Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Holly Evans and the Spiral Path
Crimes Born of Passion
1 reviewHolly loses her Quidditch spot but gains Hermione; Lupin tells a tale
5Original
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related concepts are owned by someone who isn't me. I will never seek or accept money for the circulation of this work.
Author's Note: it is entirely possible that with this chapter I will either double or halve my audience. Contains references to underage same-sex sexing and sexy sex talk about sex. Also, I'm getting a lot of practice typing 'tongue' and 'squick'. More info at the bottom.
Holly Evans and the Spiral Path
Chapter 19: Crimes Born of Passion
2nd November, 1993
Harry,
This is just weird, but I suppose it should be mentioned. I was sitting with Hermione as she was recovering, and I was teasing her about being curry-colored enough to join the Oompa-Loompas. She whispered that she was happy enough not having a 'badly-rendered spider-shaped winestain on her forehead' like Professor Garvin and stuck her tongue out at me, so I stuck my tongue out at her. Her eyes immediately goggled and she quickly clamped her hands over my mouth.
"Yu cnt pssbly be ffnded by ths! Yu wr jst dng it, tu!"
Hermione's rasping loud whisper almost sent me into fits of giggling. "Holly! Look at your tongue in the mirror!"
Hermione let go and handed me the hand mirror from her bedside table, then took a deep gulp of water to ease her throat. I did a typical doctor's office inspection move.
"BLAAAAGH!"
"Holly!"
I finally got why she was hyperventilating. The end of my tongue is split for the last inch or so. I can actually cross the two tips like fingers.
"What do you think this means, Holly?"
"It means that Parseltongue has certain physical requirements, which is probably why it can't be taught. It also means I'll never have to buy drinks for myself in the muggle world except in tattoo shops."
"And that you shouldn't stick your tongue out at anybody!"
"Hermione, do you honestly think I don't already freak the locals? The Little Whinging constabulary is convinced I'm a criminal mastermind for all the theft I accomplish there while stuck in Scotland. I'm the scapegoat of Surrey. BLAAAAGH!"
She laughed but it sounded like a cartoony snicker. I pray that her voice returns to normal soon. I miss her voice.
Holly
*
6th November, 1993
During my run the night before last, it occurred to me that I almost lost Hermione- yeah, I know; 'Duh!'. Rather than it stirring up my thoughts with plots for revenge, I've been suffering a panic attack of sorts. I don't know if I could care enough about morals and ethics not to go on a rampage if I lost her now. I would have made sure Pansy's death shocked the nation, and I would have made sure to rape her mind for her co-conspirators if brought to that level of despair. Thankfully Hermione didn't die and Pansy is once again suffering in hospital much longer than she probably expected, as she's still there two weeks later. After I had worked out the timing, I realised that my punch didn't shatter Pansy's ocular orbit- that was administered later. Since her care under Poppy includes instructions that she not be allowed visitors or healing magics, I have to take this as Snape's version of just punishment while still retaining control of the power-politics lesson. If Pansy keeps crossing me like this I might finally smash her face into some semblance of beauty. It's a hobby project. For now, it looks like she's auditioning to be a cross-gender Quasimodo. She's not the real criminal, though. This scale remains unbalanced until more telling information comes to light. What I realised by the end of my run though, is that I'm not sure Hermione knows how much she means to me. Or to the survival of the human race. I needed to tell her.
Want to know how my first attempt went? We aren't speaking.
It started less-than-innocently enough. Hermione and I were looking over the Marauder's Map yesterday while monitoring our brewing in Myrtle's lavatory-laboratory, trying to understand how the Map tracks the various students. We discovered a few interesting things. For one, Flitwick's office does not reveal its occupants- we actually saw Professor Flitwick appear just outside his door and then disappear (no doubt going back for something he forgot) before reappearing a minute later and start to head to his classroom. Whatever monitoring charms make the Map work, the Marauders never tagged his sanctum, unlike the Headmaster's office or Prof McG's rooms. What was more interesting at that moment however was that the Prefects have an unusually large bath, at the time occupied by Oliver Wood and Timothy Dibny. Depending on when you looked at the names, Oliver's study partner looked to be occupied by Wood as well.
Hermione tried to find a less-compromising reason for their dots to overlap within the rugby-team-sized bath.
"Perhaps Oliver is teaching Timothy to swim?"
"I don't doubt there are breathing exercises in progress."
"Holly!"
"What? Why do you insist that this isn't exactly what it looks like?"
"Well, I realise Oliver is ...that way but I just...I would expect..."
"And how do you know Oliver is 'that way' anyway?"
"Well, when I was partly cat-minded, he was entirely unresponsive to my pheromones. How did you figure it out?"
I decided to forego confessing my sifting indiscretion and give the more defensible explanation.
"All evidence before us aside? Well, they've both seemed to be less affected by the Dementor chill than any other Gryffindor boys I've observed. It just makes sense from there."
"Still, they shouldn't be doing ...that. Certainly not in the Prefect's bath!"
"I'm sure they put up charms and sealed the door. Why are you squicking?"
"Why am I what?"
"Squicking. A squeamish ick-response. When something you see or hear about offends your comfortable reality enough that you feel like you're sucking on one of Professor Dumb's lemon drops too hard. Like this!"
I scrunched up my face and lips in that exaggerated sour flavor reaction you see cartoon characters make.
"Holly, there is no such word. Use another."
"This one works fine, thank you."
"You can't simply make up words! There must be a word or phrase that describes that without making up something that sounds so ...silly!"
"You may be experiencing squick as we speak."
"No I am not! Simply because there is no such thing!"
"Oh, surely! I can even expand its use! Squickiness; an event or series of events that induce squick! Squick squawk: wherein a person audibly responds to their squick with a squeak!"
Hermione stood up from our worktable and turned toward me, placing her hands at her hips to let me know she had a Declaration.
"Language isn't like that!"
I stood up as well, as form demanded.
"Have you been in the same Runes class I have? Language is exactly like that! Before there was writing, there was "Oooh!" which meant 'Good' and "Aaah!" which meant 'Run or we'll be eaten!'. Then some brilliant male proto-ape said "Uhhhhh, heh, heh" which meant 'Hey, baby can I plow your flower patch?'. Language evolved right then as the female proto-apes got together to figure out how to rate him as a prospect. With each nuance that was undefined, they had to invent a new word to distinguish a new meaning. So long as they all agreed "Unk-Unk" meant 'too many parasites', they were communicating. It only took a few generations for the males to catch on."
Hermione shut her eyes tightly and started to shake her head slowly.
"This offends me on so many levels."
I moved forward and put my hand on her shoulder.
"I feel your squick, sister."
Hermione glared at me and growled in frustration, clear indication that I was winning. That's when I started taunting her a little.
"Squick, squickem, squicker, squick-squicking, squick squickum!"
Hermione started to smile slightly, but her frustration was still evident.
"I am never letting you watch my cartoons again! I almost could accept it if you were just using it ...onomatopoetically!"
Hermione expelled a great sigh, as if she was releasing some pent up emotions. What really caught my attention was that a shudder passed through her. She was getting excited by this! I had to make sure.
"Wow. Nine syllables. Feel better?"
I moved close to her without touching her aside from where my chin almost rested on her shoulder and whispered "Maybe a little randy?"
Hermione closed her eyes, trying to fend off her rising embarrassment. She really was turned on by this discussion! I was getting warm myself, knowing how I was affecting her, so I moved forward with abandon (actually it was a step to the left) and kissed her. It was firm but gentle. A simple placing of my lips against hers. When Hermione realised she was being kissed, her lips softened slightly and our kiss became deeper. I was amazed and charged up so I wrapped my arms around her middle and kept kissing her. Hermione sorta woke up a little and gasped, opening up her lips to release her warm sweet breath into my mouth, which just goaded me to go further. I stretched my tongue to lightly graze her teeth and then reach to tickle the roof of her mouth. Hermione responded by moving her own tongue to touch mine, and our kiss started to become fervent. All during this, she had lifted her arms into an aborted gesture of defense, and they stayed frozen that way until after a minute of our breathless deep-kissing she stepped back away from me and moved her hands to touch her lips.
Her eyes were wide with shock. She stared into my eyes, but I couldn't tell what she was feeling. One tentative reach of my Legilimency was shut down as she blinked forcibly.
I tried to use humor to recover the moment. It was a bad choice.
"So, are you feeling ...squick?
"Uhhh, I ...I have to ...go. Somewhere."
And then Hermione turned and walked quickly out of the room, her fingers still touching her lips. I watched her leave, frozen from reacting by her sudden departure. I remember feeling tears that streamed down both sides of my face reaching my chin at the same time to drop to the stone floor. I slumped down, deciding to join them.
That was the good part.
The bad part happened when we tried to discuss things this morning in Myrtle's lab. It was a short discussion. I was already in a bit of a snit, but Hermione just pushed all the wrong buttons.
"Holly, we shouldn't."
There was an empty pause. Hermione was looking down and I was puttering with ingredients.
"You'll have to be more specific Hermione. Which of our illegal activities should we be stopping?"
"We shouldn't...we can't be...(Sigh). You shouldn't have kissed me."
"I was expressing my feelings, as were you."
"Well, we can be forgiven for some youthful experimentation, but..."
I tossed the trimming knife to the cutting board and turned to face her.
"I thought you were concerned with illegal activities. This isn't even that!"
"The kiss wasn't illegal but if we go any farther..."
"Like you want to..."
"I don't want to! Or at least, I know I'm not supposed to want to."
"Is this your conviction or someone else's?"
"It's simply wrong! You know it, too."
I stepped forward to look at Hermione in the eyes.
"I know it? Why would I know it? I haven't been given a decent education on morals, ethics or proper behavior, as I was deemed a lost soul. My guide is entirely internal- everything else has been instruction manuals. I can't believe you are so entrenched into your pedestrian thinking that you can't even consider the possibility that you can enjoy ...b-being in love with me!"
