Strengthening Friendships

I owe some big hugs and much gratitude to Cocoachristy and MadBrillant for the beta read. You ladies are worth your weight in Godiva.

~o 20 o~

Strengthening Friendships

Hermione's Occlumency lesson really upset her. She couldn't stop berating herself for her lack of control. So, in true Hermione fashion, she sought the answer in books. She collected all the books she could on both Legilimency and Occlumency, and even any books she could find on meditation. Of course, the only books she could find on mediation were in the Divination section on opening the mind to 'be more receptive to the Inner Eye' and 'opening your awareness to the perceptiveness of Sight.' She sighed as she closed Affirmations of Spiritual Magick Through Meditation and added it to her pile. I'll just write down the opposite of what these books say and see if it helps. Couldn't hurt any.

So Draco wouldn't know what she was up to, she carried the lot up to the sitting room in the Headmaster's tower to tackle the problem she was having blocking Snape. During her breaks and after quickly eating lunch, Hermione raced with Cillian up to the tower and her books.

~*~

Hermione's Occlumency lesson really upset her. She couldn't stop berating herself for her lack of control. So, in true Hermione fashion, she sought the answer in books. She collected all the books she could on both Legilimency and Occlumency, and even any books she could find on meditation. Of course, the only books she could find on mediation were in the Divination section on opening the mind to 'be more receptive to the Inner Eye' and 'opening your awareness to the perceptiveness of Sight.' She sighed as she closed Affirmations of Spiritual Magick Through Meditation and added it to her pile. I'll just write down the opposite of what these books say and see if it helps. Couldn't hurt any.

So Draco wouldn't know what she was up to, she carried the lot up to the sitting room in the Headmaster's tower to tackle the problem she was having blocking Snape. During her breaks and after quickly eating lunch, Hermione raced with Cillian up to the tower and her books.

~*~

Severus came back from another frustrating meeting with the Heads of Houses, regarding conflicts in the Quidditch schedule and the students' apprehension of having Death Eaters in the stands during practices. Apparently, Professor Slughorn had found out that the Death Eaters in the castle and in Hogsmeade had started taking bets on the house teams and had informed Professor McGonagall. The four Death Eaters, or the Dark Lord's house liaison officers as they were starting to call themselves, were also at the meeting, which greatly hindered any real discussions. Thankfully, Minerva was more concerned about the scheduling than upset by the presence of the Death Eaters, and they were able to resolve the scheduling, but not the matter of the Death Eaters.

When he entered his sitting room, he paused in the doorway. Hermione was sitting crossed-legged at the coffee table, making notations on a parchment, which was already at least four feet in length. She had at least a dozen books opened on the table, floor, and stacked up on the sofa behind her. He stood watching her. She was so engrossed in her studies that she apparently didn't even know he was there.

Smiling, Severus turned and walked down to his office. He smirked as he selected a book from the shelves and sat down at his desk. He knew what she was working on, but it amused him that she'd revert to the scholastic approach rather than simply practice the techniques. The books would only get her so far, in the end she would have to learn how to suppress her emotions and empty her mind. It was a matter of discipline and practice – not some theory one memorized from a book.

Finally, Severus looked up at his clock and sighed. Just as before, when he entered the sitting room, Hermione was still deeply engrossed in her books. "Hermione, it's time for bed," he said, walking over and holding out his hand.

She looked up, stress evident in her eyes. "I just have..."

"No," he said, pulling her to her feet. "Come with me." She grumbled, protested, and tried to resist, but he dragged her with him to the bedroom. A green night slip and robe were already laid out on the bed. Severus smiled as he began to disrobe, unconcerned that she was watching him strip. He put on his pajamas and turned to face her. "Do you need help?" he asked, amused.

"I'm not tired," she said. "I usually stay up revising on Fridays..."

"I know your schedule, and I know what you were working on. You're going about it all wrong," he said, forcing back the smirk he felt at her surprised look. "I recognized the books." He waited, watching her, and she started to squirm. He sighed and turned for the loo. Even after all this, she still is uncomfortable with me. A few minutes later, Hermione entered the loo, having changed into the night slip, and started brushing her teeth.

When she rinsed her mouth, he moved to stand behind her. He didn't speak, holding her in his arms against his chest. "Close your eyes," he said softly. "Don't speak. Don't ask questions. Just close your eyes." He was pleased to see her comply. "What do you see?"

"Red, orange in the middle, and black," she replied.

He smirked and waved his hand to lower the lights of the loo so, to her, the room would be practically dark. "And now?"

"Blackness," she replied.

He slid his fingers to her neck and leaned his head down so he could talk directly into her ear. "What do you feel?" he asked smoothly in his teaching voice. He felt her shiver.

"Nothing," she replied, but her breathing was slower and deeper than before.

"Liar," he purred in her ear, sliding his fingers so he could feel her pulse. "Tell me what you're feeling right now, your emotions."

He could still see her reflected in the mirror. Her chest was rising with her breath, and he could feel her pulse increase slightly. "Apprehension, a little nervous, vulnerable..." she listed off.

"Don't move, and don't open your eyes." He waited, his breath warming the side of her face as he watched her in the mirror. He stepped away from her, noting that she turned slightly and leaned back as he'd moved. "Now?"

"Cold," she said.

"Feelings – what are you feeling?" he asked, forcing his voice to sound cold and hard. Hermione stiffened at his tone, and he could see the confusion in her expression. "I want you to stand still, and don't turn around. I'm going to hex you, and then release it." He watched as she braced herself for the worst. "Okay, now ready yourself." Severus waited, counting slowly. He reached forty before she opened her eyes a little. "Close them," he snapped. "Now, what were you feeling?"

"I was afraid of what you were going to do," she replied.

