WHEN MY TIME IS UP

Chapter Five

Author's Note: At this present moment in time, for subjects outside of potions, I'm taking a lot of inspiration from various articles online, and roleplay based forums where they help create lessons from scratch. I recommend Hexrpg for any of you searching.

o.O.o

Wednesday 4th September 1996

Hogwarts Castle, Great Hall

"Ginny, if you stare at him any harder you'll burn a hole between his eyes." Hermione groaned, suddenly regretting her choice on spilling the beans about Draco Malfoy's latest interactions towards her. At first, the redhead had been 'oohing' and awwing' at how Draco had helped her during class and apologised for knocking her books to the floor. But when Hermione had explained she caught him coming out of the room of requirements, how he'd sent some kind of spell at her, and then warned her to stay out of her business, Ginny had taken a very different attitude towards the Slytherin in question.

It had taken a lot of begging and convincing to stop Ginny from hunting down Malfoy and teaching him a 'well deserved' lesson yesterday evening. But somehow she'd managed to calm down her friend enough to limit her actions to mere glaring. Still, she wasn't exactly attempting to be subtle about it. What's worse was that she was drawing attention from Harry and Ron, both of whom were catching on Ginny was quite pissed off. No doubt they'd start interrogating the pair soon enough, demanding to know what was going on.

Nudging Ginny in the side with her elbow, Hermione shot her friend a warning glance, letting her know that other people were getting suspicious, hoping she would remember the whole point Hermione had opened up to her in the first place was because she promised not to tell Harry or Ron anything. Reluctantly, Ginny tore her gaze away from Malfoy and took a long swig of orange juice before proceeding to eat her breakfast.

"So...uh, the Hufflepuff Quidditch try-outs are being held today after classes. Ron and I are going to go watch, to show our support but also see who we're going to be up against, did either of you want to come with us?" Harry asked. Hermione was quite surprised at that moment. Harry was asking another man's girlfriend to go watch Quidditch with him?

Well, that took some courage, especially when the boyfriend in question was sitting next to Ginny. However, the selectiveness of Harry's invitation seemed to go right over Dean's head. Wrapping an arm around Ginny's shoulder, the young man smiled brightly.

"That's a great idea, Harry, what do you say Gin, wanna come along?" Dean asked, having apparently invited himself to join the group. Blushing slightly, the young woman shook her head and gently slid herself out from underneath Dean's arm, standing up after grabbing her bag from the floor, where it had been waiting patiently to be retrieved.

"Not today, I promised Luna I'd study with her after classes. Maybe we can all go watch the Ravenclaw try-outs tomorrow?" Ginny suggested, then bid the group a farewell as she walked off, probably heading to class a bit early. The disappointment on Harry's face was clear, but he quickly dismissed it as Dean started talking about what the great time the four of them were going to have. Raising a finger, Hermione interjected him.

"Sorry boys, but make that three. I'm going to get a head start on my astronomy project. Maybe you could make it a guy's night? Invite Seamus and Neville along too. When was the last time you all hung out without us girls? Food for thought." Hermione shrugged, standing up to gather her belongings before waving goodbye and leaving the Great Hall.

Looking down at her personal schedule, Hermione smiled when she saw that Ancient Runes was her first lesson of the day. Professor Bathsheda Babbling was definitely one of Hermione's favourite teachers at Hogwarts. Her lessons were always so thrilling and descriptive, she couldn't get enough of the older witch's lectures and assignments. So she made the effort to be slightly earlier than the rest of her classmates for their first lesson, to greet her Professor in a bit more of a personal matter.

However, when she arrived at the door to the classroom, Hermione soon discovered she wasn't the only one who had intended to arrive with a bit of time to spare. Leaning against the wall adjacent to the door was Daphne Greengrass. Her long blonde hair held back neatly by a black fabric headband, her porcelain skin was clear of any flaws or imperfections. She was a very pretty young woman, and Hermione could understand why a lot of the boys in her year, at some point during their education, had a crush on her.

Ronald had admitted in their fourth year to have the hots for her, but this was after seeing her cheer on Cedric Diggory, bouncing around in a tight vest top with pompoms. In fact, that was probably when a lot of the boys started noticing Daphne Greengrass, in both higher and lower years as well. If memory served correctly, even Fred and George had attempted to put the moves on her at once point, but the blonde had politely declined.

When Hermione approached the door, Daphne looked up from the floor and studied her for a moment before giving her a bright smile. Well, that was something she hadn't expected. Most of the Slytherin students were rather cold and hostile towards Hermione, but this was probably the first time in six years of education that she and Daphne had shared a class. They'd never interacted before this moment, not on a one-to-one basis.

Taking a moment to look over the Slytherin before her, Hermione paused when she noticed a decorated box being clutched against her chest. Could it be that she was rather fond of Professor Babbling too, and was here to deliver some kind of gift to her? As if being able to read Hermione's thoughts, Daphne smiled shyly and started to explain.

