Breaking the Curse

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o 44 o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Breaking the Curse

"So, what did he say?" Ginny asked as soon as Hermione returned to the dorm room after her last lesson.

"He was angry at first about us using his improvements on the potions, but he eventually came around. If you and I want to, we can validate any of his other improvements of the potions in his book," Hermione said, walking over to her friend.

"You have got to be kidding me! He said any of them? Smashing! Bloody smashing!" Ginny said, grasping Hermione's hands.

"Yeah, he said that you and I could choose any of the revisions of the potions out of his Advanced Potion Making, and validate them. We are to be excused from the normal curriculum and put in independent study," Hermione stated. Ginny was so elated, her smile so large that it made Hermione laugh. "I'm supposed to see if you'll accept his conditions and terms."

"Oh yeah, I will! That's bloody brilliant! I'd agree to it even if he were to ask me to brew them naked!" Ginny exclaimed and then blushed. "Well, maybe not naked, but I will definitely agree to his terms!"

"I'll let Severus know you agree," Hermione said, smirking as she got up and walked over to her own bed. "We are to meet with him tonight, I assume after dinner."

"So now that we've taken care for that, what have the two of you decided about Christmas?" Ginny asked, following her.

Hermione plopped down on her bed. "I suggested that we spend half of Christmas Eve with his great-grandfather, and then come over to Grimmauld Place and spend Christmas with you and Harry, that's if Harry will agree to have Severus in his house."

"Oh, I can talk Harry into that," Ginny said, sitting down next to her. "Besides, Harry wants to find out more about his mum."

"Oh, I think I can talk Severus into that," Hermione parroted with a smirk. "If it's all right, I'd like us to spend the night Christmas Eve. That way you and I can get ready for the Malfoys' party together, and then we can all go together... well, that's if Harry agrees."

Ginny chuckled. "You know it's fine with me – and I'm sure I can convince him. What about the rest of the week?" she asked hopefully. "Where are you going to stay?"

Hermione huffed and scooted back on her bed as she said, "He wants me to stay with him at his place or here at the castle," and crossed her legs.

"Oh, okay. So, when did you want to go to his place and make it livable?" Ginny asked, smirking at her. "We can go tomorrow? You did say that it needed a Weasley's touch, didn't you?"

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Hermione asked, sighing when Ginny said no. Hermione reached for her revision guide off her bedside table to check her schedule. "Well, I can't tomorrow; I have revision with Lawrence... my essay assignments..." She looked up and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm really behind with all the added work on the potions... Not to mention we agreed to spend our evenings with Severus and Professor Reynolds for the rest of this week. How about if we go on Saturday?"

"That sounds good to me."

Hermione jotted it down and set her revision guide aside. She pulled out a piece of paper and a quill to draft a letter to Mr. Prince to suggest that she and Severus come spend Christmas Eve with him. She read her letter and then promptly crumpled it up. It seemed too impudent somehow. She did the same with the second attempt. No matter how she worded the letter, it read like an imposition – imposing on a man she hardly knew and had only met once.

*

For the next three days, Ginny and Hermione spent their revision breaks with Severus in the NE.W.T. Potions lab, working on the potions, and they met with Reginald and Severus each night, learning the revealing spell to break through the Bedydrian Curse. The actual charm they wanted to use wasn't terribly hard to do as far as revealing charms went, and both Ginny and Hermione managed to learn it rather quickly – it was simply very difficult to control. Reginald was quite impressed with the girls' strength and ability, but Severus remained skeptical. Individually the girls could perform the charm, but once the three wand cores merged, he wasn't sure they could handle the added strain that would be necessary.

Two days later, Reginald and Severus actually had an argument over Severus' reluctance to allow the girls to try the charm on the cursed directions. "This version of the curse is much stronger than any the students will face in class," he insisted, ignoring both girl's expressions as he faced off with Reginald.

"Even Professor Weasley says that the girls are now as adept with the charm as any Curse Breaker at Gringotts," Reginald argued, "and Professor Botcher and Professor Flitwick both say that both girls are well past N.E.W.T. level standard with the spell."

Hermione could tell that Severus was hardly convinced.

"And once the wand cores merge, the strength of the spell could increase by tenfold," Severus snapped. He turned toward the girls as he crossed his arms and looked down his nose at them, just as he used to do in his classroom when about to reprimand them. As he stared at each of them, Hermione held her ground, looking at him with as much self-assuredness and determination as she possessed, as did Ginny. "Hermione, Ginevra, you'll have to maintain the spell and your concentration – be completely determined and steadfast. The magical conversion will dramatically magnify the magical energy almost to the point of breaking you and your wand."

Hermione opened her mouth to say that they were sufficiently determined, as did Ginny, but he cut them off before either could respond to him. "Just because you can do the charm on an object I've cursed doesn't mean you can do it successfully on these directions. Reginald can shield us, but the backlash of this curse can kill you if you terminate the charm too quickly."

"Yes, Severus, I know. We've gone over this every night. Ease off the spell by relaxing our intent so it is released slowly," Ginny said. "We've done this numerous times in Charms."

"They can do this, Severus."

Severus stared at each girl in turn, and both returned his gaze with confidence. He finally relaxed his stance. "All right."