"Are you suggesting I'm not smart enough to be a lesbian?"
Admittedly, this was a bad time for my whimsy to show up.
"Yknow, I've noticed most of the lesbians here are Ravenclaws..."
"Oooh! You know, with your upbringing, I shouldn't be surprised that your sexual identity has gotten confused..."
Which is when hurricane Holly finally reached full twist.
"IF you are about to suggest that the Dursleys have damaged me so much that I can't love properly, I will slap you HARDER than I did in front of the bookstore, when you were letting Lockhart's smile MELT YOUR BRAIN!"
Hermione gasped and raised her hand tenderly to her cheek, as if she could still feel the sting of that slap. Her look at me made me realise that at times, I frighten Hermione. She ran from the room and I haven't seen her the rest of the day. Somehow I can't bring myself to use the Map to look for her. Tomorrow's Saturday and the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. If she shows up, we may be able to repair this. If not...
If not...
Despair, with a possible chance of Armageddon.
Holly
*
8th November, 1993
Dear Harry,
If you were given the opportunity to give up something you enjoy for just the chance at getting something you want, would you take it? I would. I did. I didn't know that was the choice I was making, but I'm finding I regret the outcome less and less. I am banned from playing Quidditch competitively for the rest of my life, and Hermione gave me a kiss. Most of the trades I've made in my life are like that- it seems unfair on the objective analysis, but I know I got what was important to me. Hermione once suggested that I may have goblin blood, but I countered that my deals aren't grossly uneven to my side, so it'd have to be very thin blood. We were teasing then, so she suggested that it might explain my height as well.
At the start of our Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, my spirit was close to breaking. I hadn't seen Hermione in the stands and the twins said that they thought she was in the library. Given she has the Turner right now, that was hardly proof that she wasn't planning on attending, but I couldn't find her and it was wearing on my soul.
The Hufflepuff matches tend to be more tactical, as their sense of fair play precludes them from taking desperate measures to damage the opposing players, and by tacit agreement we Gryffindors play by their style rather than use the advantage that aggressive play would give us. That puts more pressure on the seekers to catch the snitch quickly, as Hufflepuff teamwork is second to none. I was doing my level best to fulfill that need while still finding myself distracted trying to search the stands and edge of the turf for Hermione. I had nearly lost the snitch to Diggory twice that way, but snapped to the chase in time to intercept his run well enough for the snitch to switch out of our reach and disappear again. We were both circling upward as the last path of escape had led away from the ground when I felt the cold chill approach of a flight of Dementors. At the same time, I saw the snitch buzzing about 15 yards away and decided to forego subtlety and shoot straight for it. Diggory also caught sight of our golden target, but by then the Dementors were swooping in on me. I spiraled and swooped down evading their pursuit until I was able to settle down to a landing on the turf, the flight of Dementors having veered off. I was desperate to get an opportunity to clear my head of all the memories of screaming, but my teammates had other ideas. Two chasers plus Oliver all surrounded me, along with the Hufflepuff beaters and one of their chasers, and they all started arguing with each other and with Referee Rolanda as she had flown over to see what the ruckus was about.
There was such a cacophony of noise and emotion and all I wanted to do was go hunt down Hermione. I heard Angelina Johnson bellowing away and it just ...prompted an unexpected response.
"...you stupid flat-chested twat we haven't called a time out and Diggory's gonna get the snitch!"
"Oh for Hedwig's sake, just...COME HERE!"
I later found out that no one heard me say that; it came out as a bunch of clicks and a screech. That sorta makes sense, because the snitch then zipped straight into my hand. Everyone just sat stunned looking at the golden mcguffin twitching in my palm, but I had looked back to follow the course of its approach only to see that Cedric was looking at first frustrated, then frightened. I tossed the snitch aside and rocketed full blast away from the stunned crowd of players straight at Diggory, or rather, at the Dementor that was pulling Cedric's head back to suck out his soul. I learned a few things about...oh...three seconds later; Dementors should not to be grappled, as they are mostly insubstantial except for the cloak, face and claws. Also, if you are able to get a grip on them, the chill feels like falling into ice water because you are actually being frozen. One other thing- when you are being frozen by a Dementor, you often lose your grip on important things, like your broom.
End result; the Dementor was flying-tackled away from Cedric who escaped unharmed, my broom went awry and was snapped into pieces when it vectored too close to the Whomping Willow, and I'll be defrosting in hospital for a few days, having been caught from arcing 150 feet into the forest at 120 mph to my death by the Headmaster's bellowed Arresto Momentum. That's a spell I want to know- Physics? By your leave!
The twins swung by to inform me of my lifetime ban from Quidditch. My snitch-summoning has prompted a new wave of Holly-is-a-Dark-Practitioner press as most folk see wandless summoning as proof of advanced evil-ness training. Hearing that, I gave up on trying to convince anyone that it wasn't wandless magic but bird-speak; either way I'd have an unbeatable advantage as a Seeker, so I'm done. Why fight the inevitable? I did give the twins my plea to watch over Hermione for the next few days and they left with the Map in hand.
Then Hermione came to see me in hospital. I couldn't give her a stern look if I tried, especially while constantly shivering. Hermione swooped in to grab me in one of her best hugs, and she kept on hugging me and running her hands across my back and over my shoulders, trying to help accelerate my recovery. Finally she leaned back to sit facing me and spoke.
"I was watching Disillusioned from the ground. That was the most amazing thing you did. I can't imagine how much courage you had to have to rush a Dementor, particularly after having faced one before."
"Yeh, I'v-v-v-ve got j-j-just a b-b-b-bit-t m-m-m-more c-courage than s-s-s-s-sense."
"I...should try to see if that's why I'm a Gryffindor, too."
"Howzat?"
"I ...liked your kiss, Holly. I just didn't want to face it, as it meant too many other things."
"It only m-m-means w-w-we like each other, m-m-m-more than f-f-f-f-friends. J-j-j-just that."
"Really? Then I suppose I should let you know how I feel." Hermione leaned in and kissed me with some passion then, though I had to keep my jaw clenched shut. It kinda ruined the experience slightly, if not the meaning.
"Are you alright? You're all tense. Didn't you like it? Oh, I'm no good am I?"
"H'mione, s-s-s-s-stop!"
She just clamped her lips together and gave me a look of worry mixed with a deeper fear I was beginning to understand.
"If-f-f-f I k-k-kis-s-sed you the w-w-w-way I w-w-w-w-want-t-t to, I'd b-b-bite your t-t-t-t-tongue with my ch-ch-chattering."
Hermione smiled then, but then her face shifted into a look of anger.
"Holly, JUST WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING TRYING TO TACKLE A DEMENTOR?!"
Poppy Pomfrey erupted from behind another privacy screen. "That's it! Miss Granger, you must leave now and don't come back until tomorrow!"
Hermione's groaning matched mine.
"Awwwwww!"
"NOW, Miss Granger!"
Hermione left faster than if they said the library was burning. Warning to you; never piss off medical professionals. They know what powers they have and use them whenever they feel the need. It's a truth I'll have to use in the next life, because Poppy hasn't forgiven me yet in this one. I'm scheduled for four scalding sponge baths a day until my lips return to their normal color.
Holly
P.S.: Cedric swung by to thank me for 'saving his life or soul or whatever'. He said the Hufflepuffs have decided that I'm not a Dark Servant or anything. They're sure I'm just insane. He smirked a little then kissed my forehead and left. I admit, I swooned slightly, but Hermione has my heart.
*
12th November, 1993
Harry,
The twins have forgiven me for missing our first Marauders revival meeting on Sunday- they sent me popsicles to wish me well, and I heard Lee announce a dedication to me on the Wireless; 'Ice, Ice, Baby!'. Damned song's been stuck in my head for days now. The meeting was fruitful for us all anyway, as they worked out some details from the Quidditch game that may become important. Hermione took the Compulsion off Fred as it really screwed up his playing; he's got a fairly deep scratch on his throat now, as every time he saw me during play he was Compelled to rub it with a Beater glove or the Bludger Bat. More importantly, Hermione was able to get hold of the snitch and used Scarpin's on it. She detected an enchantment that would give off feelings of pain and fear, enough to attract Dementors to it like a blood trail for a foxhound. I suspect Slytherin involvement but once again lack of proof prevents prosecution. We'll just hold onto this in case we get a chance to match the spell with the owner of the wand that cast it, though I'm skeptical of this playing out meaningfully.
I still needed a replacement broom for quick escapes and the like, so after I was released from hospital I hung out with Ron for an afternoon to decide a balance of cost for acceleration and maneuverability. It turns out Prof McG has a keen eye- I decided on another Nimbus 2000, which I should be able to get used for around 150 galleons. With me off the team, it had to be my money. I just hope Prof McG took the cost of the first one from the school's coffers to satisfy my Basilisk-compensation agreement, as it ran 600 galleons when it was new. Dobby was summoned and when he appeared he looked all healed up for the 1/20th of a second I could see him before he buried his face in my robes, sobbing about how wonderful I was to think of healing him while in the midst of a crisis. I'll never suffer from esteem issues with Dobby around. I sent him with the Galleons and instructions for Florean to please see about buying the desired broom and 20 litres of Strange Chocolate. Last night Dobby reappeared with a broom and another quart container along with a note.
Holly,
My condolences on your Quidditch ban. I have taken the liberty of adding a self-shrinking/restoring charm to this broom. I'm certain it will last longer than your previous one if you watch where you're going a little more carefully.
Florean
P.S.: Chocolate LeStrange is too potent for large batches. Savor the flavor.
I noticed he still took out for five gallons of ice cream, but I don't begrudge him the handling fees.
