Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

More Important Things	By : twitchelittleferret Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Hermione Views: 15269 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 34
- 35
- 36
Temptation

What's the deal with my brain?

Why am I so obviously insane?

In a perfect situation

I let love down the drain.

There's the pitch, slow and
straight.

All I have to do is swing

and I'm a hero, but I'm a zero.

Hungry nights, once again

Now it's getting unbelievable.

'Cause I could not have it
better,

But I just can't get no play

From the girls, all around

As they search the night for
someone to hold onto.

And I just pass through...

singing...

Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhh oh.
Ooohhhhhhhhhh.

Singing...

Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhh oh.
Ooohhhhhhhhhh.

Get your hands off the girl,

Can't you see that she belongs
to me?

And I don't appreciate this
excess company.

Though I can't satisfy all the
needs she has

And so she starts to wander...

Can you blame her?

(Perfect
Situation—Weezer)

~*~

�It�s empty,� Hermione said
quietly and Ron and Harry slipped in.
The girls� lavatory was empty, the only sound was a slow drip, drip of a
leaky faucet.

Harry walked over to one of the
sinks. �Open up,� he hissed in
Parseltongue. Ron and Hermione
shifted uneasily, they always felt uneasy whenever Harry spoke in that
language.

Hermione started when the sink
dropped away revealing a pipe wide enough for a person to squeeze through. Harry looked up at her and saw that she
suddenly looked very pale and frightened.
She had never been down here before. The last time he had done this, he was with Ron because she
was petrified and in the hospital wing.

�Are you—� he started to ask
if she really wanted to do this but she cut him off.

�I�m fine!� she squeaked.

Harry still seemed uneasy about
this but he lowered himself into the pipe anyway. As he slid down the slimy slide, he remembered it being just
a little more spacious and toward the end, he was beginning to get a little
claustrophobic. He wondered if
Hermione would make it out after all.

Ron came out next, covered in
slime. Followed by Hermione. Harry caught her as she shot out of the
pipe. She was still very pale and
she shook slightly with fright.

�Ew,� she said quietly as she
looked down at her clothes.

�You okay?� he asked and she
nodded back. Harry lit the tip of
his wand and moved forward.

�Haven�t been down here in
awhile,� Ron said as they walked, his wand light moving around the
chamber. Hermione saw him shudder
violently as he saw a spider scuttle away.

She let her light to the ground
and saw that there were tiny skeletons of house elves that were littering the
ground. She fought down the nausea
that threatened to overcome her, she was nearly sick with fear. Something dull and large caught her eye
and her wand roamed over the shed skin of a very large snake. She nearly screamed.

�Harry?� she asked in a shaky
voice.

�Yes?� he replied.

�There was only one basilisk,
right?�

Harry stopped and looked back at
her, seeing that she was eyeing the snake�s skin. �Yeah, I�m sure.�

He wasn�t really. There was only mention of one basilisk
but what if it was female? What if
she laid eggs? Didn�t Snape have a
basilisk egg in his potions storage?
Oh, crap, what if they hatched and they were walking into one giant
basilisk nest?

Damn it, Hermione!

�And here we are,� Ron said as
they came to a large rock pile.
�This is where we were nearly caved in on.�

Harry could�ve killed Ron for saying
that seeing that Hermione�s eyes widened and she began to gnaw at her lower
lip. A nervous habit of hers.

It was just the three of them
going on this adventure alone.
Isis refused to go into a chamber that previously contained a basilisk
and Harry thought it best not to bring Neville down here, considering that
Ginny would seriously flip her lid.
Hell, she�d probably freak out anyway if she found out that the three of
them came back down here.

He slowly began to climb up the
rock wall, knocking a few more stones from the top to make more room for
him. He apparently wasn�t a
scrawny twelve year old anymore.
Hermione followed next, careful not to move another stone out of place
for fear that she would knock one that would send this whole wall crashing down
around them. Ron followed last.

They didn�t have to walk too far
until they came upon two stone doors with snakes on them. Hermione and Ron exchanged nervous
glances. They both had never gone
this far.

�Open,� Harry hissed and the
snakes writhed, opening the doors, the sound of stone grinding on stone filled
the cavern. Hermione didn�t
realize how tightly she was gripping her wand until she realized the dull pain
in her hand was caused from her nails digging into her palm.

Into the chamber they moved. Hermione and Ron gazed up at the
enormous pillars around them, all of them with stone snakes twined around
them. Hermione thought they looked
menacing, as if they knew that the three of them had no business being here,
their mouths curled up in silent hisses.

Harry felt the familiar unease and
fear of first being down here and he kept a close eye on the shadows as they
proceeded forward. The basilisk
was dead. He had killed it. But the dark shadows still made him
uneasy. There was a light coming
from somewhere that basked the chamber in a green glow and as they stepped in
front of the giant statue of Salazar Slytherin, he heard Hermione gasp and
stifle a scream.

There, lying in front of them, at
the foot of the statue, was the skeleton of the dead basilisk.

Hermione and Ron stared at
it.

�Blimey,� Ron muttered under his
breath.