"Good. Now suppress it. Push the emotion aside, and force yourself to feel nothing," he said as he reached around her and picked up a toothbrush. He touched the end of the handle to the middle of her back to let her feel it on her skin. He adjusted his frame of mind so that he'd sound harsh and cold. "Suppress your fear, Hermione. It cannot help you. Push the fear down, box it, and push it away." He waited, counting again. He could see her struggling with her apprehension and fear of what he intended to do to her. "Ready?"

She nodded, biting her lip.

Severus moved, making his movement something she could hear. Hermione tensed. "Control your fear. Suppress your emotions," he snapped at her. He could tell she was trying. He stepped close to her and touched her shoulder blade with the lightest brush of the toothbrush handle. Hermione flinched, but her face remained calm. "You're afraid, apprehensive; I can see it in your face. Control your emotions." He stepped back, murmured softly, nearly inaudibly. Hermione stiffened again, and it took a while for her face to relax. Severus waved his hand, casting a nonverbal spell to illuminate the room.

Hermione turned around to face him.

"Not bad, but you still need improvement. You almost had control, but you let your fear and anxiety get the better of you," he said smoothly as he handed her the toothbrush.

"Y-you – you – did..." she stammered, gaping at him before taking her toothbrush.

"Yes, and now you know. It's an ability you have to figure out for yourself." He sat down on the edge of the tub. "You won't find it in a book, Hermione. To be able control your emotions, to be able to Occlude me – or him – you have to figure out how to do it within yourself."

She nodded and laid the toothbrush down.

He could tell that she was pondering his words. "You already know everything that's in those books, and I know you could practically quote them to me. They can tell you what, but not how. The how, you have to figure out yourself – with practice."

"It's just so hard," she said, lowering her head.

"Yes, it is. Otherwise, everyone would be able to do it." His gaze swept down her body, barely concealed by her slip, and admired the shape of her curves. He watched her until she looked up at him expectantly. He stood and walked over to her, reaching out to touch her hair. "Hermione, will you... will you let me?" He hated feeling so unsure, so vulnerable, but he wasn't going to assert himself if she didn't want him. "I know I just made you uncomfortable, so if you'd rather not..."

She looked up at him, so trusting and open, her gaze locking onto his. After what seemed like minutes, she smiled at him, and his heart skipped a beat. "Only if you kiss me," she said.

He moved slowly, cupping her face as he leaned forward. Tonight he wasn't going to rush; tonight he was going to savor her, every inch of her.

~o0o~

Saturday, Hermione woke up twisted up in blankets, arms, and legs. Snape was snoring softly against her breast. She shifted her arm, and he snorted, rolling slightly, but also tightening his arm around her. She lay there as long as she could, but nature was against her having a nice, long lie in. She untangled herself, trying, unsuccessfully, not to wake him. "I'm sorry, I need to go – the loo," she apologized. He grunted and rolled over. Hermione hurried through her morning ambulation and returned to the bedroom, only to find Snape dressing.

"I have a staff... member I need to see," he said, looking up. A parchment fell from his hand as he pulled on his boots. He snatched it quickly, but not before she saw the swirly feminine handwriting.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked, wondering who had written him this early in the morning.

"It's nothing. I'll see you at breakfast," he said, turning to go.

Hermione followed him to the door. "I want to see Luna this morning," she called after him. All she got was a dismissive wave. Sighing, she turned to get dressed.

Peren was waiting beside the bed, pulling out her clothes. "Mistress needs her potion," she said, pointing to the bedside table.

"Thanks, Peren." Hermione looked at her elf as she drank her morning potion. "Peren, are you able to get into the Ravenclaw common room?"

"Yes, mistress, I can go there," Peren said, tilting her head as she looked up at Hermione.

"Do you know my friend, Luna Lovegood?" Hermione asked.

Peren tugged her ear as she thought. "I don't knows her, mistress, but Trinna might. I think she can tell Peren who is Luna Lovegood."

Hermione smiled. "If you would, I would like for you to tell Luna that I'd like to see her this morning."

Peren had popped out and back before she could finish dressing, bringing with her another house-elf who looked up at Hermione nervously. "This is Trinna, mistress. She says that Miss Lovegood is in the East Tower, bending."

"Bending?" Hermione asked, and both elves nodded. "Can you take me there?" Trinna nodded, turning quickly for the door to show Hermione the way.

"I should wait for Cillian," Hermione said as hurried after Trinna.

Trinna stopped and looked at her. "Does he want to go bend with miss and Miss Luna?" she asked, tilting her head at her confusion.

"I'm not sure if he'd want to... bend, but he is supposed to go wherever I go," she explained to the elf still unsure what Trinna meant by bending, but they were talking about Luna, so it could mean anything.

"He protects my mistress from the mean men," Peren told Trinna and then looked up at Hermione. "We will protect you, mistress."

Trinna nodded vigorously. "Peren and I will not let them harm you, miss. I knows a way they do not."

Hermione followed the elves as Trinna led her. Twice she had to crawl through elf-sized openings in the wall behind tapestries, up several flights of a highly polished wooden staircase, and through a section of wall that looked like solid rock. By the time Trinna pointed to a door, bowed, and left, Hermione was completely turned around.

Luna was standing with her knees bent, her left leg wrapped around the right, and her arms twisted, bent at the elbows. "Hi. Are you here to do yoga with me?" she asked as if she'd been expecting Hermione's arrival. She untangled and shifted her position so that her right hand and right heel were firmly into the floor, and straightened her right leg, simultaneously lifting the left leg parallel to the floor and extended her left hand toward the ceiling. "This is the half moon pose."

Hermione smiled. She'd heard about yoga and immediately thought that learning it might help her. "Luna, isn't yoga a type of meditation specifically designed to help you relax? I think I read somewhere that yoga teaches being fully aware, but not thinking of anything, or closing off your emotions and thinking of only serenity and pretty places."

"Yes, yoga allows you to quiet the fluctuations of your mind. You practice the techniques of blanking out your mind and releasing oneself from conscious thinking by meditating."

