Chapter 38

Disclaimer: Not mine. I just borrowed them for a while. I promise to put them back when I'm done. Oh, nope, no money either...just for fun. Once again, what events that are not mentioned that happen in the books is as it happened in the books.

I want to give a great big thank you hug to my alpha reader, Arabellabloodgood, Proulxes for the bit of Brit-picking, and to DuchessOfArcadia for combing through this and helping me clean up my many mistakes. I really appreciate it more than you can possibly know.

Thank you, Jay, for the beautiful banner. I absolutely love it!

For Hermione, things seemed to change from baffling to bizarre. Monday morning, Neville blushed and walked into a table and Seamus dropped his school bag on Dean's foot when Hermione said good morning to them in the common room. Mike Fletcher, a seventh-year Hufflepuff, tried to catch her attention when she'd tried to pass him, and Trenton Hargett in the library and even retrieved some books for her off the shelf, even though they hadn't been out of her reach. This morning, Seamus and Dean maneuvered Ron out of the way at breakfast so Seamus could sit next to her, which really aggravated Ron. She knew the boys would act diferently because of her Bloom, but really, it was almost comical.

Ron cornered her in Herbology as she was putting on her protective coveralls. "So what is up with Seamus? Are you seeing him now?"

"Seeing...? Er, no, I'm not seeing him," she replied, putting on her eye goggles. "He just wanted to talk to me, that's all." She pulled the loops of her grindylow skin mask over her head and untucked her hair. She'd twisted it back and secured it with a clip so it wouldn't fall in her face, but she still didn't want it trapped against her neck by the stretchy loops of the mask.

"He said you're pretty," Harry replied, slipping his hand into one of his gloves.

"She is pretty," Neville said, smiling at her and then flushed when she smiled back.

"Of course she's pretty," Ron said, putting on his mask. "I just wondered why Seamus was all over her at breakfast."

"Thank you, Neville," she replied, making Neville's skin ripen a deeper pink. Personally, in her baggy coveralls, grindylow mask and goggles, she didn't feel very pretty at the moment, but it was nice to hear, even if they were only saying it because of her Bloom. "And Seamus wasn't all over me, Ron, he just wanted to talk, that's all."

When they walked over to the tables, Hermione took the place next to Harry and handed him a gardening knife. Neville and Ron both seemed to want to stand next to her, jostling her shoulder a bit, but Ron had gotten there first and snatched up a pair of shears and a knife. However, it didn't dissuade Neville from being unnecessarily helpful during the lesson, giving her not-exactly-needed tips on how to milk her purple dragon spurge without getting too badly hurt by the plants defensive thorns. Hermione had read about it extensively in the library to prepare for the lesson, but thankfully Ron paid attention to him, and at the end of the lesson, neither Ron nor Hermione needed as much of the Akoko Emulsion or Tabaibaserum as Harry did.

On her way to her Language Arts and Mythology lesson, Anthony, for some reason, opened up the door to the girl's loo for her. "Don't be soppy, you prat," Michael Corner said just before he collided with another student coming in the opposite way.

However, she had been surprised to see Anthony and Justin both waiting for her when she came out, and they walked with her to their lesson.

"Ladies first," Justin said as he opened the door to let her in. She would have dismissed the gesture as simply his good upbringing, but then he followed her to her desk and sat down next to her, Anthony plopping down in the seat on her other side. Professor Rosencruz gave Hermione a knowingly sympathetic smile as she handed out the reading assignment for week.

On her way to Arithmancy, Ernie Macmillan and Stephen Cornfoot spotted her in the corridor and waved, unfortunately making Draco and Crabbe notice her as well, although Draco's usual Mudblood comment didn't have the same amount of disdain and sneer that it typically did.

Although she hadn't noticed it at first, Colin Creevey and Sebastian Kirchner went out of their way to say "Hiya, Hermione," in much the same way that Colin had greeted Harry during his entire first year. Even the seventh-years in her house were acknowledging her. They had largely ignored her all through her previous years at school, well apart from the seventh-year prefect, William Green, and Cormac McLaggen who'd been in the DA. Cormac definitely had a new interest in her; he would smile and wink at her when she walked by him, and both his friends, Bernard Dunstan and Geoffrey Hooper, were more sociable than ever before, although not as solicitous as Cormac. Alex Huges, a handsome boy Parvati had dated for an entire six months the year before, was now greeting Hermione in passing and watching her, actually watching her. William Green even offered to help carry her books from the library the night before.

