The Coven

Disclaimer: Please don’t sue. Just playing with the characters.

Special thanks to Snapeaholic for betaing.



The Coven



Chapter 6: Girl Talk



Ginny got up from her cushion. “Who wants a beverage?” She walked over to a table behind them that no one had noticed.



“It is the Room of Requirement, and I thought we might require a drink,” Ginny smirked.



“Excellent idea!” Susan cheered.



Ginny returned with five cold butterbeers. “I think we should make a toast. Hermione?”



“No please. Someone else do it. I am tired of hearing my own voice.”



Luna piped &# “I’ll do it.” She cleared her throat. “To this coven, and it’s members. May we be stronger together than apart. To us women!”



“Cheers!” the other girls chorused.



They quietly sipped their butterbeers. Hermione knew the girlw qud questions, but were too afraid to ask.



“It is going to be okay. It really is. McGonagall might not even let us attempt this spell. She might look at all my research, find it too risky and cancel the whole venture. But I will tell you one thing, no matter what we are still going to be a coven. We don’t need permission to do that.”



Luna smiled. “Of course we will still be a coven. The spell will work Hermione. No one here doubts you or your research ability. We know that you are brilliant.”



Hermione was shocked. “Thank you, Luna. That means a lot to me.”



She smiled at the dishwater blond. It had taken years for Hermione to appreciate the uniqueness that was Luna Lovegood. Her eccentric sensibilities were an acquired taste, and once Hermione got past the pineapple earrings, fanciful stories and unblinking gaze, she found that Luna was a wonderful friend. No one could find a more loyal, brave and oddly insightful ally than Luna. She could be eerily truthful in a situation when everyone else\'s perspective was clouded with emotion. Many believed that Luna felt very little. She never rose to taunts or criticism, but that was not the case. Luna felt things deeply. She just didn’t dwell on the little emotions like jealousy and petty bitterness. Luna seemed to know what was really important.



“Tell us more about the spell, Hermione. How does it work? When is it supposed to be performed? What do we need to do?” asked Hannah.



“What Hannah is really wanting to ask, but is afraid to, is who are the wizards, Hermione?” Susan said. “Who are they?”



Hermione smiled. “That is one of the things that we need to discuss tonight. We need to come up with a list of names for me to give to Professor McGonnagall tomorrow night after dinner. That is when I am to meet with her. Along with all the information that I gathered, I wanted to present her a list of the most powerful wizards on our side of this battle to give to the Headmaster. If they allow this to continue, I thought he should be the one to recruit the wizards.”



“So you don’t have the wizards in mind?” asked Ginny.



“Oh, I have some wizards in mind, but I thought we should make the list together. Perhaps fifteen names for Professor Dumbledore. There might be reasons for some of the wizards to refuse.” ‘Like they are married, gay, sane,’ Hermione thought. “When Professor Dumbledore has five volunteers, I thought we could draw the names from a hat or something, just to make it fair.”



“I’ll write the names down,” Luna offered.



“Who wants to start?” asked Hermione.



“Harry!” squeaked Ginny. The girls laughed as Ginny blushed fiercely.



“Makes sense, Voldemort has marked Harry as an equal. I certainly hope I don’t get his name if he agrees to this. It would be like sex with a brother or something.”



“My Aunt Amelia has mentioned several powerful wizards at the Ministry. Kingsley Shaklebolt comes to mind, as do Sturgis Podmore and Dedalus Diggle. Too bad Lucius Malfoy turned out to be a Death Eater. My auntie never liked the man, but she always said that he was an extremely powerful wizard,” Susan said.



“I guess that leaves out everyone from Slytherin house too. There are too many of them with family ties to V-V. You know ‘him’,” Ginny said.



“Darn, I always thought Draco Malfoy was cute,” Luna sighed.



Ginny made a face, and Hermione shuttered as Hannah and Susan tried to suppress their giggles.



“Luna, to each their own.” Hermione tried to shake off the ght ght of having sex with Draco Malfoy. ‘Yuck!’
>
H>
Hannah leaned over to Luna. “I think he’s cute, too,” she whispered conspiratorially.



“Now I know that this is going to creep you out further,” Hermione started. “But I think we need to include our professors to the list, past and present. They actually are a few of the most powerful wizards we know.”