Harry looked down at Hermione who
was staring at the skeletal remains.
He put an arm around her and hugged her to him briefly before stepping
forward. Ron followed but Hermione
remained transfixed, she couldn�t take her eyes off of how big it was. She didn�t remember much about being
petrified. She remembered being in
the library with the girl from Ravenclaw when they heard it. A soft hiss, the sound of something
sliding on the floor and Hermione knew, knew, that it was the basilisk. The Ravenclaw gave a startled cry and ran into the aisle
where Hermione was.

�I saw�I saw�the body of a giant
snake,� she said.

Hermione had just been doing
research on them and was scribbling down the word �Pipes�. �Are you sure?� she asked and the
Ravenclaw nodded.

Hermione then committed the
unspeakable sin of ripping out a page in the book. �We have to get out of here,� the Ravenclaw whispered as she
moved down the aisle.

�Wait!� Hermione whispered,
stopping her. She reached into her
bookbag and pulled out a small mirror.

The two girls moved to the end of
the aisle, Hermione in the lead as she held out her mirror to peer around the
corner. It was clear. The two of them darted down the aisle,
stopping at the next corner where Hermione once again raised the mirror to see
if the coast was clear. She lifted
her hand and�

That was all she remembered.

She reached out to touch the skull
of the snake when Harry caught her hand.
�Don�t,� he said in a soft voice.
�The fangs are sharp and I�m not sure if they have poison still in them
or not.�

Hermione recoiled and followed
Harry and Ron as they explored the chamber. �He was standing over there,� Harry said, pointing to a
shadowy corner. �Tom spent a lot
of time down here. He had to have
left something behind.�

The three of them split up,
staying within shouting distance of each other. Hermione was having no luck. Having tamped down her fear, the only creatures she had encountered
where the occasional spiders and beetles.
The walls of the chamber were made of smooth stone blocks and she
pressed on random ones to see if they had any secrets to reveal.

�Anything?� Harry asked as he came
up behind her. Hermione jumped and
whirled around. �Sorry,� Harry
said, giving a small grin. �I
guess I should have made some sort of noise.�

�Don�t worry about it,� she shook
her head. �This whole place is
giving me the creeps.� Harry
nodded in agreement. �How are you
doing?�

�To be honest, it�s like
revisiting one of your worst nightmares,� he said softly as he rested his back
against the wall.

�Oh, Harry,� Hermione frowned and
placed a comforting hand on his arm.

He looked up at her and gave her a
small smile. �I�m going to check
out these pillars,� he said, moving away from the wall.

�So�how�s Anthony?� he asked
casually as he tapped his wand on the pillar. Hermione was still working on the wall.

�He�s fine,� she answered.

The past few weeks with Anthony were fine. He was
gentlemanly, polite and treated her well.
He was safe. But deep down
Hermione knew he was a bandage covering some leaky dam of feelings that were
welling and churning.

�I�m surprised he was okay with
you coming down here.�

�He, uh, doesn�t know,� Hermione
answered shyly. Harry�s movements
with his wand over the pillar stopped.

Hermione could feel his stare
burning into the back of her head and she turned around. �I�m still your best friend,
Harry. That doesn�t change.�

Harry opened his mouth to reply
but Ron�s shout cut him off.

�Hey guys, I think I found
something over here!�

~*~

Draco put back the book on the
Goblin Wars of 534-780 in its proper place on the shelf. He had just finished the excruciatingly
painful report on the topic for History of Magic class and was ready to take a
much deserved break.

He walked out of the book aisle
and saw that Anthony Wellington was now sitting alone at his table, his fellow
classmates having left him to do what else. The Ravenclaw was studiously doing his Charms homework.

�Hello Anthony,� Draco said,
taking a seat across from him. The
Ravenclaw made no mention of hello, he just kept writing away.

�You and the mudblood not attached
at the hip?� Anthony still gave
him no reply, although Draco saw his jaw tense at the derogatory term.

�I figured the two of you would be
huddled together in here doing your homework. You know, two mudblood brains might just equal one pure
blood one.�

�What do you want?� Anthony asked
with irritation. Draco smiled
innocently.

�I was just having friendly
conversation. So, how are you and the mudblood?�

�Her name is Hermione,� Anthony
growled.

�I know what her name is,� Draco
replied.

�Then use it properly.�

�I was just curious,� Draco
shrugged.

�About what?� Anthony asked.

�Why someone like you is dating
someone like her?�

Anthony put down is quill. �And just what is that supposed to
mean?�

Draco smirked. �Trying to bask in the piece of the
Harry Potter glory?�

�What?!�

�Oh come on, Wellington, be honest
for once. You�re already a
well-liked guy, did your popularity skyrocket since you bagged Potty�s ex?�

�I know this may be a hard concept
for you to wrap your puny Slytherin mind around but I actually and genuine do
care for Hermione very much.�

�I�m sure the popularity doesn�t
hurt either,� Draco sneered.

�You know, Hermione is actually a
very nice and caring person,� Anthony retorted. �Unlike a lot of the girls here, whom I�m sure you�re well
acquainted with, who are fake and shallow she�s real, and genuine and
virtuous.�

�Oh I�m sure Potty got real
acquainted with her virtuous side,� Draco muttered.