"Things were tough at home last year, Professor Babbling helped me get through it. I wanted to thank her, even if it's with something as simple as chocolates and bath bombs." Daphne shrugged, not going into too much detail about her private life, but at the same time still giving Hermione a reasonable understanding behind the gift Daphne had gotten for the Professor. That's something else she admired about Professor Babbling, despite being busy grading papers or planning lessons, she always made time for her students.

Nodding softly, Hermione chose not to pry further and stood beside Daphne, leaning back against the wall as well. Minutes passed, but it appeared as if the Professor had either not heard Daphne's earlier knocks, and yes Hermione had asked if she'd knocked, or she simply wasn't in. Hermione was leaning to believe it was the latter. Her suspicions were confirmed when the older witch reached the top of the stairs and saw them waiting.

"Miss Granger, Miss Greengrass. You're early, the class doesn't start for another ten minutes." Professor Babbling pointed out, but regardless she opened the door to her classroom and invited them inside. Daphne was the first to enter, following the Professor to her desk where she eagerly handed over her gift. Hermione watched as the older witch raised a brow in curiosity but opened the present nonetheless, a soft smile spreading across her features as she examined the contents within the small box.

"Last year, when you told me you'd never used bath bombs before, well I knew that had to change, so I made you some of my favourite ones. That's strawberries and cream, then that one is honey and lemon, oh and that's chocolate and mint! They always help me relax after a long day. And after I made the chocolate one, I remember you telling me about your favourite kind of chocolate from your childhood. I asked my sister to help me make it, she's a bit better at that kind of thing, so I hope it's alright. I just wanted to say thank you for all your help last year. It really meant a lot to me." Daphne explained, her voice a little fast-paced, clearly nervous as to whether or not the Professor was going to like her gifts.

"Miss Greengrass, this is most gracious of you, thank you very much. I shall have to try these lovely gifts this evening when my classes are over." Professor Babbling smiled. Barely a second later, the rest of the students started filing into the classroom, taking their seats and waited for the lesson to begin.

Daphne didn't sit with her fellow Slytherin students as Hermione had expected her to. In fact, the blonde sat herself down right next to her, giving her a kind smile before unpacking her books and arranging them neatly on her desk. Before she had the chance to ask Daphne if there was a particular reason why she'd chosen to sit down beside her, Professor Babbling cleared her throat and stood up, addressing all the students within the room.

"Good morning class, and welcome to your first lesson on The Study of Ancient Runes. As the more observant of you will have deduced, I will be your Professor this year. I am Professor Babbling, and while I see some familiar faces among us, there are a few of you whom I haven't had the pleasure of meeting before. Don't be afraid to approach me outside of class if you need to, for either personal matters or what we discuss in class. Now, moving on, in today's lesson we will be covering..." Professor Babbling started, only to stop when the door slowly opened and Draco Malfoy's head peeked in cautiously.

All eyes in the class turned to him, wondering what on earth could make the usually prompt Slytherin late to his lesson. Hermione had a few ideas, most of them involving his unexplained visits to the Room of Requirement. Even Ginny wasn't sure what was going on up there, and she spent a fair amount of time searching its endless supply of forgotten items. As far as she could deduce, there wasn't anything among its treasures that would be of interest to Draco Malfoy. Then again, she didn't know him all that well.

"Sorry for my tardiness Professor. A first-year thought it would be amusing to set fire to my cloak." Malfoy muttered, his eyes cast on the floor at all times. Bullshit. Hermione could see right through his facade. No first-year would dare mess with a Malfoy, not unless they had a death wish. His reputation was known far and wide throughout the school. Even a young and excitable first year would not risk getting on his bad side for a bit of fun.

"Just don't make it a habit Mr Malfoy. Take your seat and get out your books." Professor Babbling instructed, turning her attention to the chalkboard where she began to write down the grading advisory for this particular subject. Malfoy meanwhile, entered the classroom and walked over to an empty desk near the back, unpacking his books in a slow and calculated manner. Like usual, he seemed to stare off into nowhere once more.

Looking back at the board, Hermione started taking down notes on how her papers and work would be graded so she could tailor her assignments towards those criteria. But she was stopped halfway through when Daphne gently nudged her, knocking Hermione's arm with her elbow gently. Putting down her quill, Hermione shot Daphne a curious look.

"Is it true Draco pushed you up against a tree at the Gryffindor try-outs?" She whispered. There was no judgemental look on her face, no smirk to indicate she was merely looking for gossip. No, if Hermione didn't know any better, she'd say it was an expression of concern. But not for Draco, for her. Nodding softly, Hermione turned her attention back to her book as she continued to write down everything the Professor put on the blackboard.

Daphne respected Hermione's silent wishes and didn't press the matter further, but Hermione couldn't help but notice the glare she sent Draco's way. That was definitely something she never thought she'd live to witness, someone besides her, Harry and Ron had it out for Draco Malfoy. He, of course, was completely oblivious to his housemates' ill will towards him and kept staring off into space.