In other news, Hermione and I have resolved that we are going to use the knowledge of Lupin's lycanthropy to see if we can force him to teach us the Patronus Charm. I was already wanting to learn this, but now Hermione has determined that its instruction is a necessary survival skill so long as Dementors and I occupy the same continent. Now that we've decided, though, the man has become as elusive as smoke. Hermione and I suspect that he may know Legilimency and had picked up our intentions before we were able to corner him. I should say he probably picked up on Hermione's intentions, as both my shields and my thoughts are difficult to penetrate for most anyone. We've resumed Mind Arts practice and Hermione said as much to me after our first session. Since then, I've learned how to lower my guard but still keep certain memories hidden from Hermione's stalking about in my brain. Occasionally I have fed her a memory or a feeling about our experiences together, to help her warm to the idea of becoming closer. She sensed my unsubtle ploy and talked about it with me this morning.
"Holly, I get it. You like me. I'm...flattered. You also mean the world to me."
"But?"
"But I don't think of you that way, or rather I don't think of girls that way. I mean I could feel...but there's no reason...and then there's the book..."
"Hermione, I know I've got you flummoxed when even full sentences become difficult for you."
"I just can't put myself into that role, especially when we're both so young. Why does this have to be resolved now?"
I decided I would step back to work out a better strategy at that point.
"It doesn't. I care for you Hermione. If I seem anxious about expressing it, please understand that it comes from knowing that you almost died a few weeks ago..."
"And you almost died last week! We're even."
"Exactly! No wait, what?"
"We're even! There's no need for you to feel like you owe me anything. We will be close no matter what! Now can we relax and just be friendly?"
"OK, Hermione. It's probably for the best. We'll keep it friendly."
Holly
*
23rd November, 1993
Dear Harry,
Last night, I convinced Hermione that my version of friendly includes her getting multiple orgasms. We made love. It was "GLORIOUS.":http://www.ficwad.com/story/122502
Today, though, we had to work out some issues.
I was awoken with a kiss, but as my eyes focused I could see Hermione was headed to the shower in a dressing gown. When she came back, she was already dressed and handed me the gown to clearly indicate where my next destination lay. After a warm cleansing, I returned to the room to find one of my normal outfits laid out on the bed, and no Hermione. I dressed quickly and headed out to the Great Hall. Hermione was already sitting in front of several plates of food, more than she usually has for breakfast though the porridge and pumpkin juice were set to the side in our usual indication of 'unclean foodstuffs'. I sat down next to her and simply turned to look at my dear friends face. After Hermione finished her current mouthful, she gulped loudly and turned to me.
"Good Morning, Holly. You'll forgive me, but I have a lot on my mind this morning. Perhaps our breakfast should be a quiet affair today."
"O-okay."
She said it very politely and with an upbeat tone, but I knew she needed space. The meal proceeded quietly, and I also found myself downing quite a bit of food. After 20 minutes, Hermione finished her last scraps of egg and turned to look at me, waiting for me to finish my current sample before speaking. With a swallow, I turned to look her in the eyes.
"Holly. Don't ...ever do that to me again."
I was one step from falling to my knees to beg forgiveness, to follow the sinking feeling in my heart.
"...until I ask you to."
I shuddered out my whispered response. "Christ, Hermione! My heart almost shattered!"
"I wouldn't doubt we're both feeling a little fragile."
I reached down to grip her hand in mine.
"I promise, Hermione. Whatever you want. No more, and no less." Tears streamed out of both my eyes just for a moment, and Hermione brushed one off my cheek with the hem of her sleeve. She gave me a wry smile.
"So much has happened. I need time to think. Will you be alright?"
"Yes, Hermione. I think I will." I gave her a hopeful smile and rubbed my eyes.
Hermione didn't say anything else. The rest of breakfast she sat quietly, mulling things over in her mind as she sipped her tea. I left her to her musings as I find watching her expressions quite enjoyable, and I know that pressing her when she's working something in her brain is asking for trouble. We spent our normal class time doing normal things, but barely anything was said that didn't relate to the class we were in. By lunchtime, I was beginning to get concerned, as Hermione grew quieter and more...well...grumpy-looking. Finally, she pulled me aside after lunch saying she needed to ask me something. At first she looked like she wanted to confess something embarrassing, like she forgot her homework or peed her pants. Mostly I was dreading it being a 'this has been a terrible mistake' speech of some sort.
We found a private enough dead end and she nearly worked herself into a hysterical twitch walking back and forth without saying a thing except "I..." about 25 times, alternated with her giving me every kind of look I can imagine. I opened my mouth once to say something that hopefully would help move the conversation along, but she immediately put up her index finger to silence me- this was going to be her show. Hermione usually would stop her pacing to say "I..."
"I..."
"I..."
"I..."
Finally she turned and gave me a look like I had killed her family.
"YOU!"
Hermione rushed over to me to wrap her hands around my head, pull my face up to hers (she's still got four inches on me) and gave me a lovingly deep kiss. My heart melted. We two are one. Lycanthrope Lupin will be the first to face our combined might. But first we had to clean up a little as we both kinda slobbered on each other's faces. Hermione still held my face in her hands when she decided some actual discussion was needed, once we caught our breaths.
"Hoooooo! Alright, Holly. I can't deny this passion any longer. What we did was ...amazing. But it wasn't normal. What did you do?" She let her hands fall to her hips. I was momentarily confused.
"You ...you want me to describe cunni..."
"Magically, Holly! What did you magically do during our ...our..."
"Glorious Expression of Love?" My grin is painful. I'm not used to smiling that much. It's worth it.
"Yes! That! What did you do?"
"I...well, I used a Parsel magic technique I found in this book."
I produced one of my summertime discoveries from my satchel. Hermione looked down at the book, flipped through a few pages and shifted her weight to one hip. I know, because I was watching her hips closely when not staring at her mouth.
"This book doesn't say anything. It just looks like bad shorthand."
"It's called Parsing Parseltongue by John Gaunt, published 1884. It's in Parselscript so Borgin floated it to me for a Galleon. He bought it from Tom Riddle in 1949. Some other bloke, a linguist, bought it and returned it in frustration back in 1983."
"Holly! That's got to be a Dark Arts book! How could you..."
"Give me a little credit Hermione. The historical background section is quite specific about how the Parseltongue talent has been mis-identified throughout European history. The only spells you can do with Parseltongue are a few warding techniques and ...well ...sexual charms and enhancements. I suppose repressed Englishmen would consider that Dark. I've already memorized all 14 of them. There's a whole section about Mesoamerican cultures that Gaunt visited to cull these techniques. There the serpent is honored as a symbol of life and renewal, y'know?"
Hermione finished listening to my dissertation and shuddered. She grasped my shoulder to hold herself steady.
"Okay, I'm both appalled and moist. How do you do this to me?"
I shrugged sympathetically.
"It wouldn't be love if it wasn't confusing."
"So, um ...what did the spell that you used on me do?"
"Well, one allowed me to lengthen my tongue without thickening it overmuch so I wouldn't break your hymen."
"Thanks for that."
"Yah. The other one is a technique for sharing power with the one you love."
"Sharing power? Why would you do that?"
"Well, strictly speaking I've a bit too much of it lately. I've been practising with not speaking spells to help reduce power, but I still haven't gotten it under control, so I figured it would be okay to ...bleed some off to you."
"How much more power are we talking here?"
"Well, up until this morning I could probably take out that stone wall there with the Reducto I used last year to turn my trunk into splinters."
"You're fibbing!"
"Yes, I am. Had you going though!" (No, I'm not. ARRGH! Damned Compulsion!)
We both started giggling, which proved to be a welcome release of some of our tension. Hermione started up our new teasing pattern. You have to use more syllables than the last one used. She usually wins.
"Wench!"
"Hussy!"
"Charlatan! Really, what does it do?"
"Yeah, sorry. The technique just accumulates erotic stimulation fed by my feelings for you until it releases on a delay or trigger. Simple warding stuff turned into ...umm...an orgasm grenade."
"So what I felt.."
"...was all the orgasms I wished I could give you since we started sleeping next to each other in September, more or less, stored in my memories for just such an occasion." Why she couldn't figure I'd need to pass her significant power to pull that off I can't fathom. She may have simply been distracted. Hermione started to faint so I grabbed her into my arms before she could collapse.
"Ohhhhh, I'm moist again. Can we talk about something else?"
"Would you hate me if I said 'no'?"
"Umm, so what is the technique called?"
[pause]
"Holly?"
"Grimjack's ...Jolly ...Rogering."
I gave her the best apologetic smile I could muster. I shouldn't have worried.
"Oooooooohhh. MMMmmmMMM!. Umm...Arithmancy! Yes, Arithmancy! Done your homework, yet?"
"Yeh, that'll be a safe topic."
"Maybe for you...oh, fuck it! Where's the nearest closet?"
I Love Her. And she's becoming an amazing kisser.
We ended up using the Turner to make it for classes after all. My face hurts from all the grinning I'm doing. The firsties of all houses keep doing a headcount whenever they see me. I haven't been arrested so I assume they keep finding everyone. I'm not worried. Even under Veritaserum I could honestly say I hadn't eaten any of them.
Boy, I'm getting ...mouthy.
This afternoon, Hermione joined me in her bed for our second sleep period under the Turner. We held each other closely and with familiarity. Occasional shifts of position that caused the bumping of nipples or hands wandering to sensitive places were giggled away as just enjoyable friendliness. We both slept well, to the point where we almost missed getting up to turn back and attend the late afternoon classes. This is the way I want to live my life; in comfort and cooperation with the woman I love and trust. The rest of you can go fuck off. Sorry Harry, but you know I mean it because it's written in here.
Holly
*
26th November, 1993
Dear Harry,
Why is it whenever I execute some masterful plan, something inevitably sends my intentions off in another direction? I never expected to fight a Basilisk when I went to see Prof McG. I never expected to face big Centaur parts when I was sent to the Forbidden Forest. I certainly wasn't expecting to uncover my family's sordid past just by trying to blackmail Lupin into teaching us the Patronus Charm. Turns out he's almost family. No wonder we don't get along.