Hermione could hardly believe they were actually going to do this, but he motioned for them to stand around the square table Severus had transfigured from a desk. Reginald stood facing Master Gruener's journal with a magical quill and parchment by his side. Severus faced him, with Hermione on his right and Ginny on his left. All four pointed their wands. Severus, Ginny, and Hermione cast the revealing charm, allowing their spells to connect just as Reginald cast the shield to protect them.

A bright light glowed on the page and bounced back to each wand tip, turning an ice blue as the cores created a three-sided inverted pyramid connecting them. Hermione held her concentration on the page, breathing evenly and ignoring everything around her, including Reginald murmuring the translation as the quill wrote down his every word.

Sweat beaded on Hermione's brow and dripped down her back as she held onto the spell. The light seemed to intensify, not so much as to blind her, but she could feel the immense power of the convergence from the three cores surging through her wand, and she forced her hand to remain steady.

"Now, pull back," Reginald said finally, breaking through her intense concentration. "I've got it, pull back."

Hermione began to relax her determination, allowing her intent on the spell to lax and fade, and, as the shield charm intensified, she let go, releasing the charm. Unfortunately, a flare of bright light leapt upward, and the glare of the light left a huge white spot blinding her vision. As if in a dream, she saw Severus swing his wand arm toward the wall, and the window and part of the wall exploded, and she smelled smoke, heard Ginny cry out... Visions of the battles she fought in the castle during the war flashed in her mind.

Hermione felt exhausted, completely drained, her heart pounding in her ears and a dull throbbing behind her eyes. She swayed on her feet and felt strong hands grab her arms, preventing her from swooning altogether. Nevertheless, she felt like she was falling as Severus gently pushed her to step backwards, making her legs bump into the edge of a seat.

"Sit, Hermione," Severus said, his voice stern with concern.

She complied, collapsing onto the seat. She felt Severus' presence beside her as she rested her head on what she assumed was the back of a sofa as she breathed deeply, willing her headache to go away so she could think.

"Mrs. Potter, sit," she heard Reginald say to her left. "You girls are sleeping in the hospital tonight," was the last thing Hermione heard before her body relaxed into oblivion.

~*~

It was quiet. Too quiet.

And dark.

As if she was alone in a huge space all to herself. Or dead.

No, she wasn't dead because she was breathing, and moving, and she could smell the intoxicating scent of lavender, patchouli, citrus, and mint.

She was on a mattress – a bed. A large, dark, comfortable bed.

Her sleep-addled mind slowly realized it wasn't her bed. This bed was extremely comfortable, and the bedding covering her body was plush, the sheets soft and warm. Her naked body...

She inhaled in surprise. I don't sleep naked!

The bed moved as something beside her shifted, lifting the covers away from her.

Ohmygods! She wasn't alone. Who?

Hermione opened her eyes slowly when her mind registered that there was now a hand on her forehead. Even in the darkness she could see that the bed she was lying on was huge and the heavy bed hangings were drawn closed. Yet, very little light passed through the heavy bed hangings, hardly enough to let her see anything. She turned her head to see if it was Severus lying beside her. She could just make out the outline of his body and was surprised to see him propped up on his elbow, watching her. It was unsettling. She could barely make out his head; it was like he was headless. Black hair, she reminded herself. He always lets his hair obscure his face.

I'm in his bed, she rationalized, and then was startled when she realized, In the Headmaster's bed!

"Good morning," he said softly, his smooth voice even more velvety in the silence. Even with the covers now tented due to his position, her shoulders and chest felt warm.

"Morning," she answered. She shifted, turning slightly to see him better, and realized that she still had on her knickers. "How? I mean, I can guess how, but... Why am I here? The last thing I remember was something about the sleeping in the hospital wing..."

"You let go of the charm too quickly, Hermione," he said as his hand crept up her middle. "You and Ginevra were hit with the backlash. Not too badly, Reginald is a strong wizard. He shielded most of it off you and Ginevra, but you broke it off too soon. Ginevra is fine; she didn't get quite as much of the backlash as you did. She's in the hospital, but I chose to take care of you myself." His fingers slid leisurely up her cleavage and around one breast.

"How?" she asked and inhaled sharply when his fingers brushed across her nipple before he started another circle on her flesh.

"A solution in the eyes, a potion and a spell to draw off the curse," he said smoothly, watching the movement of his fingers as if her breasts fascinated him. "Not necessarily in that order. You've been asleep for few days so you could fully recover." He moved away suddenly, and she felt bereft of the warmth from his touch. He turned back toward her, holding his wand over her. "Tell me if this hurts. Candere aliquantulus." His wand started to glow softly. "Pain?"

"No," Hermione said.

"Lustro candere," he said, and the tip of his wand grew slightly brighter, making her squint.

"Lumos," he said softly. "Now?"

She tried to open them again, only managing to squint because the light had become brighter still and closed her eyes. "Yes, well, not painful but it's too bright," she stated. The glow lessened, and she opened her eyes, noticing that the light had become only a small pinpoint. He leaned over her to watch her eyes, checking the pupil reaction as he moved his wand side to side.

"Nox. You'll need to be in filtered light today," he stated, turning to set his wand down. "I'll shroud the windows, but you're staying here."

