Vanish

"So Merope was You Know Who's mum, then?" Hermione asked, giving him a few last pulls with her hand. 

"Yeah," Harry panted. He leaned his head back against the broom closet wall as he put himself back in his pants.

"And the ring on Dumbledore's hand… came from Voldemort?" He reached down to help her stand.

"From his father."

"And we think it's what is withering his hand?"

"Hermione, mind letting me come down a bit before laying on the third-degree?"

"Oh, bugger, of course. Sorry, I'm just excited." 

He pushed her lightly against the wall. 

"I know you're excited," he said purred. He moved between her thighs and kissed her. 

"Is that gross?" She asked.

"Is what gross?" He nibbled her lip, his green eyes droopy and content.

"Kissing me after, you know."

"Of course not!" He chuckled, "I can barely taste anything, and anything I can taste just reminds me how bloody lucky I am to have my friend giving no strings head to me all the time."

"That's fair," she said, kissing him back. 

In these moments, when he reassured her and made her feel so safe and loved, she thought about telling him what she'd seen on Malfoy's arm in Knockturn Alley. It was always in the back of her throat when she was with him, but in the soft moments when he kissed her lightly, held her face, and played with her hair, it was on the tip of her tongue.

"I don't know, sometimes I just worry about..." He began, and she rolled her eyes and cut him off.

"Harry, leave Malfoy alone," she said, and he furrowed his brows.

"I...no, I worry about Dumbledore. I mean, why did he put that ring on his finger? It seems so reckless. So unlike him."

"Oh, right," she said, "I don't know. Maybe he didn't know what it was. Or maybe he did, and knew it was the only way to break whatever curse is on it."

Harry began to fiddle with the hem of her skirt.

"I have to continue my rounds," she whispered in his ear and pushed him lightly off her.

"When is your next session with Dumbledore?"

"Dunno, do I?" He said, and she nodded.

They stumbled out into the hallway.

"Shoot," she said, "it's late, and you're not supposed to be in the halls."

Harry dug the invisibility cloak from his bag and threw it over his shoulders. After all these years, she'd never gotten used to him as just a head and no body. He flipped the hood up, vanishing entirely. She turned to leave down the first corridor of her beat when she felt him grab her hand, and she turned back to the space she knew he occupied. His warmth radiated onto her, and before she could shoo him away, she felt his lips against hers. She laughed and felt his tongue slip into her mouth. She reached up and ran her fingers through his coarse black hair beneath the cloak. 

"If anyone sees you they'll think you really lost it," he whispered, and he bit her lip.

"Better this way than Romilda Vane seeing us together, though, right?" Hermione laughed, and she felt Harry kiss down her neck.

"She is so into you," she said.

"You think?"

"Oh Merlin, Harry, she gives you fuck me eyes every time you walk by."

"Yeah, Hermione, I know. "

"Oh, right," she said and blushed.

He kissed her again. Holding her tight against his body. His hood slipped from his head.

"I kind of like kissing invisible you," she said, returning the hood.

"Safer than having Romilda hex you."

He moved his lips to her neck and grabbed her hand.

"Let's go to the room of requirement."

"I've got to go, Harry. I've got to finish rounds."

"Screw rounds. Come back to the common room with me. We can fool around under the cloak."

"I've got to go," she laughed, and she pushed him off her.

"Alright, fine," he said, and as she turned to leave, he said, "I'll come with you."

"You don't need to do that," she said to the empty space that was Harry.

"I have a paper for Bins that I can't do without you anyway, so there's no point in going back yet just to stare at blank parchment." She rolled her eyes. They started down the next corridor on her beat and she opened the first classroom.

"Homenum Revelio."

She waited for a silent moment before closing the door behind her.

"You know I don't hook up with those girls, right?" asked Harry, and she jumped. She'd just about forgotten he was there.

"Who?" She asked.

"Romilda, Padma, any of them."

"Yeah, right ."

"I don't!"

"Whatever you say."

"Oh fuck off." She looked to where she thought he was and smiled.  

"I know you don't, Harry, I'm just teasing you."