We were able to lure Professor Lupin into a private meeting with us by having Hermione ask him nearly hysterically to come look at me, as I'd just expelled several black eggs- the truth is easier than a lie for leverage, especially for Girlscout Granger. They caught up with me huddled in a corner of an empty classroom near the DADA lab, still twitching with the aftershock cramps. Truthfully we hadn't planned it; when I started to feel the urge coming, I quickly spat out that this was as good a plan as any and sent Hermione with fresh images of my unfortunate biology in action to carry her hysteria.
Once they arrived, I was gratified to get quite a reaction from the Professor.
"Wow. Never seen that before. Do you know how this happened?"
At that point Hermione had sealed the room and I was shifting my body away from the eggs to clean myself up and put my bike shorts back on after a quick Tergeo.
"About the same way as the other ten times it did. Accio eggs. Tempus Adversor." I put the eggs into a side pocket of my bookbag.
He actually started to growl.
"Look, you know we wanted to talk with you about something important and now we have your attention. Would you just listen for a bit?"
"GRRrrrrrrrrOPEN the door. You do not want to test me. Open it!"
"Please don't be cross with us Professor, but we know the full moon isn't for three more days. Can we please just talk?"
"Ah, bollocks. It had to be you two. Alright, what do you want to know?"
Here's the tight version: Remus Lupin attended Hogwarts at the same time as James Potter, Lily Evans, Severus Snape, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black. At first, there was an Evans-Snape versus Potter-Black-Pettigrew rivalry, seemingly following lines of blood status. Shortly though, the second group came to the aid of a young mud-blooded werewolf whose curse was being covered up and managed by Albus Dumbledore. The lads took it upon themselves to learn how to be beasts as well, the better to accompany their smarter friend during his monthly terrors. They became Animagi; Potter was a stag, codenamed Prongs, Pettigrew a rat they called Wormtail and Sirius Black was a black dog (if ever Providence and Whimsey stuck together it was this time- of course he was a black dog) codenamed Padfoot. In addition to their altruistic urge to accompany their friend, they had developed a keen desire to sow chaos in the natural order using their gifts, and spent many a night wandering the castle until they had an enchanted map to guide their mischief. Later as they matured, their rivalry with the Evans-Snape partnership took a different turn, as Lily Evans came to aid Remus in managing his curse in a different way; she taught him Occlumency, with much difficulty. This is where Hermione jumped in.
"Ooh! Ooh! I know why it was difficult!"
"Occlumency is a difficult skill in general, Miss Granger."
"If we're doing True Confessions, don't you think you should call us Holly and Hermione?"
"Then you should call me Remus or Moony, but not in class."
"It's better than my current name for you."
"Which is?"
"Oh, Holly don't tell him..."
"Professor Oatmeal."
"As I said, Occlumency is a very difficult skill. It can make you seem emotionless when in constant use."
"Really? Try mine."
"You found a teacher?"
"We're self-taught. Just try me. You have my permission."
The Professor drew his wand and pointed it at me.
Legilimens...thump.
"Good GOD!"
I stood up to walk over to where Professor Lupin was flung back after trying to come in the front door of my mind. "Here's a hand up."
Hermione looked torn between amusement and worry for overwhelming the teacher.
"As I was saying Professor, Occlumency is much harder for you because of your ...condition. Naturally, the art runs contrary to the powerful emotional influence of the Beast within, and it may present problems for Animagi as well..."
"Hermione, you sound like you're quoting again. Skip to the end."
"Well, umm, it sucks to be you, Professor."
I couldn't stop laughing for the next five minutes and only ended because I needed a break to handle another wave of cramps. Lupin took it well after a grumble. Hermione: 5 points, Holly: 3 eggs, Lupin: 0 respect, not even from the Gryffindor sisters.
Back to History of the Marauders:
Lily's additional mentoring of Lupin caused tension from Snape and Potter both, as neither were pleased to see the belle of Hogwarts with a ...creature. This rift caused a refocusing of efforts for all involved. The Marauders took torturing Snape as an overall mission, with Snape returning fire more often than not, Potter took a personal vow to woo Lily to their camp and hopefully his bed, and Lupin stuck with his friends. Eventually Potter won over Lily's affections and Snape retreated to his Slytherin fellows. Roll forward a few years and Lupin was being sent on missions against the Dark Lord, James and Lily tried to make a life together even while aiding the fight, and Peter and Sirius tagged along, with Sirius training as an Auror with James. The night of all the trouble, Sirius betrayed the Potter's secret hideaway to Riddle, Peter caught him out afterwards and Sirius killed him and a bunch of bystanders in a giddy release of magical mayhem, or so the tale is told. Remus wasn't around for any of the last month of drama, and found himself once more without friends in the wake of that terrible night.
"So where do you figure I fit in all this?"
"I really don't know. I wouldn't have guessed that Lily would betray James to the point of bearing someone else's child, though with James in Auror training, a lot could have happened. After retelling this story, I'm finding it hard to believe anyone's behavior was normal back then, except maybe Peter's. I mean, Lily unfaithful? Sirius aligned with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? James unaware of Lily having an early pregnancy? I'd almost believe they held your existence a secret because of the war, but then why let out anything about Harry? It doesn't add up."
"Why are you here now, and not twelve years ago, or three years ago? Once it was known I was Lily's child, didn't you want to meet me?"
"I did, but I was warned away by the Headmaster. Hermione is right; it does suck to be me. I have fewer rights in this world than she does. I'm here now because Dumbledore saw the value in facing one Marauder with another. I'm here to defend you against Sirius Black."
"Thank you for sharing this with me. We would like one other thing, if you wouldn't mind..."
It took some cajoling, but Hermione and I convinced Professor Lupin to teach us the Patronus Charm AND about becoming Animagi. We start training on the Charm next week, but the potions to find your form take about six weeks to prepare, so we won't get to try it out until after the holidays. I'm surprised they aren't in Moste Potente Potions That Brew Like Molasses Runs In Winter.
Holly
*
29th November, 1993
Harry,
Lupin's lessons are good, but this last one he held me back for a discussion of what might best be described as 'unfortunate possibilities'.
"Miss...ahhh...Holly. I wanted to talk with you about some things we didn't cover when you..."
"Blackmailed you, yes?"
"Right. First thing. Those eggs were real, weren't they?"
"Ummm....yes. I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about them."
"Oh, believe me, I won't. It leads me to bring up the next point. You see, I know how hard it is to operate in this world as a Magical Creature rather than a wizarding citizen. Who else knows about these...eggs?"
"Hermione, you, me and Harry."
"Why Harry? More importantly, how Harry?"
"I have a journal given to me by Professor McGonagall that allows me to write in it and what's written shows up in Harry's copy. His doesn't show up in mine, though. Actually, I'm not even sure he reads it, spicy novel that it is. Prof McG also played a prank on me when she gave it to me so that I'm Compelled to write in it regularly. Resisting the urge helped me to build up my basic Occlumency defense."
"That's nearly unprecedented. Minerva pulling a prank...huh. Probably a Protean Charm, that would explain why only one-way. If it were two-way, they could be used to track the match in the set. Anyway, what I wanted you to understand is that you mustn't tell anyone else about these eggs. If you were reclassified as a Magical Creature, you'd lose all your rights and most likely end up deep in the Ministry being poked and tested for the rest of your life."
"Is that the end of your happy news?"
"No, I had another thought but it can wait."
"Oh, please, serve it up happy Oatmeal Man."
"The most logical possibility I can believe is that Sirius Black is your father. I doubt he knows it, or at least he probably didn't know it until he was out in the world to read about you."
"Wow, you are just the harbinger of good times. Have you ever seen Empire Strikes Back? I'm feeling a kinda deja film echo."
"I'm afraid I've really lost touch with the younger generation."
I can just hear it now:
'No, I AM YOUR FATHER!'
'Whatever. Eat sword.'
Holly
*
1st December, 1993
Dear Harry,
Well, for our latest session with Lupin, my progress in turning a white mist into something solid was interrupted by renewed banter about the dirty dog that may be my father. Sirius Black once more made it into the castle and into the Gryffindor dorms, but he ended up being chased out of the 3rd year boys' dorm after Seamus, Neville and Dean woke to find the scraggly fugitive holding Ron over his own bed ranting "Where is he?! Where is he?!" Knowing that Harry would have been a third year leads us to believe that that's his focus in breaking into the castle. I guess even to insane mass-murderers I'm just not that much of a priority. Our guess is that Sirius doesn't know or isn't thinking well enough to reason it out. If he had even that much brain power, he would realise that you wouldn't be bunking with the common folk.
I only bring this stuff up because of a decision I have to make.
Lupin suggested he couldn't guess why Sirius would want to break into the boys dorm if not for Harry, and I followed up by saying "Yeah, there must be an easier way to get a date."
Hermione then piped up "Oh! I was going to remind you to ask Dean for a date!"
Lupin and I looked at each other and then at Hermione. Even he can tell Hermione and I are together, even if the love of my life hasn't quite agreed to it.
"Really. He doesn't seem to be involved with anyone right now, and we have some time. You could go to Hogsmeade...Oh wait, you don't have a signed form. Well, you could offer to spend time with him on Saturday anyway. It should give you both enough time to see if you're compatible."
"Me dating a boy; you actually meant that?"
"YES! And you promised you'd give it a fair attempt."
"Oh. I guess I did at that."
"You did?"
"Stay out of it, Oatmeal."
"Didn't say a thing."
Hermione has the cutest smile when she's enthused. I guess I'm going to go seduce a boy. It's like a quest.
Holly
*
Spiral Tangent: Please read Tangent '"9311 - Glorious":http://www.ficwad.com/story/122502' for details on H&H's first intimate encounter. There is humor along with the erotica.
Author's Note: I apologise for anachronistically referencing The Emperor's New Groove during Holly's 'squick' speech. Just assume Hermione has some other, British cartoon involving squirrel-speak in her collection at home that Holly saw while crashing at the Grangers.