But boys in their seventh year in the other houses, particularly Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, were saying hello to her as well, boys who'd never spoken to or acknowledged her at all. Of course, the members of the DA still greeted her; she expected them to after everything they'd done together.

Perhaps the strangest reaction to her Bloom had come from Malfoy. She'd run into him frequently enough this year, especially on the stairs before curfew and between breaks, and in the past few days he'd actually greeted her on occasion without the rancor or snide comment she'd come to expect. Just a simple, "Granger," with a nod of his head as he hurried past her.

She had looked at herself in the mirror that night before swimming, and there had been no difference in her reflection at all. Well maybe her skin was blemish free, and styling her hair with simple twists and a clip brought out her eyes a bit more, but really, she looked the same as always.

Hermione was beginning to see just how annoying the Bloom could be. She'd read the pamphlet, of course, not that it gave her any sage advice, but it had clarified a few things for her that Professor McGonagall had mentioned. Like why she was getting all this unusual attention from the boys around her, and why she was suddenly starting to feel like Fleur. Although, she could not find such attention flattering as Fleur seemed to. For Hermione, the attention left her feeling flustered and unsure, so she tried desperately to ignore it all. Besides, she reasoned, it would go away and then things would return to normal.

On her way back to the common room, she saw Harry coming down the stairs toward her with the map in his hands. "Harry, where are you going? Curfew is only minutes from now."

Harry scowled. "I know, but I saw Malfoy on the map," he said, but she caught his arm before he passed her.

"He's not down that way. I didn't see him on my way up."

He looked at her and then searched the map. "There he is, on the fourth floor," he said, tapping it with his finger.

Hermione looked at where he was pointing. The footprints were now crossing the landing for the next staircase down. "He's returning to his common room, just like we should be."

"But what was he doing up here?" Harry asked, pulling his wand out of his pocket. He checked the map again, and Hermione saw the footprints with the little tag reading, Draco Malfoy, on the stairs heading to the third floor.

"See, he's going down to the dungeons," she said and then looked at him. "He was on the seventh floor?"

"Sixth," Harry stated emphatically. "He was standing outside the... Well, as if he was waiting for someone."

"There is a loo there, but he's alone now, it's only his prints," she pointed out. The tiny prints were now descending the stairs to the second floor. "He could have been meeting a girl, a Ravenclaw perhaps."

"I thought he was with Pansy Parkinson," he said, his eyes questioning.

She shook her head. "She's with Crabbe last I heard. The Malfoys may still be wealthy, but they are in disgrace with most of the wizarding populace."

He moved as if he were still going to follow Draco to the dungeons. "Harry, it's curfew. We have to go in. Whatever Draco was doing, it wasn't anything untoward, I assure you."

"You don't know that," he snapped. "Why won't you and Ron believe me? Ginny does."

If she'd said that, then Ginny was humoring him. "We have no proof that he is doing anything wrong. Just because he was on the sixth floor doesn't mean anything. He could have been to see the Headmaster... or Professor Sinistra...her office is up here as is Madam Hooch's and Professor Vector's."

His shoulders stiffened. "He is a Death Eater...I heard him bragging about it."

"Okay, I'll accept that you overheard him brag about taking the Mark, although why You-Know-Who would Mark a sixth-year, I have no idea. It's not like Draco can do anything but recruit. He can't go on raids, he can't terrorize Muggles, he can't leave the school without permission."

"I did," he reminded her.

"Harry, that was different. You went to Hogsmeade on a Hogsmeade weekend. That's not exactly the same as going to London and causing part of the underground to collapse." That Death Eater raid had been reported in the Evening Prophet a few nights ago, but the Ministry personnel who'd gone to fix the damage had it sorted out in only an hour. The moving picture scanning the damage had shown not only that the end of the tunnel and a good part of the wall had collapsed, but one of the train cars looked like it had been severely damaged as well. And the few Muggles who had been hurt were apparently recovering in St. Mungo's, most likely doused with memory altering potions as well as healing ones.

"I know we read about some of the things the Death Eaters are doing, like the disappearances and the attack in Llanrhystud and the one in Devon," she said as she started up the stairs, turning when she realized he hadn't followed her. "Harry?"

He still looked unconvinced.

