Chapter Text
It’s the fumes, Hermione thinks. The pungent, cloying aroma which fogs her mind and clouds her senses. Dazed, she shakes her head, trying to focus on the swirling grey mist in front of her.
It’s hopeless. A pointless endeavour for a pointless subject.
Although…
There is something. There, on the surface of the glass. A shadow maybe, or a reflection? Except the more she looks, the more details come to light.
A ballroom, perhaps? It’s opulent, regal. And in its midst, a figure. He’s tall, obnoxiously so, and striking. Pale as the moonlight and just as mesmerising. His face is different, less angular, and yet, there’s something about the set of his mouth that–
Her eyes flutter closed, but instead of fading, the images persist, becoming clearer as she stops concentrating on seeing and simply remembers.
Days, weeks, months, all pass in an instant. Disdainful glares and scathing retorts give way, first to trepidation, then resolve. Until a hand holds out for hers, and she accepts, placing her palm in his.
A walk. The barest brush of his thumb on her inner wrist. Illicit, dangerous, and exhilarating all at once.
Lush gardens. A searing kiss that scorches her soul.
He speaks, and it’s his voice she hears, coursing through her veins and igniting her magic.
“I swear to you, in this life, and every other, my soul is yours entirely.”
She laughs, “In every life? That’s a lofty proclamation, my Lord.”
“It’s inescapable. Do you not understand how you have consumed me? There is no iteration of you that would not possess my heart. I am bewitched by you, mind, body, and magic.”
She flees. Ignoring Professor Trelawney's scathing retorts and the stunned silence of her peers as the trap door slams closed behind her.
A moment later, he follows.