She ascended onto a staircase as it changed its landing to the corridor for her next round.

She hadn't thought he was hooking up with those girls, but now she wasn't sure. Harry only grew defensive about things he was actually doing - otherwise, he'd wave it off. She didn't particularly care - he deserved the attention. He'd certainly been through enough to be given a hero's welcome.

They finished the corridor and ascended a staircase to the next in silence. Finally, they arrived at the first dark classroom in the hallway.

"Oh, bollocks," she heard him whisper.

Hermione peered into the ajar classroom door to find a silhouette propped up on a desk, long hair spilling down her back, the ridge of her neck catching moonlight through the windows. Another dark figure finished unbuttoning her blouse and popped a nipple into their mouth. The girl moaned.

"Yes, Dean, oh my, that feels…" Ginny said.

"Harry, I've gotta bust them. You should go," she whispered.

She didn't hear him respond, nor did she hear him shuffle away.

Dean lifted Ginny's skirt and lowered his head between her legs. 

Hermione watched Ginny's mouth open, and her hair sway as she threw her head back. 

The truth was, as many times as Hermione had gone down on Krum, as many times as he'd fingered and fucked her to orgasm, he'd never reciprocated oral. She'd never thought too much about it, but seeing Ginny's face screwed up in pleasure, her hand on Dean's head beneath her skirt, had her feeling left out. Maybe it was time to get Ginny and Harry together, leaving Dean single for Hermione to pursue. Or better yet, perhaps she should just finally hook up with Ginny. This idea fluttered in her stomach and was clipped by the idea that Ron would probably kill her.

Ginny ground on his face and pushed him deeper into her. 

"Oh fuck yes, Dean, right there, right…oh,"

Suddenly, Hermione felt a yank on her arm. Harry, still invisible, pulled her away from the door. He pushed her into the wall and forced his tongue roughly against hers. His teeth knocked hers as he kissed, and his hand pushed up under her skirt and began to rub her clit so fiercely she almost bucked away. 

Even though she couldn't see him, she felt the pressure of him on her lungs. She gasped as he pulled pleasure from her like a cat pulled by its tail.

He pulled open her shirt, skittering buttons across the floor and pulled down her bra to reveal a nipple to the cool castle air. He licked until it popped up hard and then bit it nearly to the point of pain. 

He kissed down her stomach and lifted her skirt. 

She looked a mess laid bare against the wall. If someone were to walk this hallway, if Ginny and Dean were to finish and find her…

"Harry, no, not here!" She whispered and pushed his invisible head away. He fell onto his backside, and his hood flew back. His lips were swollen, and his neck and face grew redder by the moment. Hermione pulled her shirt closed as Harry got to his feet and looked down at her with hurt in his green eyes. He put his hood back up.

She grabbed his invisible arm.

"What the hell was that?" She whispered.

"I've got to go," he grumbled.

"Harry, if you like her, you need to just tell her!" She said.

He stopped struggling against her grip. A long pause hung in the quiet corridor before he responded.

"You don't know what you're talking about," he said, and she rolled her eyes.

"Well, either way, I don't like what you just did. I don't like it when you're...rough with me." She swallowed, holding her shirt closed. "And whether or not you want to admit you have feelings for Ginny, don't use me just to get out your... frustration. "

Harry pulled the cloak of his hood down and Hermione flinched. His green eyes flashed with a fury she'd only seen directed at death eaters.

"Me, using you? Are you barking mad?" He hissed and jerked a step toward her.

"Like you're not hoping Ron comes around the corner every time we fall out of a broom closet. Or is he not patrolling somewhere near here tonight?"

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. 

"If you like him, Hermione, you should just tell him. I don't appreciate you using me to get at my best friend. "

Harry wrenched his arm free, flipped the hood back up and was gone.

"Bollocks," she muttered, and she dropped her head against the wall.

"Reparo."

The buttons skipped along the floor and flew back onto her shirt, and the silk thread twisted itself to secure them.\

She didn't think she was using Harry to get to Ron, but her mind had entirely betrayed her this year.

