Chapter 1

As Harry sat there alone, on his bed at Hogwarts, flipping through Practical Defensive Magic and Its Uses Against the Dark Arts, he couldn't help thinking about the summer and the events that lead up to it.

Sirius's death weighed most heavily upon him, but the revelation that he, and he alone, had the only chance to stop Lord Voldemort did nothing to ease his mind. Being couped up in his room at the Dursley's all summer also did little for his mood. Everyone was sure it was the safest place for him. Not that he cared really, because in the end, being alone was just what he wanted. It was safer for everyone that way. Harry was sure now, after hearing the prophecy, that he was tainted: that some evil miasma surrounded him, and anyone that got too close would be hurt.

He'd even decided at one point during the break not to return to Hogwarts. But, Ron and Hermione, most likely at the request of Professor Dumbledore, had finally convinced him it would be folly not to return. He'd need that knowledge if he was ever to stand a chance at victory. But still he knew that by separating himself from everyone he'd be protecting them.

So as usual he'd skipped dinner and come back to his room to study. He was propped up on his bed when the door suddenly slammed open and Hermione rushed in. She was taller than the year before, almost as tall as Harry, and starting to fill out nicely. Still her bushy brown hair made her seem ruffled and unkept. Harry jumped to his feet as he noticed the pained look and sweat running down Hermione's face.

"What's wrong? Is it Voldemort?" Harry said with a pang of fear.

"No," Hermione said with a little start, "nothing to do with Vol... Voldemort." Her breath catching on the name. "But, I need your help Harry. It's really really important!"

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Just come with me Harry, I'll show you." Hermione said gripping his hand tightly and pulling him from the room. Harry didn't even have time to grab his wand as he staggered along behind her down the spiral staircase. When they entered the common room Harry noticed the chairs, the big squashy ones with the fuzz hanging out (their favorite), right in front of the fireplace were bare. The whole commons was empty. Harry guessed everyone was still down in the Grand Hall having dinner.

He'd expected to see Ron sitting there waiting for them. Ever since summer break Ron and Hermione had been inseparable. The shock of Sirius's death, or possibly Ron's own close brush with it, seemed to have emboldened him. And finally, he admit to Hermione (and himself) that he really liked her. Luckily, for their friendship, Hermione seemed to have some of those same feelings for Ron, and together they decided they'd have a go at it.

But, this new situation put a bit of a strain on the trio. To Harry, it felt as though he were intruding on them, so he tried to give them as much time and space as he could. Not to mention that it was unsafe to be around him. Ron and Hermione also seemed to feel awkward, because they seemed to always be watching what they said or did around him. To relieve some of that awkwardness, Harry had started hanging around with Neville when he wasn't alone. It wasn't half as much fun as being with Ron and Hermione, but it was better that way.

Harry snapped back to the present as they reached the stairs leading up into the girls dormitory. Planting his feet he pulled Hermione to an abrupt halt. "Harry, please." Hermione pleaded.

"Hermione, I can't! That's the girls dorm." Harry said in shock, a deep blush rising in his cheeks.

"Oh, Harry, stop being such a prude. Now come on." Hermione pulled, but Harry wouldn't budge.

"Besides," Harry said as if Hermione had never spoke, "all the alarms would go off, and the stairs would change, and I'd never get up there to see whatever it is you want to show me."

"Oh," Hermione said a little taken aback, brushing the bangs from her eyes, "you know, you're right." Pulling her wand from her robes she pointed it at Harry, then suddenly clutched her stomach and leaned over.

"Hermione, are you all right?" Harry said in a worried voice as he helped her to stand strait again. A fresh wave of sweat had appeared on her face and a strange twinkle burned in her eyes.

"Yes. Yes, I'm fine Harry." She said, trying to wipe some of the sweat from her face.

"I think you need to go and see Madam Pomfrey."

"No," Hermione said with a little edge to her voice, "no I'll be fine. Let me just change your aura and we'll be on our way."

"My what?" Harry asked curiously.

"Your aura. Oh, Harry, you do know what an aura is?" She gave Harry an exasperated look, reminiscent of many a professor, as she started explaining. "Your aura represents who you are. Professor McGonagall told us loads of times about it in class; once when we started tranfiguring people and another when we started self-transfiguration." Harry opened his mouth to tell her that twice was not loads of times, but he could see she wasn't about to be interrupted. So, he just closed his mouth and let her finish. "It has to do with who you are, and how magic tells who you are. I'm sure that's how the Marauder's Map knows who's who. Aura magic. By changing your aura you can fool some spells into thinking that you're something or someone else. It's really quite useful."

