Chapter 129. Creation of S.P.E.W

As my alarm clock rang, I grumbled while lazily batting my bed stand to stop the incessant noise. After a few attempts I finally hit the clock, sighing with relief while turning back towards the bed. “Mmm… Is it morning already?” I squinted one eye open, watching Pansy’s usual straight black hair, now appearing unkempt and disheveled. I nodded at her, last night feeling only moments prior.

Once we had left the forbidden forest, Pansy’s fear had subsided for the most part, only needing to hold my hand to feel at ease. I was worried from noticing her hand was moist. Fear of the venom working as an anesthetic crossed my mind for a moment before she revealed it was just ink she hadn’t noticed staining herself. Hermione left soon after, perhaps embarrassed to be around us, or perhaps to ponder my own view of the issues of House Elves.

It was curfew not long after, so Pansy and I decided to head to our rooms and rest. After I was done with my preparations, brushing teeth, dressing myself in silken pajamas, I was in bed reading my textbooks of small magical creatures found in forests. The familiar knock at the door grabbed my attention. I placed my book aside and slowly got out from under my warm sheets, knowing already who was behind it from the distinctive tapping.

What greeted me was Pansy with her robes closed in a slightly strange fashion. “Is something wrong?” I asked, raising a brow of confusion. Pansy bit her bottom lip, avoiding matching my gaze as she spoke. “Um… I tried to sleep, but… I had a nightmare…” She mumbled, her reddened face deepening in color with each word further explaining her situation.

“Could I…?” She hedged, slowly opening her robes, showcasing the same matching pajamas I had made her the same time I made mine. Her black hair tied back into a ponytail, showcasing the small nape of her neck. The soft silken deep green shirt was left unbuttoned near her neck and chest, opened for ease of breath. The loose pants I had made to not pull at the waist while sleeping were slipping with one side lowered, her skin only obscured by the untucked shirt. “Sleep in your bed tonight…?” She finished her question, looking up towards me with large innocent eyes. Her meager words exciting lecherous images in my mind, making me winded while my heart began to race. “Yes…” I answered breathlessly before I even knew I had opened my mouth.

Pansy’s worried expression lit up with relief as she bounded towards me. “Oh thank you Lucas!” She whispered, her hugging hands slowly draping down my back before she let me go with a small giggle. She walked inside, while I closed my door, locking it tight. I heard her robes fall to the ground, and the soft sounds of my bed sheets rustling as Pansy got herself comfortable.

I gulped, each small sound of her adjusting herself on my mattress yanked at the chains of my mind. My rational thoughts quickly being overrun by the desires that grew like wildfire. ‘I can’t! She just needs comfort! I can’t cross that line until I can tell her!’ I screamed at myself, my hand grasping over my chest and mouth to quell my thumping chest and unsteady breath. “Lucas… Can you be close while I sleep?” Pansy urged, her simple words tearing apart my inhibitions, through almost no effort of her own.

With my last vestige of self-restraint, I dashed to my desk, and through Pansy’s confused tone, I downed the potion that was used to sedate my beast. The moment the last of the liquid went past my tongue, the previous bout of lust and lechery was replaced with an overwhelming wave of fatigue. I let out a small breath of relief, and nodded while going back to my bed. I slipped under the covers, and promptly fell asleep hugging Pansy.

***

Now that it was the afternoon of their weekend, Pansy felt it time to ‘wake up’. She had spent about an hour trying to coax him up after he passed out last night, but he remained unchanged. She didn’t really have a nightmare before coming over, but knew she wouldn’t get a wink of sleep on her own. Bending the truth a bit, she was hoping to pull Lucas closer towards her, but he quickly took a sleeping drought to stop himself.

Pansy slowly traced her hand along Lucas’ arm while staring deeply into his sleeping expression. She had spent untold time like this, and would have continued for the entire day if she could, but his alarm slowly woke him up. She watched as he lazily looked at her, and smiled while closing his eyes once again, wishing to return to sleep with her. She couldn’t help but smile back, her hand tracing towards his chest, lingering there to feel the steady beat of his heart. Although she didn’t get all that she had come for, witnessing her effect on him, and his sleeping face was an alright substitute. ‘He’s such a gentleman to the end… My gentleman… All mine.’

***

As Ron and Harry ate their breakfast, easily downing pancakes and toast, Harry noticed Chiara meekly staring absentmindedly at her full plate of pancakes, untouched. Just as Harry finished his bite, he was about to ask her if she wasn’t eating because of Hermione’s upsetting words, he heard Ron speak up. “Blimey Hermione! Did you sleep at all last night!?” His head snapped towards Hermione’s raggedy hair even more unruly, her sodden eyes darkened with bags hanging underneath. Her rushed steps rustled her jacket, and the myriad of loose papers tucked under her arm.

