'Breakfast at Gryffindor Table'.
"Yeah. I don't fucking think so." I nearly snorted in laughter. Now I know she's fucking with me.
She stopped and turned towards me. The look on her face told me she was completely serious.
"In order for this revolution of ours to work, we need the other houses to accept you, and by extension, the others. That will never happen if you are surrounded by Slytherins all the time."
My heart stopped for a brief moment.
Fucking hell.
"I've been thinking about it since the game last weekend. The way all the other houses jeered when you won. If they don't see the divide within Slytherin House, if they keep thinking you are all the same…"
"Then it won't matter how many people are on our side." I sighed. Damn. She may actually be right.
[ - - - ]
On Thursday morning, I got a first-hand feel for how Hermione must have felt the first time she sat with me at the Slytherin table.
The anxiety in my chest as we approached the Gryffindor table was palpable.
Potter and Weasley looked amused. They must have been forewarned. They made room between themselves for the two of us to sit.
"Good morning, Hermione." Potter grinned. "Malfoy."
"Good morning." She gave him a small smile and started filling her plate.
I nodded my head in acknowledgement. It was about all I could muster at the moment.
The rest of the table was completely silent. Hell, the rest of the Hall was silent. Every eye in the room was staring directly at us.
"Did the rest of the snakes finally get sick of having a muggleborn at their table?" Ginny laughed as she sat on the other side of Potter.
I glanced over at the Slytherin table. Theo and Blaise were watching me carefully. Pansy was watching Hermione.
"Not at all. I just missed sitting here with you, Gin." Hermione smiled at her. It was one of the fakest smiles I have ever seen on her.
I felt my lip curl up in a smirk as my hand pulsed around hers.
"Potter. That was a good catch Saturday." I said into the silence. Potter caught the snitch left handed after the other seeker lost control and crashed into him.
"Thanks." He hesitated a moment. "Your dive last week against Ravenclaw was impressive."
Hermione groaned next to me.
"Quidditch. Of course." She sighed deeply, but her lip tilted up in a small smile.
"I think I speak for everyone at this table when I say I was disappointed that you pulled up before crashing face first into the ground." Weaselette stated with a small laugh.
Was she serious? Or was that supposed to be a joke?
"Not everyone at the table." Hermione patted my arm.
"Yes, but you don't count." Ginny rolled her eyes. "You actually like the git. Of course you don't want him to smash his face in."
"True story. I quite like his face just the way it is." She smiled up at me.
I groaned to myself.
"Can we talk about something else?" Weasley cut in. "Anything besides Malfoy's face?"
"For once, we are in complete agreement." I released a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of my nose.
Hermione and Weaselette both chuckled.
Then Potter started talking about the upcoming quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.
Hermione shook her head and finished eating in silence, but there was a small smile on her face.
[ - - - ]
Over the next few weeks, we followed Hermione's time tables. It turned out to be an easy routine to fall into. Our focus remained on learning every type of ward we could find.
Learning how to cast them. Figuring out how to disassemble them. Layering them one on top of another, then trying to break through them.
On Monday evenings, we met with Bones to share our progress. She would also test us by casting complex wards for us to try to break.
We also started monitoring the wards around the castle. Every day, at least three times, we visited the boundary and checked the wards, a different location each time, and recorded the state of the wards in that location.
Hermione is taking the data we collect, compiling it and analyzing it to try to determine where the weak point is.
We have continued to eat breakfast with Gryffindor and dinner with Slytherin. Most days we skip out on lunch altogether, but when we do go to the Hall, we switch up sitting between the two.
As November bled into December, we began to notice something extraordinary.
At lunchtime, students started sitting with their friends or classmates, no matter which house they were in.
Even Slytherins.
It started slowly. One or two people besides us. Each day, it seemed that more people became comfortable enough to buck tradition and sit at a different table than their own house.
One day, Hermione and Luna were talking as we walked into the Great Hall. Rather than finish the conversation, we sat with her at the Ravenclaw table.
Theo and Blaise saw us sitting there when they walked in, and they joined us.
Potter and Weasley came in a few minutes later, and they joined us as well.
Ginny and Pansy were confused when they came into the Hall, but as each of them saw us, they sat with us as well.
From then on, we sat at Ravenclaw for lunch. With all of our friends.
[ - - - ]
Large snowflakes fell from the sky, covering the grounds with a thick blanket of snow.
Somewhere behind the heavy gray clouds, the sun has started to rise. The effect of the dim light on the peaceful snow covered grounds is beautiful.
