Chapter 2

Hermione hurried down one passage and then another, barely registering where she was going. She couldn't wipe out the thoughts of what had just happened. Her friend had been self-pleasuring. With a wand, no less. And it seemed clear that this wasn't Ginny's first time self-pleasuring, but why had she been in the Common Room? Had she wanted to be found?

Hermione blushed hotly as she remembered her friend's words. Ginny had said that she never would have done what she was doing if she thought that her friend would come to the Common Room. But what about the boys? With Fred and George, Harry and Ron in the tower as well, could Ginny have been hoping to be found by one of the boys instead? She hadn't been wearing a stitch of clothing and Hermione couldn't recall if her uniform had been nearby.

She rubbed her arms, realizing that instead of being warm, she was now chilled. It must have been the emotional shock of what she saw, she reasoned. The castle was quiet now, professors having retired to their quarters after dinner and the handful of students still around tucked into their dorms. At least she hoped so. She wasn't in a proper emotional state to run in to any of her friends. Or Filch, for that matter.

She huffed out a breath and rounded another corner, only to smack in to a broad chest. It was a man; she could tell that by the masculine scent surrounding him and the broad muscular planes of his chest.

"What have we here? Hermione?" She looked up, unable to see through the hood covering the face. Still, something about this person nagged at her consciousness.

"Do I know you?" Her hand strayed to her wand cautiously.

He leaned in closer and whispered, "Does the name Moony ring a bell?"

Hermione let out a long breath. "Hello, Professor."

His head shook once. "Just call me Remus, Hermione. Professor seems quite dated now."

"What are you doing here?" She knew that both Professor Lupin and Sirius had been hiding nearby, but to the best of her knowledge, they had not been in the castle much, if at all. Even though there were few students around, it could be dangerous for him to be wandering the castle grounds.

Remus grasped her arm and tugged her down a corridor, into a small room at the end of the hall. She walked inside, surprised to see a few couches and a roaring fireplace. He put a locking charm on the door and motioned her to sit down.

"What is this place? Fascinating..." She'd never noticed that particular door before and had certainly never been in this room.

"My home," her former profession said by way of an explanation. "Sirius and I have been quartered in this suite of rooms. It keeps me close to Snape and the potions I need, and we're able to keep an eye on Harry. When necessary, we walk around the grounds. We're never spotted because we use Polyjuice potion to disguise ourselves as students. In fact." He pulled his cloak back. "I must ask for your secrecy in this. There is a new Polyjuice potion we're testing now."

Hermione gasped in shock and stared at her former professor. As he removed his robes, exposing a white shirt and black trousers, she had to smile in appreciation of the stranger who now stood before her... "How does it work? How did you get to look like... that?"

Her professor gave her a slightly embarrassed smile. "I take it you approve."

All Hermione could do was nod. Instead of looking like a direct copy of one person, the professor seemed to have traits from a half dozen people, blended to make him a new and unrecognizable package. She could see the smallest hints of both her professor and Sirius, but other features were foreign to her.

"Snape is testing a way to blend features so that the Polyjuice creates a person who looks unique, even if he makes it with the same material every time." He winked broadly at her. "I think it is an improvement. Even my body feels much less fatigued."

Her professor was quite dashing. He looked to be about twenty-five years old, with hazel eyes and brown hair. He had a strong and muscular body and a very handsome face. He was so good looking he could be a Muggle movie star. "Who did you blend to make this?"

Remus shrugged. "I don't know. Sirius and I donated, as well as some other witches and wizards. Some professors, some material may have been collected by the House Elves." He paused and gave Hermione a penetrating and long look.

"Something is the matter. Why were you wandering the corridors at this hour?"

Hermione looked up at the man and shook her head sadly. There was no way she could share this. What if Ginny was disciplined for illegal use of a wand? What if she was expelled from the school altogether? She couldn't risk that.

"I can't say." Hermione walked to the couch and sat down, primly folding her hands on her lap, and trying to forget that she had a thin shirt and no bra on. She fervently hoped that her curves could not be discerned through the fabric of her shirt. What she wouldn't do for some nice heavy robes right now.

The professor made a small sound and then walked over to a table. She heard the clink of glasses and then a chilled goblet was placed in her hand. She lifted the goblet close to her mouth and sniffed it.

"Is this wine? That must be against the rules?"

The professor threw his head back and laughed. "Hermione, we have broken so many rules that this one will hardly matter. You're in the presence of a former professor. I'll see to it that you don't overindulge and are not harmed. It is obvious that something is the matter or you would not be wandering the corridors at this time of night. If you don't want to discuss it, I won't ask you to, but I do suggest that you drink up. It will help calm you. This is a very weak wine, only two-percent wine in grape juice"

She nodded slowly. She had a shock and the wine would calm her. This professor of them all had been cautious and she trusted him implicitly. Anyway, she had drunk sips of wine before at family dinners and it had never been a problem.

She took a few sips of the fruity liquid. It didn't even taste like wine. She took a few deeper swallows, happy to find that she felt just the same as before.

"This tastes like juice, Professor," she remarked. He was sipping from his own goblet and watching her carefully.

Within a few minutes, she started to feel warm and flushed. The professor gave her a very concerned look and pulled the goblet gently from her hands. "Hermione, are you feeling all right?"

She shook her head. She felt a bit warm, but that wasn't the problem. The events of the day had worn on her mind and she found herself talking without consciously thinking about what she was saying.

"Professor? What would happen if an underage wizard was caught doing inappropriate things with her wand? Would she be expelled? Or just reprimanded? And what if that witch asked a friend to... help her."

She caught note of Remus staring at her wand.

"Oh no, not me... that is... I..." She clamped her lips together. Something very strange was happening to her. The room seemed to have shrunk in size and she was warm again. Her body was so sensitive that the soft nub of the fabric of the couch under her seemed to be abrading her thighs. Her breasts felt swollen and achy and her nipples were prominent points against her shirt. The professor had to be able to see them.

"That is what, Hermione? What happened? What has got you so upset?"

"Ginny. She was using her wand," she burst out then clamped a hand over her mouth in horror. She hadn't meant to let that slip out.

The professor's eyebrows shot up and he stood quickly, turning away. "I see. Was she alone?"

Hermione nodded, squirming against the new sensitivity of her body. When Remus didn't react, she spoke. "Yes. But she wanted me to join in."

Her former professor made a small noise and then turned back toward her, leaning heavily against the wall. He appeared to be in some distress, his lips clamped together and heavy creases indenting his forehead.

"Professor? Whatever is the matter? Do you want me to get someone?" Hermione jumped up and made for the door before the man grabbed her wrist. Where their flesh touched, more sensation erupted. Her nerve endings in her arm were alive, causing the soft down on her arm to rise and her blood to heat.