The truth was she just didn't think about Ron that way anymore. When she was young, the relentless teasing seemed charming - 'he's mean cause he likes you' and all that. But after the Yule Ball, she'd thought back over the years, and what had been charming suddenly felt cruel. But she couldn't abandon her best friends, so she'd vowed to stand up for herself more, and that had been that.

Harry had always told her that she was his best friend no matter what. She believed he'd always be there for her and forgive her if she did something wrong, disloyal, or unjust. But the more Hermione thought about it, the more she had no reason to believe it.

She'd never needed his forgiveness. Instead, it felt like everything she'd done and cared about over the last six years had been for him...When everyone else hated him fourth year, she'd been there. Hell, when the whole school thought he was killing muggle-borns, she's been his most loyal friend. Instead of hiding, she'd been petrified by a damn basilisk while looking for a way to clear his name. But that certainly hadn't stopped him from lashing out over the years and turning a blind eye when others lashed out.

Sure, he and Ron saved her from that troll, but she'd only been crying in that bathroom because Ron had been making fun of her. Harry hadn't even stood up for her when Ron took the piss about S.P.E.W. or made fun of her and Victor to the point that they almost broke up.

For years Ron had done nothing but make fun of her, and Harry took his side every time. But she'd stood by them because they'd been her only friends.

No, if she was completely honest with herself, if either Harry or Ron found out she'd slept with Draco Malfoy, they'd never talk to her again.

Disgust raked over her body.

Most of the time, what she'd done didn't feel real - it felt like one of her fantasies before bed. But then it would all come crashing down on her, and she'd feel this terrible twisted mix of shame, hatred, loathing and...

She rubbed her legs together and smacked her head against the wall. 

"Someone there?" She heard a call from the classroom.

Bollocks. She'd forgotten about Ginny and Dean.

She pushed herself off the wall and into the classroom. 

"Ginny, Dean, get out," she said. 

"Oh shit, Hermione!" Ginny laughed. Dean looked up, but she pushed him back between her legs.

"Hermione! I'm so glad to see you! Come here," she beckoned.

"No, Ginny, I,"

"Hermione, I need you, come here," Ginny demanded, still grinding against Dean's face. 

Hermione sighed and approached her.

"Hey, Hermione," Dean said in a sultry voice. He kissed up Ginny's leg. 

"Dean, don't stop, I was so close." She turned her head and bit her lip, " Hermione ," Ginny said, the fire whisky strong on her breath. She pulled Hermione's tie until she fell onto her soft, plump lips.

The thing about being a Gryffindor was how quickly shame turned to reckless pride. A part of her hoped Harry and Ron both would find out what she was about to do.

And Hermione loved kissing Ginny. There was no danger or force, just giggling and gentle nipping. Dean disappeared beneath her skirt again, and Ginny pulled Hermione's hand to her breast, pushing their fingers together to massage her. Hermione squeezed and tugged gently on her nipple through the fabric of her shirt, making Ginny giggle. She wrapped her arm around Hermione's waist and gasped into her mouth when Dean did something particularly pleasing. 

"Oh fuck, that's so hot," said Dean, and Ginny pushed his head back to her core and flipped her skirt over his eyes.

"No peeking," she chided, biting Hermione's lip.

"What the hell, Gin," Dean grumbled, fixing her skirt so he could see again.

"Yes, right there," she said. Hermione didn't know who she was talking to, but she pulled on her nipple again and raised her fingers to stroke the other.

Ginny moved Hermione's hand beneath her blouse and onto her bare skin. Her breasts were softer than Crookshanks's stomach - than any part of the boys she'd been pawing lately. Beneath the whisky, her breath was sweet, and her lips were glossed with something fruity. Hermione sucked Ginny's bottom lip.

"Godric, I could watch this all day," Dean said, kissing the inside of Ginny's knee, his eyes half-lidded.

Dean, this is just for us girls ," Ginny said, positioning Hermione away from him.

"Damnit, Gin. And what am I supposed to do? Just go down on you like one of your bloody toys and keep quiet?"

"That would be nice," she said, and Dean huffed.

"Screw it, I'm done." He stood, wiped his mouth, and stormed out of the room, pushing a desk over in his wake.