For Hermione and I, it is also quite concerning.
"We need to start the next phase of the project." Hermione leaned against the stone railing. She is dressed in flannel red pants and a black long sleeve shirt. Her hands were open in front of her, catching snowflakes in her gloved hands.
"We aren't ready for that yet." She knows that. I don't need to tell her.
My clothes nearly match hers. Except my pants are gray, and my shirt is white. When I woke to an empty bed, I knew I would find her here.
"I'm worried that we are running out of time."
Because the vision she had of Tristan being attacked by the wards happened when there is heavy snow and ice on the grounds.
"I know."
She sighed and leaned back against my chest. We stood there and watched the snow falling for several moments. She had a warming charm on the balcony, so it was comfortable. Quiet, too. No one else in the castle is awake at this hour.
"I've been thinking." She placed her hands over top of mine.
That can't be good.
"I am afraid to even ask." The last time she said that, we ended up working on this damn project.
She laughed, then turned around to face me, linked her arms around my neck and placed her lips against mine.
I indulged her, returned her kiss and then some.
"Were you thinking we should go back to bed?" My lips trailed across her chin and down her neck.
"What?" She tilted her head to the side, giving me full access. "No. That isn't what I was thinking at all."
My tongue darted out to taste her skin.
"I'm listening." I'm hoping to distract her, but I'm still listening.
"Oh, Gods." She gasped as I sucked gently on the skin at her shoulder. "You're cheating."
"You kissed me first, remember?" I stepped back, holding my hands in the air.
Her lip tilted up on one side playfully.
She stepped closer and slid her hands under my shirt. Her fingernails glided across my skin. Heat flamed through my veins as a shiver ran down my spine.
She has figured out what I like, just as I know what she likes.
Her eyes searched mine, waiting to see if I would make a move.
Merlin and Salazar, I love this witch.
My hands settled on her waist. My fingers dipped below the waist of her pants. I moved my hands down slowly until they were cupped around her lace covered arse.
She moaned. Just a little. Just enough.
The playfulness in her eyes was replaced by pure lust. She bit into her bottom lip and looked up at me through her lashes.
What were we talking about?
I have no idea.
I pulled her forward and kissed her deeply.
She pulled back. Her lip curled up on the end in a smirk.
She thinks she won.
"Hold on, Malfoy." Her hand curled around her pendant. Next thing I knew, we were standing in our bedroom.
My lip curled up on the end. Because I think we both won.
Then her lips were moving against mine.
She pulled my shirt up and over my head, discarding it on the floor.
Her pants slid easily over her hips and she stepped out of them without breaking our kiss. I lifted her shirt over her head as we stumbled towards the bed.
My pants joined hers on the floor. When we tumbled onto the bed, landing side by side, we were both wearing nothing but our underwear. Me in boxers, her in lace boy shorts.
"Gods, you are beautiful." My hand skimmed down her arm, her thigh, all the way to her knee.
She carded her fingers through my hair. Her fingernails scratched across my scalp. Her lips moved against mine and her body molded against me. Skin against skin.
I trailed my lips against her skin, down her neck to her shoulder.
This time, I didn't stop there. I kept kissing her all the way down her clavicle to the valley between her breasts.
I met her gaze. I had to make sure she was okay with this. Her eyes were glazed with lust. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips.
Her eyes fluttered shut as my thumb skimmed across her exposed breast. Her back arched. The moan she emitted as my tongue swept across her nipple went straight to my cock.
I held her tighter, my fingers pressed into her skin.
"Oh, Gods!" She muttered it quietly, but I could still hear her.
Bolstered, I pulled her nipple between my lips and sucked on her skin.
It didn't take long at all for her to come apart in my arms.
Rather than stopping, she surged forward, rolling me to my back and straddled my hips.
Fucking hell.
She rotated her hips, grinding against me.
I sat up, wrapped my arms around her and positioned her exactly where I would want her. If we were completely naked. And she was riding my cock.
I can almost imagine it. Her wet heat surrounding me, pulsing around me.
I want that.
"Fuck!" I came hard.
She stayed there on my lap, and I kept my arms around her, holding her to me, until we were breathing normally again.
I cupped both hands around her face. My fingers delved into her hair. My thumbs wiped across her cheeks. I searched her eyes.
After a moment, she leaned down and kissed me slowly.