“Oh Hermione, you have got to be kidding. Flitwick? Snape? Do you mean to include the Headmaster also? The man is one hundred and fifty, if a day. Could he even get an erection at his age?” Hannah pulled a face. “You are REALLY asking a lot of us.”



“Nothing that I am not willing to do myself. Yes, I think Snape, Flitwick, Dumbledore, Remus Lupin and Alastor Moody should all be included,” said Hermione.



“What about Gilderoy Lockhart?” asked Susan.



“Lockhart was a fraud, Susan. He didn’t do any of the things that he claimed in his books. Luckily for us, he is still incapacitated at St. Mungo’s,” Ginny replied bitterly. She was still angry at the man for wanting to leave her to die in the Chamber of Secrets at the end of her first year.



“How many is that Luna?” Hermione asked.



“Nine. What about Neville? Besides Harry, he is the best in the D.A. of the boys.”



“Okay, put him on the list.”
>
&>
“What about Ron?” asked Susan.



“Oh no, I don’t think that is a good idea. He’s with Lavender now, and I don’t think he would even accept the proposal,” answered Hermione.



“And there is that little tricky problem of him being my BROTHER!” Ginny choked out.



“Well, obviously, you would trade his name with someone else,” Hannah replied.



“No, if it’s all the same with you,’s just keep the many male members of my family out of this.”



“Good choice of words, Ginny,” Hermione smirked. “It is too bad though, if you could combine Fred and George into one person, you would have a pretty powerful wizard.”



Susan choked on her butterbeer.



“What is it, Susan?” asked Hermione.



“Oh nothing. Just thinking,” Susan’s face began to flush.



“I really wished I had a knut for every time someone fantasized about a threesome with my two brothers. I could afford to build an addition to the Burrow with the money,” Ginny teased.



“Sorry.” Susan looked chagrinned.



“Really, don’t be. They are attractive, fun guys. A pain to grow up with sometimes, but I can see how you could find them appealing.” Ginny paused. “I can’t think of anyone else to add to the list.”



“Can anyone think of anybody else to add?” Hermione asked.



The other girls shook their heads.



“Okay, ten is a good number. I am sure that there will be at least five volunteers. Hopefully.”



The girls all looked somber as the reality of the task ahead was sinking in.



“When is this going to happen, Hermione?” Susan asked.



“The ritual is to be held on Samh whi which is Halloween. We are to meet at ten in the evening to begin the ritual. We then go with the men and say an invocation before each of us starts. We then gather our blood, finish, um, and then meet again to finish the invocation.”



“It’s all kind of scary, isn’t it?,” Ginny sighed, stating the obvious.



“You think?” Susan snorted. “I don’t know about all of you, but I am terrified.”



Hermione broke in, “Not just the sex part either. The sex part terrifies me, too. This spell is very dangerous. It could kill us or turn the men into squibs. It is incredibly risky on all of our parts. That is why we need to all be confident in this. It has to be very precise. We have to study this extensively. It HAS to be correct.”



“God! Everybody shut your eyes again,” Susan practically shrieked.



The girls shut their eyes.



When they opened their eyes, Susan bolted up and ran to the table where Ginny’s butterbeers had been. She returned juggling a large bottle of Firewhiskey and five tumblers.



“Anybody else need something stronger? My nerves are shot!” Susan exclaimed. She handed out the glasses and poured the girls liberal shots of the whiskey.



Hermione thought of objecting, but quickly squelched her first instinct. ‘They need this,’ she reasoned.



Susan downed her glass as Hannah and Hermisippsipped their drinks and grimaced. Luna just stared at her glass, and Ginny drank hers in three gulps.



“That’s better. Can we talk about something else now? Not that I am in denial or anything, but don’t you think we need some time to digest this?” Susan said.



“I agree,” answered Hannah. “Let’s just talk about the coven. Where are we to meet?”



Hermione answered. “I was going to ask Professor McGonnagall about that tomorrow. I thought that we could have a space on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forrest. Not too far in, maybe a few meters from Hagrid’s Hut. That way we don’t have to worry about the creatures in the forrest, and Hagrid will hear us if we need him.”



