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Linked by Philyra912
 Books » Harry Potter Rated: T, English, Romance, Draco M., Hermione G., Words: 61k+, Favs: 4k+, Follows: 920, Published: Jun 18, 2005 Updated: Jan 5, 2006
 2,542 Chapter 13: The Journals of Delilah James
Disclaimer: If I owned the Harry Potter universe, which I don't, let me just say that a few things would be turning out a little differently. cough-the-end-of-the-half-blood-prince-cough
YAY FOR MORE THAN 200 REVIEWS! I want to send a huge thank you to all my reviewers for their lovely praise, their useful criticisms and suggestions, their insightful thoughts, and their wonderful, funny, oh-so-appreciated comments! I love you guys!
A/N: Okay, you hate me, I know. I said I was going to post this last Tuesday, and obviously I didn't. Here's the way it worked out. I thought I was going to have an Internet connection while I was gone, but I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Then, I arrived home very late Sunday night and slept through most of yesterday. I didn't feel like messing with posting a chapter last night, because that would have required a last sweep for grammatical and spelling errors and then writing out review responses, and I just wasn't up for that. Here it is, if a week late. Better late than never, though, right?
Quick summary of what's happened so far, since it's been two weeks and HBP has happened between now and then (if you remember it all, don't read this): While testing the Partis Sensus potion during a lesson, Hermione and Draco experienced a rare side effect called the Iunctus Mens Effect. The symptoms: a permanent empathic link with one another, implied though not explored connections involving physical sensations and dreams, and the ability to relive the most defining memories of each other's pasts though physical contact when under extreme emotional stress. Memories relived so far: Draco being tortured by his father, the death of Hermione's younger brother, the first murder Draco ever witnessed, and a night in which Hermione briefly considered suicide. Whoa, heavy stuff. All of this is making them both question how they see each other, and neither of them likes that one bit. One glimmer of hope remains for our beloved characters. A potions researcher named Delilah James was once under the influence of the Iunctus Mens, and it is believed that her personal journals, lost when she was married, contain some kind of spell or potion that can counteract its effects. Miss James, as it turns out, was married to a member of the Malfoy family, and her journals are in the family archives. Draco has sent for them, and they are supposed to arrive this morning, as a matter of fact. There you go, all caught up. On with the chapter!
Chapter 12: The Journals of Delilah James
Hermione awoke the next morning with golden sunlight in her eyes and a fading memory of a gripping nightmare that she suspected had not been her own. She could not remember what had transpired in the shadowy world of her dreams, but it had been dark there, the sort of dark that had less to do with a lack of light than with a lack of hope. Utterly exhausted from the events of the day before, she had fallen asleep before the sun had even fully set. Despite the extra hours of sleep, she felt curiously un-rested, as though her slumber had been more of a dream than the nightmare that had haunted it.
She had been sitting on the edge of her four-poster for several minutes, attempting vainly to clear the cobwebs of sleep from her mind, when she remembered what day it was, and what was supposed to arrive by that morning's post. Her sleepiness forgotten, she leapt from the bed and dressed quickly. Less than ten minutes later, she stood breathlessly in the doorway of the Great Hall.
She had known the instant she stepped in the door that he wasn't there, but she scanned the room for him anyway. Not only was the Slytherin table utterly deserted, but the entire hall seemed to be completely empty of occupants. She was still standing there, seriously considering giving in to a little useless but satisfying pouting, when she noticed a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. She had just turned her head to further investigate it when the source, a large, regal-looking eagle owl, took to the air and soared majestically to her side, perching on the head of a statue.
