War & Peace: HP Style

Chapter 7 - Human Touch

So you've been broken and you've been hurt
Show me somebody who ain't
Yeah, I know I ain't nobody’s bargain
But, hell, a little touch up and a little paint...
You might need something to hold on to
When all the answers, they don't amount to much
Somebody that you could just to talk to
And a little of that human touch

Human Touch - Bruce Springsteen

Monday, October 31st
DADA Classroom with the Slytherins and Gryffindors


Hermione Granger sat at the front of the classroom on the right hand side. Harry was to her left and Ron was next to him. Behind her sat Draco and Blaise. The first time they had sat behind her had been a shock to everyone in the room save Hermione herself. She hadn't told anyone, least of all the boys that Draco now slept on the sofa in her dormitory. He had stayed there ever since the night he rescued her from Theo and Greg's attack.

Once Draco had brought her back to the Head Girl dorm he had turned to leave. He wasn't looking forward to returning to the Slytherin common room but he could and would deal with whatever Theo wanted to dish out at him. Hermione had whispered a quiet thank you when she handed his robes back and had shut the portrait door, wanting privacy he imagined to truly grieve over what had happened. He was still unsure of leaving her alone after the potion she had been forced to drink, but he had weaseled a promise out of her to send for him if anything happened. That would have to suffice for now.

Hermione had been surprised when scarcely twenty minutes later there was a knock on the portrait door. She hadn't done anything since Draco had left her but sit on the sofa and stare blankly into the fire. Sighing she got up and went to open the door, trying to smooth out her appearance incase it was Luna or one of the boys at the door. She was surprised to find Draco there, seated upon his Hogwarts trunk with his book bag in hand.

He looked up at her and gave a half-laugh, half-snort. "My fellow house-mates have declared me unfit to remain in Slytherin." There was a definite swelling around his right eye, and she knew by morning it would be black and blue if it wasn't healed properly. Briefly she thought of all the reasons she shouldn't welcome him inside her dorm but decided that those same reasons were no longer valid. He had saved her life tonight. The least she could do was offer him the use of her sofa.

She opened the portrait wider and motioned for him to follow her inside. He slung his book bag on his shoulder and cast a levitation charm on his trunk. He took in the spacious outer room of her suite. It was done up in neutral shades, but there were accents of red and black throughout, and a large fireplace took up the center of the inner wall. The rest of the wall had built in shelves with all sorts of magical textbooks, reference guides, and storybooks. It seemed she was truly as interested in learning as she acted. He set his trunk down adjacent to the deeply cushioned sofa and placed his bag upon it.

"Nice place you have here, Granger." He shot a smirk in her direction, but failed as he winced in pain. His eye was throbbing but it was a matter of pride to him that he wouldn't heal it. He had made his choice in this war, and now that it was public knowledge his housemates had ambushed him outside the portrait to the Slytherin common room. Actually it had only been Goyle who had decked him, but Draco had gotten in a few shots of his own. Goyle had then sucker punched him in the gut and told him he was no longer welcome. His stuff had been tossed out into the hallway.

Hermione had not acknowledged his attempt at smirking. Instead she ordered him to sit on the couch. She walked into the little kitchenette and grabbed some ice from the icebox. She wrapped it in a towel and brought it out to Draco. "Here, put this on your eye. It will help with the swelling."

She sat down next to him on the couch and both soon became lost in their thoughts as they watched the fire burn. In the morning when they had awoke, neither mentioned the fact that they had ended up embracing the other in their sleep. Nor did they ever talk about why it was they ended up that way each night for the past two weeks. No one but Hermione knew that Draco had been kicked out of the Slytherin dorm, and it was an unspoken agreement between them that no one else needed to know.

They had spent time in the library researching potions by color and taste, hoping they could find something to explain what Hermione had been forced to drink and in the back of her mind, she knew they would eventually have to turn to Professor Snape. However she wanted to wait, she felt fine at the moment and had run a few of the medical diagnostic spells she had learned. Everything seemed to be in working order.

Her mind was brought back to the present when Professor Remus Lupin stood in front of the class. He cleared his throat before he spoke. "Alright everyone, today we are going to practice defensive spells. I need you all to line up in two lines facing each other."