She heard the scrape of something on wood. "Here? As in your bed?" she asked, feeling uncomfortable because the covers now exposed her to her navel, and she tried to pull them up more. She was being silly and knew it. She'd seen him nude, but this was uncomfortable for her.

"Here, as in my room, but yes, here." He rolled back, making the covers slide down again, now pooling at his waist, as he held a cup for her. "Drink. It's the potion for your eyes." She drank the potion and handed back the cup.

He rolled away again, pulling the covers with him, and she resisted the urge to pull them up again.

"But my eyes...?"

He rolled back to face her. "Your eyes will be fine. There is no permanent damage from the curse, thankfully, but you're still too sensitive to light. You only need a bit more time to heal fully or I wouldn't do this..." He cupped her face and leaned forward, his lips barely brushing hers. She tilted her face up, and his lips caressed hers with more ardor.

"Should we be doing this?" she asked.

He laughed softly. "Except for your sensitivity to light, there is nothing wrong with you." His arm wrapped around her, drawing her closer to his body, his chest hairs tickling her nipples in a delicious way. He stretched his body out beside hers, and she now knew that he was, indeed, nude. His fingers stroked her cheek tenderly. "Do you honestly think I'd do anything to harm you? That if there was even the slightest possible risk to your health that I'd take advantage of the circumstances and push myself on you for my personal needs?"

She shook her head. "No. No, you wouldn't."

"No, I would not," he said and kissed her tenderly again. His lips made light, sensual motions over hers in the most tantalizing way, and she responded back to him, semi-consciously craving more.

Her hands landed on his chest, and she inadvertently rubbed her thumb across his nipple, making him hiss in pleasure from the touch. Curious, she did it again, smiling as he growled softly, the sound sending shivers through her. His tongue sought entrance to her mouth, so she let him deepen the kiss. His hand roamed freely on her skin as they kissed, caressing and kneading the flesh on her hip and back up to her breasts.

Emboldened, she explored his body with her fingertips, tracing his pectorals, the taut flesh over his ribs, the firm abdominals. She ran her fingernails through his chest hairs and followed the line of hairs down to where his leg lay over hers.

She felt a bit of moisture on her skin, and reached down to touch it. He inhaled against her mouth as her fingers brushed the top of his penis, which stuck out from beneath his leg.

"Don't do that," he said, nipping on her bottom lip, "or I'll..." as she slid her hand down his thigh and back up, sliding her fingertips on the small head again. "Merlin, woman." He shifted his leg off her, saying, "Go head and touch," silkily, which made her hand slide from his thigh to his penis that now lay heavily, fully engorged against her.

She stroked his length, feeling the foreskin move with her hand, pleased to hear him moan with pleasure from her touch. She entangled her fingertips in his pubic hair, then stroked him softly back up his length, and back down. His pubic hair was much courser to the touch, such a contrast to the velvety soft skin on his rigid cock.

"Minx, continue to do that and I won't restrain myself," he growled lustily in her ear and licked the edge of her ear with the tip of his tongue. She angled her head, still stroking him, aroused by the feel of his lips below her ear and neck and the caress of his hand on her breast. He moved, bending away from her, and she strained to keep her fingers on his soft velvety skin on his rigid organ.

He rose again and reached for his wand. "Globus illuminate," he murmured, and a tiny orb floated from his wand, emitting a pale peach glow that barely illuminated the small space but thankfully didn't bother her eyes. "Better," he said with a smirk and lowered his mouth to her breast, suckling her nipple as his hand continued to knead her flesh.

His position only allowed her to touch the top half of his penis. She closed her eyes, her hands roaming idly on his shoulders, arms, and stroking his hair, enjoying the sensations as his mouth trailed warm kisses in a straight path down her front, smoothed by his nose, and the tickle of his hair.

"I have to stop," he said with a heavy sigh, almost panting as she reached up to kiss his lips, pleading, "Why did you stop?"

"Because I – I want," he struggled to say. "Gods, I want you," he growled, moving away, holding himself up on all fours above her.

"You said it won't hurt me, didn't you?" she asked, surprising herself at how much she hated the fact he was pulling away.

"Yes. I don't know..." He rested his forehead on hers. "Are you sure? I won't if you..."

"If it hurts, you'd stop, right?" she asked as she gently slid her hands down his front, staring into his lust-filled eyes. The fire in them sent a pleasing thrum through her. Her heart was pounding, she felt needy, and she wanted to continue.

"Of course," he said with an incredulous smirk. "I told you that I would never..."

She cut him off by placing a finger on his lips to silence him. "I know. I don't want to – I liked it. Please, if it hurts, I'll say so."

"You're sure?" he asked, and she nodded, smiling as his look changed from disbelief to pure unadulterated desire. He lowered his head and kissed her. His kiss intensified as he caressed her body, seeking her core. With no time at all, he had her writhing under him with just his hand and his mouth, pleading with him to actually touch her.

He urged her to move her legs, and she opened up for him, shifting so his legs were between hers. He eased into her slowly and drew back out, making her hiss at the loss when he withdrew. "Am I hurting you?" he asked tenderly.

"No," she said, shaking her head.