"And that is supposed to help you control what you're thinking about. Can it help you control your emotions as well?" It looked hard, trying to empty your mind while standing in the position Luna was. She'd be trying to keep her balance and not think about falling or feeling any pain... This might actually work!

Luna straightened and faced Hermione, smiling. "Yes, and, of course, your breathing."

"Can you show me how?" Hermione asked, kicking off her shoes and pulling off her robes.

"Sure." Luna conjured a mat for her. "Just try to do like I do."

Half an hour later, Hermione was trying to fold herself while crossing her right leg around her left. "Luna, I really appreciate the instruction of how to relax my mind, but do we have to twist like this?" she asked.

"Well, you could simply sit crossed-legged, but where is the challenge in that?" Luna said as she stretched forward and balanced in a nearly impossible looking fashion.

Hermione did her best to copy Luna's pose, fighting against gravity and managing not to fall on her face. "I think I'd like to try the crossed-legged position for a while."

Later that morning, feeling stiff and sore, Hermione followed Peren back to the Headmaster's tower. Snape was sitting at his desk. "Where were you this morning? Cillian said he couldn't find you."

"I told you; I wanted to see Luna this morning..." she started to explain and paused as his expression became angry. "Peren and another house-elf took me to the East Tower to see her. We took a hidden way apparently known only to the house-elves... Nothing happened!"

"And you're lucky nothing did!" He swept his hand through his hair. "What do I have to do to impress on you that you are not to leave these rooms without an escort?"

"But Peren and Trinna both promised that they knew a way so that we wouldn't run into the Death Eaters. They took me though tunnels and back stairs – I didn't see anybody until we got to the room Luna was in!" she tried to explain.

He looked at her and wished she'd see it his way. "I know that the house-elves have pretty strong magic in their own right, but the Death Eaters are not going to care about elves."

Hermione turned away from him and then back. "I know they hate me – that the Carrows would like nothing better than to hex me..."

"Kill you," he said coldly.

Her eyes widened in shock.

"Yes, kill you. And in a castle like this, accidents can happen. They have before, and I am trying to protect you. Cooperate with me!" He stood up. "It's time for breakfast. Let's go."

He escorted her to breakfast and even asked her how her visit with Luna went. Hermione really wanted to wipe the smirk off his face when she told him about her attempt with yoga. After breakfast, Snape took her to their sitting room for her Occlumency lesson. However, the lesson didn't go any better than last time, even with the lesson Snape had given her in the loo and Luna's yoga session. She still found it nearly impossible to block him or control her emotions. After an hour, Hermione was still sore from bending and frustrated with her lack of control. Snape had simply told her to practice controlling her emotions and clear her mind, a phrase that was quickly becoming as irritating as it was apparently impossible for her to do.

Since Amycus Carrow was in the library with Travers and VanHalal, Hermione elected to visit with Ginny in her room until lunch, much to Cillian's annoyance, and went to watch the Gryffindor team practice in the afternoon, which he liked much better. When Hermione tried to go to Snape's room after dinner, Rowle, the Lestrange brothers, Malfoy, Travers, MacCavish, the Carrows, and Avery were waiting in Snape's office. So Cillian prudently took Hermione to an empty classroom and allowed her to practice her spell work until bedtime.

Snape was in the sitting room reading when she walked in. "Hello," she said in greeting, heading for the bedroom.

He set the book down on his lap. "Hermione?"

She stopped and turned, her book bag falling off her shoulder, and she caught it in her hand, too tired to lift it back. "Yes?"

He looked at her and picked his book back up. "Good night," he said softly.

She tilted her head. "Good night, sir," she replied and trudged up to their room. Peren had drawn her a bath and had laid out her nightclothes. Hermione was too tired to bathe, sure that she'd fall asleep in the water and drown. She handed Peren her book bag and carried her night slip in the loo to clean up a bit. She stood in the tub, washed off, rinsed, then dried off, dressed, and headed to bed. She was asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.

On Sunday, Snape was gone when she woke up, and he left the table right after breakfast. Hermione spent the morning in the library, revising. Draco, apparently trying a different track, actually asked if he could sit with her before he sat down. At least he only had Goyle with him, who was struggling with his Muggle Studies assignment. Goyle finally asked Hermione about Muggle public transportation and post, and she did the best she could explaining it to him.

She begged Cillian to allow her to visit Hagrid after lunch to avoid Draco. Not that it did much good. Draco found her after an hour of helping Hagrid in the vegetable garden. The bad news was that he still had Goyle with him. "Oh, look, the Mud..." Goyle started to sneer before Draco glared at him. "Mud is on her face," he said instead.

Cillian simply sat up on his elbows with his legs crossed from where he was relaxing in the sun with Fang.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Hermione asked, sitting back on her heels and brandishing a handful of Hagrid's radishes. "Don't tell me you're here to muck around in the mud." She could see Hagrid coming up from the greenhouses, bringing up a huge bag of dragon dung.

"Don't be ridiculous, Hermione. I came to see what you're up to," Draco said.

"Gardening, what does it look like?" she asked, tilting her head and lifting a hand to protect her eyes from the sun.

Goyle started to say something, and Draco shushed him.

"It's just like Herbology – only outside," she said, pulling up another clump of radishes. "If you're not here to help – you can go away."

"I don't muck around in the mud," Draco said.

"Oh, sod off," she said as she bent back to her work. "Just go away, Draco." She watched Draco scowl from the corner of her eye as she pulled out the last of the radishes. Cillian just rolled on his side, and Fang rolled over, hoping to get his stomach scratched. Goyle knelt down and picked up a clod of dirt. "Just pull out the weeds."

He looked at her skeptically. "I'm not going to weed anything," he sneered.