“Mabon is in two days. We could have our first gathering then,” Ginny added.



“Mabon? What’s Mabon?” Hannah asked.



“It’s the fall equinox, the second harvest. It’s a time of plenty, a time to give thanks for the abundance of our lives. It is a great time to start our coven,” Ginny answered.



“I need another drink,” Susan stated.



“Hear, hear,” Ginny chimed in as Susan filled their glasses.



“Okay, Hermione. You meet with McGonnagall tomorrow. You can tell give us the details when we meet on Friday for our Mabon celebration,” Hannah started and then giggled. “Now, let’s talk about boys.”



“Well, that will be a short conversation on my part,” Hermione said glumly.



“Oh come on, Hermione. Have you looked in a mirror lately? You’re gorgeous! Surely boys are crawling all over you,” Susan teased.



Hermione started choking on her firewhiskey. “Oh, please!” Hermione laughed. “Thank you Susan. I needed a good laugh.”



Hermione continued, “No, there are no boys in my life. The only thing that I have ever done is a few quick kisses with Viktor. I always thought that I would end up with Ron, but apparently he is otherwise occupied with Lavender.” Hermione scowled. “Give me another drink Susan and tell me about YOUR love life.”



Susan snorted. “What love life? Thly bly boys that I have ever been interested in were either not interested in me, or they turned out to be gay. For some reason, I can’t seem to spot the homosexual boys. Oh, the worst is when the boys I like just want to be my friends. I have ENOUGH friends, thank you. What I really would like is a proper snog.”



“Well, it sounds like Susan and I are in the same boat. How about you, Hannah?” Hermione asked.



“Well I have been seeing Eddie since the end of our fifth year. Just casually dating, nothing serious,” Hannah laughed lightly. “Clearly since I still qualify for the spell, it can’t be that serious.” She looked a little sad as she continued. “I suppose I wish that I didn’t qualify for the spell. I wish that Eddie showed more interest in me and less on his prefect duties and his studies. I really wish he was more passionate about me.” Hannah swallowed the rest of her drink. “The farthest we have ever gotten is some heavy petting, and HE was the one to stop it. Oh!” Hannah groaned and threw her hands up in an exasperated manner. “Doesn’t the idiot realize how much I want him?” Hannah looked up, shocked. “Did I just say that out loud?”



The girls laughed. “I think you have had enough whiskey, Hannah,” Ginny teased. “You know, Hannah. Some guys are just oblivious to what is right in front of them. They can’t see their nose to spite their face.”



Hermione turned to Ginny. “So, Gin. Who is this mystery guy of yours? I know that you really haven’t dated since you broke up with Dean last year, but I have a very strong idea that you are harboring a torch for someone. Spill, who is it?”



The Weasley blush colored Ginny’s face. “Um, it is no one.” Hermione glared at Ginny. “Okay, there is a boy, but he doesn’t notice me like that. He just isn’t interested and it hurts to even think about it, let alone discuss it.”



Hermione started to turn to Luna to ask her about her love life when Ginny continued.



“I mean really, why doesn’t he notice me? I know that I am attractive in my way. I make decent grades and play a mean game of Quidditch. I’m the complete package. Can’t he see that? I mean, really. Does he think that I don’t know him, that I am just the stupid, lovesick girl that I once was? That I don’t love him for who he really is, the man that he has become.”



Ginny stopped. ‘It’s Harry’, Hermione thought, surprised.



“I did it again, didn’t I? I said too much.” Ginny started to cry.



Hermione pulled her into an embrace. “Ginny, we don’t have to talk about it, but I am cutting you off of the Firewhiskey for the evening.”



Ginny laughed through her tears. “Did you all figure it out?”



Hannah and Susan shook their heads.



“I knew last year Ginny,” Luna said.



“Are you serious Luna?” Hermione asked.



“Oh yes, I could tell that Ginny loves Harry. I have known for a long time. It was not the schoolgirl crush that she previously had. No, I could tell that Ginny loves him with all her heart.”



Ginny started to tear up again, and Luna handed her a handkerchief.



“I used to fancy Harry,” Luna continued. Susan and Hannah looked at on another in shock. “It was just a little crush, but still I liked him. I would never have acted on it because I knew how you felt about him, and I could see you two together. It is perfectly apparent that you two belong together.”



