Keogh

~***~

The Slytherins were keeping a close eye on Hermione Snape. They refused to refer to her as ‘Granger’ amongst themselves seeing how she was the daughter of their Head of House. They watched her in class and during meals at in the Great Hall. She couldn’t spend any time in the library without at least two or three of them sitting at a table within clear view of her. And it was becoming harder and harder to sneak away to use the Room of Requirement.

It was really starting to get on her nerves. At least they couldn’t mingle with the Gryffindors during the game.

She’d made peace with Harry and Ron once the Firebolt had been given an ‘all’s clear’. And Ron had finally started talking to her after Scabbers’ disappearance, though not as kindly as before. All was right with the world once more. Well, as much as her world could ever be all right. But right now was Quidditch and she could at least pretend to be a normal young witch as she cheered and shouted with the rest of her classmates.

Kathryn had been shocked the first game she’d seen. Her disbelief that anyone would allow children to play such a dangerous ‘sport’ had only been surpassed by her reaction to the Dementors when they had shown up. The best way to explain it was that Kathy had snarled as much as an incorporeal entity could. She had despised the Dementors on sight and her feelings had not lessened over time. Only Kathy didn’t call them Dementors; she preferred the term ‘Abominations’.

But there were no Dementors today. Dumbledore had been furious with them after the first game and had banished them to the gates. It was just the players and Harry zipping by so quickly he could have been made of lightening. For a happy hour she could forget everything else. Her heavy class load, the Dementors, Sirius Black and her increasingly unsettling birthright were all pushed from her mind as she celebrated Harry catching the snitch with the rest of her house.

They had won the Quidditch Cup! Against all odds they had won! Oliver Wood looked as though he might cry from joy. Kathryn suggested that she go up and give him a good sound kiss. “I most certainly will not!”

“Prude.”

The twins managed to smuggle in sweets and butterbeers and for once she didn’t care how they were managing it. At the moment she was thinking that every house needed its very own set of identical rule breakers. They did keep the place lively.

“Come on, while everyone’s distracted.”

“What? Now? But… but we’re celebrating!”

“And Severus’ troglodytes are down in their dungeon moping. We had to skip practice yesterday because of them and if I wait much longer you’ll hide behind your books. Let’s go.”

Hermione sighed and trudged up the steps to the girls’ dorms, indulging in a juvenile pout the entire way. She grumbled as she shucked out of her school clothes and pulled on the new workout garb they’d picked up while in London, sliding a pair of new jeans over the black, skin-tight leggings and pulling a crimson sweater over the confining sports bra. Dressed, she opened her trunk and reached in to retrieve one of the sets of sai, secured in a soft-sided case that could pass for a typical higher quality book cover. No one would ever think twice about Hermione Granger carrying a book around.

She slipped out of the Common Room without being seen and started her way towards the seventh floor. As she passed she heard the portraits chatting excitedly about Gryffindor winning the cup. Even the portraits usually aligned with Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were happy that they’d beat out Slytherin for it. She was ecstatic, of course, but she had other worries on her mind; like finals.

“Why? You already have all the books memorized.”

“I always worry about tests. What if I fail everything?”

“Not bloody likely. You are one of the most conscientious students I’ve ever met. Must have gotten that from Severus. Lord knows I was never great at school.”

Hermione frowned. “But Mum says you were top of your class. And Forensic Medicine isn’t easy.”

She sensed Kathy’s ‘snort’. “But I cheated, didn’t I? If there was something I needed to know, I just plugged into someone who already knew it while they were alive. In case you’ve missed it, there’s no end of people willing to teach you.”

She had noticed it. Now that she could speak with them, people long gone seemed eager and willing to talk to her. Former students and headmasters. Witches and wizards in the cemetery at Hogsmede. Even people buried elsewhere that Kathy helped guide to her. All seemed to want to know her better and offered up their knowledge and experiences.

“I will admit, however, that I rather like the fact that you’re willing to do all the work yourself. I believe it’s keeping you balanced though I am glad you dropped Divination. That was a waste of your time, especially with that nutty broad. Still, I had some doubts about that Time Turner thing.”

“Now you sound like Severus.”

“Heaven forbid that I ever agreed with anything that git said.” Kathryn’s humor was dry. “Your grandfather could do that, by the way.”

“Do what?”

“Dart back and forth between time. I told you the Continuum connected all points in space and time, didn’t I? Harry Keogh, Jr. found the equations to open the time doors as well as the spatial ones. I never could grasp that part, myself.”