Hermione laughed softly. "Fine, go on your way, then." She sat up and pointed to a trowel. "Would you please hand me the trowel before you go?" Goyle was staring at the trowel, and Draco was looking at her as if he couldn't believe what she was saying. "Fine. Don't strain yourself." She reached for the tool, still slightly out of her reach.

"Oi, Malfoy, Goyle, wha' you doin' here?" Hagrid asked, hands on his hips and trying to glower at them.

Draco tossed her the trowel. "Watching Granger gardening, what else?"

"If you're here to give her a hard time, ya can clear out," Hagrid said firmly.

"So which ones are the vegetables?" Draco asked, and both Hermione and Goyle looked at him in shock.

Hermione's head dropped, and she sighed. This meant that she had the dubious pleasure of Draco and Goyle's company for the afternoon – without her wand. At least they hadn't hexed her yet. She looked at Cillian, who was trying to hide his smirk by looking at Fang rolling on the grass next to him.

Hermione resigned herself to the fact that the guys were not going to leave her alone. "These are the beets, then peas, broccoli, cabbages, and squashes. Right, Hagrid?"

"Just follow the markers," Hagrid said, eyeing Goyle as he pulled up a weed. "An' don't pull out the vegetables."

"Isn't there a spell for this?" Draco asked, and Cillian barked out a laugh, holding up his hand to wave him off when Draco turned to face him.

Hermione laughed as she continued weeding. "No. You don't have to whip out your wand for everything, you know," she said, smiling as she realized she'd quoted Mrs. Weasley.

Goyle ripped out another weed and tossed it at the rubbish heap. He sat back on his heels and tried to badger Hermione as she worked or drilled her with questions about Muggle stuff, appliances, electricity, and such. But at least he was nicer to Hagrid than he'd ever been before.

Draco simply sat on the grass and watched. After a while, Goyle started hexing bugs, and Draco had started complaining, asking if she was finished yet.

"You can leave at any time, Mr. Malfoy," she said, hoping that they'd leave. Hermione ignored Draco as she continued, chatting with Hagrid as they worked, until her knees and back were hurting. "Hagrid, I think I've done what I can do."

Hagrid looked up and smiled. "Ya nearly finished me job for me! I really appreciate the help."

"No problem, Hagrid," she said, wiping her hands off on a rag he'd offered her. "I'm glad to do it. It was a nice diversion. I'll see you at dinner, all right?"

"Yeah, all right," Hagrid said as Cillian walked up with his wand drawn.

Hermione turned just as Cillian cast a cleaning charm. "Eh, thanks."

"No problem. Shall we go?" he said, stowing his wand. "Hagrid, it's been entertaining. Good night."

"Mr. Gwynek, thanks for lettin' her come," Hagrid said, wiping his hands.

Hermione bristled as she stormed off.

Draco caught up to her first. "I can't believe you wanted to grovel in the dirt with that oaf," he said as they walked up to the castle.

Hermione stopped and turned, facing him with her fists on her hips. "Professor Hagrid isn't an oaf," she snapped at him irritably, "and it's called gardening. Or are you too high and mighty to have an herb garden? I know your Manor house has to have gardens."

"House-elves and garden-elves – ever heard of them?" Draco said sarcastically, and Goyle sniggered.

"Figures," she sighed as she stormed off.

Draco opened the door and watched as Hermione walked in. "So, what are you going to do now?"

She looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "Clean up and go revise in the library."

"Sounds good to me," Draco said, and Goyle groaned.

Hermione groaned too.

~o0o~

Wednesday in the Daily Prophet, the Muggle Registration Commission announced its progress in rooting out unwanted Muggles from wizarding society. The new regulations were apparently a huge success, according to Dolores Umbridge. A large picture in the center of the page showed Umbridge smiling smugly, standing proudly alongside several other wizards from the Ministry. Hermione recognized Ellidora Saldivar as the witch who'd been at Grimmauld Place for a few Order meetings, standing between a Michael Castillo and the new Minister, Pius Thicknesse. Percy Weasley was standing just behind the shoulders of the new Minister and a wizard Hermione recognized from the fight in the Department of Mysteries. A quick look at the caption identified him as Devon Yaxley. The article under the picture stated that Umbridge was still holding the title of Undersecretary for the Minister of Magic, head of the Muggle-born Registration Commission, as well as chairwitch for the Magical Preservation Society, and Yaxley was a member of the Muggle-born Registration Commission in charge of Muggle Infiltration Defense. Hermione set down the paper with a feeling of disgust.

"Anything good?" Ginny asked with a sarcastic glint in her eye as she picked up the paper. She stared at the front page, her eyes narrowing, and her forehead creasing. "Of all the... Just like when she was teaching – two jobs at once, and heading a society and probably only doing them half-arsed!"

"Watch it, Gin," Hermione warned her as MacCavish turned to look at them. Both Ginny and Neville glanced at him and quickly turned their heads. "Talk about another one with too much of a self-superiority complex!" Those around her started snickering.

After breakfast, they walked as slowly as they dared to Muggle Studies. Hermione dreaded the class, mostly because she was constantly picked on and belittled by Alecto Carrow. Hermione had yet to think of the wizard as a true professor, because in her book, any teacher that deliberately taught lies was no teacher at all.

Alecto was standing at the front of the room as they entered. Hermione noticed that she'd hung nineteen full-color posters on the wall, the wizard sort since the ones with clouds and trees in them moved. She took her seat and wondered what lies Alecto had in store for them today. Alecto made a grand sweep of her arm, indicating the posters on her wall. "The nineteen wonders of the world were wizard made. Seven of these the Muggles claim were made by them – they were not."

Hermione groaned and started taking notes.

"These Seven Wonders of the Ancient World," she said, pointing to the posters on the left wall, "were the first known remarkable man-made creations of classical antiquity. The ancient Greeks chose seven of the great achievements and wrote guidebooks on them, which became popular among Hellenic sightseers, and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim. It is well known that the number seven was chosen because the Greeks believed it to be magical."