"Good," he replied, entering her again, making his movements slow and sensual. His fingers stimulated her as he moved, his kisses firm but not forceful.

Hermione stroked his skin, feeling the muscles of his body contract and relax as he moved. "Hmmm yes,' she murmured as the tension deep inside her built. He responded by increasing his tempo slightly, kissing her more ardently, and her body responded in kind. The first wave of her orgasm built up gradually, rolling though her, then increasing again, straining to release again and then came crashing through her being. Severus plunged into her repeatedly as he watched her face. He slammed into her finally as her climax ebbed, his arms locked straight as he leaned over her with his eyes closed and his teeth clenched. She watched fascinated at the look of euphoric bliss until his eyes opened and he stared down at her.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked, concern replacing the content look that had only been there for a second.

"No," she replied, wincing as he withdrew. He looked at her, regarding her intently. "I – it hurt when you pulled out."

He laughed softly and said, "Well, I can't stay inside you forever,'' as he moved to lie down next to her.

"Don't you have to get up?" she asked, not knowing what time it was.

"I'm not leaving this bed as long as you're in it," he growled contentedly, hugging her tighter. "I'll call for Mispy to bring food when you're hungry."

"I'm hungry – well, thirsty actually," she replied softly. "I'd also like to take a bath."

He kissed her temple. "Not a bad idea, a bath." He lifted his head and called out, "Mispy," then lay back down.

A soft pop broke the silence, and the curtains opened just enough to allow a tray with a tea service to float in and settle on the end of the bed.

"Your breakfast," Severus said as he sat up and pointed his wand upward. Another tiny orb floated from his wand to hover at the top of the canopy, increasing the amount of light in a soft illumination, but still not enough to bother her eyes. Hermione sat up and smiled at the plate of deviled eggs with tiny stuffed pastries in the centers, sliced fruit, and crumpets with jam the house-elf had prepared for them.

~S~

Hermione spent the day with him. The bath had been nice. Severus had shrouded the windows and created two pale glow orbs like the ones in the bedroom so she'd been able to see. She'd become bored about noon, even though they'd made love again after lunch. He'd dosed her with a mild sleeping potion when he'd given her the second dose of her Visio-Videre Potion for her sight.

While Hermione slept, he went to check on Ginevra, and then he'd gone down to see Reginald about the translation. Reginald of course, wanted to repeat the charms on Master Kirkwell Ogden's journal and Severus' old book. Severus knew that the old tome might not abide the onslaught of the spells, and he didn't want to repeat the spells anyway because the risk of permanently harming the girls, especially Hermione, was too great.

The two wizards' discussion had become coolly heated, and each had dug in their heels. Reginald wanted to teach the girls how to control the strength of their magic so they could try again. Severus didn't want to take the risk, but although he knew that Reginald was right, so was he. Neither Hermione nor Ginny knew how to control the strength of their magic when slowly releasing the spell. If they were to repeat the charms on another source, possibly two or three, he'd have to teach them how to control their magic. Which he knew he was going to have to do anyway. Reginald's argument was logical; it wasn't that they couldn't do the spell, they were just inexperienced, and needed more training.

There was no evading the reality; they needed the girls' help, or he'd have to bring someone else in on the project – actually two more – and that wasn't an option. There wasn't anyone else Severus knew that he trusted enough or wanted to have involved. Severus hated having to rely on others, and he was loath to risk someone he loved just over a potion. If, and only if he agreed to let the girls try the spells again – which was really the only solution – and if the girls learned how to moderate their strength, would he allow them to try the spell again.

But he refused to do the spells on his old book. Three days ago it had been obstinate when Hermione tried to open it to show the version of the potion to Reginald. It had clamped itself shut, and lay stubbornly on the enlarged coffee table, even though it had allowed Hermione to touch it without repercussions. The book was temperamental, and Severus knew for certain that it would definitely defend itself against Ginevra. However, when he'd suggested using Malfoy's copy instead of his old Potions book, Reginald had scoffed at him, pointing out that neither could pay the amount Lucius would want for compensation.

By the evening Hermione had felt better, enough to allow soft glow orbs to emit enough light for her read by, which both pleased and saddened Severus. However, she'd insisted on reading the translation of the Médousa Potion Reginald had made, which had only spurred an argument between them. She'd even suggested repeating the spell on two or more translations for comparative reasons, which had made him even angrier.

He'd hated to admit it, she'd made very good arguments for doing the other texts, many of the same logical arguments that Reginald had used. However, this was the second time she'd been hurt by the Bedydrian Curse and both times she'd been lucky.

He knew that he'd have to teach her. But he'd wait a week. And Merlin help Reginald if he thought to try coaching her before he thought she was ready.

By morning, Poppy had declared that Hermione was well enough to return to her lessons, which meant she'd be leaving him for the Gryffindor tower.

Severus was in a bad mood at breakfast and his temper was short. He needed to find an outlet for his anger or he'd really say something he'd regret and alienate Hermione, which, considering how well things were going, finally, he couldn't risk happening...

He needed to hex something.