The class scrambled to comply and the desks were magicked to the sides of the room. Hermione ended up between Harry and Draco. He was constantly by her side lately, a fact that had not gone unnoticed by the other students. Particularly, a redheaded young man who had once thought Hermione would be his. Harry, too wondered at this new development but had hardly been able to get a moment alone with her to ask. Malfoy was just always there, it seemed.

Once they had been lined up Hermione realized that it was Pansy Parkinson directly across from her. She mentally groaned. The girl was not evil, not really, she was just ignorant of real life. Having been spoiled and raised with bigoted beliefs, she was annoying but Hermione honestly felt that if the silly bint knew what real Death Eaters did she'd run screaming in the opposite direction.

The black haired girl smirked at Hermione and mouthed the words, "Stupid mudblood" while Professor Lupin's back was turned. Theo was across from Draco and flipped him off.

Neither Hermione nor Malfoy responded.

"Everybody, wands at the ready, on my count of three those of you standing in this line," Lupin pointed to the line in which Pansy stood, "will cast the Jelly-Legs Jinx at the person directly across from you. Those of you in this line," he indicated Draco and Hermione's row, "will need to block the jinx using either 'Expelliarmus' or 'Petrificus Totalus'. The point of this exercise is to test how quickly you can fend off jinxes and curses. If I catch any of you casting anything other than the Jelly-Legs Jinx it will be a one-week detention with Mr. Filch.

"Now, wands at the ready. One, Two, Three!" Streams of blue light were flying around the room, most everyone easily blocked the jinx. Most everyone except Hermione, who had lost her balance as she was unable to control her legs. She was sitting on the floor staring at her wand as though she had never seen it before. The others were still casting spells or defending themselves from them.

"Oh, Granger, taking you down was too easy why don't you stand up and let me do it again!" Pansy's high-pitched laugh grated on Hermione's last nerve. The jinx had worn off and so Hermione stood again. Pansy cast the spell and again Hermione landed on the floor. This time most everyone else noticed and laughed.

Harry crouched down next to her, "Mione, what's wrong? You've always been quicker then most everyone around." Hermione shook her head, trying to think of what it could possibly be. Her wand had shot sparks as she called out the defensive spell, but that was all that had happened.

"I don't know, Harry, but I've got to get out of here, I don't want anyone else to catch on." Harry stood and motioned to Professor Lupin, who immediately went to Hermione's side.

"Ms. Granger, are you feeling alright?" Hermione quickly explained that she was not feeling well and could she please be excused to see Madam Pomfrey.

"Of course, Harry can walk with you..."

"No, Professor, I'd prefer it if Draco went with me." She needed to speak to him alone. Professor Lupin nodded and exchanged a questioning glance with Harry, who shrugged in response. He really had no idea what was going on with those two any more than anyone else did.


~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Hermione waited until they had rounded the corner and were out of everyone's view. She grabbed Draco by the wrist and dragged him into an unused classroom. Casting a silencing charm, and throwing some locking spells on the door, she then sat down in a chair as her legs began to shake. Realization of what the potion was and its effects had hit her like a freight train the second time she had tried to block Pansy's Jelly-Legs Jinx.

"Merlin, Granger if you wanted me that badly, you could've made your move sometime in the last two weeks I've been living with you." Draco smirked at her. Theirs was an odd sort of friendship. He often tried to remain cool and aloof, but failed miserably in the middle of the night when she would cry out in her sleep. He knew it was the after affects of the attack, and though he had 'rescued' her, he still felt that he should have done more to protect her. It was a feeling he was unfamiliar with as he had only ever had to look out for himself.

She, too, seemed content to have him near by day though they only truly conversed while researching the potion, and making plans for the next DA meeting. It was as though they had both become a sort of crutch for each other. He'd never tell her, but at night when she would cry out in her sleep, he would hold her, not just for her benefit, but also for his own. He needed someone to hold on to as much as she did, even if only for a little while.

"Not now, Malfoy. I think I know what the potion does." She looked up at him sadly and he couldn't control the way his heart constricted at the sight. Hermione Granger should never look this defeated, Potter needed her strength, Weasley needed her strength, hell, he needed her strength. Whatever needed to be done, he would do.