Hermione ducked her head down to hide her smile. At least she got that right.

"However, ancient texts were wrong on one very important fact. These Seven Wonders of the World were wizard made. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are the first known list of the most remarkable wizard-made creations of classical antiquity. Without wizard ingenuity, these great wonders would not have been created as it took the creativity and knowhow of the greatest wizards of the age to erect. Although history indicates that a vast number of slave labor was used, wizards created and devised the ideas, presented it to their kings and leaders. Wizards in these ancient times were revered, almost equated to gods in their importance..."

Hermione suppressed a groan. Here she goes...

"... even though they do not stand today, records of our ancestral brilliance was carefully recorded." Alecto started to pace in front of the class to ensure that everyone was writing down her comments. "Even the Dark Lord recognizes the importance of the number seven ... There are now several very well written and documented journals from curse breakers on the pyramids and the tombs of the great wizards of Egypt." She turned to walk to the front of the class.

Hermione dipped her quill and continued her notes on Alecto's lecture.

Alecto stopped right in front of Hermione's desk. "So, Mrs. Snape, care to enlighten us on just how these feats were accomplished?"

Hermione looked up and tried to look as confused and innocent as she could. She knew how the archeologists explained how they'd been created, not that she'd dare say it to Alecto. Hermione's father had loved the ancient works and monuments, and he had taken the family to see many of the historical sites around the Mediterranean rim on holiday. "I'm not sure, ma'am," she said as politely as she could.

Draco raised his hand. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy," Alecto said, smiling warmly at Draco.

"I remember reading about a wizard designing the pyramids and the chambers under them. My father has a book we've donated to the library for you."

"Yes, he did, and we thank him for the loan of his precious books," she said with an indulgent smile before turning and waving her hand, indicating the posters on the wall. "These are some of our greatest achievements."

Hermione turned to Draco and quietly whispered, "Thank you for that."

"No problem," he whispered back. "You should read it, you know. It's a copy of a very old tome on Egyptian wizards."

"Mrs. Snape, care to enlighten us on the origins of the Great Sphinx?"

Hermione looked up aghast. "No one knows. Everything written about the Great Sphinx is speculation..."

Alecto narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms, and tapped her fingers in annoyance. "You expect me to believe that the resident Know-It-All doesn't know – doesn't even have a theory?"

Hermione swallowed her nervousness under the irate professor's glare. "I read that the Great Sphinx predates the pyramids, but there isn't any evidence on whom actually..."

"Liar!" Alecto snapped, slapping both of her hands on her desk. "Your name appeared on every one of the lender's cards in the books I confiscated on ancient Egypt. I know that you could tell me what they said from memory."

"I don't know who built it, but I know that the Great Sphinx has the face of pharaoh Khafra..." Hermione said as Alecto glared at her. She forced herself to breathe normally. "I saw a documentary on an archeologist, de Lubicz, who talked about water erosion of the Sphinx, indicating that it dated back five thousand years to the Early Dynastic Period, and another man, I think his name is... Smooch, no, Schoch, a professor of geology and natural science..."

"How dare you talk about Muggle lies in my class!" Alecto snarled as she stood up. "Twenty points from Gryffindor." She smiled benignly. "Every Gryffindor will write me an essay on the origins of the great monuments of Egypt due next week."

Neville reached over and squeezed her knee. "It's all right; I always wanted to know everything there is in the library on the Sphinx."

"Ten more points, Mr. Longbottom," Alecto said from across the room. "For interrupting my lecture."

Hermione wanted to bang her head on the desk, but wouldn't give Alecto the satisfaction.

If Muggle Studies was aggravating, Defense was downright torture. Amycus Carrow had started teaching the use of the body modifying hexes and jinxes, demonstrating them on Hermione, Lavender, Neville, and Seamus, which made all the Gryffindors angry and the Slytherins snicker. Amycus paired everyone off, matching Nott with Lavender, Goyle with Seamus, and Draco with Neville, which left Hermione standing facing Crabbe. By the end of class, she'd been hit with both the Barnacle Hex and Wart-horn Hex and had to spend the rest of the day in the hospital wing.

~o0o~

When Hermione arrived to lunch the next day, she found out from Seamus that Rowle, Travers, and MacCavish had been trying to weed out which seventh-years might be up for the Dark Lord's recruitment. He was proud to say that not one Gryffindor had indicated any interest, but Michael Corner had said that there were two in Ravenclaw that had.

Hermione followed Ginny and Neville up to Gryffindor tower with Cillian following in their wake. She plopped down on the couch by the fire and sighed in contentment. Being in the Gryffindor common room was like being home, even with her bodyguard sitting at her side in an armchair he'd pulled over from a table.

Jack Sloper walked over and tossed a copy of the Daily Prophet on her lap. "Why is it that you get to be here and Colin can't?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Hermione sat up and turned to look at him. "I'm here because I was sent here..."

"You are a Muggle-born – everybody knows it, and yet you haven't registered for the Muggle Registration Commission," Jenny Wang stated, standing next to Jack.

Hermione was confused. "I have no idea – I'm sure I'm registered. Professor Snape would have..." She turned to look at Cillian, who only shrugged.

"I don't know if you are or not. The Dark Lord knows about you, so that's all that matters where you're concerned," Cillian said nonchalantly.

"And you!" Sloper turned on Seamus, who was sitting at the other end of the couch with Ginny, reading one of the books Draco's dad had donated to the library. Seamus looked up, his expression like someone who felt like a cornered chicken. "We all know you're dad's a Muggle – Lavender told us you'd said so. Your father is a Muggle, and your mum's a witch. You told everyone your first year."

Seamus, Ginny, and Hermione turned around to glare at Lavender, who buried her face in her hand and leaned over her essay.

Seamus turned to face his accusers. "I had to register! Just like everyone did."

