A Day in Hogsmeade

Special thanks to my mom, my sister, Lord_and_Lady_Peeves, yutamiyu, and Jade_Orchid my beta along with my other SASS sisters Pooka, NotSoSaintly, Kim and Fishie, and Tarah for everything you lovely ladies (and gentleman) do to encourage me.

Disclaimer: I have never owned any of these characters from the Harry Potter series and I never will. They all belong to the brilliant mind of J.K. Rowling, however this story belongs to me, spewing forth from my very own sick and demented mind. I don't plan on receiving any sort of profit for these stories. I just love the characters so much that I HAVE to write about them.

Please, no lawsuits.

Also, this is my FIRST story, so please, be nice and helpful. Enjoy! :)

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Chapter 12: A Day in Hogsmeade

Snape snapped his fingers and a drawer popped open under one of the lab tables. He walked over, pulled out the object in question and strode back over to Hermione.

"Here, Hermione," Snape said with that same sly smile, as he held the object out to her. "I believe this is the correct answer to your riddle."

He handed the object to Hermione who received it with eyes wide with shock and excitement. It was a book, the answer to her riddle; however, it was even more than that! It was the book she was about to read the night Severus found her in his office: Potions and their Defense Against the Dark Arts. Oh, this was a dream come true! She was so upset she couldn't even begin to read it in the office, but now she'd be able to read it from cover to cover!

"Oh... Oh, Severus!" Hermione gasped as she ran her fingers over the cover. "Th-thank you so much!"

"I thought perhaps it would be best if you read up on potions and their correlation with the defense against the dark arts," Snape said with a twisted smile and crossed his arms over his chest. "I think it will aid you in the research, and perhaps you'll finally see WHY holly would be a terrible idea!"

"Oh, and what chapter would I find that in?"

"Find out for yourself, but if you must know, the information you desire would be in chapter 14: Berries and Boogey-men."

"Well, I shall look into that chapter especially."

"See that you do."

"Oh, before I go..."

"Yes?"

"Um... What is going to happen... at dawn... in Hogsmeade?" Hermione asked hesitantly with a concerned look on her face.

"You needn't fret, Hermione. I informed the Headmaster and the Order members are out there now as we speak keeping watch over Hogsmeade. Everything will be fine. Don't worry."

"Oh, good. Thank you for telling me."

Snape grunted in reply.

"Well... Good night, Severus," Hermione grinned. "Thank you again for letting me borrow the book."

"Good night, Hermione," Snape nodded. "Come tomorrow at seven o'clock with some background knowledge in your berries this time."

"I will," Hermione smiled and exited through the door, leaving Snape alone in the lab.

Well, that went better than he thought it would. In fact, it was wonderful! Despite that she practically disagreed with practically everything he had suggested, Hermione definitely had the knowledge and the determination that would not only aid them in their research, but allow her to quickly move up in the ranks from Potions Apprentice to Potions Mistress, should she choose to pursue such a career. She should consider it, he mused. After all, Potion Masters were few in number, and schools and research facilities were ALWAYS looking for them.

Snape smirked to himself at the thought of Hermione someday occupying his dungeons. Despite that she was talented in the art of potion making, she was still a Gryffindor. He couldn't imagine one of them having to practically LIVE down there. He found himself chuckling as he gathered up his notes and made his way to his personal quarters, wondering if Hermione would have covered him with a blanket again if he had fallen asleep in the lab like he had in the summer.

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For a month, Hermione and Snape worked peacefully side-by-side everyday from seven o'clock to about nine or nine thirty. They agreed as quickly as they disagreed and debated as much as they came to an understanding. Their sorrows and joys were each other's and they shared their failures and triumphs. Things were going smoothly for the two of them.

However, all of that changed in the course of one November evening.

The day began with an outing to Hogsmeade. Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Ginny spent the day wandering the streets, making a few purchases at some nearby shops, but mostly enjoying the time they were spending together. Between Hermione's research, Quidditch practice, homework, and the Order, it had been harder for all of them to hang out with each other and just be teenagers. By the late afternoon, the friends had browsed through most of the shops. Suddenly, Ginny's eyes caught the sign for the new store that opened called Scents and Sensibility, a perfume and cologne boutique.

"Oh, Hermione, look!" Ginny said excitedly pointing to the new shop. "Let's go in there!"

"Yeah!" Hermione agreed.

"NO!" the boys said resoundingly in unison.

"Oh come on you two," Ginny huffed. "It's perfume AND cologne! You could use some. I know what you guys smell like after Quidditch practice."