"I want to try something first," she spoke standing up and forcing her legs to stop shaking as she walked a few feet away from Draco. "I'm going to try and cast 'Petrificus Totalus' on you. Don't defend yourself."

"And why should I not defend myself? I really don't feel like ending up frozen just because...." He whined.

"Draco, please?" He sighed.

"Alright, Granger, do what you need to do. Just don't leave me in that state."

Hermione took a deep breath then with a flick of her wand, chanted the words "Petrificus Totalus." Draco had his eyes closed in anticipation of being petrified, and therefore missed the blue sparks that had emitted from Hermione's wand.

"Anytime now, Granger."

"Open your eyes, Draco. Watch this." She pointed to a chair and shouted 'Reducto', and was again greeted with a few sparks out the tip of her wand. Nothing else happened.

Draco was stunned. Nothing he had ever seen compared to a witch or a wizard not being able to cast a spell. "Cast a different spell, Hermione," he demanded.

She cast a flurry of different spells, from 'Wingardium Leviosa' to the more complicated charms they were learning this year. Again and again, she tried and again, the same results. Sparks but no magic. She slumped tiredly against a desk, the strain of trying to perform magic taking its toll on her. Her legs were shaky and Draco unthinkingly pulled her into a hug, his thoughts running faster than a Weasley chasing food. There was only one person who could possibly help now.

"We have to see Snape." Draco's voice was low, but serious and Hermione knew she could no longer put off letting someone in authority know what had happened to her.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Harry was tired. Ron had spent the last part of dinner complaining bitterly that Hermione was again not there, and not surprisingly, Malfoy was not there either. Ginny had tried to soothe Ron by explaining that Hermione's research was important, but he had bitterly responded that it must be Malfoy she was studying since she spent so much time with the git. Harry had finally had enough. In short, succinct sentences he had advised Ron to except the fact that not all Slytherins were bad, hadn't Zabini brought them some interesting news on Dolohov that he had intercepted from his mother recently? And Malfoy had not done anything to prove untrustworthy as of yet.

Harry had looked Ron square in the eye and asked him if he was going to let his feelings interfere with helping to win the war. Ron had quietly said no, and the matter was dropped. He sincerely hoped Ron would not let his temper get the best of him regarding the Slytherins.

He made his way towards the prefect’s bathroom on the fifth floor. Ron had given him the password back at the beginning of the year, and Harry had decided tonight was the perfect time to try it out. It would be quite and give him a chance to think about what plans he wanted to have in place when he went to search out an destroy the Horcruxes. It was imperative that they be dealt with quickly, before Voldemort became aware of what was going on. He needed to have one more meeting with Dumbledore before the Christmas holidays. Perhaps Sirius could help as well.

Hermione and Ron had declared their intent to go with him, but he hated the idea of having them along. He didn't want to lose his two best friends, however Hermione was often the brains and Ron never backed down when it came to standing with him. Plus the two of them were remarkably stubborn. Even if he tried to leave he wagered Hermione would be there waiting for him.

Hermione. She was another concern. He had noticed her withdrawal lately. Noted too, that Malfoy happened to be most everywhere she went. He wasn't blind, but he was more curious than concerned. They rarely grabbed meals in the Great Hall, and Harry could only assume that Malfoy was joining her in her suite for meals. The rest of the time was spent cooped up in the library, doing schoolwork, and research. Harry missed her. Plenty of nights she'd come up to the Gryffindor common room and they'd make plans or joke around by the fire, he, Ron and Hermione. They were his true family, and he missed the quiet moments, especially as there was less and less time for them.

He arrived at the door to the bathroom and spoke the password. The portrait silently swung open and Harry walked down the short passageway before the room opened up. The marble floors and walls were infused with streaks of gold and the candlelight created a warm, cozy atmosphere. Still lost in thought, Harry put his white towel on the side of the enormous tub, noting that it had already been filled with steaming water. Ron had once told him that sometimes the portrait of Sir and Lady Kensington would order the elves to fill the tub in case a prefect came along, so therefore Harry thought nothing of it.

