The Light and Darkness Anthology

Hermione's New Boyfriend

Harry looked at Hermione and said, "No offense, Hermione, but your boyfriend is a bit... um..."

"Scary," Ron said.

Hermione looked up from her toast and scrambled eggs with a suspicious glint in her eyes.

"What do you mean by that?" she said carefully.

Ron and Harry grinned at each other and waggled their eyebrows suggestively in Hermione's direction.

"Oh, come on, Hermione," Harry said. "Did you think we wouldn't find out? It's written on your face. You actually drift off during History of Magic class. You didn't used to do that. You used to poke us until we woke up. You used to write down every single word Binns said. And your cheeks are red when you do."

"Yeah," Ron added. "Our 'Mione can't hide anything from us."

"And..." Hermione ventured. "You're okay with it? I thought you'd be upset."

"Upset?" Harry said. "Why would be upset?"

"Yeah, he's scary, but I've got to admit," Ron shrugged, "he's perfect for you. Not my first choice, god knows, but... if he's the one you chose..."

"Well, I agree with you--he is perfect for me," Hermione said, "but he's not... I thought you'd curse me into next Tuesday if you found out."

"Nah," Ron said. "Remember, in fourth year, I figured out you were a girl. And last year, I figured out you weren't my girl. This year, I figured out you were someone else's. And he's one lucky man."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "You really are taking this rather well. Is there something you haven't told me yet? Like, did you put something in my fruit juice and you're just waiting for it to take effect?"

"Well," Harry said, sneaking a glance at Ron, "there is something we're not telling you."

Hermione took a shaky drink from her goblet.

"Hermione," Ron said, as though he was going to tell her she was deathly ill, "don't panic. But, how long have you been sleeping with him?"

Fruit juice blew from her mouth and rained on Neville, who sat across from her. After a hasty "Sorry, Neville," and a cleaning charm, Hermione turned back to her friends.

"What do you mean, 'sleeping with him'?" she asked.

"Shagging him, shaking the bed, tending the broomstick, charming the wand, whatever you want to call it." Ron punched her shoulder. "Ginny told us you've been looking thoroughly shagged for a while. And you sneak out nights... without us, which tells us you're not stealing potions ingredients."

"And now that Ginny's brought it to our attention," Harry said, "it's easy enough to see. You've been looking like--how did Ginny put it?--like there a sun burning inside you. Everyone's noticed."

"Does everyone know?" Hermione said, worried.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with us," Ron replied cheerfully. "But you still haven't told us. How long?"

Hermione leaned over her plate and mumbled into her eggs.

"Didn't quite hear you, Hermione," Harry said.

"Since this summer," Hermione mumbled a little louder.

Harry grinned. "Is he good? After all, he's old enough to know what to do in bed."

Hermione looked at Harry. "You're still taking this extremely well. Are you sure you're not going to explode on me?"

"Hermione, stop worrying so much," Ron said, rolling his eyes. "Harry and I have discussed it, and we decided that it's okay for our 'Mione to be a little rebellious."

Hermione looked at both of them now. "I'm not sure whether this is just a little rebellious."

"Okay, maybe you're right," Harry conceded, "but you've got to have fun every once in a while. It's nice to know that you can have fun without us. And even though we want to, we can't control everything you do."

Hermione chanced a small smile. "All right. He's great in bed. Does that make you feel better?"

"How great?" Ron asked wickedly.

Hermione blushed. "How does amazing sound?"

"So, Ginny was right," Harry said. "She guessed that the whole evil persona was a cover for passion. Must admit, that wasn't the first thing that went through my head when I first saw him. Sex-god definitely wasn't on the top ten list that day. And..." Harry's face contorted as the images surfaced in his mind. "I'd really rather not think about it in that much detail."

"Yeah, thanks, Harry," Ron said. "Now I'll have nightmares about Hermione sleeping with him."

"Nightmares... sound about right," Hermione said, hoping that the conversation had run its course.

"So, how many times a week?" Ron popped up.