"We don't need anything, thanks," Ron glared at his sister. "We smell fine."

"Of course you do... If you like the smell of sweaty stinky men!"

"Honestly, you guys, it wouldn't kill you," Hermione added.

At that point, both Harry and Ron grabbed at their throats and pretended to start suffocating.

"Oh God, it's horrible!" Harry coughed while leaning on Ron. "I can't breathe! I think I'm dying!"

"They lied to us, Harry!" Ron wheezed as he held his friend. "It WILL kill us!"

"Ooh!" the two boys moaned simultaneously before bursting into fits of laughter.

"You're such drama queens," Ginny sighed while rolling her eyes. "Well, Hermione and I are going to have a look around."

"Fine, we'll wait out here," Harry said. "We can find other way of entertaining ourselves, right Ron?"

Ron wasn't listening to Harry. The only thing he was focusing on was David Heart holding the door of The Three Broomsticks open for Daniela Castañeta, a 6th year Slytherin. Ron glared after him as Heart put a hand on Daniela's lower, LOWER back and followed her into the pub. Oh, what was that no good dirty scoundrel up to now? Cheating on Hermione?! He had better not! Of course, Ron found it odd that over the past month, Hermione had not made any indication that she was seeing David Heart. It was difficult for Ron to remain tight-lipped about his knowledge of the midnight rendezvous. He wished Hermione would just tell them already. Well, even if she wasn't going to say anything, Ron was going to make sure David Heart remained true to his best friend and secret crush.

"Tell you what," Ron started and turned to the others. "Harry and I will go to The Three Broomsticks and get a table. You meet up with us there when you've had your fill of Stench and Stenchability."

"Ha, ha," Ginny said sarcastically. "All right, sounds good. We'll see you later!"

"Cheerio!" Hermione called over her shoulder as she followed Ginny inside.

"Bye!" the boys yelled after them.

"Come on, Harry!" Ron exclaimed grabbing the front of Harry's sweater and tugging him along as they ran to the pub.

"Cricky, Ron! Slow down!" Harry demanded. "What's gotten into you?!"

"I'm going to catch that man whore in the act!"

"Oh no, not Operation Poopy Pants again, or whatever it is that you call it."

"Shhh! Don't say it out loud! You'll blow our cover!"

"Ron, this is..."

"Shhh! We got to act natural!" Ron whispered and let go of Harry's sweater. "Now, just walk in as if you weren't spying on anyone!"

Harry sighed and straightened his sweater before walking into the pub. Ron was right behind him, pretending that he didn't have a care in the world... Except to be rid of that cheating Heart!

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"Look at this one, Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed as she shoved a small blue bottle under Hermione's nose.

"Oh... Cool," Hermione said unenthusiastically as she read the label. " 'Sweet Siren's Secret. Lure men to your side with the song of the scent.' Oh Lord, that's just pathetic."

"Do you think Harry would fancy it?"

"Ginny, if you're thinking of buying this so you can get Harry to fancy you, don't. I think Harry fancies you just the way you are."

"Really?! You think he fancies me?! Oh, I hope so!"

Ginny giggled before she skipped away in search for more alluring scents. Hermione chuckled to herself before she moved down the aisle in search for something that smelled sweet, but not overpowering; something subtle, but not so faint that it couldn't be detected. She continued walking down the aisle, unsatisfied with that she saw. Flowery scents might be okay. Roses were always nice, but they could be overwhelming sometimes. Did Snape like roses? Did he even like perfume? Maybe he preferred women didn't wear perfume at all. Oh, what was she to do?

Deep in her thoughts, Hermione unknowingly wandered into an aisle containing men's cologne. The masculine scents snapped her back into reality, forcing her to notice where she was standing. She looked around at the different labels, and had to giggle at some of the names of the colognes. Suddenly, a thought came to her: maybe the cologne Severus wore would be in there. With new fervor, Hermione began going down the aisle and gently wafting the different scents, hoping his would be there.

"Here you are!" Ginny exclaimed suddenly appearing next to Hermione. "What are you doing HERE in the MEN'S cologne aisle?"

"Oh," Hermione said a bit startled, "Well, um, nothing. I-I'm just..."

"Browsing?"

"Yes."

"For whom?"

"What?"

"For whom are you browsing?"

"Oh! I guess I'm just... looking for ... myself," Hermoine lied, and this time she didn't do it well at all.

"Oh really?" Ginny asked with a raised eyebrow. "Do you often wear men's cologne?"