John Gaunt could have simply been the ancestor of the Little Hangleton Gaunts until I referenced Grimjack. That character was invented by John Ostrander and while he wasn't a Parseltongue or born in the 19th century in the comics, the way Cynosure works he may be the same character anyway.
Author's Note: it is entirely possible that with this chapter I will either double or halve my audience. Contains references to underage same-sex sexing and sexy sex talk about sex. Also, I'm getting a lot of practice typing 'tongue' and 'squick'. More info at the bottom.
Holly Evans and the Spiral Path
Chapter 19: Crimes Born of Passion
2nd November, 1993
Harry,
This is just weird, but I suppose it should be mentioned. I was sitting with Hermione as she was recovering, and I was teasing her about being curry-colored enough to join the Oompa-Loompas. She whispered that she was happy enough not having a 'badly-rendered spider-shaped winestain on her forehead' like Professor Garvin and stuck her tongue out at me, so I stuck my tongue out at her. Her eyes immediately goggled and she quickly clamped her hands over my mouth.
"Yu cnt pssbly be ffnded by ths! Yu wr jst dng it, tu!"
Hermione's rasping loud whisper almost sent me into fits of giggling. "Holly! Look at your tongue in the mirror!"
Hermione let go and handed me the hand mirror from her bedside table, then took a deep gulp of water to ease her throat. I did a typical doctor's office inspection move.
"BLAAAAGH!"
"Holly!"
I finally got why she was hyperventilating. The end of my tongue is split for the last inch or so. I can actually cross the two tips like fingers.
"What do you think this means, Holly?"
"It means that Parseltongue has certain physical requirements, which is probably why it can't be taught. It also means I'll never have to buy drinks for myself in the muggle world except in tattoo shops."
"And that you shouldn't stick your tongue out at anybody!"
"Hermione, do you honestly think I don't already freak the locals? The Little Whinging constabulary is convinced I'm a criminal mastermind for all the theft I accomplish there while stuck in Scotland. I'm the scapegoat of Surrey. BLAAAAGH!"
She laughed but it sounded like a cartoony snicker. I pray that her voice returns to normal soon. I miss her voice.
Holly
*
6th November, 1993
During my run the night before last, it occurred to me that I almost lost Hermione- yeah, I know; 'Duh!'. Rather than it stirring up my thoughts with plots for revenge, I've been suffering a panic attack of sorts. I don't know if I could care enough about morals and ethics not to go on a rampage if I lost her now. I would have made sure Pansy's death shocked the nation, and I would have made sure to rape her mind for her co-conspirators if brought to that level of despair. Thankfully Hermione didn't die and Pansy is once again suffering in hospital much longer than she probably expected, as she's still there two weeks later. After I had worked out the timing, I realised that my punch didn't shatter Pansy's ocular orbit- that was administered later. Since her care under Poppy includes instructions that she not be allowed visitors or healing magics, I have to take this as Snape's version of just punishment while still retaining control of the power-politics lesson. If Pansy keeps crossing me like this I might finally smash her face into some semblance of beauty. It's a hobby project. For now, it looks like she's auditioning to be a cross-gender Quasimodo. She's not the real criminal, though. This scale remains unbalanced until more telling information comes to light. What I realised by the end of my run though, is that I'm not sure Hermione knows how much she means to me. Or to the survival of the human race. I needed to tell her.
Want to know how my first attempt went? We aren't speaking.
It started less-than-innocently enough. Hermione and I were looking over the Marauder's Map yesterday while monitoring our brewing in Myrtle's lavatory-laboratory, trying to understand how the Map tracks the various students. We discovered a few interesting things. For one, Flitwick's office does not reveal its occupants- we actually saw Professor Flitwick appear just outside his door and then disappear (no doubt going back for something he forgot) before reappearing a minute later and start to head to his classroom. Whatever monitoring charms make the Map work, the Marauders never tagged his sanctum, unlike the Headmaster's office or Prof McG's rooms. What was more interesting at that moment however was that the Prefects have an unusually large bath, at the time occupied by Oliver Wood and Timothy Dibny. Depending on when you looked at the names, Oliver's study partner looked to be occupied by Wood as well.
Hermione tried to find a less-compromising reason for their dots to overlap within the rugby-team-sized bath.
"Perhaps Oliver is teaching Timothy to swim?"
"I don't doubt there are breathing exercises in progress."
"Holly!"
"What? Why do you insist that this isn't exactly what it looks like?"
"Well, I realise Oliver is ...that way but I just...I would expect..."
"And how do you know Oliver is 'that way' anyway?"
"Well, when I was partly cat-minded, he was entirely unresponsive to my pheromones. How did you figure it out?"
I decided to forego confessing my sifting indiscretion and give the more defensible explanation.
"All evidence before us aside? Well, they've both seemed to be less affected by the Dementor chill than any other Gryffindor boys I've observed. It just makes sense from there."
"Still, they shouldn't be doing ...that. Certainly not in the Prefect's bath!"
"I'm sure they put up charms and sealed the door. Why are you squicking?"
"Why am I what?"
"Squicking. A squeamish ick-response. When something you see or hear about offends your comfortable reality enough that you feel like you're sucking on one of Professor Dumb's lemon drops too hard. Like this!"
I scrunched up my face and lips in that exaggerated sour flavor reaction you see cartoon characters make.
"Holly, there is no such word. Use another."
"This one works fine, thank you."
"You can't simply make up words! There must be a word or phrase that describes that without making up something that sounds so ...silly!"
"You may be experiencing squick as we speak."
"No I am not! Simply because there is no such thing!"
"Oh, surely! I can even expand its use! Squickiness; an event or series of events that induce squick! Squick squawk: wherein a person audibly responds to their squick with a squeak!"
Hermione stood up from our worktable and turned toward me, placing her hands at her hips to let me know she had a Declaration.
"Language isn't like that!"
I stood up as well, as form demanded.
"Have you been in the same Runes class I have? Language is exactly like that! Before there was writing, there was "Oooh!" which meant 'Good' and "Aaah!" which meant 'Run or we'll be eaten!'. Then some brilliant male proto-ape said "Uhhhhh, heh, heh" which meant 'Hey, baby can I plow your flower patch?'. Language evolved right then as the female proto-apes got together to figure out how to rate him as a prospect. With each nuance that was undefined, they had to invent a new word to distinguish a new meaning. So long as they all agreed "Unk-Unk" meant 'too many parasites', they were communicating. It only took a few generations for the males to catch on."
Hermione shut her eyes tightly and started to shake her head slowly.
"This offends me on so many levels."
I moved forward and put my hand on her shoulder.
"I feel your squick, sister."
Hermione glared at me and growled in frustration, clear indication that I was winning. That's when I started taunting her a little.
"Squick, squickem, squicker, squick-squicking, squick squickum!"
Hermione started to smile slightly, but her frustration was still evident.
"I am never letting you watch my cartoons again! I almost could accept it if you were just using it ...onomatopoetically!"
Hermione expelled a great sigh, as if she was releasing some pent up emotions. What really caught my attention was that a shudder passed through her. She was getting excited by this! I had to make sure.
"Wow. Nine syllables. Feel better?"
I moved close to her without touching her aside from where my chin almost rested on her shoulder and whispered "Maybe a little randy?"
Hermione closed her eyes, trying to fend off her rising embarrassment. She really was turned on by this discussion! I was getting warm myself, knowing how I was affecting her, so I moved forward with abandon (actually it was a step to the left) and kissed her. It was firm but gentle. A simple placing of my lips against hers. When Hermione realised she was being kissed, her lips softened slightly and our kiss became deeper. I was amazed and charged up so I wrapped my arms around her middle and kept kissing her. Hermione sorta woke up a little and gasped, opening up her lips to release her warm sweet breath into my mouth, which just goaded me to go further. I stretched my tongue to lightly graze her teeth and then reach to tickle the roof of her mouth. Hermione responded by moving her own tongue to touch mine, and our kiss started to become fervent. All during this, she had lifted her arms into an aborted gesture of defense, and they stayed frozen that way until after a minute of our breathless deep-kissing she stepped back away from me and moved her hands to touch her lips.
Her eyes were wide with shock. She stared into my eyes, but I couldn't tell what she was feeling. One tentative reach of my Legilimency was shut down as she blinked forcibly.
I tried to use humor to recover the moment. It was a bad choice.
"So, are you feeling ...squick?
"Uhhh, I ...I have to ...go. Somewhere."
And then Hermione turned and walked quickly out of the room, her fingers still touching her lips. I watched her leave, frozen from reacting by her sudden departure. I remember feeling tears that streamed down both sides of my face reaching my chin at the same time to drop to the stone floor. I slumped down, deciding to join them.
That was the good part.
The bad part happened when we tried to discuss things this morning in Myrtle's lab. It was a short discussion. I was already in a bit of a snit, but Hermione just pushed all the wrong buttons.
"Holly, we shouldn't."
There was an empty pause. Hermione was looking down and I was puttering with ingredients.
"You'll have to be more specific Hermione. Which of our illegal activities should we be stopping?"
"We shouldn't...we can't be...(Sigh). You shouldn't have kissed me."
"I was expressing my feelings, as were you."
"Well, we can be forgiven for some youthful experimentation, but..."
I tossed the trimming knife to the cutting board and turned to face her.
"I thought you were concerned with illegal activities. This isn't even that!"
"The kiss wasn't illegal but if we go any farther..."
"Like you want to..."
"I don't want to! Or at least, I know I'm not supposed to want to."
"Is this your conviction or someone else's?"
"It's simply wrong! You know it, too."
I stepped forward to look at Hermione in the eyes.
"I know it? Why would I know it? I haven't been given a decent education on morals, ethics or proper behavior, as I was deemed a lost soul. My guide is entirely internal- everything else has been instruction manuals. I can't believe you are so entrenched into your pedestrian thinking that you can't even consider the possibility that you can enjoy ...b-being in love with me!"
"Are you suggesting I'm not smart enough to be a lesbian?"
Admittedly, this was a bad time for my whimsy to show up.