"But anyone with a Muggle parent wasn't allowed back in school. How'd you get in?" Jack asked.

Seamus jumped to his feet and told Jack to 'bugger off,' then stomped off to his room. Ginny and Neville jumped to their feet, told Jack to mind his own business, and ran after Seamus.

"He's a half-blood!" Jack shouted after them, then turned on Hermione. "And you – you're a Muggle-born!"

"I know that! So does everybody, apparently," Hermione snapped, immediately regretting her reaction. She stood and faced Jack. "Jack, what's this all about? What's happened? Why..."

"They attacked their house!" Jenny said, tears starting to roll down her face.

Hermione reached out and touched her arm. "Whose house?" She had an idea, but hoped she was wrong. Jenny and Colin were good friends...

"Colin and Dennis!! They were attacked!" Jenny cried, her tears now streaming down her cheeks.

Hermione grasped both of the girl's arms. "Who told you? How do you know?"

Jack handed Hermione a page torn out of The Sun. Colin had written a note on a page of the paper, which showed a picture of a house burning. Hermione quickly scanned the article. "He got out! He's okay." She sighed with relief, but Jenny was sobbing uncontrollably. Hermione took her in her arms and held her. "It's okay. It says that they got out – Colin, Dennis, and his dad are all right!"

Cillian handed Jenny a handkerchief. "He's on the run now. They found his house. It was protected by the Ministry, and now he's in hiding."

"You will hear from him, I know it. Colin's a tough little guy, and he, his brother and father go camping all the time! He'll be fine," Hermione tried to reassure her.

"You think so?" Jenny asked, ceasing sobbing, although a few tears still escaped down her cheek.

"Yes, I know so," Hermione said. "Don't blame Seamus for Colin. It's not his fault. And if Colin was here instead of Seamus, and Seamus' house was attacked, he wouldn't blame anyone but Voldemort."

Cillian hissed and glared at her. Jenny nodded, and Jack dropped his arms and sighed. "You're right," Jack said, his shoulders sagging.

"Now excuse me, okay?" Hermione turned and hurried after her friends, Cillian right behind her. Hermione stopped on the landing and held up her hand. "What do you think I'm gonna do – fly out of the window? I'm just going to see if Seamus is all right, then I'll come back down. Okay?"

Cillian glared at her, then shrugged. "Fine. Don't be long. If I see any sheets tied together hanging out of the window – Severus is going to lose a wife because I'll kill you myself!"

"No climbing out of the window, I promise." Hermione entered the room, and Seamus walked over to her. "Did you tell him?"

"Tell him what?" Hermione asked.

"About me mum and dad," Seamus asked, crossing his arms.

"I didn't say anything!" she exclaimed. "Seamus, I haven't said anything about anyone's parentage! Who am I to accuse anyone of their blood or lineage?" Hermione reached out and laid a hand on his. "Jenny and Jack got a message from Colin saying that his house was attacked. Jenny is upset – they both are – but not at you. This whole thing, the Muggle-born registration – it's preposterous and has everyone scared for their friends, that's all." Hermione let go of his hand as Seamus dropped his arms. "So, you had to register? Was it bad?"

"Look, yes, I lied on my registration – well, sort of lied!" he confessed. "I found out that my mum lied to me – or she's now lying to everyone else and is claiming that my dad... She said my father isn't my legitimate dad, okay? Happy?"

Hermione sat down at the foot of one of the beds, Ginny clung to a bedpost, and Neville sat on the foot of a bed on the other side as Seamus paced. "Look, I was afraid this summer, the raids and all. We were hit, taken to the Ministry, and my mum told them that my father isn't my father – but a stepdad – a bloody stepdad," he said, pacing a few times then fell to his knees in the middle of the room. "She said that she didn't know who my real father was because she was raped by a Death Eater and didn't know him. They believed her. Gods, I don't know if it's true or not because she's sticking to her story! I'm so afraid – afraid that she's telling the truth – or that she's not, and they will find out! And that Cillian – he's one of them – if he finds out..."

"He won't – not from me," Hermione said, slipping to the floor beside him. "Besides, they must have believed your story – you're here."

"Yeah, mate, you're safe here," Neville said, sitting next to Seamus and putting a hand on his shoulder. "As long as your mum and dad are okay, that is. Are they?"

Seamus nodded. "I think so."

"Where's your dad?" Ginny asked from where she clutched a bedpost.

"Germany," Seamus said softly. "We have friends there, and my dad speaks the language well enough. Mum forged papers and a passport, and he got a job over there..."

"So, your family is okay then?" Hermione asked, and Seamus shrugged noncommittally.

"I think Dad is, for now. But Germany isn't that far away. And Mum is being watched," he said.

Hermione gave his hand a squeeze. "I'm sure they're all right. Think positive and hopefully all this will come to a head soon, and the war will be over."

Seamus turned and looked at her, then suddenly hugged her. "Thank you." Hermione hugged him back.

"Careful, mate! She's married to Severus Snape – not that he's the jealous type or anything... but he's a Death Eater and wicked smart when it comes to curses and potions," Neville said, patting Seamus on the back. "Hate to have you poisoned or anything."

Seamus looked up at him and made a weak smile. "Thanks – all of you."

~o0o~

Hermione returned to the Headmaster's suite from double Herbology to find Peren upset that Crookshanks had escaped from the Headmaster's tower. Peren was really distraught, threatening to slam her ears in the door for letting the cat escape. Hermione adamantly forbid Peren from hurting herself. "He probably just got confused and wandered to the Gryffindor tower. It was his home for six years, after all. Tell Cillian to meet me there," Hermione said, cast a quick cleaning charm on her robes and hurried out the door to go get her cat.

As Hermione rounded the corner on the seventh floor, she nearly collided with MacCavish who was standing in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, threatening to damage her canvas if she wouldn't allow him in. "You," he snapped at Hermione before she had a chance to back away unnoticed.