Hermione’s footsteps slowed as she tried to digest this bit of news. “My grandfather was a… time traveler?”

“A proficient one as well. That’s how I came about when I did. Technically he hadn’t even been born yet when I was conceived. It was a future Harry who fell for and had an affair with my mother.”

“But… that’s wrong! He could have seriously damaged the time line!”

She felt Kathy’s sigh. “And he knew it in the end, but there was little to be done by that time. Circumstances had changed. He had changed, and not for the better. He found out about me the day he met my mother to break it off with her. She cried, begged him not to leave her, but he had no choice. He was… infected.”

Hermione stopped and leaned against the wall, her head spinning. “Infected? With what?”

“He… know this, Hermione; there are different types of vampires. There are the ones that the Ministry knows about and regulates, and then there is another breed, one that is far more contagious and vastly more dangerous. Luckily they’ve been eradicated on our world, but there are other worlds. My father lived in one, had gone there to hide from his own father’s enemies when he was just a baby. It was the source world for the other breed of vampires and somehow he’d let his guard down long enough to be infected by one. He knew he couldn’t stay with my mother after that; couldn’t take her with him as he had planned. Instead, he took his leave of her and of me.”

Hermione felt a stab of sympathy for Kathryn, wondering if this might not explain the usually cold and unfeeling demeanor the woman presented, but the second voice in her mind waved it off. “I survived. I was never alone, though they never took to me fully. They like me, of course, but they liked my grandfather more. Liked him more than my father as well. The Great Majority says we lacked the original Harry Keogh’s ‘warmth’. They say you’ve got it, though. They’re really taking to you.”

She wasn’t certain what to think about that. Dead people liked her. Joy. Now if only she could get living people as interested.

“Hermione?”

She looked over to see the darkly handsome face of one of the Slytherins. Wrong ‘people’.

Blaise Zabini, the dungeon dweller who usually kept to himself and never volunteered answers in class even though she knew that he was never more than a few points behind her. He usually just sat back in his seat during class with a knowledgeable little smirk that made even young Ravenclaws, who really should know better, giggle and swoon.

“I smell trouble.”

She had a strange feeling that Kathy was spot on. “Zabini.” She pushed away from the wall, watching the boy as he approached. Zabini never carried himself like a thirteen-year-old. He was one of those who carried himself as someone far older and more knowledgeable of the world. The rumors were that he was more knowledgeable and that more than a few sixth and seventh years had already learned of his ‘knowledge’ first hand.

He ran a hand through his inky black hair, that little smirk of his touching his lips as he focused a pair of dark blue eyes on her. His gaze moved over her from head to toe and it somehow made her feel utterly naked. She suppressed a shiver with great effort and met his gaze dead on. “Want something, Zabini?”

“I’ve really got to get you up to speed on what not to say to predators.”

Apparently she had a point because Hermione’s innocent question brought a slow, wicked smile to the boy’s lips. He drew closer with a slow pace until he was near enough to reach out and place a hand on the wall to her right. “Just wandering the halls and wondering what my favorite Gryffindor was up to.”

She arched a brow. “Your ‘favorite’ Gryffindor? Just last year your entire house was hoping I’d remained petrified for eternity, now I’m your favorite?”

“I never wished that, Hermione. You shouldn’t judge all Slytherins by Draco Malfoy. Most of us are quite decent.” He leaned forward a bit, his voice dropping to a soft pitch that was almost a purr. “I was wondering if I could tempt you to take a walk with me. A stroll by the lake.”

She leaned back from him, trying to ignore how his voice seemed to brush against her skin, and felt the cold stones of the wall against her back. “I’m busy, Zabini.”

“Blaise,” he corrected gently, “and busy doing what? Holding up the wall? I’m fairly certain that Hogwarts can stand on its own.” He reached out with his hand other hand and traced a finger over her wrist lightly. “It’s just a walk, Hermione. Nothing your fellow lions can crucify you over. What’s the harm?”

There was all sorts of harm in it, especially with this snake. She felt the heat coming off of him as he started to lean in closer. Her muscles tensed as she prepared to flee when a voice broke through. “Granger! There you are!”

Zabini’s head whipped around, eyes narrowing as Cedric Diggory came into view. The Hufflepuff prefect ran a glance over Blaise before smiling to her. “Sorry I’m late. Had to break up a near duel on the third floor.” He gave Zabini a curt nod.

Late? What was he talking about?

“Who the fuck cares? The boy’s giving you an out! Take it!”

“Oh, that’s all right. I was just using the time to think.”

