The next day, Ron still proved to be in a bad mood. He barely talked to Lucifer or Hermione at all through Herbology, not that he really much did before, but this was even worse, even though he, Harry, Hermione, and Lucifer were working together on the same Puffa-pod.
Hermione enjoyed Herbology, but she hated the Tentacula, which absolutely had it out for her and only her, she was completely convinced of that.
"I forgot to ask how's Scabbers doing?" Harry said as they stripped fat pink pods from the plants and emptied the shining beans into a wooden pail.
"He's hiding at the bottom of my bed, shaking," Ron said crossly, missing the pail and scattering beans over the greenhouse floor.
"Careful, Weasley, careful!" Professor Sprout yelled, as the beans burst into blooms before their very eyes.
They were waiting in queue outside the classroom, waiting for McGonagall to show up when they heard a crying noise.
The crying was coming from Lavender Brown.
Parvati, her best friend, had her arm around the poor girl and was explaining something to Dean and Seamus, both of whom were looking very serious.
"What's the matter, Lavender?" Hermione asked anxiously as they got closer to them.
"She got a letter from home this morning," Parvati said in a whisper, "It's her rabbit, Binky. He's been killed by a fox."
"Oh," Hermione said, "I'm sorry, Lavender."
"I should've known!" Lavender wailed tragically, "You know what day it is?"
"The Sixteenth," Lucifer said, understanding where she was going with it.
"The Sixteenth of October! 'That thing you're dreading, it will happen on the Sixteenth of October!' Remember? She was right, she was right!" She continued to cry in Parvati's shoulder.
The Ravenclaw's also felt sympathy, some empathy, for the poor girl. Seamus had shaken his head seriously.
Hermione hesitated a moment, then she said, "You, you were dreading Binky being killed by a fox?"
"Well, not necessarily a fox," Lavender had tears streaming from her eyes and down her cheeks as she looked up at Hermione, "but I was obviously dreading him dying, wasn't I?"
"Oh..." Hermione trailed off a moment before continuing, "Was Binky an old rabbit?"
"N-No! H-He was only a baby!" Lavender sobbed into her shoulder, and tightened her arms around her sobbing friend.
"But then... why... why would you dread him dying?" Hermione asked slowly.
Parvati now glared up at her; "Well, look at it logically."
Hermione turned to the rest of the group that gathered, "I mean, Binky didn't even die today, did he? Lavender just got the news today---"
The said girl now wailed loudly.
"---and she can't have been dreading, because it's come as a real shock-"
"Okay, that's enough of that," Lucifer said, steering Hermione to the back of the line.
"What? What did I say?" She asked him, pretty confused.
"You're dealing with an upset Lavender Brown and you may have overstepped a boundary," Lucifer tried to remind her, "Besides, you don't want to give a reason to Patil about spilling the beans, right?"
Hermione sighed at hearing that,
"Of course not, sir." She quickly pecked Lucifer's lips before the class was led inside the classroom by Professor McGonagall. "Can we go out at the end of all the lessons?"
"Of course," Lucifer said as he took his seat. "What would you like to do?"
"Black Lake." was all she said before McGonagall began calling out the register.
She obviously could tell that some tension was present amongst her students, but wasn't that concerned with what was getting into right then, she had a class to teach for Godric's balls. They sat through the lesson, learning the spell 'Duro' which hardens anything.
When the lesson was over, before everyone left, McGonagall spoke to them all about Hogsmeade,"One moment, please!"
Everyone stopped to look at her, "Your Hogsmeade permission slips, I remind you all, must be turned in to your Head of House before Halloween. No form, no visiting the village, so don't forget!"
Neville Longbottom was frantically turning his schoolbag upside down. Ink bottles, crumpled parchment, and a half-eaten pumpkin pasty tumbled onto the table.
"I lost it," he groaned, his face turning a panicked shade of white. "Gran signed it, I know she did! She sent it with a screech owl on Tuesday, but I've gone and mislaid the parchment!"
"Looking for this, Longbottom?" A crisp, Scottish voice cut through, Professor McGonagall stood in front of them, her dark green robes rustling as she held up thick piece of parchment sealed with heavy, deep-red wax.
"Professor!" Neville squeaked, backing into the marbles.
"Your grandmother, Augusta, wisely chose to owl your permission slip directly to my office, Neville," McGonagall said, a faint softening appearing around her eyes, "She expressed a distinct lack of faith in your ability to keep track of it until Friday morning. A correct assessment, it seems."
"Oh, brilliant. Thank you, Professor," Neville breathed, sinking back into his seat with a massive sigh of relief.
Hermione and Lucifer walked out of class, not waiting for Harry or Ron, as they had two classes next. On their way to one of them, she was talking about the places she had marked to visit on their date. She didn't give Lucifer a chance to say much because of how excited she was.
xxxxxx
Harry swallowed hard, his heart hammering against his ribs. He looked at the heavy red seal on Neville's parchment.
An idea, desperate and wild, sparked in his chest.
"Professor McGonagall?" Harry asked quickly, before he could lose his nerve. "Could I... could I speak with you for just a moment? Privately?"
