Unavoidable Attraction

Getting the cloak

"Do you really have to follow me so closely?" Hermione asked frustrated turning around in the crowded hallway.

"Miss Granger, I am here for your safety."

Hermione took a deep breath trying to keep her composure. "You are everywhere, I can't even go to the loo without being watched. I just need a little space."

The tall wizard that had been following her for the past week shifted slightly where he was standing. "I could send an owl and request Mr. Potter for you for a few days."

"See now that's a solution I can deal with." Hermione turned on her heel and continued down the hallway towards the gryffindor tower.

Once in the common room, she looked around for Ginny who was sitting in the far corner in a chair with her face in her divination book.

"Merlin Ginny," Hermione sat down on the arm. "How can you stand that class? It's a load of crap!"

"I happen to find it very interesting." Ginny closed the book looking over at Hermione's "shadow". "Well I have to say," she said leaning in close "yours is a little more handsome than mine."

Both their eyes moved over to the short thin wizard sitting at a table just a few feet away. He stared at them politely and gave a little smile when he noticed their eyes on him.

"Speaking of them, can you ask Harry to bring his invisibility cloak tonight when he comes?"

"Why don't you ask him?"

"Because then I'll get asked a million questions that i really don't want to answer."

"Why do you need it?"

Hermione leaned in closer to Ginny moving down to sit in the seat with her making it a little cramped. "I'm being followed everywhere I go, and I want to see Sev-" she stopped for a moment catching herself before she let his first name slip. "Professor Snape"

"Oh my god Hermione." Ginny forced a gag and began to giggle but when she noticed Hermione's pained expression she stopped. "I don't know if I want to support this?"

"You don't have to support it, you just have to get me the cloak."

"So what lame excuse am I supposed to use on Harry?"

"I don't know, you'll figure it out."

Hermione bounced out of the chair and up to the girls dormitory leaving Ginny speechless.

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"Hermione!" Ginny called for her at the table in the great hall. She came over to her with a small bag that had been folded shut. "Here. Just get it back to me soon. Harry will want it back."

Hermione smiled and hugged Ginny tightly around the neck. "Thank you so much! This means the world to me! I owe you one!"

"You owe me ten! And an explanation of everything that's going on. I may not like it but I at least really need to hear your point of view of this."

Her smile shrunk a little at hearing this, but she gave her another hug. "Eventually," she laughed a little "once I figure it out myself."

"Come on, let's go to potions." Ginny watched as Hermione stuck the bag into her book bag and stand up taking one last swallow of her pumpkin juice and following her out.

They slowly walked down to the dungeons talking about quidditch and how well Ginny was doing.

"Harry said that a couple teams will be sending representatives to watch me play." Ginny smiled "I could be a professional!"

"That's so wonderful! I can't wait to be able to say I know Ginny Weasley, the chaser for the Holyhead Harpies!"

"I don't think you have to worry about know famous people!"

They laughed as they walked into the classroom where they saw Severus quietly fighting with the tall dark auror in the corner of the class. She laughed to herself and took a seat and ripped off a small piece of parchment and grabbing her quill and began to write a small note.

She waited until class had begun and they began brewing their potions to raise her hand high.

Severus sighed loudly and walked over to the side of her placing his hand on the desk.

"What could you have possibly screwed up this early Miss Granger?"

She gently tapped her finger on the note and slid it slightly towards him. His hand discretely went over it and closed into a fist.

"Well I was just curious as to why this recipe calls for so much asphodel? It just seems strange."

"You are making a Wiggenweld potion, there's nothing normal about this." He straightened his back as glared down at her. "Now get back to work. You've already wasted enough time."

He made his way up to his desk where he unfolded the parchment and read it quickly.

Leave your door unlocked. I'll be down late tonight. Don't worry about my "shadow". I'll ditch him.

He crumpled the parchment and put it in his coat pocket and went on to stare at all the students as they began to brew.