"Yknow, I've noticed most of the lesbians here are Ravenclaws..."
"Oooh! You know, with your upbringing, I shouldn't be surprised that your sexual identity has gotten confused..."
Which is when hurricane Holly finally reached full twist.
"IF you are about to suggest that the Dursleys have damaged me so much that I can't love properly, I will slap you HARDER than I did in front of the bookstore, when you were letting Lockhart's smile MELT YOUR BRAIN!"
Hermione gasped and raised her hand tenderly to her cheek, as if she could still feel the sting of that slap. Her look at me made me realise that at times, I frighten Hermione. She ran from the room and I haven't seen her the rest of the day. Somehow I can't bring myself to use the Map to look for her. Tomorrow's Saturday and the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. If she shows up, we may be able to repair this. If not...
If not...
Despair, with a possible chance of Armageddon.
Holly
*
8th November, 1993
Dear Harry,
If you were given the opportunity to give up something you enjoy for just the chance at getting something you want, would you take it? I would. I did. I didn't know that was the choice I was making, but I'm finding I regret the outcome less and less. I am banned from playing Quidditch competitively for the rest of my life, and Hermione gave me a kiss. Most of the trades I've made in my life are like that- it seems unfair on the objective analysis, but I know I got what was important to me. Hermione once suggested that I may have goblin blood, but I countered that my deals aren't grossly uneven to my side, so it'd have to be very thin blood. We were teasing then, so she suggested that it might explain my height as well.
At the start of our Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, my spirit was close to breaking. I hadn't seen Hermione in the stands and the twins said that they thought she was in the library. Given she has the Turner right now, that was hardly proof that she wasn't planning on attending, but I couldn't find her and it was wearing on my soul.
The Hufflepuff matches tend to be more tactical, as their sense of fair play precludes them from taking desperate measures to damage the opposing players, and by tacit agreement we Gryffindors play by their style rather than use the advantage that aggressive play would give us. That puts more pressure on the seekers to catch the snitch quickly, as Hufflepuff teamwork is second to none. I was doing my level best to fulfill that need while still finding myself distracted trying to search the stands and edge of the turf for Hermione. I had nearly lost the snitch to Diggory twice that way, but snapped to the chase in time to intercept his run well enough for the snitch to switch out of our reach and disappear again. We were both circling upward as the last path of escape had led away from the ground when I felt the cold chill approach of a flight of Dementors. At the same time, I saw the snitch buzzing about 15 yards away and decided to forego subtlety and shoot straight for it. Diggory also caught sight of our golden target, but by then the Dementors were swooping in on me. I spiraled and swooped down evading their pursuit until I was able to settle down to a landing on the turf, the flight of Dementors having veered off. I was desperate to get an opportunity to clear my head of all the memories of screaming, but my teammates had other ideas. Two chasers plus Oliver all surrounded me, along with the Hufflepuff beaters and one of their chasers, and they all started arguing with each other and with Referee Rolanda as she had flown over to see what the ruckus was about.
There was such a cacophony of noise and emotion and all I wanted to do was go hunt down Hermione. I heard Angelina Johnson bellowing away and it just ...prompted an unexpected response.
"...you stupid flat-chested twat we haven't called a time out and Diggory's gonna get the snitch!"
"Oh for Hedwig's sake, just...COME HERE!"
I later found out that no one heard me say that; it came out as a bunch of clicks and a screech. That sorta makes sense, because the snitch then zipped straight into my hand. Everyone just sat stunned looking at the golden mcguffin twitching in my palm, but I had looked back to follow the course of its approach only to see that Cedric was looking at first frustrated, then frightened. I tossed the snitch aside and rocketed full blast away from the stunned crowd of players straight at Diggory, or rather, at the Dementor that was pulling Cedric's head back to suck out his soul. I learned a few things about...oh...three seconds later; Dementors should not to be grappled, as they are mostly insubstantial except for the cloak, face and claws. Also, if you are able to get a grip on them, the chill feels like falling into ice water because you are actually being frozen. One other thing- when you are being frozen by a Dementor, you often lose your grip on important things, like your broom.
End result; the Dementor was flying-tackled away from Cedric who escaped unharmed, my broom went awry and was snapped into pieces when it vectored too close to the Whomping Willow, and I'll be defrosting in hospital for a few days, having been caught from arcing 150 feet into the forest at 120 mph to my death by the Headmaster's bellowed Arresto Momentum. That's a spell I want to know- Physics? By your leave!
The twins swung by to inform me of my lifetime ban from Quidditch. My snitch-summoning has prompted a new wave of Holly-is-a-Dark-Practitioner press as most folk see wandless summoning as proof of advanced evil-ness training. Hearing that, I gave up on trying to convince anyone that it wasn't wandless magic but bird-speak; either way I'd have an unbeatable advantage as a Seeker, so I'm done. Why fight the inevitable? I did give the twins my plea to watch over Hermione for the next few days and they left with the Map in hand.
Then Hermione came to see me in hospital. I couldn't give her a stern look if I tried, especially while constantly shivering. Hermione swooped in to grab me in one of her best hugs, and she kept on hugging me and running her hands across my back and over my shoulders, trying to help accelerate my recovery. Finally she leaned back to sit facing me and spoke.
"I was watching Disillusioned from the ground. That was the most amazing thing you did. I can't imagine how much courage you had to have to rush a Dementor, particularly after having faced one before."
"Yeh, I'v-v-v-ve got j-j-just a b-b-b-bit-t m-m-m-more c-courage than s-s-s-s-sense."
"I...should try to see if that's why I'm a Gryffindor, too."
"Howzat?"
"I ...liked your kiss, Holly. I just didn't want to face it, as it meant too many other things."
"It only m-m-means w-w-we like each other, m-m-m-more than f-f-f-f-friends. J-j-j-just that."
"Really? Then I suppose I should let you know how I feel." Hermione leaned in and kissed me with some passion then, though I had to keep my jaw clenched shut. It kinda ruined the experience slightly, if not the meaning.
"Are you alright? You're all tense. Didn't you like it? Oh, I'm no good am I?"
"H'mione, s-s-s-s-stop!"
She just clamped her lips together and gave me a look of worry mixed with a deeper fear I was beginning to understand.
"If-f-f-f I k-k-kis-s-sed you the w-w-w-way I w-w-w-w-want-t-t to, I'd b-b-bite your t-t-t-t-tongue with my ch-ch-chattering."
Hermione smiled then, but then her face shifted into a look of anger.
"Holly, JUST WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING TRYING TO TACKLE A DEMENTOR?!"
Poppy Pomfrey erupted from behind another privacy screen. "That's it! Miss Granger, you must leave now and don't come back until tomorrow!"
Hermione's groaning matched mine.
"Awwwwww!"
"NOW, Miss Granger!"
Hermione left faster than if they said the library was burning. Warning to you; never piss off medical professionals. They know what powers they have and use them whenever they feel the need. It's a truth I'll have to use in the next life, because Poppy hasn't forgiven me yet in this one. I'm scheduled for four scalding sponge baths a day until my lips return to their normal color.
Holly
P.S.: Cedric swung by to thank me for 'saving his life or soul or whatever'. He said the Hufflepuffs have decided that I'm not a Dark Servant or anything. They're sure I'm just insane. He smirked a little then kissed my forehead and left. I admit, I swooned slightly, but Hermione has my heart.
*
12th November, 1993
Harry,
The twins have forgiven me for missing our first Marauders revival meeting on Sunday- they sent me popsicles to wish me well, and I heard Lee announce a dedication to me on the Wireless; 'Ice, Ice, Baby!'. Damned song's been stuck in my head for days now. The meeting was fruitful for us all anyway, as they worked out some details from the Quidditch game that may become important. Hermione took the Compulsion off Fred as it really screwed up his playing; he's got a fairly deep scratch on his throat now, as every time he saw me during play he was Compelled to rub it with a Beater glove or the Bludger Bat. More importantly, Hermione was able to get hold of the snitch and used Scarpin's on it. She detected an enchantment that would give off feelings of pain and fear, enough to attract Dementors to it like a blood trail for a foxhound. I suspect Slytherin involvement but once again lack of proof prevents prosecution. We'll just hold onto this in case we get a chance to match the spell with the owner of the wand that cast it, though I'm skeptical of this playing out meaningfully.
I still needed a replacement broom for quick escapes and the like, so after I was released from hospital I hung out with Ron for an afternoon to decide a balance of cost for acceleration and maneuverability. It turns out Prof McG has a keen eye- I decided on another Nimbus 2000, which I should be able to get used for around 150 galleons. With me off the team, it had to be my money. I just hope Prof McG took the cost of the first one from the school's coffers to satisfy my Basilisk-compensation agreement, as it ran 600 galleons when it was new. Dobby was summoned and when he appeared he looked all healed up for the 1/20th of a second I could see him before he buried his face in my robes, sobbing about how wonderful I was to think of healing him while in the midst of a crisis. I'll never suffer from esteem issues with Dobby around. I sent him with the Galleons and instructions for Florean to please see about buying the desired broom and 20 litres of Strange Chocolate. Last night Dobby reappeared with a broom and another quart container along with a note.
Holly,
My condolences on your Quidditch ban. I have taken the liberty of adding a self-shrinking/restoring charm to this broom. I'm certain it will last longer than your previous one if you watch where you're going a little more carefully.
Florean
P.S.: Chocolate LeStrange is too potent for large batches. Savor the flavor.
I noticed he still took out for five gallons of ice cream, but I don't begrudge him the handling fees.
In other news, Hermione and I have resolved that we are going to use the knowledge of Lupin's lycanthropy to see if we can force him to teach us the Patronus Charm. I was already wanting to learn this, but now Hermione has determined that its instruction is a necessary survival skill so long as Dementors and I occupy the same continent. Now that we've decided, though, the man has become as elusive as smoke. Hermione and I suspect that he may know Legilimency and had picked up our intentions before we were able to corner him. I should say he probably picked up on Hermione's intentions, as both my shields and my thoughts are difficult to penetrate for most anyone. We've resumed Mind Arts practice and Hermione said as much to me after our first session. Since then, I've learned how to lower my guard but still keep certain memories hidden from Hermione's stalking about in my brain. Occasionally I have fed her a memory or a feeling about our experiences together, to help her warm to the idea of becoming closer. She sensed my unsubtle ploy and talked about it with me this morning.