McGonagall adjusted her square spectacles, looking down at him. "If it is about your own Hogsmeade form, Potter, I believe we have already exhausted that topic. The rules are entirely explicit."
"It's not just about the form, Professor. It's about... 'family," Harry urged, his voice dropping to a fierce whisper. "Please."
The Transfiguration professor paused.
She scanned his face, her sharp eyes lingering on lightning-bolt scar and green eyes that looked so much like Lily's. With a small, tight nod, she gestured with her hand, "Yery well. Follow me to the office, Potter."
xxxxxx
McGonagall stepped behind her desk, turning to face him with her hands clasped, "Well, Potter? What is this urgent matter?"
Harry took a deep breath, pulling the blank, crumpled form from his pocket and placing it on her desk. "I know the Dursleys won't sign it. They hate magic, and they hate me. But they aren't my only family. Not really."
McGonagall sighed, her expression turning sorrowful, "Harry, we have discussed this. Your aunt and uncle are your legal muggle guardians. I cannot accept a signature from myself, nor from any ordinary wizarding acquaintance."
"But what about a blood relative?" Harry countered, squaring his shoulders. "What if I can get a signature from a magical guardian who actually wants me to go?"
She blinked, caught entirely off guard, "What do you mean, Harry? You have no other immediate family."
"I know I don't have close family," The boy explained quickly, "but since coming to Hogwarts, I've learned that nearly all the old wizarding families are connected.... Neville and I are distantly related somewhere back on the family tree, his Grandmother told me. If my Muggle guardians refuse to sign because they hate magic, shouldn't a magical blood relative's signature count? If Madam Longbottom signed for me as a cousin, wouldn't that work?"
Silence stretched across the office, Professor McGonagall looked from Harry down to the blank parchment, her lips pressed into a razor-thin line.
For a moment, he thought she was going to scream at him, deduct fifty points, and send him straight to Filch for detention.
Instead, a profound, heavy silence settled over her. She reached out, her fingers brushing the edge of the blank form, "The old wizarding rules do technically allow a magical proxy from a blood-allied house if a student's primary guardians are entirely unreachable or incapacitated."
She said slowly, her voice carrying a strange weight, "And you are correct, Harry... The Potters and Longbottoms are distantly related. But it is not my place to make that claim for you."
She pulled a fresh piece of parchment toward her and dipped her quill in ink, "However, I will draft an immediate, official inquiry to 'Madam Longbottom'. I will explain the situation, that your Muggle guardians have refused to sign out of malice, and ask if she is willing to claim the distant blood relation to act as your magical proxy."
Harry's heart soared. "Do you think she'll do it, Professor? She was quite nice over the holidays."
"Well that's expected, Augusta Longbottom knew your parents, James and Lily, incredibly well during the war," McGonagall said, her voice softening with genuine warmth. "And she was very close friends with your grandparents, Fleamont and Euphemia. She is a woman fiercely dedicated to family and tradition. If she can use her signature to give Lily and James's boy a bit of freedom, she will do so gladly."
She sealed the letter with a drop of green wax and handed it to a large screech owl perched near the window. The owl took off into the crisp autumn sky.
"Go down to the entrance hall and wait with Mr. Weasley, Potter," McGonagall commanded, her tone warmer than Harry had ever heard it, "If the owl returns before carriages depart, you shall go to the village."
Twenty minutes later, Harry stood in the crowded, bustling Entrance Hall.
Ron was hovering near him, asking a million questions, but Harry's eyes were locked on the high windows.
Suddenly, a streak of gray cut through the sky. The screech owl swooped low through the open front doors, landing gracefully on the banister right next to Professor McGonagall, who had just walked down the marble staircase.
Attached to its leg was Harry's Hogsmeade form, along with a short, briskly written note.
McGonagall untied it, unfolded the parchment, and read the note aloud in a clear, carrying voice.
"To Professor McGonagall.
According to our shared family trees, Harry Potter and my grandson Neville are distant cousins. I am delighted to hear you have written to me this as a possible option.
As a blood relative who knew and respected his parents and grandparents dearly, I gladly sign this proxy form. No boy of the Potter line should be kept locked away by Muggles.
Sincerely, Augusta Longbottom."
Right at the bottom of Harry's permission slip, beneath the official Hogwarts seal, was a massive, sweeping signature in shimmering gold ink: "Augusta Longbottom."
McGonagall looked up, her face perfectly stoic, though a bright twinkle shone in her eyes.
"Everything appears to be in perfect legal order, Potter," she announced loudly enough for the surrounding students to hear, "Your guardian's proxy signature is 'fully' validated."
Ron jaw dropped. Neville, standing nearby, beamed with immense pride.
"Have a pleasant trip to the village, Harry," The Professor said softly, slipping the form into her robes. "And do buy yourself some sugar quills."
xxxxxx
"I almost kissed Neville."
Harry said with a stupid grin.
"There's also the feast," Ron said in an ewually cheerful mood, "You know, the Halloween feast, in the evening."
"Yeah, we missed it last year for that Death Party!" Hermione said, she still didn't forget how Myrtle was flirting with her boyfriend that night.