"Yes," she replied, suddenly realizing she was alone. Violet hurriedly left the portrait, and the Fat Lady tried to tuck herself into the side of her frame.

"What is the password?" he snarled, walking up to her.

She knew that Neville changed the password each night to keep him out, but wasn't sure if MacCavish knew this or not. "It's brunnera folli," she said as he advanced on her.

"Liar," he spat. Hermione backed up, seeing Crabbe enter the hall. "That was last night's. I want today's."

"If it's not, then I don't know it either," she insisted, feeling a sense of both relief and annoyance as Draco scooted to a halt a few feet away.

"Malfoy, Crabbe, what are you two doing here?" MacCavish snarled. "Slumming are we?"

"Granger, come here," Malfoy snapped. "For your information, MacCavish, I was told to. That's all you need to know."

"Spoilt prat you are, Malfoy," MacCavish said, turning on Draco. Hermione eased away from MacCavish, although that meant getting closer to Crabbe. "You don't have Daddy here, boy, to stand up for you."

"I don't need my father to stand up for me, MacCavish. I'm capable of handling things myself." Draco stepped further into the corridor. "Granger. Here. Now." Other Gryffindors were beginning to congregate in the corridor, but no one was willing to go near the Fat Lady with MacCavish standing so close to her.

"What is going on here?" Snape asked, forcing his way through the crowd. Cillian was only a few steps behind him, forcing his way through the students too.

"Snape, I was just asking your wife what the password is when Malfoy and Crabbe showed up," MacCavish stated.

Snape looked from Hermione to Draco and Crabbe and back to MacCavish slowly, his face stony. "I fail to see why, MacCavish, you'd need the password at this time of day when the students are mostly finishing classes and getting themselves ready for dinner. Whom did you wish to see so urgently it couldn't wait until dinner?" he asked smoothly.

MacCavish looked over the crowd of faces. "I was looking for the seventh years," he said gruffly.

"Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Finnegan, come here," Snape called out over everyone's heads. A murmur broke out as everyone turned to look around for Neville and Seamus. "It appears, MacCavish, that Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Finnegan are not present. Unless, of course, you were referring to Miss Brown, Miss. Enfield, or Miss Patil."

MacCavish eyed Snape suspiciously, his hand clenching and unclenching in annoyance. "I have my directions, and I wanted to talk to the seventh years," he stated again. "Why is that boy always changing the password?"

"It's what the prefects do, MacCavish. They change the passwords so that only those who are in the house know how to get into the dorm rooms," Snape said coolly.

"What are you doing here then?" MacCavish asked defiantly.

Snape straightened, standing with his shoulders back, his hands holding the edges of his robes as he slowly crossed his arms. "I was informed that my wife was on her way here to see her friend, Miss Weasley," he said smoothly. "And as you can see, here she is." Hermione walked over to his side, but Snape never took his eyes off of MacCavish. "Mr. Malfoy, will you please escort Mrs. Snape to my office. If you see Miss Weasley on the way, take her as well."

Hermione bristled under his tone, wanting to get in the Gryffindor tower to search for Crookshanks. "But I..."

"Now," Snape's voice wasn't a whisper, but it was so low to nearly be inaudible to anyone not standing as close to him as she was. He turned to the first Gryffindor standing closest to him. "You! Go find Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Finnegan. Inform them that Mr. MacCavish would like a word." The girl, a second year, nodded and took off running.

Draco reached out and tugged on Hermione's sleeve. "C'mon, let's go."

Hermione could see Snape and Cillian still talking to MacCavish as the students starting filing in through the portrait hole. Reluctantly, she followed Draco.

"You like getting into trouble, don't you?" Draco said when they were out of earshot.

"Pardon me?" she asked, still worried about Crooks.

"You heard me," he said. Hermione was stunned. There wasn't a trace of sarcasm or sneering in his tone. "Why'd you go running off? Haven't you been told that you're not well liked around here? How many times do you need to run into these guys to realize they don't like you? Or don't you remember what they did to you?"

Hermione gasped, realizing he was referring to the night she'd landed at Snape's feet. She didn't want to admit that she didn't remember much of what happened that night. "They..." she started to say and closed her mouth. "It was dark and they had their masks on."

"Not according to my dad. But having the Cruciatus used on you repeatedly can really make it hard to see straight, I imagine. Or the Extremus Gelidus, that's MacCavish's favorite one. He likes seeing his victims' skin turn blue." Draco's jaw clenched and relaxed as he walked along beside her.

Hermione grimaced too, remembering watching Draco's reaction to the spell when she'd watched his defense lesson at Snape's house.

"Or should I remind you of their... other diversions and entertainments," he added, and she felt the blood drain from her face.

Draco grabbed her elbow to steady her. She steadied herself and pulled her arm from his grasp. "I just don't get why..."

"Why what?" Draco sneered. "Why they hate you? You represent everything they are against! What part of that don't you understand?"

"I realize that they hate Muggle-borns. You do too, as I recall. But I can't help what I am," Hermione said, shaking her head. "I don't know why they are here, especially since the girls are all uncomfortable with them."

"They are here for recruiting," Draco said as he followed her down the stairs.

"Intimidation and lecherous behavior won't gain many to trust them enough to be recruited," she pointed out, stopping at the stone gargoyle. "You do know that the girls are all complaining about their behavior toward them?" Draco didn't answer her. Hermione shook her head. "Verbiascumn," she told the gargoyle and trudged up the stairs, fully aware that Draco followed her. She sat down on a chair staring at the Sorting Hat and Sword on the top of the bookshelf behind Snape's desk. "You do know that it's a blind prejudice, don't you? I mean, I didn't ask to be a witch, it is just something that I am. I didn't really even know I was a witch until I got my Hogwarts letter. I knew I could do magic and all, but I just thought it was psychokinetic or telekinetic ability."