Chiara gasped, watching Hermione forgo even acknowledging Ron’s surprise while charging towards her. Hermione almost toppled Chiara over with the massive hug she had in store for her precious friend. “Chiara, I’m so sorry. I wanted to talk with you last night, but it was already curfew.” Hermione’s first words were rushed and a bit crazed combined with her batty appearance. However, she loosened her grip on her friend to check her condition, frowning at the smaller dark circles under Chiara’s eyes, and muttered with guilt. “I instead worked all night on this to help make up for the lack of sleep you probably didn’t get much of either…”

Just as Chiara’s tension loosened a bit, breakfast appeared on the table before Hermione. Harry looked at the still steaming food, before glancing at Ron, silently wanting input over if they should eat her share if she didn’t want it. However, the sound of knife and fork across porcelain snapped his attention back to Hermione aggressively cutting into her first pancake. “Hermione…?” Ron asked, getting her attention, his confused agape expression frozen for a moment as he studied Hermione for a second or two. “Did someone spike your Wideye potion with essence of insanity… Perhaps?”

Hermione grunted with a scowl at Ron, a piece of food in her cheeks to stop her from verbally retaliating. She instead slammed down her papers onto the table for everyone to look at. Harry raised his brow in confusion while noticing Chiara finally taking a bite of her food from the corner of his eye. ‘I suppose that at least is good.’ He mused while adjusting his glasses to better see the large words on the page. Plenty of other letters and words were written and scribbled out, leaving only the bottom of the page legible. “Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare?” He read questioningly, knowing he was right only after witnessing Hermione’s fervent nodding.

“Oh bother…” Harry heard Ron mutter under his breath, turning to glance at his friend tiredly gazing at Hermione across the table. “You’re not hoping to free the elves now that you know they cook in the kitchens are you?” Harry worriedly looked back to Hermione, though he didn’t want to fight, he also didn’t want to get dragged into another crusade Hermione felt obligated to accomplish. He could see Chiara, looking at Hermione, her eyes already burning with conviction to follow Hermione if need be, but he wasn’t the one that had a crush on her.

***

Hermione begrudgingly shook her head with a sigh, stunning everyone as she finished with the morsel she was chewing. She frowned at the papers, turning over a few scrawled on pages before pointing at a paragraph near the top. While Harry skimmed it, Chiara spoke up since Hermione apologized. “Y-You made this all in one night?” Hermione weakly smiled at Chiara, nodding while silently worried that Chiara may be upset with her for storming off.

Chiara’s eyes glinted with a sheen of silver, her smile growing larger as she chuckled a bit under her breath. Hermione worried if perhaps she was right in her assumptions, but the sudden tight hold around her gave her ease. “I’m so glad you’re not mad at me… I’m sorry, I should have told you-” Chiara was about to apologize, but Hermione shook her head, cutting her off. “No, I’m sorry. I was more upset that I didn’t know about elves working in Hogwarts, than you accepting it.”

While both Chiara and Hermione enjoyed their hug, everything once again perfect in their relationship, Chiara gave Hermione another small peck to her cheek. Hermione’s face burned, but her smile couldn’t be hidden. Chiara’s beast was perhaps pushing her to be more assertive, but Hermione knew that kiss was from Chiara herself. Hermione mirrored the small kiss to Chiara’s other cheek, overflowing glee as the worries she was struggling with overnight were no more.

“Hey, not to break this up or anything, but…” Harry started, waving his hand for a moment to gain Hermione’s attention, leaving him to finish his question. “What is it that changed your mind about house elves working here, did you find the person that wrote you the letter?” Harry asked, pointing at the portion of parchments that mentioned the rights she had been writing down and promptly scribbling out, finally using Hogwarts as the standard of care she was fighting for.

Instantly Hermione’s face soured, last night flashing into her memory once again. After leaving the forbidden forest, Lucas noticed ink on Pansy’s hand. Only after the relief of his misconception of the ink being venom or something, he mentioned he was only worried since the ink was on Pansy’s left hand, and pondered aloud if the letter she sent her parents would be smudged. Hermione could see Pansy’s eyes widen ever so slightly, only for a mere moment when she covered her expression with her hand, brushing her bangs aside. At that time, Hermione squinted her eyes in distrust, and secretly pulled out the letter she had received, only then noticing the smudge marks all along the writing.

Back in the present, Hermione found herself glaring towards the Slytherin table, at the empty seats where Lucas and Pansy usually sat, focusing more harshly on Pansy’s spot. ‘I can’t prove it, I have no evidence, but I know it was her that sent me the letter… Pansy wanted Lucas and I to fight each other.’ With a deep breath, not wanting to explain the reason why Pansy sent the letter to her, Hermione spoke through grit teeth. “Essentially, yes. I think I understand a bit more about instinct.”