"If we start seeing suspicious behavior, you know Ron and I will back you up, but really, what could Draco really be doing that's all that bad?"

He sighed heavily and started walking up the stairs next to her, looking dejected.

"Besides, the portraits warn the staff of anything wrong or suspicious things going on at night. It's why they are here, Harry, the magical portraits, to watch the corridors," she said as she indicated the portraits hanging on the wall. She knew that Altheda Crockford and Rosalba Higgins still watched the seventh floor corridor for Severus, he had told her that, but she decided not to tell Harry they did.

Severus had watched the boys fumble about Hermione all day at every meal, just liked they were doing now, and he was once again irritated by their solicitous behavior, yet he found himself smirking when Hermione seemed oblivious to their attentions. Hermione was focused on her scholastic studies; he knew that she carried a full load, ten N.E.W.Ts in all, and that she wanted top marks in all her subjects.

Except... Except... she was smiling at all the attention she was getting from Messrs Weasley, McLaggen, Finnigan and Longbottom. He didn't understand it: Weasley with his atrocious table manners and apathetic attitude toward his lessons, McLaggen, the blowhard exhibitionist, vainly puffing his chest out like a peacock each time any female was near him, and Longbottom, the completely inept, bumbling idiot, who was almost always a shade of pink whenever she even glanced at him... pitiful. Each of them, utterly pitiful.

He did have to admit it to himself: that little girl that bit her lower lip with her large front teeth, the little precocious girl who'd look up at him from under her fringe with pleading, doe-like eyes that he'd protected years ago, had gone. In her stead was a young woman still desirous to please, determined to succeed at everything she tried, with a gentle soul and kind heart. It was odd, watching her now, seeing her in her Coming of Age, knowing that when he'd been a teen, the age she was now, they'd been friends. It brought to his mind the memories of his younger self once again, her lively wit and engaging thoughts when he had been the recipient of her attention as an equal. She'd been as true a friend as he'd ever truly had.

He tore his gaze away from her and scanned the Hall. Even the boys in the other houses were noticing her. He could see Mr. Summerby at the Hufflepuff table point in Hermione's direction, getting nods from Messrs Macmillan, Stebbins and Summers. At the other end of the table, seventh-year Jerome Dorny watched her while pretending to listen to Messrs Fletcher and Harkness. At the Ravenclaw table, Messrs Corner, Cornfoot and Goldstein glanced several times in Hermione's direction as they talked and ate. Severus had seen the seventh-year Ravenclaws, Messrs Belby, Carmichael and Page watch her as she'd passed them in the corridor, and even overheard Mr. Page's crude remarks about banging the bookworm in dark corners, and Carmichael's comment about boning her against the library ladder. He scowled at the memory of their loutish behavior. The three of them had two weeks of detentions with him starting tonight.

Miraculously, through it all, Hermione appeared oblivious to their interests.

He sneered at that observation, unaccountably pleased, as he inconspicuously turned his attention fully on the Gryffindor's, his hair shielding the direction of his gaze. Potter was scowling at Hermione, and Weasley appeared to be caught in the middle of the disagreement. But that would change; they were thick as thieves those three. Severus wondered what the argument had been about, what mischief they would be plotting now, and dismissed the thought. He snorted quietly under his breath. If Potter was arguing with Hermione, he wouldn't be fawning over her.

Ginny bounded into Hermione's room early with a huge grin and a small wrapped box in her hand. "Are you awake?" she asked, standing by one of the posts at the foot of her bed.

"Yes, sort of," Hermione said, sitting up. "What's up?"

Ginny literally skipped as she hurried forward and handed the small present to her. "I know it's early, your birthday isn't until tomorrow, but it's just arrived by owl and I-I wanted to give this to you straight away. It's from mum and me."

Hermione peeled off the paper, admiring the elaborate 'D' on the box before opening it. A silver charm bracelet with a delicate little silver weasel and a phoenix dangling from it lay inside. "Oh, Ginny, it's lovely," she said, admiring the intricate detail on the charms. They were utterly amazing.

"Corny, I know, but it's to put all your charms on."

Hermione looked at her confused, which made her friend chuckle. "I always forget, don't I?" Ginny plopped herself down on the bed. "A wizarding tradition; it's common for guys to give you a charm for your seventeenth birthday. Sometimes your friends will too...it's tradition. If you order them through Smeltings Fine Silver Wrought, they track which ones you already have so you don't get duplicates. Dragonsilver Designs and Seriously Silver do, too."