�You know what?� Anthony said as
he picked up his homework and put it into his bag. �I don�t have to sit here and listen to this crap.�

Draco reached out and slammed a
hand over his bookbag. �Good, then
I�ll get straight to the point.
Dump Granger.�

Anthony stared at him. �What?�

�Dump Granger,� Draco repeated
firmly.

Anthony shook his head. �Sod off, Malfoy,� he said, yanking his
bookbag out from under his hand.

Draco shrugged and leaned back in
his chair. �Have it your way
then.�

~*~

There was a smooth marble wall,
flanked on either side by smaller pillars that mirrored the columns that filled
the chamber, complete with the snakes that were wrapped around it. There was an archway above it with
words inscribed on it in Latin.

�What does it say?� Ron asked and
Harry shrugged.

�Don�t know,� he said then he
hissed in parseltongue, �open.�

Hermione was staring at the design
above the archway, the snakes that made the border, the tree that was carved in
the middle. Her eyes fell on the
words in Latin.

Nothing happened when Harry hissed
at it. �Great,� Ron sighed.

Ron tried to open it with a simple
�Alohomora� but that didn�t work either and the two of them explored the door.

�You know, we could use your help
here,� Ron said with irritation to Hermione.

�I don�t think we should open this
door,� Hermione said quietly.

Harry looked over at her and saw
that she was still staring above the doorway at the arch. He walked over to her. �Hermione?� he asked her. �Do you know what it says?� He followed
her line of sight.

�It says something like �Only I
opened your eyes to the true nature of God�.�

Harry looked at her for a moment
then looked back up at the design in the archway. Only then did he notice the tree and in it was a single
fruit.

�Ron,� he said, �I think I found
the way in.�

Hermione grabbed his arm. �Harry, don�t,� she pleaded. �I have a bad feeling about this. The last time a snake asked Man to do
something, they were expelled from the Garden of Eden.�

Ron wrinkled his brow. �So you think we�re going to
be�expelled from Hogwarts?�
Hermione gave an exasperated sigh.

Harry winked at her. �If I remember correctly, it was woman
who took the apple, not man,� he said as he reached up.

�Harry this is no time for
historical sexism! Just don�t
touch—�

Harry pressed the fruit in the
tree and the door swung open. She
groaned. �Not good. Not good.� She hung her head and buried them in her hands.

�Bloody brilliant, Harry!� Ron
said admirably.

Harry grinned as he placed both of
his hands on Hermione�s shoulders, giving them a quick squeeze. �Couldn�t have done it without you,
Hermione.�

�I want no credit in this, Harry,�
she replied, her voice muffled as she still hid her face.

Reluctantly, she followed them
into the room.

Ron whimpered and turned around to
run away as soon as he saw the spider webs that completely covered the
furniture inside but Harry stopped him and made him march in anyway.

�Place hasn�t been touched in
years,� Harry said and with a flick of his wand, one of the chairs was cleared
off of webs and dust. Ron teetered
on his feet slightly when he saw a nest of spiders scuttle away when Harry
cleaned off another chair.

Hermione went to work on the
bookshelves in the room. She
nearly jumped out of her skin when the web vanished and a snake�s head, mouth
open and fangs drawn, greeted her.
�He needs to hire a new decorator,� she said wryly, trying to calm her
rapidly beating heart. Then as she
looked at the books on the shelves she called out, �Harry, come here.�

He and Ron joined her, both of
them wide eyed as they looked at what was in front of them.

�Oh Merlin,� Ron whispered.

Harry moved to the other bookshelf
and cleaned it off, then the other.
Ron went to work on the other side of the room. Hermione stepped forward and looked at
the series of books in front of her, large dusty old tomes, whose spines were
embossed in silver lettering, the covers old and faded.

Recordes of Salazar
Slytherin

�Hermione. Ron.� Harry quiet voice brought his friends to him from across the
room. He heard Hermione inhale
sharply as they stared at the object Harry had uncovered.

A Pensieve.

�What do we do?� Ron whispered.

�Nothing,� Harry replied. �For now,� he turned away from the
tempting object. �We�ve been down
here long enough. We�ll come back
another day, I�m sure our absence has been noticed by now.�

Hermione turned and grabbed a
couple of books from the shelf she had first uncovered. On the same track of mind, Harry shrank
them down so they could stuff them in their pockets.

Retracing their steps back to the
pipe, Harry reached for the rope that he had conjured up for this journey. �Hang on,� he said to his friends as he
wrapped his hand around it.
Hermione climbed into the pipe and wrapped her arms around his waist,
Ron held on tight to her ankles.
The rope quickly shortened, dragging them up the pipes briskly and they
landed with a clatter on the lavatory floor.

�Ugh,� Ron said, flicking the
slime off of him. �It�s worse
coming back up.�

�I guess we�re all a little bit
gamey,� Harry concurred. The three
of them were coated in slime. He
looked at each of them. �Tonight
after curfew?� he asked.

�Room of Requirement,� Hermione
agreed and they headed out to dinner.

~*~

The lake was still frozen, the
ground still covered in snow but the usual path that Harry took to do his
morning run was still marked.
Nothing yet had turned up in the reading that he and Hermione and Ron
were doing. Well, it mostly was
Hermione. Ron usually began snoring thirty minutes into it and his own eyes
began to glaze over after two hours and he found himself rereading the same
sentence over and over. It seemed
as if Hermione was the only one turning pages and even she had uncovered
nothing spectacular.