"Well, no but..."

"It's a mystery guy, hmm?"

"Uh..."

"So, who is he?"

"Say, Ginny, we better get back to the guys! They'll be wondering if we really DID suffocate in here!"

Before Ginny could even open her mouth to press Hermione about this "mystery guy," Hermione was walking rather quickly down the aisle. The red head smirked as she watched her suddenly nervous friend push through the crowds of patrons and made her way towards the exit. Ah, so it WAS a mystery guy, just like Ron had hinted! Ginny smiled to herself and also began her trek to the door. It was about time Hermione found someone. Now it was only a matter of time before her mystery man would be revealed. After all, Hermione couldn't possibly keep any secret from her best friends... could she?

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Ron peeked over the menu he was holding as he spied on David Heart and Daniela Castañeta flirting with each other. Oh, the nerve of that bugger! How could he do such a thing to Hermione?! She was so sweet and innocent, and this pervert was throwing her out like last week's Daily Prophet!

"Look at that bloke, Harry," Ron said bitterly as he ducked back behind the menu. "Look how he's sitting there trying to be dashing and charming! Poor Hermione probably doesn't even know he's seeing someone else."

Harry wasn't paying much attention to Ron. He was mostly thinking about Ginny (which he often did). He knew he was no flower, but he really didn't smell THAT bad after Quidditch practice, did he? The last thing he wanted to do was offend Ginny. Maybe...

"Harry, have you even heard a word I said?" Ron asked with a stern look.

"Do you think it would make Ginny happy if I DID purchase some cologne?" Harry asked thoughtfully.

"What?! Harry, get your head out of the clouds and focus! We're talking about Heart, not Ginny!"

"I know, but..."

"Wait, why do I have to pay for this?!" a voice in the back of the pub demanded.

Harry and Ron turned around to see Neville Longbottom and Draco with his goons sitting at a nearby table. Neville was staring down in disbelief at a bill he was holding while Crabbe and Goyle were rubbing their bellies in obvious satisfaction of just having eaten one of everything on the menu.

"See it as a 'donation,' Longbottom," Draco said snidely before finishing off his butterbeer. "It can be apart of your community service."

"But I didn't even order anything! Besides, I don't even know if I have enough money..."

"Well you better check then, and make it quick because I want to purchase a new grooming kit for my broom."

"What you're doing to me isn't 'community service' anymore, Malfoy!" Neville spat. "This is slavery!"

"Call it whatever you want, Longbottom, but I can either tell my father that you've finished all 120 hours of 'civil service' or I could tell him that you've been smoking gillyweed in the green houses."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!"

"No, but I can make it true! Now shut up and get moving!"

Draco and his goons stood up and left the table.

"Oh, don't forget our bags!" Draco added over his shoulder.

Neville clenched his teeth and threw down all the sickles and galleons he had which were JUST enough to pay for the meal as well as a reasonable tip. As he was grumbling and gathering the bags, Harry asked, "Hey, Neville, you want some help with those?"

"Thanks, Harry, but it's all right," Neville sighed. "If Malfoy sees someone helping me, he tells his father that I've been making others do my work for me. Personally, I just want to be done with this!"

"All right then. Good luck."

"Thanks, I'll need it," Neville grimaced as he lumbered out of the pub.

"Poor guy," Harry said solemnly. "He shouldn't have to do that. Malfoy has enough of his own money to pay for everyone's drink here in the pub!"

"Speaking of drinks, where the bloody hell are ours?" Ron asked with a twisted face. "We order them almost ten minutes ago. They're not THAT busy!"

"They have other customers besides us, Ron," Harry pointed out.

"Yeah, but those guys at that table came in after we did, and they got their order before us."

"Aren't you suppose to be spying or something?"

"Oh, right!" Ron whispered and glanced back over at Heart and his date in time to see him whispering something in her ear, causing her to blush and giggle.

"Lousy bugger," Ron hissed. "I wish we had a camera or something. Hey, do you think Collin would join us in our cause?"

"Oy, watch it now," said the waiter in a gruff voice as he approached Harry and Ron's table with their drinks. "Sorry about the wait there, mates, but Rosmerta's feelin' a wee bit under the weather and she dropped ya drinks."

"Oh, will she be all right?" Harry asked.

"Of course she will! I ain't seen nuthin' that can git that woman down! She'll be right as rain in no time. Now, here's a butterbeer for you, lad, and here's another one just for mister Harry Potter."