Zabini, however, didn’t think it was all right. “I was just in the process of inviting Hermione for a walk, Diggory.”

Cedric arched a brow. “Sorry, but she promised to get me into the Gryffindor Common Room so I could congratulate Wood on his win. Only time I really have to do it, and I believe my standing appointment takes precedence.” He gave a polite smile and reached out to Hermione. She didn’t need any coaxing from Kathryn to slip her hand into his. It was almost like an instant strengthening potion, giving her what she needed to step away from Zabini.

“We should go now, while they’re all still in a good mood and won’t care who gets in.” With a brief smile to Zabini she walked away with Diggory. She was quite proud of herself for holding it together until they were well out of sight and earshot. Only then did she let herself start to shake.

Cedric stopped, letting go of her hand so he could place his on her shoulder. “Are you all right?”

Hermione let out a sigh and leaned forward to rest her head on his arm. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

Diggory’s supportive hand turned into a gentle one-armed hug that lasted only a short time. “I thought you might need a hand out of that. You shouldn’t let yourself be cornered by Zabini. He’s trouble.”

“Yeah, I get that part.” Her voice was a little muffled, swallowed by Diggory’s robes. She took another breath and lifted her head to look up at him. “Did I remember to say ‘thank you’? You seem to be saving me from the snakes quite often.”

“Only twice this year, but that’s because the rest of your house is looking out for you. I’m just picking up the slack.”

She frowned. “Why?”

Cedric gave a shrug. “You’re a good person, Granger, in spite of being Professor Snape’s daughter. It’d be a shame to see that change.” He gave a bit of crooked smile. “Besides, no girl should have to put up with Zabini. He’s ruthless. Already has a trail of shattered hearts piling up behind him.”

“So I’ve heard.” She realized that she was perhaps a bit too close to Diggory and stepped back, blushing a bit. “So… up to the tower?”

“We can, but that was mainly just the first thing I could come up with to get you away from Blaise. Where were you headed?”

“Oh, I was just going to… work out.”

Cedric frowned. “Work out? I thought only the Quidditch teams did that.”

She gave a shrug. “I try to at least three times a week. It’s been hard to dodge the Slytherins of late. They’re everywhere.”

“Yeah, your new status does seem to have flushed them out of the dungeons. Hopefully, if you stick to being a Gryffindor, they’ll get bored and head back down.”

“Hopefully.”

Diggory gave her a slight smile. “Come on. I’ll walk with you to keep them at bay.” She gave him a grateful smile and nodded acceptance. Together they walked up to the seventh floor to the blank expanse of wall. Cedric looked politely confused. “You work out in the hallway?”

Hermione grinned. “Not quite. Can you keep a secret?” He nodded. “Stand right there and wait.” She started concentrating on the room she needed and paced back and forth in front of the wall three times until the door materialized. Smiling, she tugged the door open and gave an exaggerated curtsey, inviting Cedric to go in.

He stepped over the threshold and looked around in surprise. “I didn’t know this was here.”

“It isn’t always.” She shut the door behind them. “It’s called the Room of Requirement. It only appears when you have need of it and will always be equipped for the persons needs. I need a place to work out, so it becomes this. If you needed a quiet place to study away from a noisy house, it would become that as well.”

Diggory glanced over at her with an amused smile. “I’m guessing you come here a lot more often than three times a week, then.”

Hermione blushed and looked away. She made her way over to a sturdy bench and set her sai case down, unzipping it and opening it so that the silver weapons gleamed under the torchlight. Cedric drifted over to her side, curious. “Where did you get those?”

“Oh… my mother, my birth mother, left them to me.” She looked up at him, suddenly doubting her bringing him here. Kathryn was remaining oddly silent about the whole thing. “You… look, no one knows about this. And I think I’d rather they didn’t.”

He met her gaze, silent for a moment before smiling. “Secret’s safe with me, Hermione. I won’t tell a soul.”

She relaxed. “Thanks.” She stepped away from the bench, rubbing her palms over her jeans legs.

“Can I stay and watch?”

“Pardon?”

Cedric gave a shrug. “I’ve never seen anything like those before.” He ran a hand through his curls. “Pureblood, y’know. Don’t always get to see muggle things. I’d… like to stay.”

The request sounded odd to her ears, but she found herself nodding. “All right.” The prefect smiled and took a seat on the bench. “I’ve got to warm up first. Don’t want to tear anything.” Where the hell was Kathy?