"I didn't know..." Hermione said, wondering why these traditions were not written down in a book somewhere. It was so unfair, all these things she should know about and because she was Muggle-born had never heard of. She always heard about them after the fact and felt so left out. "I'd have sent Angelina... and Katie one... They must think that I don't consider them friends!" She wasn't that close to Cho. But if it is tradition... and she's always been nice to me...just not friends. But Katie and Angelina have been friendlier toward me ever since the DA and the fiasco at the Ministry. Had I known, I'd have sent them one for sure.

"Are you that close to them? I know you know them, but I didn't know you were friends or I'd have told you...well, I could have told you if I knew you were close," Ginny said, and Hermione felt her face flush. "You can always send one this year and explain. Tiffany did when she found out about the tradition. She is friends with Katie."

Hermione nodded. "So what is the tradition? Tell me about it."

Ginny helped Hermione put the chain on her wrist as she began to explain, "It's just that...your friends, especially boys who want you to notice them, will send you a charm for your bracelet. I know that Dumbledore sends every girl one, and you'll get one from Professor McGonagall. They're not expensive really, but it's fun, and one more thing that makes turning seventeen fun. The weasel is from mum, you know, 'Weasley'," she rolled her eyes and Hermione smiled at the intended pun, "and I chose the phoenix. I was going to get you a horse, but the phoenix was so pretty."

As Hermione and Ginny headed down to breakfast, Neville blushed and stubbed his toe on a chair in the common room when Hermione said good morning to him. "Er, you got it...I mean, you're already collecting?" he asked, indicating her wrist.

Confused, Hermione lifted her arm then smiled, getting a knowing grin from Ginny. "Yes, Ginny gave it to me this morning."

Neville nodded and suddenly looked uncomfortable. "I was going to er, wait, but..." He dug around in his bag, down deep, and then pulled something out, a small pouch. "I know it's a day early, but happy birthday."

She accepted the pouch and smiled as she extracted a pretty flower charm.

"It's a puffapod...I thought it was pretty."

"It's lovely, Neville, thank you," she said, and he smiled at her, his face flushed all the more, but pleased.

In the Great Hall, Hermione and Ginny sat across from Ron and Harry so Ginny could show Hermione the charm to make the charms attach properly to her chain. Seamus and Dean sat next to her again, and she shrugged when Ron glared at her.

"I see you're startin'," Seamus said with a sly smile.

Hermione nodded and showed him her bracelet. "Apparently. Ginny gave it to me this morning."

"Well, it's a day early, but why not," he said, digging into his bag. He pulled out a tiny silver box with a gothic 'S' on it, tied with a silver string, and placed it next to her plate.

She opened the box, smiling at the silver Celtic knot charm in the shape of a clover. "It's lovely, thank you," she said, making him beam with happiness.

Dean leaned around Seamus and handed her another, exclaiming, "Happy birthday." His was an intricate silver dragon with iridescent wings.

After that, throughout the day, she'd been pulled aside by a few of her friends. Ernie gave her an adorable owl charm, Michael a pretty hippogriff, Justin a fwooper, and Anthony had given her a Pegasus charm because as he'd said, "You can't see a thestral, so I thought this one was better. To remind you of our ride, eh?" And in Potions, someone had placed a tiny pouch with a little silver cauldron in it next to her book on her workstation with a slip of parchment that simply read, Happy Birthday, B.

At dinner, she found a small box next to her plate with a large marquise emerald entwined in a silver vine. The card simply had an embossed green 'M' on it. The charm had obviously cost a lot, and she'd have sent it back, but Ginny told her not to and had her place it near the clasp of her bracelet. It did stand out among the rest.

The following morning, there were a dozen boxes and small pouches on her bed. Ginny had come bounding into her room again, eager to see her charms, and even Lavender and Parvati were curious. Ron had given Hermione a pad of her favorite parchment and a quill, the one she liked best, and a cute quill charm. Harry sent her several Flourish and Blotts tokens and a stag charm, which made her smile. Padma had sent her a ladybug, Stephen Cornfoot sent her a niffler, Alicia an enameled streeler, Fred and Gorge sent her a gnome and a pixie, Terry a diricawl and Hannah a Billywig. Cho had sent her a lovely swan, and Hermione made Ginny promise to lend her the flyer so she could get a charm for the girl in return. Parvati gave her a fairy charm, and Lavender a sweet caricature of a graphorn, its coat a sliver-lavender in color with shiny horns.