"Uh, thank you," Harry said sheepishly, uneasy under the waiter's piercing gaze from his gray eyes.

"Yeah, thanks," Ron agreed before taking a big gulp from his mug.

"There be anythin' else for ya lads?" the waiter asked running a pale hand through his short wavy brown hair.

"Not yet. We're still waiting for some frien..."

"What's your soup for tonight?" Ron asked hungrily, "because I'll have a bowl if it's potatoes and leek. Oh, and can you add a side of bacon, too?"

"Uh... I'll go check on that for ya."

Before Ron or Harry could ask anything else, the waiter turned tail and went quickly back to the bar.

"He must be new," Ron observed.

Harry shrugged before taking a swig of his butterbeer and went back to thinking about Ginny while Ron "spied" on Heart again. Moments later, the door opened and in walked Hermione and Ginny, who Harry spotted right away, and waved them over.

"So how was Stench and Stenchability?" Harry teased as the girls took their seats.

"It was actually pretty nice," Ginny smiled. "There was some really nice things there. I think we both found something interesting, right, Hermione?"

"Oh, y-yes, it was nice," Hermione stammered.

"Did you find anything you liked?" Harry asked looking straight at Ginny.

"Well there was this perfume called 'Mar de Mermaid' and that..."

"Made you smell like a fish?" Ron asked with a wicked smile, causing the others to laugh (except Ginny).

"You daft pillock!" Ginny hissed. "It didn't smell like a fish! It happened to smell quite pleasant! Anyway, there was another one called 'Angel Wings' and that was lovely, but way too expensive for me."

"Cool," Harry grinned, hoping he could remember the name of that perfume come Christmas time.

"What did you find, Hermione?" Ron asked.

"Um... nothing," she said quietly.

"Nothing? Not one perfume bottle in that whole bloody store caught your eye?"

"Well, maybe not the perfumes," Ginny said quietly before taking a sip of Ron's butterbeer.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked quizzically.

"She means that I was looking to see if they had some type of... um... dehydrogenated oil that could be used as a buffer to balance a reaction between acidic lemon balm and basic calendula with an enzymatic catalyst in my research with Professor Snape."

Hermione's friends started at her in complete silence. She probably lost them after "dehydrogenated." Good, that shut them up, despite it made absolutely no sense. If Snape had heard her ramble complete nonsense like that, he'd kick her out of the lab before she could say "dehydrogenated." Hmph, buffer indeed.

"Well, since you did bring it up," Harry said breaking the uncomfortable silence, "how is your research going?"

"Oh, it's going along just fine," she smiled, not mentioning how Snape WAS right about holly making the mixture too unstable. He reminded her of that plenty of times over the past few days. Of course, he didn't need to remind her. The book he wrote had a whole chapter about how most berries had negative effects in potions when it came to defense against the arts. It was truly a wonderful book! She couldn't put it down! In fact, she should have been looking for that book instead of poking around in the perfume shop like a ninny.

"Well, how are you holding up with Sn... Professor Snape?" Ron asked. "Is he treating you right? Is he giving you a hard time?"

"Oh, I can deal with Sev... Uh, severe tongue lashings from him," Hermione said calmly, praying that the others didn't notice she almost called him by his given name, and how she suppressed a shiver at the mention of "tongue lashings."

Unfortunately for her, one person noticed. Ginny didn't think anything of it at first, but didn't ignore the thought completely either. She decided to keep it in the back of her mind and would ask Hermione about it later.

Moments later, Rosmerta appeared with two mugs of butterbeers. She looked a bit surprised when she saw Ron and Harry already had their drinks. Instead, she gave them to Hermione and Ginny.

"Are you feeling all right, Rosmerta?" Harry asked.

"Oh, of course, love!" she smiled. "I'm as good as I can be when it's as busy as this! I'll be back in a bit after you've all decided on what you want, all right?"

Before they could respond, she bustled away and disappeared behind the bar.

"She must not be feeling well if she forgot she sent someone else to get our drinks," Harry remark, scratching his head before taking another gulp of his butterbeer.

Ron merely nodded. Suddenly, he pointed over towards Heart's table before asking, "Hermione, who's sitting at the table over there?"

"Where?" Hermione questioned looking at Ron as if he just sprouted another nose.

"Over there at the table in the corner."

"Uh... No one."

"WHAT?!" Ron asked in disbelief as he turned and saw that Hermione was absolutely correct. Heart and his date weren't there. Bloody hell! Just when Hermione could have caught him in the act of infidelity! Where did that bleeding prat run off to anyway?

