Halloween Mix-Up

Halloween Mix-Up

by: Tassana Burrfoot





Chapter Twenty: Sympathetic Sibling





Explaining to Ron why Hermione should go to Draco\'s house for the holidays was like trying to feed a threstral an apple. Harry understood. Thank Merlin, Harry understood!



"Could you please explain it to this dunderhead?" Hermione pleaded as she let out yet another frustrated sigh.



Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Think about it, Ron," he said, calmly. "If she goes home with you, how is she going to keep from touching anyone the entire length of her stay? Didn\'t you say Bill and Charlie were coming home? Not to mention, I\'m sure Fred and George will be there as well. She doesn\'t need any chance of another guy touching her."



"And what about Mr. Malfoy?" the red-head argued, his face almost the same colour as his hair.



Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Is your brain with you at all today, Ronald?" she questioned. "Mr. Malfoy is currently spending Christmas in Azkaban. I know your father told you of this. The only people who will be there, aside from myself, is Draco and his mother."



"How do we know this spell doesn\'t affect females?" Ron asked, his desperation clear in his blue eyes.



For the umpteenth time, Hermione rolled her eyes. "Because, I\'m not attracted to females. It only affects the sex with which the spellcaster is attracted to. Was I attracted to females, then, yes, it would affect them. It also does not affect those who aren\'t attracted to females. So, gay guys are safe from me as well."



Ron tilted his head to the side. "How do you know?"



This was getting absurd! "Because I read!" she blurted, her tolerance waning. "When I learned of the spell, I studied and read every bit of literature I could about it. With Draco\'s help, I was able to learn as much about the spell as I possibly could."



"Except how to break it before Valentine\'s Day," Harry pointed out.



Again, Hermione sighed as she sat back in her chair. "It seems Valentine\'s Day is my only option."



"I can\'t wait until Valentine\'s Day," Ron commented, taking a swallow from his butterbeer.



Hermione shook her head and had to keep herself from laughing at the irony of his statement. "You are not the only one."



(II) (II)



Hermione stood in the door frame of the sixth year boys\' dormitory in Gryffindor. She watched as Harry packed his trunk for Christmas. He would be spending Christmas at Grimmauld Place with his godfather and the Order. A smile played upon her lips at the thought.



Though her parents had tried, they were never able to produce a sibling for Hermione. And she had desperately wanted one. A little brother or sister would have been nice to have around the house. Who knew? Perhaps that sibling would\'ve been a witch or a wizard and could attend school with her.



But, Hermione had a brother. She had Harry. And she loved having Harry for a brother.



"How long are you going to stand there?" Harry asked, not looking up from his packing.



She shrugged non-chalant. "As long as it takes for you to notice that I\'m here," she jested.



He stood straight and gazed at her. "I\'ve known you were there since you walked up," he replied. "Course, since this curse, I\'ve always known when you were close to me..."



He looked away, his head falling down in shame. Then, he turned back to his packing. "You know, Sirius and I were thinking of taking Buckbeak out for a ride this Christmas," he told her, changing the subject.



But, Hermione wasn\'t a fool. "Do you plan on waiting until after Christmas to be with me?" she snipped.



He closed his eyes. He was wondering when she would say that.



Truth was; Harry was torn. He had always wanted a sister. A kid sister would have been great, because he could take care of her and watch out for her. In many ways, Hermione was that kid sister he had always dreamed about.



But, now? All he wanted to do was take Hermione, throw her on the bed, and ravish her. How could he think that way?



Of course, he knew it was because of the spell. This stupid curse managed to cause a lot of pain and heartache. And Harry fought it. He fought it with every fiber of his being. He was not about to sleep with his sister. He just couldn\'t.



"I wasn\'t planning on being with you at all," he answered.



She rolled her eyes. "Don\'t be ridiculous," she retorted. "Even you know that if something isn\'t done soon, you\'re going to go crazy. Whether we want to or not, we have to sleep together."



"I can\'t do it," he told her, not looking up. He couldn\'t look into her eyes.



He heard her approach and felt her hands on his shoulders. He knew she was trying to catch his eye, but if he looked, he would lose himself. "Don\'t," he whispered, his breath already husky. "I don\'t want to lose you."



Hermione closed her own eyes and felt the tears sting them. "Harry, no matter what, you\'re not going to lose me," she assured him. "But, if we don\'t do something, I\'m going to lose you. Please don\'t make me go through that. I can\'t suffer that pain. I want to help you."



He felt her loosen her grip and walk away from him. He thought she was leaving, to which he was relieved. But, she hadn\'t walked in the direction of the door. The sound of clothes falling caused him to look up and he froze.



She gave him a smile through her tears as she climbed into his bed. She slid the covers over her body, trying her best to cover herself from him. She couldn\'t let him look at her. She couldn\'t let him see. She even kept the covers over her upper half even though she held her hand out to him. "Come to me, Harry," she said, trying to sound seductive, but failing miserably.



He didn\'t want to go to her. This couldn\'t be happening. No. Not her. Anyone but her. She was his sister, the sister he never had. He couldn\'t do this with her, to her. He took a step back.



"Harry," she pleaded, tears falling unchecked down her cheeks. "Don\'t let me lose you. Please. I beg you. I can\'t bare it."



Harry\'s eyes filled with tears. He knew the truth. Hermione would always be there for him. After all, it wasn\'t her mind that was being torn. It was his. And she would lose him. If he didn\'t go to her, she would lose him.