But his mind was constantly on the
room that they had discovered in the chamber. He could tell Hermione was thinking about it as well. Every once in awhile, while they were
in class, they would catch each other staring off into space, their thoughts
obviously elsewhere. He could tell
they were thinking about the same thing.
The Pensieve. But to be
honest, Harry wasn�t sure if he should go ahead and take a dive in it. Knowledge was power but ignorance was
bliss sometimes.

Movement from the corner of his
eye caught his attention and he turned to see the Slytherin quidditch team head
out to the pitch for a last minute early practice before their match today
against Ravenclaw. Malfoy was with
them.

It gave Harry more pleasure than
anyone could know, knowing that Malfoy had been kicked off the team. Not that he was any good but any little
ray of sunshine and happiness that could be taken away from the Slytherin was a
good thing in his book. Besides,
the Slytherin team improved a bit now that they were forced to find a Seeker
with some actual talent and not just a heavy pocketbook. Not that it helped them very much
anyway, they would need all the help they could get against Ravenclaw, who was
currently the top team at the school.

Harry jogged up the steps to the
castle and up the stairs to his common room so he could get ready for the day
but as he arrived on the second floor, he saw Anthony gazing out at the
balcony. He turned and looked at
Harry.

�Hey,� he said quietly.

�Morning,� Harry replied. Anthony turned to look back outside.

Harry wanted desperately to find
some fault in Anthony, anything in his mind to rationalize why Hermione
shouldn�t be with him. So far the
only thing Harry could find was that he made Hermione happy, and that made him
feel like a complete shit. What
was wrong with him to hate someone who was so well-liked, hell, he was even
polite to Harry. He felt guilty
every night for wishing that something bad would happen to him, random meteor
collision that hit his bed and his bed only, that Hermione would walk in on him
with another girl, or guy, he wasn�t picky, or that he would just leave.

The night that he had his last big
fight with Hermione, he stayed awake plotting and planning a way to win her
back. He knew Ron would be on his
side, he, too, wasn�t too keen on the new bloke in Hermione�s life. He woke up the next morning,
determined, and he left the common room with a new mission in his mind.

Win Hermione back. Get Hermione back.

But he stopped in his tracks when
he heard Anthony in the corridor.
One sentence completely derailed him.

�Are you okay?� he had asked
Hermione.

It was the way he had said it,
just like he would�ve said it to her, with genuine concern for her
well-being. Harry knew in that
moment that any plots and plans he had to sabotage their relationship would
only elevate Anthony to Sainthood in Hermione�s mind and Harry would be sent to
one of the Seven Levels of Hell.

So the plan was scratched and
Harry had to flounder by himself in this stormy sea. He had other big problems to deal with but it didn�t make it
any easier. His feelings for
Hermione were like a forgotten paper cut on his finger. It stung only when he hit it.

�They�re going to need all the
help they can get out there,� Harry said.
He didn�t like the guy but a truce could be called for Quidditch.

�Yeah,� Anthony muttered. Harry noticed that he was biting his
fingernails and he wondered if the guy was nervous.

�Okay, well, good luck out there,�
Harry said and Anthony nodded.
Harry continued on his way.
A weird sort of feeling settled over him, sort of like the anticipation
he would feel the morning of his own matches. He shook the feeling off and continued on his way.

Looking back, Harry wondered if
that chance encounter with Anthony and the feeling he got was some sort of
coincidence. A shitty one for that
matter but a coincidence all the same.

*

Harry and Ron decided that they
were not cheering for Ravenclaw so much as cheering for a Slytherin loss. That�s how they rationalized any cheer
from the crowd whenever Wellington made an excellent goal. Harry was past complete annoyance with
Hermione and Ginny and their stupid swooning every time Anthony even glanced in
their direction. He should keep
his mind on the game, Harry thought sourly. In his opinion, the Seekers for both teams were
terrible. He had already spotted
the snitch.

Deciding to squash his feelings of
resentment, he decided to concentrate on the match which was, grudgingly,
pretty intense. It was when the
Snitch flew past the Slytherin goal post that Harry saw it. Or thought he saw it anyway. Goyle, a Beater, swung at the
bludger�but missed. And the bludger changed directions, heading directly to
Wellington who easily dodged it.

Harry shook his head. Maybe he had seen wrong.

Harry found his concentration had
left watching the Snitch and was now watching the bludger. Again, Goyle hit it (or so Harry
thought, he was at a bad angle and couldn�t see) and it went straight for
Wellington again who dodged it once again. On the surface, it didn�t seem unusual. Wellington was a high scoring Chaser,
if you wanted to distract any player, it would be him. But something nagged at Harry
underneath the surface, a distant memory of his own first Quidditch game in
which his broomstick became enchanted and very uncontrollable.

It was as if a light bulb went off
in his head. That rogue bludger
was really after Anthony and Crabbe and Goyle were doing a piss poor job of
pretending to hit it. He began to
wonder if anyone else had noticed it.
He was just about to say something to Ron about it when the bludger
finally hit its target.