"Holly, I get it. You like me. I'm...flattered. You also mean the world to me."
"But?"
"But I don't think of you that way, or rather I don't think of girls that way. I mean I could feel...but there's no reason...and then there's the book..."
"Hermione, I know I've got you flummoxed when even full sentences become difficult for you."
"I just can't put myself into that role, especially when we're both so young. Why does this have to be resolved now?"
I decided I would step back to work out a better strategy at that point.
"It doesn't. I care for you Hermione. If I seem anxious about expressing it, please understand that it comes from knowing that you almost died a few weeks ago..."
"And you almost died last week! We're even."
"Exactly! No wait, what?"
"We're even! There's no need for you to feel like you owe me anything. We will be close no matter what! Now can we relax and just be friendly?"
"OK, Hermione. It's probably for the best. We'll keep it friendly."
Holly
*
23rd November, 1993
Dear Harry,
Last night, I convinced Hermione that my version of friendly includes her getting multiple orgasms. We made love. It was "GLORIOUS.":http://www.ficwad.com/story/122502
Today, though, we had to work out some issues.
I was awoken with a kiss, but as my eyes focused I could see Hermione was headed to the shower in a dressing gown. When she came back, she was already dressed and handed me the gown to clearly indicate where my next destination lay. After a warm cleansing, I returned to the room to find one of my normal outfits laid out on the bed, and no Hermione. I dressed quickly and headed out to the Great Hall. Hermione was already sitting in front of several plates of food, more than she usually has for breakfast though the porridge and pumpkin juice were set to the side in our usual indication of 'unclean foodstuffs'. I sat down next to her and simply turned to look at my dear friends face. After Hermione finished her current mouthful, she gulped loudly and turned to me.
"Good Morning, Holly. You'll forgive me, but I have a lot on my mind this morning. Perhaps our breakfast should be a quiet affair today."
"O-okay."
She said it very politely and with an upbeat tone, but I knew she needed space. The meal proceeded quietly, and I also found myself downing quite a bit of food. After 20 minutes, Hermione finished her last scraps of egg and turned to look at me, waiting for me to finish my current sample before speaking. With a swallow, I turned to look her in the eyes.
"Holly. Don't ...ever do that to me again."
I was one step from falling to my knees to beg forgiveness, to follow the sinking feeling in my heart.
"...until I ask you to."
I shuddered out my whispered response. "Christ, Hermione! My heart almost shattered!"
"I wouldn't doubt we're both feeling a little fragile."
I reached down to grip her hand in mine.
"I promise, Hermione. Whatever you want. No more, and no less." Tears streamed out of both my eyes just for a moment, and Hermione brushed one off my cheek with the hem of her sleeve. She gave me a wry smile.
"So much has happened. I need time to think. Will you be alright?"
"Yes, Hermione. I think I will." I gave her a hopeful smile and rubbed my eyes.
Hermione didn't say anything else. The rest of breakfast she sat quietly, mulling things over in her mind as she sipped her tea. I left her to her musings as I find watching her expressions quite enjoyable, and I know that pressing her when she's working something in her brain is asking for trouble. We spent our normal class time doing normal things, but barely anything was said that didn't relate to the class we were in. By lunchtime, I was beginning to get concerned, as Hermione grew quieter and more...well...grumpy-looking. Finally, she pulled me aside after lunch saying she needed to ask me something. At first she looked like she wanted to confess something embarrassing, like she forgot her homework or peed her pants. Mostly I was dreading it being a 'this has been a terrible mistake' speech of some sort.
We found a private enough dead end and she nearly worked herself into a hysterical twitch walking back and forth without saying a thing except "I..." about 25 times, alternated with her giving me every kind of look I can imagine. I opened my mouth once to say something that hopefully would help move the conversation along, but she immediately put up her index finger to silence me- this was going to be her show. Hermione usually would stop her pacing to say "I..."
"I..."
"I..."
"I..."
Finally she turned and gave me a look like I had killed her family.
"YOU!"
Hermione rushed over to me to wrap her hands around my head, pull my face up to hers (she's still got four inches on me) and gave me a lovingly deep kiss. My heart melted. We two are one. Lycanthrope Lupin will be the first to face our combined might. But first we had to clean up a little as we both kinda slobbered on each other's faces. Hermione still held my face in her hands when she decided some actual discussion was needed, once we caught our breaths.
"Hoooooo! Alright, Holly. I can't deny this passion any longer. What we did was ...amazing. But it wasn't normal. What did you do?" She let her hands fall to her hips. I was momentarily confused.
"You ...you want me to describe cunni..."
"Magically, Holly! What did you magically do during our ...our..."
"Glorious Expression of Love?" My grin is painful. I'm not used to smiling that much. It's worth it.
"Yes! That! What did you do?"
"I...well, I used a Parsel magic technique I found in this book."
I produced one of my summertime discoveries from my satchel. Hermione looked down at the book, flipped through a few pages and shifted her weight to one hip. I know, because I was watching her hips closely when not staring at her mouth.
"This book doesn't say anything. It just looks like bad shorthand."
"It's called Parsing Parseltongue by John Gaunt, published 1884. It's in Parselscript so Borgin floated it to me for a Galleon. He bought it from Tom Riddle in 1949. Some other bloke, a linguist, bought it and returned it in frustration back in 1983."
"Holly! That's got to be a Dark Arts book! How could you..."
"Give me a little credit Hermione. The historical background section is quite specific about how the Parseltongue talent has been mis-identified throughout European history. The only spells you can do with Parseltongue are a few warding techniques and ...well ...sexual charms and enhancements. I suppose repressed Englishmen would consider that Dark. I've already memorized all 14 of them. There's a whole section about Mesoamerican cultures that Gaunt visited to cull these techniques. There the serpent is honored as a symbol of life and renewal, y'know?"
Hermione finished listening to my dissertation and shuddered. She grasped my shoulder to hold herself steady.
"Okay, I'm both appalled and moist. How do you do this to me?"
I shrugged sympathetically.
"It wouldn't be love if it wasn't confusing."
"So, um ...what did the spell that you used on me do?"
"Well, one allowed me to lengthen my tongue without thickening it overmuch so I wouldn't break your hymen."
"Thanks for that."
"Yah. The other one is a technique for sharing power with the one you love."
"Sharing power? Why would you do that?"
"Well, strictly speaking I've a bit too much of it lately. I've been practising with not speaking spells to help reduce power, but I still haven't gotten it under control, so I figured it would be okay to ...bleed some off to you."
"How much more power are we talking here?"
"Well, up until this morning I could probably take out that stone wall there with the Reducto I used last year to turn my trunk into splinters."
"You're fibbing!"
"Yes, I am. Had you going though!" (No, I'm not. ARRGH! Damned Compulsion!)
We both started giggling, which proved to be a welcome release of some of our tension. Hermione started up our new teasing pattern. You have to use more syllables than the last one used. She usually wins.
"Wench!"
"Hussy!"
"Charlatan! Really, what does it do?"
"Yeah, sorry. The technique just accumulates erotic stimulation fed by my feelings for you until it releases on a delay or trigger. Simple warding stuff turned into ...umm...an orgasm grenade."
"So what I felt.."
"...was all the orgasms I wished I could give you since we started sleeping next to each other in September, more or less, stored in my memories for just such an occasion." Why she couldn't figure I'd need to pass her significant power to pull that off I can't fathom. She may have simply been distracted. Hermione started to faint so I grabbed her into my arms before she could collapse.
"Ohhhhh, I'm moist again. Can we talk about something else?"
"Would you hate me if I said 'no'?"
"Umm, so what is the technique called?"
[pause]
"Holly?"
"Grimjack's ...Jolly ...Rogering."
I gave her the best apologetic smile I could muster. I shouldn't have worried.
"Oooooooohhh. MMMmmmMMM!. Umm...Arithmancy! Yes, Arithmancy! Done your homework, yet?"
"Yeh, that'll be a safe topic."
"Maybe for you...oh, fuck it! Where's the nearest closet?"
I Love Her. And she's becoming an amazing kisser.
We ended up using the Turner to make it for classes after all. My face hurts from all the grinning I'm doing. The firsties of all houses keep doing a headcount whenever they see me. I haven't been arrested so I assume they keep finding everyone. I'm not worried. Even under Veritaserum I could honestly say I hadn't eaten any of them.
Boy, I'm getting ...mouthy.
This afternoon, Hermione joined me in her bed for our second sleep period under the Turner. We held each other closely and with familiarity. Occasional shifts of position that caused the bumping of nipples or hands wandering to sensitive places were giggled away as just enjoyable friendliness. We both slept well, to the point where we almost missed getting up to turn back and attend the late afternoon classes. This is the way I want to live my life; in comfort and cooperation with the woman I love and trust. The rest of you can go fuck off. Sorry Harry, but you know I mean it because it's written in here.
Holly
*
26th November, 1993
Dear Harry,
Why is it whenever I execute some masterful plan, something inevitably sends my intentions off in another direction? I never expected to fight a Basilisk when I went to see Prof McG. I never expected to face big Centaur parts when I was sent to the Forbidden Forest. I certainly wasn't expecting to uncover my family's sordid past just by trying to blackmail Lupin into teaching us the Patronus Charm. Turns out he's almost family. No wonder we don't get along.
We were able to lure Professor Lupin into a private meeting with us by having Hermione ask him nearly hysterically to come look at me, as I'd just expelled several black eggs- the truth is easier than a lie for leverage, especially for Girlscout Granger. They caught up with me huddled in a corner of an empty classroom near the DADA lab, still twitching with the aftershock cramps. Truthfully we hadn't planned it; when I started to feel the urge coming, I quickly spat out that this was as good a plan as any and sent Hermione with fresh images of my unfortunate biology in action to carry her hysteria.