At breakfast, several owls dropped small pouches on her plate. Professor McGonagall sent her a cat and Professor Dumbledore a winged boar, Hogwarts' mascot symbol. Lee sent her a pretty rose charm, Susan Bones a hippocampus, the Creeveys a griffin, Luna sent her a pearl and Zach Smith sent her a salamander. Not surprising, Cormac sent her a Gothic letter 'C' to remind her of him, but seventh-years, Geoffrey Hooper sent her a wyvern, Alex Huges a mermaid and Bernard Dunstan a little Crup with a forked tail.

However, the nicest one was delivered by a school barn owl. Hermione opened up the envelope and pulled out a lovely silver unicorn charm.

She immediately knew who the charm was from, at least she hoped it was from him.

The delicate charm caught the light; the body was polished to a gleaming shine and the mane and tail sparkled as if it had diamonds in it, making it glimmer and refract the light. It was just like the real unicorns that she'd seen with Severus her third year on their hike when she'd stayed with him. Holding the charm, she could remember that day like it was yesterday. It had been perfect, the sun warm and the smell of the forest rich and earthy. She stared at the unicorn on her palm with a sense of profound sadness at what she'd lost. Their friendship had been precious to her and now it had all changed.

There was no card accompanying the gift, but that did not matter, she was pretty sure it was from Severus. She was amazed that he'd been so thoughtful. She glanced up at the staff table, wanting to express her gratitude, but she couldn't catch his eye.

"My gods, that's gorgeous," Ginny breathed, picking up the charm. "Who sent it?"

Hermione turned back. "I don't know; there isn't a card." She was not going to break Severus' trust by divulging their relationship...what little relationship they did have. As tenuous and restricted as it was, constrained by the strict codes of student-teacher interactions as defined by the school charter, it was still all he'd allowed her.

Hermione removed her necklace as Ginny examined the unicorn, but she stopped her friend before she put it on the bracelet. "No, Gin, don't."

Ginny looked at her confused, but handed it back. Hermione hung the charm on her neck chain instead and put the necklace back on, putting her silver wishbone that her mum had given her for luck the morning before her first year at Hogwarts on the bracelet instead.

Severus waited until his prefects left his classroom. Only Malfoy had been missing from the group, but then he'd received a note from him that morning saying that he no longer wished to continue his prefect duties. The arrogant git. Other than Miss Parkinson, each of his prefects had chosen to side with him and his group. Severus ground his teeth. The SA, the Slytherin's Army, as they were now insistent on being called.

His attention was diverted from the list of new recruits that Mr. Urguhart had given him as his sixth year students began to amble into the classroom, making enough noise to wake the portraits on his walls. "Pair up and practice the spells on the board," he said. "You'll find your partner listed on the sheet of parchment attached to the door."

He turned his attention back to the list as the students milled around, finding their respective partners. Catherine MacTirdelvach had joined his group, but he was well aware that the girl was not a fighter. In his career interview with her, she'd indicated that she wanted to be a Healer, unless her father married her off after leaving school. Egraine Whyte was now seeing Terrance Higgs and had attended the last meeting, however Severus was dubious about her at best. The girl was pretty, but a mediocre student and had been raised her entire life to be the proper wife and mother to her future pure-blood family.

But the fourth years showed the most promise: Eddart Terrance, Louis Beresford and Charles Lenox, students Mr. Vaisey had inducted, were taking a stance. That meant that four out of five of the boys would be standing up for the right side when the war came. They would have to be careful around the other fourth-years; Phillip Crane's parents were both loyal extremists, and Arush Ganatra and Edward Yang's loyalties were unknown. Beatrix Spencer and Eleanor Beaufort had joined, which left Georgiana Curzon, Charlotte Defoe and Frances Kitschier following their loyal parents into the Dark Lord's order, to be dutiful Death Eater wives and mothers. Pity.

He looked up as the noise level decreased, watching the students pair off. He rose from his desk and began moving between them, watching for errors in technique, sloppy aim, and moving lips. "Mr. Finnigan, clamp your mouth shut and do the spell nonverbally; five points from Gryffindor," he admonished the boy, turning to watch Longbottom as he walked by.