"What is that?" Draco asked.

"How Muggles explain unusual abilities. Well, unusual for them. Making things happen with your mind like, distorting or moving objects, bending things, changing its color, starting fires, making things enlarge or vanish, all the stuff I was doing when I was a kid." She turned to look at Draco. "I started reading everything I could on the paranormal, trying to figure out what I was doing and why."

"You could do it because you're a witch," Draco stated, confused.

"But no one told me I was a witch until I was eleven," she said. "You've known your whole life you're a wizard. Imagine not knowing, having to rationalize out why you did stuff, and your parents didn't have the answers. Imagine having your brussel sprouts shoot across the room and out the window, and your mum getting angry because you didn't eat them. Or how about having your hair turning blue because you hate how it looked one day, or setting fire to the bath water because you didn't want to take a bath, or making the neighbor's dog's legs shrink so it couldn't chase you anymore, or moving the car a few inches so you could get your ball back. At school, I made a toy truck hit a boy that was bullying me, made the red paint squirt all over Jack Nelson because he teased me about my painting. I made the erasers fly across the classroom, bent the bowl of a silver spoon so it would fit in a container, and melded the crayons back together when John Tiswell broke them. I remember playing dodge ball, and the ball would jet off away from me without touching me. And when someone saw me do that, they called me a freak and ran away because it's not considered normal."

Draco shrugged.

"Because to you, all of this is normal," she said, trying to make him understand. "I saw some boys throwing water balloons at Jenny's cat and made the balloons all burst in their faces. I was startled in the greengrocer by a man and made several cans erupt all over him, coating him in tomato paste. I made books, toys, or the cookie jar fly to me when I was frustrated that I couldn't reach them. I slammed doors from across the room, made glass shatter, broke a vase without touching it, and made things fall off shelves or the mantel, just because I was angry. I made the toaster fly into the dishwater once from across the kitchen because the toast was burning, and I was afraid of the smoke. I levitated my bed when I had nightmares, could light candles by wanting them to, and my parents didn't know why I could do these things. For you it was easy – you had explanations. I didn't."

Draco was quiet as he listened to her. "What did your parents do?"

"Tried to teach me to control my temper so I wouldn't do those things," she said. "What else could they do? In the end, I think they were relieved when Mrs. Bakalchuk came to the house with my Hogwarts letter and the pamphlet from the Ministry explaining it all. They were glad I was coming here, to a place where I could learn to control my abilities."

Draco looked away from her, staring at the wall. When he didn't say anything for a while, Hermione figured he just felt she was nutters and believed the things Professor Carrow said in Muggle Studies. "I'm hungry," she said, breaking the silence. "Should we go to the Great Hall?"

"Yeah," he said, getting up quickly, leading the way out. Draco was quiet all the way to the Entrance Hall. "I did some of those things too."

"But you had parents that knew why you were doing them. Your mum didn't try to come up with explanations of scientific reasoning, and tell you to suppress it, that you were unique, did she?" Hermione asked. "That you were bad for acting out and not just crying like a normal kid."

Draco pulled her to the side to let others pass. "It's the same for us. My parents scolded me for doing things."

Hermione snorted a laugh. "Right, like you weren't praised when you started showing magical abilities? Draco, what I wouldn't have given to have been told at three that..."

"Three?" he asked incredulously. "You were doing magic at three?"

"Yes, three. Little things, like making objects come to me, move away, or fly. I used to make my toys move," she said, wondering why he was surprised. "I used to frighten the babysitters so much that my parents had a hard time finding people to sit with me when they went out."

He was looking at her oddly. "Let's get inside," he said turning to go. He held the door for her and walked off toward the Slytherin table without saying anything more to her.

~o0o~

For the next two weeks, reports of more attacks, Muggle-borns being brought in to the Ministry for questioning, or being arrested were reported in the Prophet. Luna and Ginny were hanging around Hermione more, either in the library or the Headmaster's suite. Neville was more subdued, and Seamus was spending his free time with Neville and the girls. Jack Sloper, Janilynn Waithe, and Jenny Wang were really sorry for what happened, Jenny most of all, and they were frequently seen with Neville and Seamus whenever possible with their schedules. Breanna Enfield joined them frequently as well. In all appearances, Jack and Jenny had made friends with Ginny and they were seen frequently together or with friends her friends.

Seamus was also seen frequently in the corridors or in the library with Geraldine Smothers. Gerald Summerby and Ernie Macmillan from Hufflepuff, and Terry Boot and Michael Corner from Ravenclaw were frequently hanging out with Hermione, Neville, and Seamus. Neville was seen holding hands and talking to Hannah, and Susan joined them frequently. Occasionally with Terry Boot, Michael Corner, and Claudia Ramirez, a pretty Spanish girl from Ravenclaw, who was rumored to be seeing Gerald, were seen hanging around Hannah and Neville as well.

Luna was appearing to be getting quite friendly with Michael Corner, and Susan, it was rumored, was seeing Terry. All in all, it appeared to be nothing more than budding romances between houses and new friendships developing, except Hermione was starting to see a pattern. And if she was, she was certain then that Cillian was seeing it too, although she had no idea if he knew the significance of the pairings.

She drafted a note to Neville, passing it to him in Herbology, telling him that he and Seamus were not playing the spy game very well if she could easily see what they were up to.

The following week, her friends were obviously trying to be much more discreet, although the new pairs of boyfriends and girlfriends were still seen frequently enough. Hermione knew that neither Seamus nor Neville had given up on the DA, but in all appearances, they were just making it look as if everyone now had friends and girlfriends, or boyfriends, in other houses.

~~o0o~~

Author's notes:

Things are getting worse outside of Hogwarts, although they aren't any better in the castle either.

Sorry this took so long to update. I've been busy – I know typical excuse – and really just needed a rainy day to sit down and type!