Hermione gasped as it hit
Anthony. He cried out and grabbed
his arm, the sudden motion caused him to fall off of his broom, hitting a
Slytherin Chaser below him before he hit the ground. Harry and Ron just stood there in shock with the other
Gryffindors, Hermione and Ginny moved among them to get out of the stands and
on to the pitch.

*

The crowd of the Ravenclaw
quidditch team hovering around Anthony�s bed cleared out leaving Hermione
behind to stay with him.

�Are you sure you�re alright?� she
asked him with concern.

�Nothing a few potions and rest
won�t cure,� he replied. He was
propped up on the bed, one arm in a sling and bandages wrapped around his
ribs. He had already taken the
Skele-Gro for the broken bones in his arm and ribs. He had a few cuts and bruises to compliment the injuries as
well.

He moved his leg over to make room
for Hermione who sat on the bed.
�You guys still won,� she said with a smile.

�I take my victories where I can
get them,� he smiled back at her and giving a small laugh, wincing
slightly. He glanced across the
ward where a few Slytherins were keeping company with their Chaser. Draco Malfoy was among them. Anthony locked eyes with him and,
smirking, he reached toward Hermione and pulled her to him for a soft kiss.

�Thanks for being here with me,�
he said to her when they pulled away.

�No problem,� she replied. She wanted to add that the Hospital
Wing was like a second home to her with all of the trio�s injuries but she gave
it a second thought. �Did you want
me to drop off your homework tonight?�

�Could you do that?� he asked and
she smiled. Once again, Anthony
pulled her down for a kiss and when they parted Malfoy had left the wing.

Hermione managed to drop off
Anthony�s homework and reunite with her friends by dinnertime in the Great
Hall.

�How�s Anthony?� Harry asked.

�He�ll be out by tomorrow
afternoon or evening,� she replied as she filled her plate with food.

�Damn,� Ron muttered, �I was
hoping he�d be out for the rest of the season.�

�Ron!� Hermione and Ginny hissed
at him. Harry stayed out of it but
he silently admired his friend for having the guts to speak his mind. Or maybe the lack of restraint.

He wanted to voice his theory with
Hermione but thought better of it.
He wasn�t entirely sure that the bludger was charmed somehow but he
wouldn�t put it past a Slytherin if that was the case. It was nearing the end of the season
and Harry was sure that there were some desperate teams out there making their
last minute runs for the championship.

~*~

Harry had to leave again after
dinner for another meeting at the Ministry so Hermione read in the library with
Ron. �Hey, look at this,� she
said, turning the ancient book around for Ron to read.

He perused the page of the tome
for a moment before he looked up at her.
�Horcrux?�

Hermione let out a breath. �The first mention of such a
thing. It doesn�t go into detail
on what it exactly is or how to exactly create one but, if you�re Voldemort,
you can get the gist of it here.
Or at least the seed was somehow planted.�

�You have to remember to show that
to Harry,� Ron said, returning the book to Hermione. He began to pack away his things.

�Rounds?� she asked and he
nodded. �I think I�ll be heading
back to the common room as well,� she sighed, closing the book and putting it
away. �I wanted to get started on
some of my knitting.� Ron rolled
his eyes.

�Spew still alive and kicking,
huh?� he asked.

�S.P.E.W.,� she said
exasperatedly, �and yes, it�s still going strong. I�ve recruited Anthony as a member.�

�Yeah, I�m sure you did,� Ron
muttered.

�Your mum would be proud of me,
Ron. I have moved on from socks
and hats to sweaters,� she said proudly.

�Make one for Dobby that says �I
heart Harry Potter� on it and he�ll think he�d died on gone to heaven.�

Hermione and Ron parted ways
outside of the library and she walked the corridors alone. She wondered how Harry was doing, what
he was doing. She couldn�t wait
for him to get back so she could tell him about Salazar�s entry on
horcrux�s.

Her wanderings led her to the
third floor girl�s lavatory and she stepped inside. It was empty as usual and she reveled for a moment in the
mind numbing rhythm of the water dripping from one of the leaky taps. She walked over to the tap that never
worked, the one that led to the Chamber far below the school. She bent over and let her finger graze
the etching of the snake.

�What are you doing here?�

Hermione jumped and started at
Moaning Myrtle�s voice and she whirled around. �I was just—�

�You aren�t supposed to be here!�
the ghost shrieked.

�Myrtle, I—�

A whooshing sound cut her off and
right before her eyes, Draco Malfoy suddenly landed in the middle of the
bathroom in a cloud of green smoke.
Hermione let out a started gasp loud enough to catch his attention. His eyes widened in surprise when he
saw her.

�Hermione!�

She looked at him, her eyes
wandering to his arm where his sleeve was rolled up. Draco hastily tugged at the fabric but it was too late. Hermione had already seen the Dark Mark
on his arm and she turned to flee the bathroom.

�Hermione, wait!� Draco called out
as he ran after her.

~*~

Harry watched as Miles placed a
single rat in one cage and placed it next to another cage that had another
three rats in it. The lone rat had
dark fur and was turning the pages of a tiny book, looking very bored and
disinterested. �This is Artemus,�
he explained to Harry. �Notice how
the females ignore him and pay attention to Hercules.� Indeed Harry could see the two females
with white fur and pink tails crowding around a larger and more healthy looking
brown rat. They were feeding him
pieces of cheese.