Harry interrupted as she took a breath, "Hermione, are you going to lecture me all day? Or, are we going to go before the common room fills up? I really wouldn't fancy trying to explain why I was sneaking into the girls dorms."

"Oh, yes, you're right we'd better hurry." She said a little panicked. Making a complex gesture with her wand she tapped Harry's chest and he felt an odd warmth wrap around him, almost like an invisible fur coat. "I've given you Crookshanks' aura that should get you past the stairs. Now come on." She grabbed his hand and pulled. Harry didn't think he had any choice, so he just followed along behind her.

It was lucky really, everyone still being at dinner. Harry was sure that Hermione hadn't even thought about a distraction. It was quite unlike her to put so little thought into something she was doing. Whatever was distracting her had to be really important to make the queen of planning become so reckless.

Harry followed her up the stairs all the way to the top of the tower. He knew that if the girls dorms were like theirs, soon they'd hit the dead end at the top of the tower. And, so they did. Harry gave Hermione a look that said, 'So?', but she payed him no mind as she walk over to the wall and started searching for something.

Once again Hermione let out a little gasp and leaned over in apparent pain. Harry rushed to her but she was already pulling herself up. "Hermione, are you sure you don't want me to take you to see Madame Pomfrey?" Harry pleaded.

"No, I'll be fine Harry." She said, a little winded. She gave him a tight smile, her face again looking anguished and covered in sweat, then turned back to the wall to continue her search. It only took a minute or two for her to find what she was looking for, and with a tap of her wand a secret door appeared out of nowhere. "Here we are." Hermione said relieved.

As they pulled open the door and walked in, Harry saw it was a large bedroom; slightly different than their dorm rooms, as it was meant for one. There also seemed to be a whole area setup for working potions: there was a cauldron, scales, vials of odd frog span and things, and some tools Harry had never seen before.

Harry said, "Wow Hermione, how did you find this?", barely noticing that Hermione was doing something behind him as he looked around the room. When he turned back he saw that Hermione had pulled her robes off and was standing there in her knickers. Harry backed into one of the shelves, rattling the jars and vials, as he stood there shocked, unsure of what to do. "Hermione, what's going on?", he said in a trembling voice. Hermione was no longer the boyish little girl he'd become friends with. She had filled out in all the places Harry had admired on Cho. Her round firm breasts were cupped in a lacy bra and her panties were covered in little pink bows. And through the tight little barely opaque material he could tell (though her hair was normally wild and untamed) that she was well trimmed and neat.

"Harry," she said with a flush, "you see..." She paused and moved towards him. Harry would have retreated, but his back was already pressed tight against the shelves of potion ingredients. "I created this potion -- it seemed simple enough. It was so I could tell if someone truly loved me." She flushed again, then a hardened angry look came over that desperate face. "But some foul person changed the ingredients in the book with one of the other potions. How was I to know that the Potion of Noscitare Verus Amour was really the Potion of Cupiditas." She moved toward Harry again. He looked around for an avenue of escape but there was none.

"Hermione, but... but..." Harry struggled to find some reason that would stop her, "what about Ron?" That was it! She could always do this with Ron. Besides, if Ron ever found out he'd kill him.

"Well yes, I did think about Ron." Hermione said with a very genuine blush. "But, I don't want our first time to be like this. A potion forcing it on us. No, it just wouldn't be right." Hermione smiled at Harry. "And there are other reasons." Reaching behind her back with one hand she unclasped her bra, with the other she waved her wand in another complex pattern; bands of ropes flew from its end and wrapped around Harry. He was trapped, immobile. Hermione slid her bra off and Harry could see she was covered in a sheen of sweat and her round pink nipples poked out invitingly. "I'm sorry Harry, but this is the only way. You see when we do," she blushed but had a wanton look on her face, "what we're about to do, it won't end the spells effects, it'll just transfer them."

"What?" Harry said in alarm.

"You see, I can't find a cure with this lust clouding my mind. Once you have it, I'll be free to spend my time looking for an antidote. I'm sure it won't take more than a day or two to brew one up. Besides, the spell is meant for a boy, and thus won't be transfered again. It's also why the effects are so erratic on me. Once you have it, it'll be much more controlled." Hermione took on one of her more huffy tones, "I don't see why anyone would want to create a lust potion for boys. It seems to me that that's all they think about anyway." Hermione put her wand onto one of the shelves and proceeded to slip her lacy panties off. Her bush was as well trimmed as Harry had thought and quite a contrast to her bushy head. Harry could see that something more than sweat was running down the inside of her thighs as she stood up and started to pull her hair back into a ponytail.