~S~

Severus led the group down Bulbarrow Hill, away from the antenna tower toward Fifehead Stoke and stopped. He pointed down the lane on the right to a break in a stone wall. He could see the old farmhouse where it stood in the overgrown field. "Adjacent to the side of the house are what had once been the property's small animal stables. Now they are used as kennels for horned horehounds." Severus smirked. To the men beside him, it would look like a field, surrounded by a low rock wall with scattered brush and a few sparse trees. "Believe me or not – that's the house."

"Great," Ron exhaled. "It's like Ilkley Moor."

Auror Blume shook his head. "Nope this time we don't have the advantage we had at Ilkley Moor – we knew what the house looked like from the inside. This one is fully protected by the Fidelius," he stated, and turned to face Ron. "Well, Weasley?"

Ron turned to face the group. "Right. We can't see it, but we know it's there. So, we're going in blind, well, except for Snape. Our best bet is to force out any occupants. From what Snape has informed us, there could be Dark artifacts and foe glasses on the premises, not to mention the dogs." Ron knelt down and drew a square in the dirt. "Thanks to Snape, we have a vague idea of what the layout is, so if we cast the Manifesto Charm on the house and kennels from all four sides," he stated, drawing four arrows, "that should help. We won't be able to see the house, but we'll see the distortion of the spells in our peripheral vision and where the spells intersect and overlap. Fairley and Hobday, I suggest setting a fire on the field here and directing the smoke directly at the house." He drew a line indicating what he thought could be the back of the house. "I would also suggest Anti-Apparation Charms and a containment spell around the perimeter so the fire stays inside the walls. No need to burn down the village."

Ron turned to look up at Severus. "Since you can see the windows, Plumesmoke might be effective to force them out – if not, it might blind them." Ron got to his feet and looked at the men. "Also, we have to use Heat-Sensing and Locating Charms with our concealment charms so as not to hit each other in the fight. Don't forget Silencing Charm on your boots, but once we're close, they'll know we're here, so look alive."

Blume smiled. "Well, you heard the plan. Bodes, you go with Potter and silence those dogs, Duncan, with Weasley. Headmaster, you're with me. Fairley and Hobday, you're covering the back."

Severus smirked as he disillusioned himself, adding the Heat-Sensing and Locating Charms so the others could see his magical signature. His boots already had the stealth charms. Knowing that the residual of his Dark Mark would allow him to get close to the house before he was detected, he moved swiftly, placing himself near the front of the house, ready to send Plumesmoke into the windows. As soon as the smoke from Fairley's and Hobday's fire could been seen in the sky above the roof, he blasted the glass panes with a flick of his wand and fired the Plumesmoke spell with a quick back swish at each window, dodging the spells fired at him from the now empty window frames.

~MoM~

The Potters' file and the Snape-Granger file, as she'd designated it, now had their own seemingly permanent place on Maggie's desk; in the first slot of her vertical file folder that held all her marriage and magical unions files which were pending confirmation. Even though the file folder was magically enhanced to hold any folder she placed in it, the Potters' and Snape-Granger files took up a whole section all on their own. In fact, they barely fit in the one section anymore.

Usually her five-slot vertical holder was more than adequate to hold all the necessary folders. However, thanks to the reluctance of the Potters to set a wedding date and get married, and that insufferable couple, the Snape-Grangers', persistent disregard of her requests to at least confirm their Bonding, Maggie had been forced to requisition a six-slot holder. If the Potters' supposed engagement continued to linger indefinitely, or the Snape-Granger couple didn't consent to confirm their Bondings, Maggie would soon be forced to request an eight-slot holder. Never had two simple Bonding files grown so thick, although truthfully, the Granger-Snape file was twice the size as the Potter file.

Worse, there were now labels with red seals on both files, the Minister's seal. One label on the Snape-Granger file read: 'indefinite extension for the request of annulment by order of the Minister of Magic.' As if those two are going to get an annulment at this point, she scoffed. Why not just sign my confirmation forms and be done with it. It's not like that wizard will ever marry the girl, or he'd have proposed to her by now.

Beneath the first label was another that read: 'indefinite extension granted for due date of confirmation by order of the Minister of Magic.' Indefinite! As in I will never get this resolved and the bloody folder will be on my desk indefinitely! Six months, three weeks, and six days and still the couple refuse to acknowledge the Bonding!

Even the Marriage and Magical Unions ledger still had the Snape-Grangers listed as 'pending.'

The huge label on the Potter file simply read: 'sealed until further notice of the Minister of Magic.' Sealed. Maggie was forced to have a second file on the Potters for her weekly memos and her reports. Not that her reports ever had much information on the couple. Potter refused to talk to Maggie when she passed him in the corridors, and Miss Hartshorn in the Aurors' office refused to make her an appointment with Mr. Potter, claiming that Mr. Potter declined Maggie's request because he was too busy to take a personal meeting. All Maggie wanted was to confirm the rumor that Harry Potter and his Bonded mate, Ginevra Potter, nee Weasley, would, in fact, be getting engaged or if they ever intended on actually getting married at all in the near future. Or the distant future for that matter. Or if ever.

Maggie hated loose ends.

Still, Rita had let slip over tea at the Lotus Rose Room that Mr. Potter was seen shopping in Hatton Garden Jewellers and Hirschfields, as well as the wizarding jewelers, Bridge and Rundell and infamous Boehmer and Bassenge on Hatton Garden London's Jewellery Quarter. So it was certainly possible that the couple would be engaged soon. If not, Mrs. Potter nee Weasley would be getting a lovely Christmas gift.