"Dean," Hermione called, but Ginny sat up and pulled Hermione between her legs. She grabbed her chin and rightened Hermione's face towards hers.

"Don't worry about him," she whispered, nuzzling her nose against Hermione's.

Hermione fiddled with the buttons of her shirt, and Ginny helped her push it from her shoulders. She unhooked Hermione's bra with finesse, and it fell to her feet. They pressed together, and Hermione felt her nipples graze Ginny's. Shocks flew down her spine, and she arched into her. 

Ginny peppered kisses down Hermione's neck and collarbone until she sucked a nipple into her mouth, which was still sore from Harry's lack of care. But Ginny nibbled softly and licked the bud so gently that Hermione felt it in her core. 

Ginny sat up, bit her cheek and gave Hermione a wild look. 

She grabbed her around the waist and pushed her up onto the neighboring desk as she slid off her own. Then Ginny grabbed a chair with her foot and sank down onto it. She parted Hermione's legs and flipped up her skirt so her center was at eye level. Ginny looked up at her with that same wicked look and conjured a scroll and quill between her spread legs.

"So, what are we learning about today, professor?" She asked, looking up with doe eyes. Hermione's laugh turned into a moan when Ginny placed the flat side of the quill tip lightly against Hermione's clit. She rolled her hips against the cold metal.

Then Hermione noticed the fire whisky bottle beside Ginny and saw it was more than half gone.

"Ginny," she panted, "I have to get you to bed,"

"Oh, thank Merlin," she said, nibbling at Hermione's thighs.

"No, not my bed, yours ,"

"Even better, I've got muggle toys! "

Hermione laughed even as she panted with pleasure. Ginny felt her way beneath her knickers. Her fingers were so soft, and her touch so gentle.

This wasn't right. Ginny was drunk, and Hermione had only gotten this far to piss off Harry and Ron.

"Gin, you're drunk, and I'm...I'm…a prefect."  She said, and Ginny giggled.

"Madame Prefect, I'm so worried we won't win the house cup this year. What can I ever do to get your support?"

One long, slim finger pushed inside her.

It felt amazing, and it had to stop. 

She pushed Ginny away by the shoulder gently but firmly. Once the girl was out of range, she closed her legs. 

Hermione scooted off of the desk and into Ginny's lap. She gave her a long kiss.

"Do you need me to walk you back?" Hermione asked, and she stood, looking down and running her hands along Ginny's hair.

"No, Madame Prefect, I don't," Ginny said, and she batted Hermione's hand away.

"I'm confiscating this," Hermione said, snatching Ginny's fire whisky.

"Merlin's beard! After everything I've done for," she hiccuped, "to you tonight?!"

"You know I have to."

Ginny rolled her eyes and pushed up from the seat. She stumbled as she grabbed her backpack, and Hermione knew she'd made the right call. Ginny waggled her fingers at Hermione and blew her a kiss as she pushed herself back through the classroom door. 

Hermione sighed and took a swig of fire whisky. She knew Ginny and Dean fought constantly, yet they still stayed together. Most nights, they could be found dividing their time between snuggling in the Gryffindor common room and staring daggers at each other from opposite armchairs. She'd flirt with Michael Corner, and Dean would look like he'd hex him. Then, in the blink of an eye, Michael was forgotten.

What made them stay together?

Hermione finished her rounds, and by the time she returned to the Gryffindor common room, she was adequately sloshed. Ginny and Dean snuggled in the corner under a blanket, two out of four hands unaccounted for. Dean winked at Hermione from across the room, and she shook her head. So all had been righted in their little world.

Harry sat at a table and stared into the fire. She knew he'd noticed her come in simply by how determined he was not to look at her. Suddenly, Arthur Weasley's voice rang in her ears.

"Can you just help us keep Harry safe this year, keep his head on straight?"

She sighed. No matter how much of a git he could be, he was the bloody savior of the world. The weight of the world sobered her slightly.

She dropped the bottle on a nearby table, sauntered over to him, and sat down.

"Alright," she slurred, "what does old Binsy want to know about this time?"