Mr. Longbottom saw him, their gazes locking for a moment, and the boy stumbled, his shield faltering as Miss Granger's hex shot over Longbottom's head and nearly hit Severus in the chest...and would have if he hadn't been aware that Mr. Longbottom's concentration would falter, and Severus had quick reflexes. Severus had his wand drawn and the hex dissipated with one fell swish and flick of his wrist.

Hermione smiled at him a little cheekily at his proficiency.

"This is not duelling, Miss Granger, it is practicing nonverbal spellwork," Severus snapped at her, trying to sound annoyed at her. "Be in my office at seven." Mr. Longbottom opened his mouth to say something, most likely a protest about his unfairness in defense of Miss Granger, but he cut the boy off. "One word, Mr. Longbottom, and you'll be spending two evenings in detention with me...alone."

The boy paled and clamped his mouth shut with a snap. Severus did love the reaction, it was so satisfying.

Harry glared at him, and Ron turned, mouthing something under his breath. Severus narrowed his eyes. "Weasley, you'll be spending the evening with Filch. Now, everyone, nonverbal means no speaking, no mumbling, and, Mr. Finnigan, stop what you're doing and get to work. Ten points from Gryffindor."

He sighed. So far the only one to master the ability of nonverbal spellwork was Miss Granger, but that did not surprise him in the least.

By now Hermione's bracelet was teeming with little silver charms. Not all of them were from boys in her year either, quite a few seventh-years had sent them, even those from different houses. The most surprising ones were from Aldebaran Urguhart, the seventh-year Slytherin prefect, he had sent her a rose on an S, and from Rayne Boughton, who was filling in as Slytherin prefect since Malfoy abandoned the post. He'd given her a tiny vial with a bit of liquid silver in it. Gasper Vaisey, another Slytherin boy who she'd merely made brief comments to like, 'pardon me,' or 'excuse me,' and the occasionally mumbled 'thank you,' in the library, had sent her the Rune symbol for happiness.

On her way to the dungeons to see Professor Snape, Hermione spotted Professor Slughorn and Madam Pomfrey up ahead at the top of the stairs. "Yes, yes. Mr. Potter is really quite an exceptional Potioneer," she overheard Professor Slughorn saying when she drew closer, and Hermione pursed her lips in annoyance. "He turns out perfect potions every time."

"No, I meant Miss Granger's," Madam Pomfrey said with a shake of her head, making Hermione stop short in surprise for a moment at hearing her name. "The name on the bottle was hers, not Mr. Potter's, although his was of fine quality as well. Edith Wadely and Julius Thwaithe both told me her potion was not as bitter as yesterday's and asked me what I'd done to it. That, and it seems more effective than the one I've been using, almost as if Professor Snape... Well, that's silly of course, he hasn't the time like before, and with you here, he hardly has to help me fulfill the hospital potion requirements, does he? But if you have anymore, I could certainly use it." She looked up as Hermione got closer. "Oh, hello, dear."

"Madam Pomfrey, Professor," she greeted politely, nodding to each.

"Miss Granger," Professor Slughorn said, making Hermione stop again. "A moment."

Hermione paused, feeling a little nervous anticipation in her gut, before turning around. "Yes, professor," she asked slowly, knowing what he wanted. Her directions...Severus' variations.

As expected, he asked her about her potion and even offered to compensate her in House points if she'd agree to brew him another batch.

Madam Pomfrey made a copy of Hermione's frown, only hers was deeper. "Horace, really," she scolded and then turned to Hermione. "Miss Granger, come see me tonight if you've the time. I'll happily offer proper compensation for your brewing time."

Hermione considered her request. It was a great opportunity... Severus had said he... "All right. I have..." She couldn't say lesson...that was a secret. "A meeting with Professor Snape. But I can come by after." Madam Pomfrey was delighted, but Professor Slughorn looked rather put out. She thanked the Healer and excused herself properly, leaving with a sense of smug satisfaction. Her potion was better than Harry's.

Harry's best subject was now Potions, but Hermione knew it had everything to do with his Potions book and not because he'd learned anything, but then she was doing steps that she learned from Severus as well. Teenage Severus had frequently left his Potions book in his lab, and Hermione had read it, eager to know what she'd learn in advanced Potions. She'd copied down many of his notes in her revision guide, and when she got her copy of Advanced Potion Making, she had transferred all his notations into her copy. But that was different. She and Severus had brewed those potions together, many of them anyway, and she'd learned the steps and deviations from the directions from him. And he was her teacher, so it wasn't like she was cheating.