Once they arrived, I was gratified to get quite a reaction from the Professor.
"Wow. Never seen that before. Do you know how this happened?"
At that point Hermione had sealed the room and I was shifting my body away from the eggs to clean myself up and put my bike shorts back on after a quick Tergeo.
"About the same way as the other ten times it did. Accio eggs. Tempus Adversor." I put the eggs into a side pocket of my bookbag.
He actually started to growl.
"Look, you know we wanted to talk with you about something important and now we have your attention. Would you just listen for a bit?"
"GRRrrrrrrrrOPEN the door. You do not want to test me. Open it!"
"Please don't be cross with us Professor, but we know the full moon isn't for three more days. Can we please just talk?"
"Ah, bollocks. It had to be you two. Alright, what do you want to know?"
Here's the tight version: Remus Lupin attended Hogwarts at the same time as James Potter, Lily Evans, Severus Snape, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black. At first, there was an Evans-Snape versus Potter-Black-Pettigrew rivalry, seemingly following lines of blood status. Shortly though, the second group came to the aid of a young mud-blooded werewolf whose curse was being covered up and managed by Albus Dumbledore. The lads took it upon themselves to learn how to be beasts as well, the better to accompany their smarter friend during his monthly terrors. They became Animagi; Potter was a stag, codenamed Prongs, Pettigrew a rat they called Wormtail and Sirius Black was a black dog (if ever Providence and Whimsey stuck together it was this time- of course he was a black dog) codenamed Padfoot. In addition to their altruistic urge to accompany their friend, they had developed a keen desire to sow chaos in the natural order using their gifts, and spent many a night wandering the castle until they had an enchanted map to guide their mischief. Later as they matured, their rivalry with the Evans-Snape partnership took a different turn, as Lily Evans came to aid Remus in managing his curse in a different way; she taught him Occlumency, with much difficulty. This is where Hermione jumped in.
"Ooh! Ooh! I know why it was difficult!"
"Occlumency is a difficult skill in general, Miss Granger."
"If we're doing True Confessions, don't you think you should call us Holly and Hermione?"
"Then you should call me Remus or Moony, but not in class."
"It's better than my current name for you."
"Which is?"
"Oh, Holly don't tell him..."
"Professor Oatmeal."
"As I said, Occlumency is a very difficult skill. It can make you seem emotionless when in constant use."
"Really? Try mine."
"You found a teacher?"
"We're self-taught. Just try me. You have my permission."
The Professor drew his wand and pointed it at me.
Legilimens...thump.
"Good GOD!"
I stood up to walk over to where Professor Lupin was flung back after trying to come in the front door of my mind. "Here's a hand up."
Hermione looked torn between amusement and worry for overwhelming the teacher.
"As I was saying Professor, Occlumency is much harder for you because of your ...condition. Naturally, the art runs contrary to the powerful emotional influence of the Beast within, and it may present problems for Animagi as well..."
"Hermione, you sound like you're quoting again. Skip to the end."
"Well, umm, it sucks to be you, Professor."
I couldn't stop laughing for the next five minutes and only ended because I needed a break to handle another wave of cramps. Lupin took it well after a grumble. Hermione: 5 points, Holly: 3 eggs, Lupin: 0 respect, not even from the Gryffindor sisters.
Back to History of the Marauders:
Lily's additional mentoring of Lupin caused tension from Snape and Potter both, as neither were pleased to see the belle of Hogwarts with a ...creature. This rift caused a refocusing of efforts for all involved. The Marauders took torturing Snape as an overall mission, with Snape returning fire more often than not, Potter took a personal vow to woo Lily to their camp and hopefully his bed, and Lupin stuck with his friends. Eventually Potter won over Lily's affections and Snape retreated to his Slytherin fellows. Roll forward a few years and Lupin was being sent on missions against the Dark Lord, James and Lily tried to make a life together even while aiding the fight, and Peter and Sirius tagged along, with Sirius training as an Auror with James. The night of all the trouble, Sirius betrayed the Potter's secret hideaway to Riddle, Peter caught him out afterwards and Sirius killed him and a bunch of bystanders in a giddy release of magical mayhem, or so the tale is told. Remus wasn't around for any of the last month of drama, and found himself once more without friends in the wake of that terrible night.
"So where do you figure I fit in all this?"
"I really don't know. I wouldn't have guessed that Lily would betray James to the point of bearing someone else's child, though with James in Auror training, a lot could have happened. After retelling this story, I'm finding it hard to believe anyone's behavior was normal back then, except maybe Peter's. I mean, Lily unfaithful? Sirius aligned with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? James unaware of Lily having an early pregnancy? I'd almost believe they held your existence a secret because of the war, but then why let out anything about Harry? It doesn't add up."
"Why are you here now, and not twelve years ago, or three years ago? Once it was known I was Lily's child, didn't you want to meet me?"
"I did, but I was warned away by the Headmaster. Hermione is right; it does suck to be me. I have fewer rights in this world than she does. I'm here now because Dumbledore saw the value in facing one Marauder with another. I'm here to defend you against Sirius Black."
"Thank you for sharing this with me. We would like one other thing, if you wouldn't mind..."
It took some cajoling, but Hermione and I convinced Professor Lupin to teach us the Patronus Charm AND about becoming Animagi. We start training on the Charm next week, but the potions to find your form take about six weeks to prepare, so we won't get to try it out until after the holidays. I'm surprised they aren't in Moste Potente Potions That Brew Like Molasses Runs In Winter.
Holly
*
29th November, 1993
Harry,
Lupin's lessons are good, but this last one he held me back for a discussion of what might best be described as 'unfortunate possibilities'.
"Miss...ahhh...Holly. I wanted to talk with you about some things we didn't cover when you..."
"Blackmailed you, yes?"
"Right. First thing. Those eggs were real, weren't they?"
"Ummm....yes. I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about them."
"Oh, believe me, I won't. It leads me to bring up the next point. You see, I know how hard it is to operate in this world as a Magical Creature rather than a wizarding citizen. Who else knows about these...eggs?"
"Hermione, you, me and Harry."
"Why Harry? More importantly, how Harry?"
"I have a journal given to me by Professor McGonagall that allows me to write in it and what's written shows up in Harry's copy. His doesn't show up in mine, though. Actually, I'm not even sure he reads it, spicy novel that it is. Prof McG also played a prank on me when she gave it to me so that I'm Compelled to write in it regularly. Resisting the urge helped me to build up my basic Occlumency defense."
"That's nearly unprecedented. Minerva pulling a prank...huh. Probably a Protean Charm, that would explain why only one-way. If it were two-way, they could be used to track the match in the set. Anyway, what I wanted you to understand is that you mustn't tell anyone else about these eggs. If you were reclassified as a Magical Creature, you'd lose all your rights and most likely end up deep in the Ministry being poked and tested for the rest of your life."
"Is that the end of your happy news?"
"No, I had another thought but it can wait."
"Oh, please, serve it up happy Oatmeal Man."
"The most logical possibility I can believe is that Sirius Black is your father. I doubt he knows it, or at least he probably didn't know it until he was out in the world to read about you."
"Wow, you are just the harbinger of good times. Have you ever seen Empire Strikes Back? I'm feeling a kinda deja film echo."
"I'm afraid I've really lost touch with the younger generation."
I can just hear it now:
'No, I AM YOUR FATHER!'
'Whatever. Eat sword.'
Holly
*
1st December, 1993
Dear Harry,
Well, for our latest session with Lupin, my progress in turning a white mist into something solid was interrupted by renewed banter about the dirty dog that may be my father. Sirius Black once more made it into the castle and into the Gryffindor dorms, but he ended up being chased out of the 3rd year boys' dorm after Seamus, Neville and Dean woke to find the scraggly fugitive holding Ron over his own bed ranting "Where is he?! Where is he?!" Knowing that Harry would have been a third year leads us to believe that that's his focus in breaking into the castle. I guess even to insane mass-murderers I'm just not that much of a priority. Our guess is that Sirius doesn't know or isn't thinking well enough to reason it out. If he had even that much brain power, he would realise that you wouldn't be bunking with the common folk.
I only bring this stuff up because of a decision I have to make.
Lupin suggested he couldn't guess why Sirius would want to break into the boys dorm if not for Harry, and I followed up by saying "Yeah, there must be an easier way to get a date."
Hermione then piped up "Oh! I was going to remind you to ask Dean for a date!"
Lupin and I looked at each other and then at Hermione. Even he can tell Hermione and I are together, even if the love of my life hasn't quite agreed to it.
"Really. He doesn't seem to be involved with anyone right now, and we have some time. You could go to Hogsmeade...Oh wait, you don't have a signed form. Well, you could offer to spend time with him on Saturday anyway. It should give you both enough time to see if you're compatible."
"Me dating a boy; you actually meant that?"
"YES! And you promised you'd give it a fair attempt."
"Oh. I guess I did at that."
"You did?"
"Stay out of it, Oatmeal."
"Didn't say a thing."
Hermione has the cutest smile when she's enthused. I guess I'm going to go seduce a boy. It's like a quest.
Holly
*
Spiral Tangent: Please read Tangent '"9311 - Glorious":http://www.ficwad.com/story/122502' for details on H&H's first intimate encounter. There is humor along with the erotica.
Author's Note: I apologise for anachronistically referencing The Emperor's New Groove during Holly's 'squick' speech. Just assume Hermione has some other, British cartoon involving squirrel-speak in her collection at home that Holly saw while crashing at the Grangers.
John Gaunt could have simply been the ancestor of the Little Hangleton Gaunts until I referenced Grimjack. That character was invented by John Ostrander and while he wasn't a Parseltongue or born in the 19th century in the comics, the way Cynosure works he may be the same character anyway.
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