Maggie decided that she'd just have watch the entries on the Marriage and Magical Unions ledger very carefully over the next few weeks, especially over the upcoming Christmas holiday.

And if Mr. Potter did in fact propose over the Christmas holiday, the ledger would note the day, place and time of the engagement. She'd be sure to send a discreet letter to her dear friend, Rita.

~H~

"All I'm sayin', Hermione, is that yer not givin' the bloke much of a chance," Hagrid stated, popping a crumb cake into his mouth.

Hermione had gladly accepted his invitation for tea, although she'd brought a basket of finger sandwiches and cakes from the kitchens with her. She closed her eyes for a second as she exhaled slowly, and then looked up into his beetle-black eyes. "It's not that I'm not giving this Bonding a chance; I want to finish school before I'm a married woman. Is it really wrong of me to want to have all my focus on my N.E.W.T.s?"

"Bu' he's your husband, well, Bonded mate, bu' that's the same in most people's book," Hagrid insisted. "He's not your boyfriend, and he shouldn' have ter wait until you finish yer classes."

"I don't see why it's a problem." She supposed this subject was inevitable. They'd covered the latest news on Ron and Harry, Hermione's parents and when she'd go retrieve them from Australia, Hagrid's new pets in the Hogwarts animal pens and the animal exchange with The Edentaggart Magical Creatures Zoo. Now that the conversation had turned to her relationship with Severus, she wished that she'd taken Ginny's offer to practice Charms with her and Luna instead. "Besides, I'm now spending most of my evenings before curfew with him in his sitting room." So far, only Professors McGonagall, Sprout, and Flitwick backed her decision to remain in the Gryffindor tower. Professor Reynolds, of course, thought she should live with Severus. Not that he'd mentioned anything to her; she'd overheard him speaking to Severus about it in the Potions lab.

Fang stood up, facing the door and let out a worried bark. "Wha' is it, Fang?" Hagrid asked, rising to his feet and walking over to the window. Fang scurried for the door and whined.

Hermione jumped down off her chair and followed him as Fang barked again. Hagrid took his crossbow down off its hook. "Yeh wait here, Hermione. I'll go see wha's botherin' Fang."

Hermione drew her wand and peered around Hagrid as he stepped outside. Out on the path, a black-cloaked figure was trudging stooped-shouldered up the hill. "Oh my gods!" Hermione push passed Hagrid and started running with Fang at her heels. Stopping right in front of Severus, gasping at the blood on his face and chest, she asked, "What happened?" and flicked her wand to remove the purplish ash from his robes and hair. "You're bleeding."

"Very astute, my dear," he sneered warily without any venom behind his words as Hermione dug inher pocket for one of his handkerchiefs. "Two more of my old associates and one of the Dark Lord's supporters are behind bars. Rosier, Mulciber and Kolsson are locked up."

"Yeh all righ', Headmaster?" Hagrid asked.

Severus nodded as she handed him a handkerchief, pointing at his cut above his eye. "I'm fine. Sore and bruised mostly. I'll see Madam Pomfrey and turn in," he replied, patting Fang on the head. Hermione pulled on the dog's collar so he wouldn't knock Severus over.

"I'll let Professor McGonagall know yer here," Hagrid replied and turned to run up to the castle. Fang stayed by Severus' side, whining his concern.

"You'd think that beast liked me," he scoffed as he dabbed gently at the cut.

When he lowered his hand to look at the white cloth, Hermione was pleased to see that there wasn't much blood on the handkerchief, which meant that the bleeding was stopping.

"Off with you, dog," he admonished Fang with a half-hearted wave of his arm and winced at the pain. Fang looked confused for a moment, turning first to the hut, then back to Severus, whining as if he wanted to stay. "Oh, you bloody mutt, go home."

"I think he's concerned for you," Hermione said as she wrapped his arm across her shoulder and tried to help support his weight.

He rested his arm across her shoulders, but didn't lean on her. She tightened her arm about him slightly when he stumbled, hoping that she wasn't hurting him. If she was, he made no indication. "You do know that the suffering in silence routine..."

"I'm fine, Hermione, only sore," he reiterated. Beside him, Fang woofed. "Who asked you, you drooling flea bag?" He paused at the foot of the stairs. "Fang, go home now," Severus ordered the dog kindly but firmly. Fang looked up at Severus with huge sad eyes and then reluctantly went back to the hut with his tail between his legs.

"So, I suppose you're a cat person?" Hermione asked, feeling sorry for Fang. The dog was only showing concern after all.

"No," Severus said, leaning on her as he stepped up onto the first step. He looked up and grimaced.

"No?" she asked, lending him support for the next step. "Well, you obviously don't like dogs. Except didn't you once have a puppy?"

He looked down at her upturned face. "Yes, for all of three days," he said and frowned when she tilted her head slightly. "I told you about him; my father found him and demanded that I get rid of him. When I wouldn't, he put him in a burlap sack and tossed him into the river. When I cried, he hit me."