"The term Ancient Runes is used to identify writing systems that are no longer commonly used. In olden times, these systems were used to write down magical texts and even used in spell work. Despite common belief, it can still be used for magical purposes to this day. The focus of today's lesson will be to master an Ancient Revealing Charm and try it out on a few samples I have prepared for the lesson. This particular charm will tell you the state of the runes you are studying, which can range anywhere from; magical, mundane, active, inactive or damaged." Professor Babbling explained, handing out some scrolls of parchment which contained the sample runes she'd prepared, one per two students.

Hermione and Daphne both leaned over the scroll, examining the contents of the parchment curiously. To say Hermione was pleasantly surprised by Daphne's academic curiosity was an understatement. She'd been led to believe by her fellow students the only thing the girl had an interest for was charms so she could learn various beautification spells. The young woman was not as stupid as everyone was making her out to be.

"To cast the Enchantment Revealing Charm, one must simply point their wand to the desired rune and say the following incantation: Specialis Revelio. When disposing of runes, I advise using this charm to ensure they are harmless before touching them. Now, when using the enchantment, one of four things will happen." Professor Babbling added, turning her attention back to the blackboard before writing down the results of casting the charm.

As she did, Hermione proceeded to write them down in her book. It would definitely be useful information to have when trying out the spell on her own, in her own time. Instead of being confused, she would know exactly what each reaction meant, as she could simply refer to the information she was writing down now. It seemed Daphne had the same idea.

No Result/Glow: rune has been drained of all magic (a result of intentional draining or magical/physical damage). Could be an indicator the enchantment never worked, to begin with.

Amber/Bronze Glow: a sign of successfully activating the runes.

Red Glow: runes are activated, but there is something wrong with the set. Could be magically compromised, or severe issues with its activation. DO NOT USE. Consult expert immediately.

Pale Blue Glow: means there is an enchantment and/or spell on the runes. Consult with an expert to determine what this could be. Proceed cautiously, if at all.

"Now, none of these sets will have a red glow, as I cast them all myself. Any with a pale blue glow will have very simple, harmless enchantments on them so you needn't worry about consulting anyone. This is merely what you should do when discovering runes on your own, outside the safety of the classroom. Now, in your pairs, please take turns casting the enchantment on the sets and record your findings." Professor Babbling instructed.

Turning to Daphne, offering her first try, Hermione watched as the young witch cast the enchantment on the first set of runes, grinning in delight as they glowed a soft amber. Hermione tried the set below afterwards, earning the same result. As they progressed through the parchment, Daphne and Hermione seemed to breeze through their lesson's objective while the rest of their classmates were having a hard time, even Malfoy. Then again, he didn't look like he was putting all that much effort in, to begin with.

"Hermione, I was wondering, would you like to be partners for this subject? I'd much rather sit with you compared to some of the people in this class, and it would be nice to sit with someone who actually wants to discuss the work we're meant to be doing, compared to the alternatives of Quidditch or the latest school gossip." Daphne inquired.

Pausing for a moment, Hermione considered the offer. Daphne definitely seemed different to her fellow Slytherin students, someone who she could actually get along with even. Plus it would be nice to spend some time with someone outside the Gryffindor friends she had. It would be nice to have a break from Harry's continuous slandering of Draco Malfoy. Sure, it may spark off some arguments later on down the line, but Hermione was perfectly capable of choosing who she wanted to spend time with, and who her friends were.

"I think that sounds like a fantastic idea. Would you want to study together after class and work on our homework together?" Hermione added.

"Of course! I've been needing some time away from Pansy, all she does is talk about Draco. I'm at my wit's end. I'll have to consult with my schedule and see when we've both got free periods, maybe we can meet up during those? Make it a weekly thing? Here, give me your hand." Daphne instructed, gently talking Hermione's hand before writing something on it softly. After a few moments, the ink faded and Daphne did the same on her own hand.

Nodding softly to herself, Daphne then proceeded to write on her hand again, but Hermione watched in amazement as the exact sentence Daphne scribbled down appeared on Hermione's palm, the handwriting mirrored exactly.

"Communication spell. No one can see it besides us, and it doesn't disappear until you look at it and then glide over the writing with your thumb, so there's no chance of accidentally missing it. I'll let you know what times I'm free during the week later on, and we can go from there." Daphne stated with another soft smile.

"That's brilliant! You'll have to teach me that spell at some point." Hermione giggled. Both in agreement, the girls turned their attention back to the parchment where the last set of runes remained. From the order they were going off, taking it in turns, this one was Daphne's to reveal. Casting the enchantment, Hermione's eyes went wide in shock when the runes started glowing red. A mere second later, and sparks resembling the form of lightning started coming off the paper, catching the attention of all eyes in the room.

"Professor! Something's wrong!" Daphne exclaimed, not noticing a large burst of the red energy snap off the runes and head directly for her. Not wasting a moment, Hermione pushed the blonde out of the way, getting hit square in the chest and sent flying back against the wall with a loud thud before dropping to the floor like a sack of bricks. Her vision went blurry in a matter of seconds and she was struggling to remain conscious. Daphne was by her side in an instant, her muffled voice calling for help. But before she slipped into the darkness, Hermione's eyes locked with Draco's. Were those...tears?