�Poor little fellow just can�t
catch a break. The females won�t
mate with him,� Miles sighed then grinned. �Until now.�
Harry and Cho huddled around the cage as Miles took out a dropper from a
vial and put one drop on the little brown rat.

At first it seemed that nothing
was happening. Then, all of a
sudden, the two female mice stopped feeding Hercules and began to lose interest
in him as they moved to the other side of the cage.

�Amazing!� Cho said as they
watched as the females squeaked and gestured suggestively to Artemus who looked
just as confused as Hercules did over their female counterparts� behavior.

�What is that?� Harry asked,
gesturing to the vial.

�Pheromones,� Miles replied. Cho
raised her eyebrows.

�Pheromones,� Harry repeated in
disbelief.

�Very powerful stuff, Harry. It is a complex form of communication
in nature. There are all types but
this one is a sex pheromone.� Harry and Cho stepped away from
it. �It�s what makes the animal
world go �round.� Miles placed a
drop of it on Harry�s skeptical head.
�Those females are finding Artemus to be quite the catch for a mate.�

�How?� Harry asked, Artemus didn�t
look any different.

�Smell,� Miles answered.

�Smell.�

�Harry, wizard or muggle, our
bodies are hard-wired the same.
Any reaction we have is a result of chemical signals sent from the
brain. This stuff,� Miles held up
the vial, �is the chemical signal that says �Hey there, aren�t you a fine
looking mate. Care to copulate?��

�You expect me to believe that
that stuff, that I can�t even smell by the way, attracts females and makes them
want to—�

�Oh Harry!� Cho said in a husky
voice, cutting Harry off and planting a big kiss on his lips as she wrapped her
arms around him.

�Ack! Mrmphr mmrackrm,� Harry
mumbled as his arms flailed helplessly as Cho attacked him. Miles chuckled and picked up another
bottle and sprayed it on Cho. She
coughed and spluttered in Harry�s arms then looked up at him.

�Oh. My. God,� she said as she
quickly moved away from him. She
was blushing furiously. Harry was
equally awkward. Cho began to
sniff the air. �I can�t
smell. Miles what did you do, I
can�t smell a thing!�

�It�ll wear off by the morning,�
Miles replied.

�Trust me, Cho. It�s probably for the best,� Harry
muttered. �Hey how do I get rid of
this stuff?�

�It�ll wash out with your next
shower, no worries Harry.�

�What are you doing with that
stuff anyway?� he asked.

�Perfume company contracted me to
make it for them. They are
planning to put very dilute amounts of it into their newest perfume.�

Harry�s eyes widened slightly at
the thought of the hundreds of Romilda�s out there who might purchase this
stuff. �Is that such a good idea?�

Miles smiled. �Harry, Harry, don�t be so uptight
about it,� he said, then frowned thoughtfully. �You don�t need a vial of this stuff do you?�

�Um, no. I�m fine.�

Miles shrugged and put the vial
away. �I�m still working on what
you asked about. It�s going to
take a few more weeks,� he said.
�But since I�m working on chemical reactions on the brain. I thought you might find this useful.�
He handed Harry a bag of what looked like light green marbles. �Toss one of these at the foot of your
Death Eaters in an attack and Poof!
It releases a chemical that disorients them, rendering them helpless for
about a minute.�

�Clever, Miles,� Harry said. �Say,
have you ever heard of Weasley�s Wizarding Wheezes or the owners?�

Miles frowned. �No, I don�t believe I have? Are they in research?�

�Sort of. I�ll bring you something from them next
time.�

~*~

�Hermione!�

�Let go of me! HEL—� Draco clamped a hand over
her mouth as he grabbed her and dragged her into a nearby broom closet.

He shoved her up against the wall
and whispered fiercely to her. �I
just want a chance to explain.�

�I will scream,� Hermione hissed
back. �I swear to you I will
scream and Ron will hear. He�s on
patrol and—�

�I�m not going to hurt you
Hermione!� Draco said with exasperation.
His hands were grabbing her shoulders.

�You�re a�a�Death Eater!� Hermione
whispered frantically with wide eyes.
�Harry was right all along.�

Draco�s eyes narrowed and he
slightly shook her. �What do you
mean Potty was right?�

�He told us you were last
year. I didn�t believe him but he
was right. Are you going to lie
right to my face? I saw the mark,
Draco!�

Draco stared at her. �I�m a Death Eater,� he confessed and
Hermione closed her eyes and let out a small whimper. �I was born to be a Death Eater, I was groomed for it.� He
let go of her and she gently pushed him away from her.

�Stay away from me,� she
whispered.

�Please, Hermione, you have to
believe me. I need your help. I�m in a little over my head right
now.�

�You let those people into
Hogwarts last year. You allowed
them to attack us. You killed
Dumbledore.� Her accusations were cutting and painfully accurate.

�I swear to you, Hermione, I
didn�t mean for it to happen. The
Dark Lord forced me to do it. He
said he would kill me and my parents if I didn�t. Please believe me, Hermione.� He reached out for her but she recoiled from him.