"No!" she exclaimed, her mouth gaping open as she came to an abrupt halt, almost making him stumble. She'd forgotten about that part and couldn't believe the inhumane act he described so coldly. "He didn't?"

"Which, drown my dog or hit me?" Severus stated blandly, limping up the next step. "I assure you he did both."

"What about later?" she asked, bearing his weight as he made the last step to the oak doors. "After your father died... Didn't you ever get another pet?"

He sighed heavily as he looked at the marble staircase. "Nope, always too busy." He drew his wand and made a series of movements with barely muttered incantations. The pulse of his magic seemed to ripple outward throughout the castle. "Hold on," he said and Apparated them to the seventh floor by the stone gargoyle. He cast a similar series of spells, which rippled outward throughout the corridor and seep into the stones.

"I thought you were going to see Madam Pomfrey?" she asked alarmed as he turned to face the gargoyle.

"It's only superficial cuts, Hermione. Most of the injuries are bruises and mended fractures," he said.

"You should be checked out," she persisted.

"I was – at St. Mungo's. I just want to lie down," he said, barking his password at the gargoyle to let him in.

Once they were up in his room, she was at a loss as what to do for him. "I'll draw you a bath," she said as she deposited him on his bed. "Maybe add healing salts to the water."

"Sure – whatever," he said softly as he shrugged out of his robes.

Through the open door Hermione could hear the water running in the tub. When Hermione peered in through the doorway, she saw Mispy adding healing salts to the tub full of hot water.

She turned to see him lying on the bed with his knees hanging over the side, still in his bloody clothes. "Let's get you out of these clothes," she said, starting on his buttons. He simply watched her as she undid each one. There were so many. Finally she pushed open his frock coat and shirt. "Up you go," she said, pushing his clothes off his shoulders as he sat up. He obligingly pulled his arms free of the sleeves and unfastened his trousers as she pulled off his boots. When he was only in his pants, he followed her to the bathroom.

"Join me?" he said, more a question than a statement.

"No, you're hurt. Get in," she said, indicating the tub.

"Join me," he repeated, sliding his pants to his ankles and kicking them off.

Other than the blood that looked like it came from his nose and some bruises, he looked all right, but she wasn't sure. "Do you want me to get something from Madam Pomfrey?" she asked.

He stepped forward and encircled his arms around her. "No. I want you to join me in the bath."

She said no; he persisted.

Hermione used a Dittany ointment on his cuts, pleased to see them heal up nicely as he tried using his kisses to persuade her to join him in the tub. However, she hated the taste and smell of blood on him and refused, not wanting to hurt him any more than he was.

He grew irritated, so she relented.

She washed him off carefully and even washed his hair. Her tender administrations made him laugh, but he relaxed and patiently allowed her to bathe him. Then he washed her, his administrations more sensual and teasing than hers had been, trying to arouse her. It worked. She pulled him from the tub, dried him off with her wand first, then herself, and led him to the bedroom.

He pulled her to the bed and pushed her playfully to lie down. "You're hurt, you should be the one lying down," she protested.

"Do as you're told,'' he growled silkily, widening her legs further apart as his tongue licked her lower lips.

"You don't have to – oh gods!" Hermione bucked upward into his face when his tongue hit her clitoris. He pinned her down, a vibrating chuckle making the act even more stimulating. Her nails dug into his shoulders as the sensations deep inside her intensified. "Please, Severus..."

"Please what?" he purred against her clit, sending deliriously incredible shocks through her nether regions.

"Oh. Gods. Severus..." she pleaded incoherently as the first waves of her orgasm hit. "Oh, please..." He chuckled again, unrelenting on his delicious torture, making her body shiver and tighten as another wave crashed through her. "No, please..."

He looked up, his thumb making rolling circles on her overly sensitive nub. "You want me to stop?" he asked silkily.

"No, not really, just give me a minute," she pleaded.

"No. I have a better idea," he said, rising so his face hovered over hers. He clasped her thigh with one hand, bent her knee against his abdomen and buried himself in her in one forceful stroke as his mouth claimed hers.

She tasted herself on his lips, and his coarse pubic hairs were both ticklish and abrasive on her sensitive nub as he moved within her. Her nails dug into his skin when she grasped his arms and pleaded, "Oh, no, oh, please," over and over as the intensity deep within her surged, tightened, ebbed to the pit of her core and then expanded. His thrusts changed from long even strokes to hard pounding ones, and the assault sent Hermione reeling into oblivion, tears falling from the corner of her eyes as she cried out his name.

He thrust into her hard several times, a feral grunt escaping though his clenched teeth as he buried himself fully and held her in place.

He finally relaxed, let go of her leg as he stretched out beside her and pulled her to him.

They missed dinner altogether, and neither minded.

*

Hermione leaned over the large desk, her palms flat on either side of the Médousa Potion Reginald had given her – an exact copy of the directions he'd made from their attempt at breaking the curse. Beside her lay the parchment with the copies she had from Master Gruener's and Master Ogden's journals. The only difference was that only three lines were off on the new copy, as opposed to the five in Master Gruener's copy or Master Ogden's.