"Hello everyone," a voice suddenly chirped.

The group of friends looked up to see David Heart smiling down at them as he stood next to the table... on Hermione's side.

"Hello," the group (except for Ron) greeted back.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I have to ask Hermione a question."

"Oh, all right," Hermione grinned up at Heart, causing Ron to fume with jealousy. "How can I help you?"

"Well, it's like this," Heart started as he knelt down next to Hermione, making Ron grind his teeth. "You see, I'm falling behind in Transfiguration and McGonagall suggested I get a tutor, so I immediately thought of you."

"Well, Hermione is very busy," Ron said snidely. "Can't you find someone else?"

"RON!" Hermione warned with a dangerous look.

"I suppose I could," David said smoothly while smiling at Hermione, "but she's the best student in all of Hogwarts, and I know I can learn so many things from her."

"Oh, David," Hermione blushed while Ron was red in the face with anger.

"Please, Hermione, can you find some time in your busy schedule to help me out?"

"Sure! When did you want to meet?"

"How about we meet after lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays from one to one thirty?"

"Sounds great!"

"Good," David smiled putting his hand upon Hermione's, causing Ron sneer in a way that would have made even Snape proud. "Thank you so much."

"Not a problem. Hey, would you like to join us for some butterbeers, David?"

"WHAT?!" Ron exclaimed.

"I'd love to, but I have a friend waiting for me outside, but thank you anyway," David said politely. "Well, I'll see you then. Bye everyone! Take care!"

The group waved good bye (except for Ron) as David waved back and winked at Hermione before he Disapparated.

"Ooo, now Hermione has a date every Tuesday and Thursday!" Ginny teased.

"No, they're tutoring sessions!" Ron corrected with a sour look.

"Easy, Ron, I was just kidding! Blimey, don't get so worked up! What do you have against David anyway?"

"It's nothing," Harry said with a dismissive wave after taking another gulp of his butterbeer. "They had a disagreement about Quidditch, that's all."

"Oh, all right. So, what do you want to do after this?" Ginny asked.

"Well, I have to get back to Hogwarts. Professor Snape is expecting me back by seven."

"Going back sounds like a good idea," Harry yawned scratching his head again. "I'm getting pretty tired."

"All right, then let's finish our drinks and then we'll go back. Sounds good?"

"Yeah," the group agreed (except Ron who was still pouting).

Hermione lifted her mug and toasted, "Cheers."

The others followed her lead and cheered with her. The rest of the time, they talked and cracked jokes with each other before they finished their drinks and headed off to Hogwarts again, arriving in time for dinner (much to Ron's content).

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Snape sneered as he threw out his second batch of marigolds he boiled too long. He wasn't focused on the task at hand. Of course, he was always on edge whenever Dumbledore left Hogwarts on business. Minerva did a fine job handling things while Dumbledore was away, but Severus always felt a little more vulnerable without the headmaster.

"Severus, may I ask you a question?" Hermione inquired holding a rather large brown mushroom cap.

"You just did," said Snape snidely without looking up at her.

Hermione was used to his snarky comments and simply ignored him asking, "Should I cut this into chunks or strips. If I do cut it into strips, should I make them thin or..."

"It's just a mushroom. There's nothing that special about how you cut it, because they all cook down the same. I thought even YOU of all people would know that!"

Hermione knew that wasn't true, since Snape said himself in the book he wrote that the size and shape of an ingredient is just as important as the amount put into the potion. Something was wrong, and he was lashing out at her. She sighed and set the mushroom cap on her workbench before turning to Snape who was busying himself with marigolds again.

"What's wrong, Severus?" Hermione asked genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine," Snape sneered. "Why don't you mind your own business?"

"Crikey, I'm sorry! I was just seeing if I could help."

"You can help by keeping your mouth shut and making sure your beezles don't pop in the cauldron."

"Are you sure you're..."

"I'm FINE, Hermione!"

"Well you don't seem fine!"

Hermione gasped and covered her mouth with her hands while Snape gave her a dangerous look. Oh no! The last time she snapped at him like that, she landed in detention! Great, she was in for it now. This time he was going to throw her out. She overstepped her bounds. However, Severus didn't think so. She was right. He wasn't fine, but he didn't want her to notice, though it seemed that she already had. Curse her observant eye!

Slowly, Snape walked over to Hermione, his boots sounding loud against the stony floor. He stopped in front of Hermione and towered over her. He stared deeply into her amber eyes, practically losing himself in her gaze. She was a beauty to behold.