He unbuttoned his oxford as he slowly stepped towards the bed. "There has to be another way," he murmured as he stopped next to the bed.



She closed her eyes and took her wand in her hand. Then, with a flick, she made the room pitch black. "Pretend I am someone else," she told him in the darkness.



He didn\'t know how she had done it, especially with the large window that was in the room. But, he couldn\'t even see his hand in front of his face. She was making things easier for them both.



He slipped his oxford off and undid his trousers. He had to feel around to get into the bed, and then he felt her body. Pretend I am someone else, she had said. But, he couldn\'t think of anyone...



Ginny.



Yes. Tonight, Hermione would be Ginny. That would make things much, much easier.



He allowed his hand to travel up her body as he imagined he was doing this to Ginny. He felt her lips on his and greedily returned her kiss, tasting her for the first time.



He wanted it to be slow. To feel every part of her and to hear her call out his name. He lifted his hands to her rounded breasts, breasts that were larger than Ginny\'s. And he knew he couldn\'t pretend anymore.



He also could no longer stop himself. He rolled over on top of her and trailed kisses along her jaw line and her neck. "No pretending," he breathed against her neck. "I can\'t pretend. This is you and me, Her-Hermione."



He could feel her choking back the sobs as she replied, "Nor can I."



That was when he entered her. Hurry, get it over with. That\'s all he wanted. Get it over with and then continue on as if nothing happened.



As he thrust repeatedly into her, all he could feel was the shame in what he was doing. According to the curse, this was the woman of his dreams. The woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.



But, she wasn\'t. She was his sister.



She cried freely as he continued his rhythm, gradually speeding up. He needed to find his release, their release. Then, he could let her go and the curse will be subsided for a while.



A pain wracked his chest. He found himself crying as well. He didn\'t want to do this with her. He should be doing this with Ginny or some other girl. Not with the girl who had come to be his sister. This wasn\'t how it was supposed to be.



Then, something snapped. Suddenly, they both reached their climaxes and he fell onto her, exhausted. To keep himself from smothering her, he pulled out and rolled onto his side.



"I\'m sorry," he whispered in her ear, tears flowing freely. "I\'m so, so sorry."



Her tears dampened his shoulders. "I am, too," she replied. "I\'m so sorry, Harry."



It was their tears, not their love making, that finally brought them to their sleep.





(III) (III)



When Harry awoke the next morning, he found her gone. She had picked up her clothes and allowed the light to reenter the room. It was for the best, he knew.



Then, something occurred to him. He no longer felt the affects of the spell. He looked down at his own naked body and felt... elated. It was like a heavy weight was lifted from his chest. Curious.



He slipped out of bed and threw on some clothes. Shortly after, he had taken a shower, changed, and finished packing.



He met Hermione and Ron at the entrance doors to Hogwarts. To his annoyance, Malfoy was there as well. Not that it really surprised him. After all, Hermione was going home with Malfoy. And, for some reason, it didn\'t bother Harry as much as he thought it would.



Perhaps sex helped repel the curse?



Harry gazed at Hermione uneasily. "So, um," he stuttered. He took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. "We are still friends, right?"



She looked at him curiously and gave him a smile. "Of course we\'re still friends," she assured him. "We will always be friends, Harry."



That made him feel a whole lot better. He turned to Malfoy and gave the blond a sneer. "You will take care of her while at the Manor, correct?" he inquired, though it was more of a threat than a request.



Malfoy raised an eyebrow and looked as if he were debating on whether to sneer or smirk. Instead, he shrugged in indifference. "I always take care of her," he answered, levitating his trunk with his wand.



Harry rolled his eyes and caught Hermione doing the same thing.



"I still don\'t understand why you can\'t come home with me," Ron complained, levitating his own trunk.



The other three moaned, but it was Hermione who responded. "I\'m not going to explain things again, Ronald. You\'ll just have to deal with it, that\'s all. I\'ll see you in a couple of weeks."



"Too long," Ron pouted. "Come see me in a few days. You don\'t have to stay. Just drop by and say hi."



"Ron, dropping by could mean she incidentally touches one of your brothers or your father," Harry explained. "We don\'t need that happening. She has enough to deal with as it is."



Hermione smiled at Harry\'s thoughtfulness, but couldn\'t understand his posture. He looked... relaxed.



Harry gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Owl me when you get settled," he requested. "I want to make sure everything there is fine."



She nodded happily as she took Malfoy\'s arm. "Naturally," she replied as the friends parted their ways.



They watched her go off with Malfoy further away from them. "Why can\'t she sit with us on the train?" Ron asked.



Harry shook his head. "They\'re not taking the train," he answered. "Didn\'t you pay attention to what Hermione was saying? Due to the special circumstances, they are going to Floo to Malfoy\'s place."



"How?"



Harry shrugged. "I think they\'re using the fireplace at The Three Broomsticks. At least, that\'s what Hermione was saying. Dumbledore offered his fireplace, but Hermione didn\'t think it fair or something like that. Besides, I think she wanted an excuse to have some alone time with Malfoy."



Ron pulled a face as they approached the station. "Alone time with Malfoy? Why would she want that?"



Harry had a feeling he knew the answer, but he wasn\'t at liberty to say. Besides, Ron seemed to be still affected by the spell. They didn\'t need to have any fights started right before, nor right after, the holidays.