One line, which, now that it was lined up properly, told them the full preparation of the ingredient but not the ingredient itself. There was something that was crossed out and smudged. The second and third lines simply had gaps, spaces where words were missing and the sentence continued on the next line... like a misprint. She checked the version in Severus' old book that lay peacefully on the desk in front of her. The copy in the book matched the version the four of them had created but without the smudges and scribbles the journals had.

She'd used the old blackboard in the unused classroom to write down the potions directions. She'd already had Severus' version from Master Gruener's journal copied on the blackboard in green, and Master Ogden's copy in blue. She'd turned the parts that matched to yellow and used a charm to move the parts that varied to the sides so that which was still written in blue was on the left side of the board and the green on the right.

The version from Severus' old book was then added in orange. Because of her charm, the parts that matched the yellow glowed and stayed yellow. The parts that matched Master Gruener's journal in green turned brown, and the parts that matched Master Ogden's copy turned purple. Hermione then compared the new version to the one on her board; most of it matched up with the version in Severus' book – almost all of it – except for three lines. Where the book had gaps on those three lines, the new version had scribbles and smudges...

She could well understand the men's frustrations. Spread out on the desk was her notes, the copies from the blackboard in Reginald's office, and copies of Severus' notes. But she knew that somehow, Master Gruener had figured it out, and it was there, right under their noses. She wasn't as certain about Master Ogden's copy, however; except that Reginald was absolutely certain that Master Ogden had solved the mystery of the missing potion ingredients.

She picked up the two parchments and accidentally gave herself a paper cut. "Damn," she swore, dropping the parchments as she stuck her finger in her mouth. She checked her finger. She was lucky; the cut didn't look that deep. She picked up the Master Gruener's version of the Médousa Potion as she compared it to their new one and the one in Severus' old book.

"Why didn't the missing parts show up?" she asked, her gaze flicking from the parchment to the colored writing on the board. Sighing in frustration, she traced one of the partial lines on the page of the book with her finger. She stopped and tapped on the missing part. She gasped as tiny splotches of her blood marred the parchment, only to disappear as the number 1,000 appeared along with the words seeds and then faded. Gasping Hermione stared at the page. You have to be kidding me! Blood?!

She milked her finger, making a small bit of blood seep from her paper cut. She held her bloody finger on the parchment over another partial line, and asked, "Please, show me another?" as she gently stroked the missing part on the page. Like before her blood stayed only a second before the words, six drops of, with a space, then tears appeared and faded. She milked her finger again, making a large drop form and tried again, this time the parchment read: six drops of Aquila's tears.

She stared at the blackboard, amazed at what might be a tremendous breakthrough, although she had no idea who or what Aquila was. She tried to get her finger to bleed again, but only managed a teeny bit of blood. Sighing, she rubbed it into the third missing part. The blood soaked in and uepike roe, appeared then faded.

She wrote the words on the board in pink where the old book had shown them to her and stood back. It was still incomplete, and it still didn't make any sense, but her eyes were starting to strain. She quickly jotted down the addition in the margins of her copy.

She checked her watch and decided to give up for the night. She collected her things, being especially careful with the old tome, and headed for her dorm room. She still had reading to do, and she wanted to finish her Transfiguration essay before bed. She also had a letter to write to Mr. Prince, one she'd found to be terribly difficult, suggesting she and Severus be invited to his house Christmas Eve. Sighing, she realized that she couldn't put it off too much longer.

*

Severus had gone to see Reginald and was on his way back to his office when he saw Hermione pause to carefully close the door to an old classroom. He checked his watch and noted that it was four minutes until the upper-years' curfew... What is she doing here at this time of night when she should be in her common room or her dorm room?

Curiosity as to what she'd been doing in the room, and with whom, made him aim his wand at the space in the corridor. He whispered, Humanus manifestare, frowning when only her form revealed itself. He aimed the spell down the Corridor in the opposite direction, revealing nothing. She's alone. This isn't a liaison.

He watched Hermione trudge up the stairs to the seventh floor. She looked fatigued. There was chalk dust on her robe sleeves in blue, yellow and green – not the usual colors used by the professors.

Now fully intrigued, he approached the door and tried the latch, smirking when he'd found it locked. He cast a simple nonverbal, 'Alohomora,' then the stronger, 'Unloken,' to open the door. He lifted his wand and said, "Lumos," as he entered the room. It was empty. The desks and chairs were pushed to the wall with the exception of the larger professor's desk that sat in the middle of the room. But it was the blackboard that caught his attention.

The addition of 'one thousand seeds', that she'd written in pink fit one line well enough, but the 'six drops of Aquila's tears' on the next line made no sense at all as did the two partial words, 'uepike roe.' However, it was definitely intriguing... But not exactly correct.

He ran through a mental list of all the seeds used as ingredients in potions that fit with the preparation indicated and came up empty. He and Reginald had tried them all, although not in such quantity. One thousand seeds was a fairly high number for some seeds, and usually seeds were measured by weight if they were small such as poppy or mustard seeds. Reginald and I have already exhausted this...

He also had no idea who or what Aquila was. "Where did you come up with that?" he asked softly, shaking his head. Besides, six tears from any creature were hardly enough.

With research, Hermione was commendable. Not so with speculation and experimental theory. Still, he admired her persistence.

He turned to leave, locking the door behind him, and walked back to the dungeons.

~ T B C ~>

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