"I can assure you, Hermione, that I am well," Snape said in a low voice.

"Yes, of course," she said softly. "I'm sorry for not believing you."

Not wanting to argue, because he felt a headache coming on, Snape pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Seeing how we've barely got anything done, why don't we just call it a night."

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked.

Snape shot her a rather acrimonious look, which told her she's better keep quiet. She nodded and began to clean up the supplies, part of her happy that she could get out early, and yet she was saddened because she was cheated out of time with Severus.

"I guess it's for the best," Hermione said. "I'll have more time to finish my homework."

"You mean the resident Know-It-All didn't finish her homework BEFORE the weekend?" Snape asked, oddly enough without any malice or scorn. Instead, it sounded somewhat light-hearted, almost in a teasing manner.

Hermione grinned before she responded, "Well, you know, my Potion's Master would not be pleased if I didn't do my best on my three feet of parchment about the differences and similarities between a frog liver and a toad liver."

"Indeed," Snape said deadpan, but he was smirking on the inside.

The two of them spent the rest of the time cleaning up in silence. Once everything was put away, Hermione was dismissed. She was about to pull open the door until Snape stopped her.

"By the way," Snape drawled, "I believe it is my turn to recite a riddle."

"Oh, yes, that's correct!" Hermione smiled.

"Indeed. Now, it is as follows: Only three letters are we. Add two more letters and fewer there will be."

"Ah, very nice! I shall definitely think about that and then get back to you."

"Very well then. Good night, Hermione."

"Good night, Severus. Pleasant dreams."

Hermione gave Snape one last smile before she left the lab. Snape didn't plan on sleep that night, not until Dumbledore returned from London. He sat down in his chair and sighed, hoping his headache would go away. He knew it was only from nerves, but he couldn't help but think how he didn't even notice the pain when Hermione was with him. His little lioness had quite an effect on him, and apparently in more ways than one. Snape leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for moment, thinking about the riddle... and Hermione.

Meanwhile in the Gryffindor Boy's Dormitories...

"Harry, are you sure you don't want to see Madame Pomfrey?" Ron asked with a quizzical look as he stared down at Harry who was lying in bed. "You barely ate any of your dinner, and you look paler than Nearly Headless Nick."

"Really, Ron, I'll be fine," Harry said barely above a whisper while scratching his head. "I just need to lie down for a bit. I'm very tired."

"Do you need something?"

"Just some peace and quiet. I guess homework, Quidditch practice, and walking around Hogsmeade today has finally caught up to me."

"I guess so. Are you sure you're all right?"

"For the last time, Ron..."

"All right, mate, all right. I'm just making sure, because you suddenly became so tired."

"Well I got tired at The Three Broomsticks, but now I feel so exhausted."

"All right, then. I'm going to spy on 'Heartbreaker.' I saw him heading towards the library with Daniela. I'll see you later."

"Take care," Harry croaked as Ron left the room and closed the door behind him.

Harry sighed as he slowly rolled onto his back. Bugger, what was wrong him? His limbs felt like lead and he could barely move. He'd been busy, but this was ridiculous! Harry felt the itch in his head again and scratched it. He slowly turned his head to the side toward his nightstand where his wand, glasses, and a framed picture stood on it. He stared at a picture of Ron, Hermione and himself at 12 Gimmauld Place that past summer. Ron and he were smiling and waving. Hermione was as well, but she kept glancing away at the camera. She was distracted by something else just off to the side. What could she had been watching?

Suddenly, something caught Harry's eye. It was sudden movement from some small, black speck on the edge of his pillow. What was that? Was it a... ew! It was a flea! Gross! Harry slowly moved his hand towards the flea to smash it until something very peculiar happened. All of the suddenly, the flea began to grow larger and larger. Suddenly, it was no longer in the shape of a flea, but taking form of a man. To Harry's absolute horror, the flea wasn't a flea at all, but an animagus... a Death Eater animagus.

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Yea, there's chapter 12! I hope you all liked it!

Sorry it took so long to update! Christmas really caught me unprepared.

5 points to your house if you knew the answer to the previous riddle, which was "book." You can get 5 more if you figure out the latest riddle!

The Alan Rickman quote in chapter 11 was "No bloody holly!" said by Harry (oddly enough) in Love Actually. There's another quote in this chapter. Happy hunting!

Thanks for all the support! You all are the best! You rock my world!

"We fight against those who control the darkness."

- DADA Mistress