�Oh God, don�t touch me!� she
hissed.

�For crying out loud, I�m not even
out of Hogwarts yet! What kind of
man sends a kid to do a job he couldn�t do himself? He set me up for failure. He really wanted to get his Death Eaters into the castle, he
didn�t care what happened to me.�

�You and Snape�� Hermione couldn�t
bring herself to finish the sentence.

�I don�t know how he did it. Dumbledore was weak. I could tell. I didn�t know Potty was with him. You have to believe me when I say that I wasn�t going to do
it. I couldn�t do it. Dumbledore was the only one who saw more
to me than just being a lemming in the Dark Lord�s army.�

�And yet you still stand by
Voldemort�s side,� Hermione spat at him.

�I don�t have a choice,
Hermione. He�ll kill my mother if
I fail the mission he�s given me.�

Hermione�s eyes widened. �You told him about the horcruxes
didn�t you??

�I swear I didn�t and I promise
you that I won�t.�

�Your promises don�t mean a thing
to me,� she sneered. For a moment,
Draco looked crushed but the look was gone in the blink of an eye.

�He wants me to befriend you, Ron
and Harry and report to him what you are doing,� Draco confessed.

Hermione stared at him.

�You bastard!� she said in a
hysterical whisper as she slapped him across the face.

�Hermione wait!� he reached out
and stopped her from leaving. She
hit him on his arms and shoulders.

�Let me go, you bastard. You son of a bitch!!�

�Hermione, why do you think I�m
telling you this?�

�I don�t give a fuck what you
say!�

�He�s setting up an attack in
London. He told me to tell you
this to gain your trust. I�m being
honest with you!�

Hermione jerked her knee upward
making contact with Draco�s groin and he crumpled to the floor, groaning in
pain.

�I�m not going to let you near Harry!� she screamed at him. �I�m not going to give you chance to hurt him, do you hear
me?!�

She turned around and yanked open
the door of the broom closet only to run into Filch and Mrs. Norris.

�Well, well, well,� he said to
her, looking with his greedy eyes over her shoulder at Malfoy who was still on
the floor. �I�m full for
detentions tonight. But I�ll be
expecting you and Mr. Malfoy tomorrow night instead.�

Hermione�s chin was quivering and
she just ran through the hall, hot tears spilling down her cheeks until she
reached the safety of her common room.
Thankfully, it was empty and she leaned back against a wall to slide
down it. She didn�t know why she
was so upset with what Draco had told her. But she put her arms around herself and waited until she
calmed down. She would wait for
Harry. She had to tell him what
Draco had told her. Again, tears
began to spill down her cheeks.

~*~

Harry had almost made it to the
common room undetected but he made the mistake of being over confident and
taking off the invisibility cloak just as Filch and Mrs. Norris rounded the
corner.

�Ah, Mr. Potter,� Filched grinned
as if he had just received the best gift ever.

Harry sighed. �Where and when?� he asked.

�Tomorrow night in the dungeons,�
Filch answered.

With a weary exhale, Harry opened
the portrait door and stepped inside.

It was beyond late and he expected
the common room to be empty but found Hermione, instead, sitting at a table,
her head resting on it. There were
books scattered around her and she appeared to be sleeping. Harry took a moment to capture this
scene in his memory forever.

He approached quietly and squatted
beside her. �Hey, Hermione,� he
said softly. �Wake up, it�s
late.� He reached out and brushed
her hair off of her face.

Hermione stirred and blinked her
eyes. �Harry?� she asked. �What time is it?� she asked, sitting
up and yawning.

�A little after midnight, what are
you—�

�Oh, Harry! So much has happened tonight!� she
grabbed his hand suddenly. �Sit
down, I have something to show you first.�

Harry took a seat in the chair
across the table from hers as she rummaged through the books they had taken
from the Chamber. She picked one
out and opened it, thumbing through the pages until she stopped at one and
handed it to him.

�Read this,� she said as he took
it from her.

Was it just her imagination or was
Harry looking a little more fanciable than usual? There was just something, ahhh, about him. Delectable? Ravishing? She
couldn�t quite put her finger on it.
Was it suddenly very warm in the room? Her sweater was already off but it was so hot in this room. Not as hot as Harry of course. Oh God, who knew that reading could be
so, so�sexy. She unbuttoned the
top few buttons of her blouse.

�Horcruxes?� Harry said aloud as
he read. �Salazar mentioned
them? I wonder if that�s where Tom
got the idea?�

�Why don�t we put the silly book
away for now?�

Harry froze and his heart
stopped. He slowly looked up from
his book and saw that Hermione was on the table and slowly approaching him in a
most feline-like manner. She
stopped in front of him and pulled the book out of his hands. Harry didn�t stop her. He didn�t think he could. At the moment, he had suddenly lost all
ability to move.

He could see down the front of her
blouse as she leaned in to press her lips against his. Mmm, was that the cotton candy lip
gloss flavor? That was his favorite. When did she put it on? Then it suddenly clicked in his feeble
little brain.

The pheromones.

That crap was still on his
hair.

His old and familiar friends, the
Angel and the Devil, popped up onto his shoulders.

�Harry, you know better,� the
Angel lectured.