She could tell that Harry was really grateful in taking Neville and Ron along with him to Hogsmeade, perfect, now she wouldn't have to worry, a certain Weasley possibly tailing them for no reason.
"They don't make a fuss about Hogsmeade for nothing, I assure you, Potter, the sweetshop's rather good, but Zonko's Joke Shop frankly dangerous, and yes, the Shrieking Shack is always worth a vis----"
"Thank you, Percy, now I know where to visit first." Harry said with an excited face, that looked ready to split his lips in two.
Percy puffed out his chest at the gratitude.
xxxxxx
Lucifer and Hermione threw their bags against the nearest tree as they ran down to shore of Black Lake.
He took off his shirt and tossed it to the side, while the bushy haired girl stared at his hard-toned abs shamelessly.
"What?" He raised his eyebrows.
"Nothing.." Hermione mumbled as she ran towards him again. They laughed as she chased Lucifer around the pebbles, before finally managed to tackle him to the ground.
"Got you!" She panted, while Lucifer discreetly rolled up his pant legs while she pressed her lips against his.
"You definitely got me..." He said against Hermione's lips. "My turn!"
"What?!" The girl squealed as Lucifer easily picked her up bridal style and carried her into the water.
"Lucifer Morningstar! I swear to God, if you drop me!"
Lucifer held back a laugh as he spun her around in the water, making her scream. He let his legs fall out from beneath him, making them both fall down into the water.
"Owaah!" Hermione gasped as she whipped her head out of the water, and glared daggers at Lucifer.
The water was level with their waists at this point.
Lucifer shot her a cheeky smile before sinking below the water's surface once more. She 'felt' something touch the back of her legs and bowl her over into the water once again.
They both sprouted from the water again, watey hair all over their faces.
He quickly pushed some curls behind Hermione's ear and placed his hand on her cheek. She smiled before pulling him into a deep kiss, putting one hand on his waist and the other around his neck.
He took his hand away from her cheek and put them both behind her, picking her up. She took the initiative and wrapped her legs around him before breaking the kiss and pushing him down.
"Aha! Revenge!" Hermione yelled as she waded through the water to escape Lucifer.
"That was cheap! Very cheap, 'Granger." Lucifer said as he escaped the cold waters. He cast a quick 'drying spell' on both himself and Hermione before putting his clothes back on to warm up.
She sat herself down against one of the many trees dotted around the area, stretching her legs across pebbles of the shore.
Lucifer laid his head down on Hermione's upper legs, turning his head to face her.
"What?" She asked. "Do I have a water beetle in my hair?"
"No, it's not that. Has anyone ever told you that your eyes are brown?" He asked, in a dazed expression.
"l do believe so," Hermione grinned, chuckling at the silly question.
"No, like really brown. Like chocolatey brown, brownie brown-"
"Brownie brown?" Her eyebrows raised and a smile tugged at her lips.
"You know what I mean."
"No, I don't follow. What do you mean by brownie brown?" Hermione questioned, leaning her head forward slightly, so it hovered over Lucifer's.
"Have you ever been eating chocolate, and think to yourself.. 'Just one more bit, but then find that you've lost yourself and eaten it all a moment later?"
"Haven't we all?"
"That type of brownie brown... it's so easy to get lost in yo- mmh!"
Hermione crashed their lips together, pulling Lucifer up with her so the boy wasn't lying down anymore. He already lost himself to the sweet cherry taste of her lips, driving him insane and begging for more.
She could still taste the faint signature flavour of cauldron cakes from Lucifer's mouth, not that she was complaining, they were her second favourite wizarding delicacies, going after pumping pasties of course.
One of Lucifer's hands found its way into Hermione's hair, pulling her face impossibly closer to his, and sending a shiver down her spine.
His other hand, however, found its way to Hermione's waist, his thumb tracing the outline of her ribcage.
She sighed in comfort as they broke for much needed air, before plunging back in again, Lucifer pulled her to her feet and pressed her back against the tree.
She wrapped a leg around one of his, locking them into an even closer embrace, unable to be broken.
Hermione's hands were pressed into the small of Lucifer's lower back, begging for closer contact then what they had now, pushing aside his robes, even slipping two or three fingers inside his pants, and groping his ass checks.
Lucifer could clearly feel Hermione's assets pressed against his chest, it was a good feeling. It left him craving more, wanting more.
They soon broke apart, a massive grin planted on Hermione's face.
"That felt good.." She muttered, shyly brushing her hair behind her ear while other hand was still busy digging her nails into his arse cheeks.
"That felt good.." Lucifer repeated, in a sort of daze.
She moved her face close to Lucifer's and touched his nose with hers, leaving only a peck on his lips.
"Do you mind removing those?" She asked, her gaze moving lower between his legs, her other hand still gripping butt tightly.
"'Very naughty, Granger... very naughty." Hermione blushed heavily, her desire to shag him right there increased three folds.
"Why not? Let's go to our room," She hurriedly removed her hand from his pants. And so they walked off up to the castle, hands together, but not before carving their initials into the tree they had used as a wall for their impromptu make-out session, with a large heart surrounding them.
xxxxxx
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