As he undressed he didn't notice the dreamy gray eyes widen in surprise as they took in his athletic build. His arms were muscular and his abs had a definition to them from Quidditch. His legs seemed solid as well, but it was the groin area that captured the quiet witch's attention. She had never seen a man nude before so she let her eyes gaze upon him and forgot all thought of letting him know she was there.

He was flaccid, and the sight made her tingle in odd places because she knew that part of a man swelled when he was aroused. Judging by the length and width of Harry, he was above average in size, and she wondered how something of that size would fit inside of her.

Harry climbed into the steaming water, sighing as the warmth relaxed his weary muscles. He slouched down on the bench so that his head rested back against the edge and his body was covered with water from the collarbone down.

“Do you often climb into a steaming bath without checking for Fillywigs?” Harry sat up straight eyes immediately drawn to the form of Luna Lovegood treading water to stand directly in front of him. His hands traveled down to cover his parts, though he knew it would do him no good. She was standing so that the top half of her body was above the water level. Drops of water ran in rivulets down her milky skin, and his eyes followed one particular drop as it rolled down one palm sized, pink tipped breast. The nipple puckered slightly and the drop continued its path down her smooth abdomen and falling into the water at her waist. She was perfectly made and he felt his cock stir in response

“Luna!” He croaked, and winced at the sound of his voice. Clearing his throat, he spoke again. “What are you doing here?” He tried desperately to keep his eyes on hers but since she was standing over him, her pert breasts were directly in his line of vision, and oh did he want to touch!

“This is the prefects bath, Harry,” she spoke calmly, and seemed comfortable in her nakedness. “The question is actually what are you doing here? You aren’t a prefect.”

“Ron gave me the password. Said if I wanted to relax I could come here.” Luna moved to sit next to Harry and he was extremely aware of their naked legs touching. Luna herself could feel the tension between them, and wriggled around to ease the curious ache between her legs. However, the more she wriggled the more she ached.

Harry thought about how best to resolve this situation with as little embarrassment as possible. Reaching one hand behind him he grabbed his towel. He would be a gentleman and leave, no matter how much he wanted to run his hands over the witch next to him. Harry was not inexperienced as some of the others seemed to believe. He had lost his virginity to a muggle girl that had been attending a party thrown by his cousin, Dudley, last summer.

His aunt and uncle had gone to Devon for a weekend and Dudley had invited a bunch of his school friends over for a party. In a rare act of generosity, Dudley had allowed Harry to party with his friends in exchange for Harry keeping his silence about the party. Normally he could have cared less about a stupid party, but Harry was tired of being cooped up in his room and there was still a week left before he was allowed to go to the Burrow. So he joined the party, had a few drinks, and when a girl came on to him and whispered in his ear that she wanted to see his room, he was all for it. She had taught him a few things and he was almost sad to see her go at the end of the weekend.

Luna, however, was not that type of girl, and she deserved more than a wizard on a suicide mission to hunt down the most evil wizard to come from Slytherin House. He scooted down the bench and made to turn and stand up when he felt her hand on his arm. He looked at her, and stared into eyes that were completely guileless.

“Harry, I’d like to ask a favor from you, before you leave.”


Author's Note

Thanks to all who read and those who read and review =)

MARGARITAMA - Theo is most definitely viscious...and it won't be the last time there's a run-in with him.....but not to worry, he will eventually get what he deserves. Draco is a strong character...he just needs someone to believe in him, and he just may have found that person ;-) Hermione is stubborn.....always has been, but she is also selfless...as the story progresses you will get more introspection, and her personal thoughts to help you understand her =) *hugs*

DREAMWEAVER - *Huggles* All I can say is that I love the way you understand the characters as I have written them. Thank you....I hope you enjoyed the newest little twist to this story!! ;)

ELARA - Thank you!! I hope you continue to enjoy the story. =)

HG4EVA - I, too, worry about "our dear girl" but as I said to Margaritama - in future chapters you will get more of her personal thoughts and feelings to help understand why and how she feels like she does. And.....in another few chapters you just might get to see why Voldemort wants her taken out so badly! =) Thanks and Hugs!!!