It's Sunday morning. We don't have anywhere we need to be. My hands and my tongue drifted across her body, exploring, tasting, learning what she likes, what she doesn't.
Much further than we have gone to date. Pushing every limit we have.
I want to bury myself in her.
That thought alone is enough to pull me from my lust induced haze. Or maybe it was Hermione's hands, wrapped tightly around my wrists. She pulled my hands away from the thin layer of lace fabric.
She didn't stop, though. Undeterred, she took control. She pushed me to my back and ran her fingernails across my chest, followed by her lips and her tongue.
I watched her as she methodically kissed her way across the scar that covers my chest. I don't have the heart to tell her that I am completely numb across that scar. It's still erotic as hell to watch her.
She shifted her weight. As she did, her arm slid against my cock. Reflexively, my hips snapped up towards her, looking for more friction. I groaned out loud.
She sat frozen for several seconds before she moved her arm again. This time, her hand moved slowly across my thigh. Centimeter by centimeter until her fingers brushed against me.
I groaned again. I can't help it. That feels fucking amazing.
Then she wrapped her hand around me and I swear I saw stars. She didn't even apply pressure. She just slid her hand from the base to the tip.
"Hermione." This witch is going to be the death of me.
She stopped and lifted her hand away.
"Sorry," she mumbled. In the dim lighting it looked like her cheeks tinged pink.
"Don't stop." Gods, I sound desperate.
I am desperate. I need her to touch me again. Right there. Right now.
I pulled her lips to mine and kissed her. It was a hard, fast kiss that reeked of my desperation. It took her a second to respond, but when she did it was with as much fervor as I.
Her hand wrapped around me again. A little more pressure this time. I groaned into her mouth and she held me even tighter.
She released me just long enough to slide her hand beneath the waistband of my boxers. Then I felt her fingers wrap around me with nothing between us at all. I buried my face in her shoulder and sucked on the colored skin there. My hips snapped forward.
"Oh, Gods." She gasped. My palm covered her breast as her hand tightened to just the right amount of pressure.
Fucking hell.
I came for the second time with her hand stroking my cock.
I collapsed on the mattress, completely spent. Vaguely, I heard Hermione mutter a cleaning spell before she laid her head on my chest and wrapped her arm around my waist. I had just enough energy to lift my arm around her back and hold her to me.
We are both sweating. I have no idea how long we've been in bed. Hours, maybe. My eyes are heavy. I let them close for just a minute.
When I opened them again, I found Hermione sleeping soundly beside me. She still had her head on my chest and her leg draped across mine.
I skimmed my hand up and down the bare skin of her back. After a few moments, she began to stir. Her eyes opened slowly. Then she took a deep breath and released it in a fast whoosh of air.
"Good morning." She smirked lazily at me, then rolled over to her back and stretched her arms above her head.
"Good morning." It certainly has been good so far.
A quick glance at the clock told me we have already missed breakfast.
"Do you want to tell me what you were thinking now?" I sat up on the edge of the bed.
"When?" She sat beside me and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. I suspect it is for the chill in the room rather than for modesty.
"On the balcony." My lip lifted in a smirk.
"Right." She rolled her eyes and nudged my shoulder playfully. "Before you thoroughly distracted me."
"I have no regrets." I put my arm around her shoulder and slid my hand up and down her arm.
She released a sigh and laid her head against my shoulder.
"Alright. I was thinking, it is going to take us forever to analyze the wards at the pace we are going."
She won't get any argument from me on that one.
"We have friends. Friends that are fairly capable witches and wizards, that have proven themselves in dangerous situations."
Again, she makes a valid point. One I hadn't even thought of. There is no reason we have to attempt to fix the wards ourselves.
"Harry, Ron, Luna, Theo, Blaise. Neville, Ginny, Pansy." She turned to face me. Her eyes searched mine for a moment, trying to gauge my reaction. "I think it's time we get them involved. Am I crazy?"
I'd say she is, but it does make a lot of sense. And if any of them want to opt out, we won't force the issue.
"A whole team of the best and the brightest working on it."
Her lip tilted up on one side.
"Exactly."
[ - - - ]
By the time we both showered and got dressed, we barely made it to lunch.
As we made our way down the grand staircase, Potter and Weasley were just coming inside. Both were covered in snow and laughing. Close behind them were Ginny and Neville.
Luna and Theo were already sitting at the table playing chess. They were both warm and dry. No snowball fight for them today. The two of them play chess together at least every other day. He has not yet been able to win against her.