Severus paced the old classroom restlessly. She was not late, but he didn't like waiting nonetheless. A timid knock on the door startled him. He yanked it open and moved aside to let the girl in.

"I wanted to thank you," she said, dropping her bag on the floor against the wall without taking her eyes of him.

"For what?" he asked suspiciously. The charm bracelet on her wrist caught his attention as she removed her robe and folded it casually to set on top of the bag. The charms were a token of friendship, or even a subtle indication of interest, given to a girl by her friends and admirers when they turned seventeen. The fact that Hermione was an early Bloomer almost assured that some of the charms were from admirers. Or is she really that popular? He'd never considered that she could be; she was always with Potter, Weasley or the Weasley girl. Occasionally, he'd seen her with Miss Lovegood or in the library with other classmates, revising...

"For my gift," she said, looking up at him with a warm smile.

Ah. That. He felt a faint flush of heat spread slowly across his skin. He didn't know what had possessed him to send it to her. Regardless of any rationale he could contrive, Severus was well aware of the tradition, and he'd sent her the charm simply because he didn't want any other bloke giving her the unicorn. That was their symbol, their memory, and it...that day...was one of his fondest memories from his youth.

So, cursing himself for his sentimentality, he'd bought her charm from Dragonsilver Designs in January.

The three top jewelers, Smeltings Fine Silver Wrought, Dragonsilver Designs and Seriously Silver, kept meticulous records; the Silver Charm Ledgers had the names of each Hogwarts girl and their birthday and would automatically update the other two matching ledgers when the shopkeeper wrote down each purchase for each girl so that there would be no duplicates. Severus had been surprised that his had not been Hermione's first charm purchase. The phoenix and a cat had already been bought, most likely from Minerva and someone in the Order. The winged hog was also listed, the symbol of the school, the one Dumbledore sent to every girl, and a weasel.

"You're welcome." But considering all the charms on her bracelet, his was merely one of many, surely.

A tiny flash of silver caught his eye as she drew her wand and turned to face him. There, on a thin silver chain around her neck was the charm...his charm...lying against her creamy skin. The light of the illumination orbs in the chandelier gave the unicorn a soft glow and made the tiny cuts in the tail and mane sparkle, not unlike the creatures themselves. His lips twitched at the memory of her expression when she'd first seem them on their hike.

He looked up at her, her soft, doe-like eyes watching him and a small smile graced her lips.

He inhaled deeply, unfortunately catching a whiff of lemon verbena and lavender, and he swallowed back the reaction to the scent he'd always, and forevermore, associate with her. He mentally shook himself to break the Allure. She is Blooming, he reminded himself. Get a grip on yourself, man! That is all it was and he was not going to react. He was not a hormonal teen, he was her professor...she was his student. Fifteen years of teaching and he'd never allowed a girl to weaken him. Miss Granger would not be the first.

She was still looking at him, expectantly. He knew he should coolly acknowledge her thanks and move on, but he found it difficult to do so. Instead, he emitted an incoherent grunt and a sharp nod, conscious that he was hunching his shoulders in a defensive gesture. He saw her smile widen before him at his acknowledgment of her thanks, and it suddenly became very important that he return to the matter at hand.

"Well?" he asked, as if she should know the routine by now. "Do I need to give you a list of spells or can you chose for yourself?" He raised his hand up, indicating the target dummies. "In the greens, please. Six in quick succession."

Hermione's smile widened, and she turned, firing a combination of Stunners, Impediments and Disarming spells and three hexes at the sparring dummy in quick succession as requested. The indicator glowed a brilliant shade of emerald green with each impact.

Severus walked down the corridor, illuminating the recessed doorways with his wand and securing the locks on the classroom doors. He had no idea where Draco was or what the boy was up to. So far his search had proved futile. The boy eluded him. He had only a few more places to check before turning in. On an afterthought, he walked down the fifth floor corridor for the prefect bath. As nice as the bath was, oddly only a handful of the prefects utilized the room, mostly for trysts. A quick indication spell revealed an occupant. Severus mumbled the staff access password, opened the door and entered.

He nearly gasped aloud.