�Dude, go with it,� said the
Devil.

�Um�Hermione�� he said between
kisses. �You�re
not�acting�yourself�right now.�

�Yes I am,� she purred. �I�ve been wanting this for so long.�

Oh God, please don�t say that.

�That was consent in my book!� the
Devil piped up.

�Harry this is just like the time
when she was inebriated,� the Angel said.

Oh, she was nibbling on his
ear. Blood was rapidly leaving his
brain and going south.
�Pheromones,� Harry managed to croak out. �I�ve got�pheromones��

�Why yes you do, Harry,� she cooed
in his ear before she began to place kisses on his neck.

�No, I mean�� Harry summoned all
the willpower he had left and gently pushed Hermione away from him. The Angel patted Harry on the shoulder
approvingly as the Devil wailed into his hands. �We really have to
stop now.�

Hermione grinned at him.

And, oh, was it a wicked grin.

Then, she reached out and gently
removed Harry�s glasses from his face, carefully folded them, then lay them to
rest on top of the books.

�Hermione��

She tucked her lovely, luscious
legs close to her and rotated on her bum so she was sitting on the table facing
him. Then�she slowly parted them,
placing her bare feet daintily on his thighs. She was wearing pink colored knickers and Harry briefly
wondered if they were the ones that had the lace trim at the top or the little
pink bow. He silently prayed they
were the ones with the little pink bow.
She scooted herself forward and off of the table, her feet sliding off
of his thighs to give way to her calves, then her knees, then her thighs as she
slid onto his lap, straddling him.

The Angel and the Devil on his
shoulder were speechless for once, their mouths wide open.

�You�re on your own on this one,�
the Angel said in a strangled voice.

It really didn�t matter what the
Angel said anyway. All
self-control that Harry had was blown away by what Hermione had just done and
his lips sought hers in a heated and passionate kiss.

Her hands were frantically pushing
his cloak off of his shoulders before they went for his tie, ripping it
loose. Harry wrapped an arm around
her waist, pressing her closer to his hardened desire for her. His other hand tangled in her hair,
pressing her further into his kiss.
He tasted the faint metallic taste of blood, he was kissing her so
hard. She was untucking his shirt,
pulling it from his trousers, her hands quickly and expertly unbuttoning it as
she had done so many times before.

Her fingernails grazed his chest
and Harry let out a low hiss. His
hands must have been digging painfully into her waist but he couldn�t help
it. She was nibbling on his
earlobe, gently tugging it then moving her wonderful lips over his neck to his
other earlobe to do the same. His
hands moved to the hem of her blouse, already untucked and his fingers wandered
over her hot and soft skin. He
pressed Hermione further against him, eliciting a quiet moan from her
lips. He moved one hand from her
waist and down her front. He
groaned when he discovered that her knickers were damp. He brushed the fabric aside and pressed
two fingers into her warm heat.

�Oh God, Harry,� Hermione
whimpered. She was driving him
crazy. He needed her too
badly. She let out a moan of
protest when his fingers left her but he put his hands on her waist and lifted
her back to sit on the table. He
climbed up after her, lowering her to its flat surface as he knocked all the
books to the floor with a wave of his hand. Hermione reached for his belt, fumbling with it before Harry
took over to undo it.

�Make love to me, Harry,� she
whispered.

�I will,� he whispered back. �Oh God I will.�

But it still felt wrong. No matter how much he wanted Hermione
at this moment. He knew that when
this stuff wore off, she would hate herself. And possibly hate him.
He couldn�t stomach the thought.

�Harry?� Hermione asked him when
he stopped.

�You have no idea how much I want
to do this with you,� he said, looking down at her and brushing her hair from
her face. �But not like this.�

�What are you—�

�Stupefy,� Harry said softly,
gently tapping his wand to her forehead.

She lay still underneath him. Harry exhaled. �You�re going to be the death of me,
Hermione, I swear it.�

He moved off of her and fixed her
clothes, arranged her so she sat in the chair like he had first found her when
he stepped into the common room.
Then he went upstairs to shower and get that stuff out of his hair as
well as take care of some�er, business. Lucid, clean and coherent, he went back downstairs to
Hermione.

�Ennervate,� he said softly and
she blinked her eyes open.

�Oh, Harry, you�re back,� she
said, her brow wrinkling in confusion.
She had just had the most graphic dream.

�It�s late, you should get back to
bed,� Harry said.

�I had the most strange dream,�
she absently before shaking her head.
�Wait! There�s something I
have to tell you.�

She showed him the book and what
she had found. Then she told him
about Draco and what he had said to her.

�What are you going to do?� she
asked him when she was done.

Harry exhaled. �Sleep. It�s been a really
long night and I don�t have the strength to even puzzle out the Ferret right
now.�

Hermione gathered her books and
walked with him to the stairs.

�Are you alright?� she asked.

�Yeah,� he replied, smiling softly
at her. �I�m just tired. Good night Hermione.�

�Night, Harry.�

She watched her friend as he
slipped into his dorm, closing the door behind him. Her tongue tentatively touched her lips and she tasted her
cotton candy flavored lip gloss.
She looked up at Harry�s door once more before going up the stairs to her
own.
- 34
- 35
- 36
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

More Important Things