"Where have you two been hiding all morning?" Theo asked as I sat beside him.
"None of your business." I rolled my eyes as I filled my plate. Hermione bit into her bottom lip to keep from smiling.
Blaise and Pansy joined us a few minutes later.
The topic of conversation was the snowball battle that took place that morning. According to Weasley, it was epic.
I won't say that Weasley and I are friends. That would be a stretch. We have an understanding, though. We both care for Hermione, so we put aside the vitriol and we get along.
Hell, sometimes he even makes me laugh.
Like when he told us that Tristan had organized a surprise attack on the Gryffindor team.
Everyone was just about finished eating when Hermione cleared her throat.
"If you guys have a few minutes, we have something we need to talk to you about." She glanced around the table and noticed several of our friends were staring at her with wide eyes. She blinked a time or two. "It's about the project we have been working on."
Pansy's shoulders sagged in disappointment.
"That is not what I thought you were going to say." She shook her head and flipped her dark hair over her shoulder.
I can only imagine what she had been thinking. Apparently they were all thinking the same thing. At least, Theo was.
"They don't do that." He whispered loud enough that our group heard him.
I closed my eyes and tightened my hand into a fist beneath the table. Why are my friends so obsessed with my sex life?
"Oh, Merlin." Hermione covered her face with both hands. Her ears had turned bright red.
"Are you serious?" Pansy's brow crinkled in confusion.
"Pansy," I warned her with a sharp glare.
That is not a discussion that I want to have right now.
"Sorry." She smiled at us. An evil little smile. "I didn't know it was a sore subject."
Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.
"Maybe this isn't such a great idea," she mumbled under her breath.
"It's a little late for that now."
It really was, because despite Pansy's teasing everyone else was intrigued.
We made our way to the third floor lecture hall. Hermione arranged the tables so we were sitting in a circle around the center of the room.
"The book is gone. Did you get through the wards? What did it say?" Blaise asked as everyone settled in.
"We read it." I pulled Hermione's chair out for her, then sat beside her. "It was just a fairy tale Ravenclaw wrote down when they built the school."
"For a few weeks now, we have been working on a new project." Hermione took the lead from there. "And this one is important. And potentially dangerous."
"Of course it is." Weasley rolled his eyes.
"We are asking for your help. If you don't want to be involved, that's fine. No judgment whatsoever." She scanned around the table, making eye contact with every person there. "Trust me when I say, I didn't want anything to do with it at first either."
"That made two of us." I ran my hand through my hair.
"Do we get to hear what this is all about before we decide if we want to sign up?" Potter asked pointedly.
"Yes. But you need to understand that what we are about to tell you cannot leave this room. If you decide to help or not, you cannot tell anyone else about this." She produced a piece of parchment. "You will only be able to discuss it with this group or with the faculty."
"What did you get yourself tangled up in now?" Neville asked.
He was sitting next to her. He took the parchment and signed his name before passing it to Ginny next to him.
Ginny tapped the end of the quill against the table for a moment.
"Is it the same spell as the DA form?" Her lip tilted up on the side as she signed her name and passed it on to Potter.
"Sadly, no." Hermione sighed. "That turned out to be so difficult to reverse."
Potter signed it and passed it on to Weasley without a word.
"So what does this one do?" Weasley asked.
"Your hair will turn white."
Pansy's hand automatically went to her hair. Her eyes were horrified.
"Doesn't seem fair for Malfoy. His should change to red or something." Weasley signed and passed it on to Luna.
"I would prefer blue, please." Luna smiled as she signed and slid the parchment to Theo.
His eyes met mine for a moment. I held my breath as I waited for him to make his decision.
"What the hell." He sighed and signed his name, then passed it on to Pansy.
"Am I even supposed to be in here?" She looked around the table. "I don't know about this."
"The hair effect is temporary." Hermione assured her.
"Fine." She tossed her hair over her shoulder, picked up the quill and signed her name.
Blaise was the last one. He didn't say a word, but he did sign the parchment and passed it over to me.
"The wards around Hogwarts are unstable." Hermione didn't mince words. She paused for a moment. "They are lashing out, erratic. It's like a visible pulse of energy."
"You are all here because we need help finding the weakest spot." I picked up where she had left off. "We can't even attempt to repair them until we figure out why they are failing to begin with."
Hermione opened a leather bound folder and distributed a small packet of data to everyone at the table. It was a copy of the data we have collected over the last few weeks, and her analysis.