The girl at the far end of the pool, for there was no mistaking the form, swam away from him, her body stretched out on the surface of the water. In a relaxing and gliding swim stroke, her head rising as she kicked with her arms reaching out and then fanning outward, she pulled herself through the water with ease. Her entire back was bare, or appeared bare. In a quick smooth move, she ducked under the water as she neared the end of the pool, turning and twisting under the water surface, kicked off the wall, reemerged, and was now swimming toward him. He moved to stand next to the bench where the towels were, unable to take his eyes off her. The girl's arm lifted, a perfect arch, her body twisting as she took a breath... His breath caught. It was Hermione.

There were no bubbles to hide the fact that the girl was practically naked in the water. The flesh tone of her skin stood out in the clean, translucent turquoise of the water. Her body glided, slipping through the water with a natural ease. Her freestyle stroke was long and strong, the water rippling along her torso and thighs to enhance her form... the splash from her kicks not enough to distort the shape of her legs... He remembered that curvaceous little body in denim shorts and a T-shirt standing by the Weasley's pond, the wind making her curls flutter against her skin. "Miss Granger," he bit out in annoyance, his voice echoing in the room.

She stopped and turned, treading water as she looked up at him. "What? Did you want something, sir?"

Did I want something...isn't that a loaded question? "I want you out of the bath now, Miss Granger, it's nearly curfew."

She swam easily to the edge and heaved herself out of the water, rising before him like a water nymph. He stared at her dumbstruck as she stood and walked casually toward him.

She'd definitely grown up over the summer into a lovely young witch, and not only in height; she'd filled out, her curves, breasts, that were normally concealed under the school robes were now on full display for him, and his body immediately reacted. He scolded himself for ogling her, but the two triangles of fabric straining to contain her perfect breasts, and the tiny ties on the side of her hips holding the small triangle of pale flesh-colored fabric hiding her possibly shaved mons... Present, yes, but still, a tiny triangle of peach fabric was hardly enough to dissuade a boy from taking advantage of the privacy of the room. Severus fought to control his thoughts. He was a man after all, and for all his normal self-control, this was indecent exposure!

He grabbed a towel and thrust it at her.

"Thank you," she replied, wiping her face with the thick terry cloth.

"I expect you to cover up that...that...whatever you call it," he stammered at a loss. He growled inwardly and drew himself up to his full height.

"Swimsuit," she finished for him, placing one foot on the bench and drying her leg.

"You're indecently clad...if that flesh tone swimsuit can be called clad at all," he admonished her. His penis was now straining against his trousers zip, and he was thankful for the length of his frockcoat and his robes.

"It's apricot," she said, looking down as she dried herself off.

"Will you cover up!" he snapped. She finally wrapped the towel around her body, tucking the end in to secure it in place. It hardly helped. As she bent over and wrapped her hair into another towel, Severus held the edges of his robe in his hands as he crossed his arms, effectively wrapping himself up in the voluminous fabric so she'd not see his physical discomfort. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

"I've been swimming every night," she replied casually, turning to look at him.

"Every night?" he asked, glad that his voice didn't crack.

"Yes, sir," she replied, smiling at him as if utterly unaware of how enticing she appeared.

"Merlin," he growled out after she told him why she'd started swimming every night. Every night! If the boys, any boy found her in this state of undress...dressed in her 'swimsuit'... No. He'd put a stop to that. "Well, from now on you'll have your own password, and it will be active an hour before curfew."

"Erm, thank you, sir," she said with a warm smile.

"Very well. Now go to your common room. You should be in bed." However, the mere thought of her in bed made him react, his already engorged penis twitching uncomfortably. He was too close to her, in a secluded room, and she was still only wearing three tiny triangles of apricot fabric tied on with strings under a towel that could easily fall of with the slightest tug...

He turned on his heel. "I'll wait to escort you to your common room outside. Do hurry," he said and strode purposefully, not hurriedly he assured himself, from the room, his body still betraying him with the treacherous sense of attraction he was suffering. Her birthday was two days ago, and he could still feel her Allure...she was still radiating! Damn blast, the girl was going to be a long Bloomer.

~ T. B. .C. ~

I have art! The wonderful Proulxes drew me a picture for this chapter! You can see it in my gallery on deviantart.com. Thank you, Proulxes, for the lovely drawing. I absolutely love it!!

http://beaweasley2.deviantart.com/art/from-Proulxes-What-325957235