"Ron!" Hermione shrieked indignantly. "Since when are you so interested in my sex life?"

"Since you got one," Ron answered.

Hermione sniffed. "Once a week. We make up for it then. Now, can we get off this topic? I'm glad you're... okay with it--even though I don't know why--but I'd rather not discuss it with you in detail."

They were silent for a while.

Hermione took another sip from her goblet.

"That Snape's a lucky bastard," Ron said longingly.

Neville got spit on again, and after Hermione cleaned him up, Neville shook his head and left the table, muttering to himself.

"Who told you I was sleeping with Snape?" Hermione asked.

"Ginny," Harry said, staring. Finally, comprehension dawned. "It's not Snape."

"No!" Hermione answered. Her stomach twisted in revulsion, but then churned as she realized how bad it could get now.

"Then who have you been shagging since this summer?" Harry asked.

"Shagged at least once a week, no less," Ron added.

"I..." Hermione stammered. "I-I-I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You'll kill me. Literally." Hermione got up and tried to run for it, but Harry jumped up and grabbed her arm.

"Who have you been dating if it's not Snape?" Harry asked. This time, there was no smile on his face.

"I... let go of me, Harry!"

"I know a spell," Ginny piped up from behind them. She jabbed her wand at Hermione's back and said, "Revelato libido."

A word shimmering in satiny red slid from Hermione's mouth like a ribbon and formed a name.

"What?!" Ron bellowed.

Hermione took advantage of both his, Harry's, and Ginny's shock to yank her arm away and run. She made it out of the Great Hall before the impact fully hit them. Ginny fell to the floor in a dead faint.

"Voldemort?" Harry muttered weakly.

---

Hermione burst through the door to the throne room. A number of conversing Death Eaters turned around to look at her, but since she was such a normal occurrence, they only spared her a passing glance. It did not matter that she was not one of them.

"They know," Hermione said.

The Dark Lord's head lifted so that she could see the serenity of his eyes. He sat on his throne with the air of a king who would rather be somewhere else, but those passive eyes lit up when they saw her, just as they lit up when she came to him in his chambers.

"Did you expect they'd never know?" Voldemort said calmly. "We knew this would happen."

"I didn't think it would happen so quickly. I thought you'd reveal it when we were in the midst of the final battle, throw me in Harry's face, and then we'd try to kill each other. We've known that. But now? They thought I was with Snape, and we went about the bush until I realized that they thought I was with Snape."

Voldemort raised a brow. "Severus?" He pondered that for a bit. "I suppose there's a bit of fallen angelic poetry in that. What did their faces look like?"

"I don't know. I ran too quickly." Hermione's hands shook with anxiety. "I think Ginny fainted."

"Ah, little Miss Weasley, I assume," Voldemort said smoothly, relishing the taste of the name.

Hermione, distraught to distraction, ran her hands through her hair and pulled.

"Hermione." This name was not tasted. It was caressed, licked, and loved. The word throbbed with its own lust that slid around Hermione's body in a silken shroud. She closed her eyes as Voldemort drew her to him.

"They'll be coming after me," she whispered.

"You knew what you were getting into," he murmured against her lips, not yet kissing her. He waited.

"I suppose I did," Hermione said, and she pressed her mouth against his, letting his tongue have its way. Her hands untangled themselves from her hair to hold him closer. It was only a matter of time before she straddled his legs, relishing the feeling of his talented fingers as they flickered teasingly against her breasts. She moaned as his mouth drifted to her neck and tested the sensitive flesh under her jaw.

"Oh god, please tell me I'm not seeing this," Harry said from the double doors at the front of the throne room.

Hermione opened her eyes and looked at her best friend. She could not resist a small smile and a squeal as Voldemort pulled her against his erection.

Harry fell to the ground. Dumbledore quickly came up from behind him and, after taking a look at the tableau, left without disturbing the lovers. Harry woke up five days later in St. Mungo's, having suffered shock and a mild heart attack.