“Yeah, well. Tell him that.” Ginny had calmed down.



“Do you want me to tell him tomorrow?” Luna replied.



“No, Luna! Don’t! It was just an expression.” Ginny said, her eyes wide.



“What about you, L-L-Luna? Other than your cr-crush on Harry, has there been any snogging in your life?” Susan slurred.



Hermione performed a quick *delere* to get rid of the Firewhiskey and tumblers. She didn’t want her fellow coven members to get caught stumbling in the hallways.



“No, not really - unless you count fellatio with Zacharias Smith as snogging.”



“What!” the other girls shouted in unison at Luna.



Ginny laughed loudly. “Surely he kissed you first,” She was seized with giggles until tears were once again coming out of her eyes.



“Oh, yes. He kissed my neck and my breasts. He never kissed my mouth, though. I think I would have liked it if he did.”



Hermione interrupted. “Luna, were you, are you even dating him?”



“No, not really. I just meet him sometimes in empty classrooms. We have even met here one time.” Luna replied.



Hermione pressed on. “Well, don’t you think he is using you a little? He isn’t going public with you, and he won’t even kiss you on the mouth. Has he even returned the favor?”



“The favor? What do you mean? Are you talking about cunnilingus? Yes, he does that for me, and he’s very good at it, by the way.”



“Too much information, too much information,” Susan blanched.



Ginny hiccuped. “Next time we meet, I think we should just stick to butterbeer.”



”Hear, hear!” Susan started to stand, but stumbled over her cushion.



“Okay, I think it’s time to go. Why don’t I walk all of you back to your respective Houses?,” said Hermione.



“Don’t worry about us. I’m sober, and I can get Susan back to Hufflepuff. I’ll levitate her if need be,” Hannah grinned.



“Well, Luna. Let’s get you to Ravenclaw. Ginny, you’re walking with me, right?” Hermione asked.



“Sure, Hermione,” Ginny responded.



The three girls waved googht ght to Hannah and Susan and then headed toward Ravenclaw Tower. They walked in silence, too deep in thought to have a proper conversation. It took only a few minutes to reach the tapestry-covered entry.



Luna turned to the two girls. “Thank you for letting me be a part of this.”



Hermione answered, “To tell you the truth, Luna. I don’t think it would feel right without you. You have a very interesting way of looking at the world, and we need that. We’ll see you tomorrow at breakfast. Sleep well.”



“Good night,” Luna returned.



Hermione and Ginny returned to Gryffindor Tower. It wasn’t far from Ravenclaw, but Hermione wanted to talk to Ginny badly. She knew that the red head would discuss Harry only if she felt comfortable. ‘Oh this is killing me! I have to keep my mouth shut and her let come to me. Oh, this is hard.’ Fortunately for Hermione, they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.



“Good night, Hermione. We’ll talk again tomorrow evening after you meet with Professor McGonnagall, okay?”



“Sure, Ginny. Remember, I am here if you need to talk about anything, anything,” she stressed.



“Subtle, Hermione. I will keep that in mind. Good night.”



“Good night, Ginny.”



The young Gryffindor entered the common room through the portrait.



‘I am going to sleep like a rock tonight.’ Hermione thought, barely keeping her eyes open. ‘Just five simple steps to reach my door.’ She proceeded to walk into a large, dark object.



‘What’s all this?’ she thought sleepily. It was big, black, and breathing. Hermione slowly looked up into the dark obsidian gaze of Professor Severuape.ape.







A.N

*delere - obliterate, erase



review response:

Delana - Thanks. I appreciate Hermione’s activist qualities.

dryade - Thank you, I’m trying. (type, type, type)

jkrazed - Hey J! I thought someone should be having sex, why not Ron?

Susan - Thank you very much.

LoveThePotionBoy - Hey Kait! Stop it, I’m blushing.

buttercup - Hmmm, you will have to see. (grins)

slashgoddess - Wow, you REALLY love Sev, huh? Cheers!

Carrie - Thanks Carrie.

nesscafe - Thanks for reading. I had to have some of the girls bow out, and I felt the Hufflepuff girls are underused in stories.