Feeling exceedingly awkward at having an audience, Hermione concentrated on her usual warm ups. She’d only had to let Kathryn have control a few times before she’d learned the routine by heart. It truly was faster to commit things to memory this way, but it did feel like cheating. She tried to only indulge it when it came to the things Kathy wanted her know outside of her coursework.

Cedric observed from the bench. The stretches were about the same as what he had his team go through before practice and games. Once suitably limber Hermione began stripping off the sweater and jeans, revealing a rather close fitting outfit that showed a bit more skin than he was used to seeing in a girl. She seemed relatively unfazed, however. Must be a muggle thing.

She folded her outerwear and set it on the bench to the other side of her strange looking weapons while he did his best not to ogle and keep to being a gentleman. Taking the wicked looking items in hand, she moved back to the center of the floor and started going through a series of slow and graceful moves that quickly made him forget that she was next to naked. She was just a third year, for Merlin’s sake! He shouldn’t be having thoughts like that about her in the first place. Hadn’t he just saved her from the clutches of a precocious third year who was having thoughts like that?

The movements increased as Cedric studied her. Some were quick and sharp, clearly meant to attack with force, while others were smooth and sweeping and likely meant to either distract or to inflict damage that was noticeable without being lethal. Still others involved her moving her body in directions he didn’t think humans were supposed to be able to bend at all. It struck him that in a fight she might be very hard to hit as her lithe form twisted and undulated as though to some melody only she could hear.

Time passed without notice. Diggory didn’t even realize that he had come forward in his seat to rest his elbows on his knees as he watched her. This tiny little slip of a girl would be a force to be reckoned with and he felt a bit silly trying to ‘save’ her from Zabini at all. Now that he knew more, he should have been saving the Slytherin.

She came to an end in a combination crouch/lunge, one weapon thrust forward as if in a killing blow while the other was kept close to her body as though to block any unforeseen attack. He realized she had finished when she relaxed the tension in her body and stood back up, arms falling to her side. Immediately he got to his feet and applauded, knowing that the performance he had just witnessed deserved recognition.

Hermione gave a jump. She’d completely forgotten Cedric was there. Her cheeks burned as she looked quickly away. “So… that’s it.”

“That was amazing, Granger! Like moving poetry. Where did you learn how to do that?”

She gave a shrug. “Just… practice mostly.” Still uncomfortable under the praise she walked back over to the bench and secured the sai. “Anyone could probably managed it if they took the time.”

“Somehow I doubt that. I don’t think I could ever bend backwards that far, not even on my broom.” He tilted his head to one side, studying her. “Imagine how you’d fare in a duel if you could do that with wands.”

“There’s an interesting idea.”

“There you are! Where were you?”

“Watching you flirt with the pretty piece of jail bait.”

Hermione’s cheeks burned scarlet, but Diggory had moved his attention to the sai and, gratefully, didn’t notice. “Jail bait? And I wasn’t flirting!”

Kathryn gave a ‘snort’. “Yeah, right, and I’m not six feet under. And ‘ jail bait’ is a term I picked up from my American friends. It refers to a sexy piece of something that’s so young you’ll be thrown in the lock up if you touch it. Though I suppose he’s not illegal for you, just for me.”

Hermione swallowed and waited for Diggory to finish studying the sai so she could zip the case back up. “I don’t think you could do it with wands. I mean you’d have to be able to say your spells awfully fast.”

“Now you would, of course, but you’ll learn non-verbal spells once you hit sixth year. It’s quicker just to think than it is to actually say them. Though it might be hard to concentrate on the spells with all the darting and dashing.”

“I wouldn’t think it would be any more difficult than fighting an actual opponent with blades without getting skewered.”

“No one fights with two wands.”

“Just because no one does doesn’t mean no one can. I’ll have to do some asking around.”

Hermione pulled on her jeans and sweater, unaware that Diggory was carefully looking elsewhere. Her work out garb was normal for any health club in the muggle world and she often forgot that the magical world was still stuck in another age where women should be covered from chin to ankles. Besides, she didn’t think of herself as a sexual creature in any shape, form or fashion. It just didn’t occur to her that Cedric might find being this close to her anything other than normal.

“So… I should probably escort you to the tower. Just in case Zabini’s lying in wait somewhere.” He rubbed the back of his neck, hoping that it just looked as though he was working out a crick. She must have bought it because Hermione gave him a smile and a nod.

“And you can give Oliver that congratulations. He might even forgive you for beating him in the first game, now.”

That helped him find his center. Cedric arched a brow, his lips twisting into a wry smirk. “Clearly you don’t know Oliver Wood all that well.”

~***~