"The data that we have collected so far clearly shows that the energy flares are getting larger." She gave everyone a moment to look through the charts in front of them. "There is a sense of urgency to fix this sooner rather than later. We are concerned that someone could get hurt, or the wards could fail completely."
The room was silent for several long moments.
"What do you need us to do?" It was Potter that spoke up first.
"We need more data." Hermione motioned to the packets she had handed out. "We need you guys to pair up, and go out to the boundary every day to collect data. Never go alone. Record your observations here."
Looks were exchanged around the table. I waited for the first of them to tell us to fuck off, get up and walk away. None of them did.
"And?" Blaise asked finally.
"And nothing. Hermione and I will keep working on repairing the wards. All we need from you is help collecting the data."
"I want to see what we are dealing with before I agree to help." Ginny voiced. Nods of agreement were seen around the table.
"Fair enough. Gather your cloaks and brooms. Meet us in the courtyard in fifteen minutes."
[ - - - ]
The waterfall is still flowing, but the lake above has started to freeze over. A thin layer of ice is collecting around the edges. Snow is clinging to the trees and glistens in the weak sunlight.
Ten of us stood just inside the tree line where the ground was frozen, but relatively dry.
We didn't have to wait long before the visible pulse of energy lashed out from the wards. Even standing as far back as we are, the growing intensity of the pulses still pushed us back.
"We need to record the strength of the pulse, how far it extends inward, and the amount of time between pulses." Hermione demonstrated how to measure each of those and record them.
After that, we returned to the castle, to the third floor lecture room.
"If anyone wants to walk away, this is the time to do it." I scanned the group in front of me. Every one of them fought in the war in one capacity or another. They all know the danger the wards represent, and the dangers of them failing.
"I want to help, but I don't want to be near those wards again." Pansy cleared her throat and pushed her hair over her shoulders. "I will volunteer to organize and analyze the data."
Hermione stared at her for a long moment. It seemed like everyone in the room held their breath.
Pansy is not the most powerful witch out there. Her reaction time isn't great. Her talents lie more on the academic side rather than the practical side of magic.
I had my reservations about including her in this discussion to begin with, but I didn't want to leave her out either. This provides a perfect solution for her to be involved without being in direct danger.
"Seriously?" Ginny laughed. "You are going to hand it over to Parkinson? Just like that? I don't think so."
A few of the others chuckled along with Ginny. Pansy looked offended. Theo rolled his eyes. Blaise just glared at Ginny.
"Why wouldn't I?" Hermione seemed very uncomfortable all of a sudden. She picked at her fingernails. Her brow was crinkled in confusion. Her cheeks tinged pink.
"Because you do all of the research and computations and analysis on your own. You are the brains, right? That's your thing." Ginny laughed again as she looked around at the rest of the table.
I can tell everyone is thinking the same thing. Over half of them nodded in agreement. Even Blaise seemed to agree with her now that he knew she was laughing at Hermione giving up control rather than Pansy doing the analysis.
"The last thing I need is someone else that thinks I'm a joke."
She said that to me months ago. I don't think I quite understood why until this very moment.
My hand found hers under the table and tightened in a quick pulse.
Finally, she blinked a couple of times and took a deep breath.
"Honestly, no one has ever offered to help before. You just assumed I wanted to do it all myself. I would much rather be learning the wards and figuring out how to fix them than spending time searching through data." Her shoulder lifted on one side, then dropped. "Pansy, if you want it, it's yours. That would be great, actually. Thank you."
Pansy smiled and her shoulders relaxed a bit. She nodded her head once to accept.
Otherwise, a sort of stunned silence filled the room for several long moments. Even from me.
Because over the last few weeks, I have been content to let her search through the data while I study the wards and try to figure out the patterns.
Merlin and Salazar. You are just as bad as the rest of them.
It was Neville that finally broke the silence by clearing his throat.
"I can work on a schedule for everyone." He offered.
Hermione smiled at him and nodded.
We spent the next hour setting the room up as a base of operations. There was a map of the grounds that we hung on the wall, with pins to mark where and when they had been checked. In the meantime, Neville worked on a schedule and Pansy worked with Hermione to sort through the data we have already collected.
At the end of the day, I felt a glimmer of hope. With all of us working on it together, there is a chance we will be able to find what is wrong and fix it before something catastrophic happens.
AN: Some lemony goodness in this chapter. And admitting they need help with the wards is a huge step.
As always, I can't wait to read your reviews.
Until next time.
-mezy