Suddenly, Hermione came to a complete halt on the cobblestones, her eyes locking onto a particular wooden sign displayed in a distant, overgrown corner of the path.
Lucifer followed her gaze, reading the bold, peeling ink aloud in his head:
"The Most Haunted Place in Britain"
"BEWARE!"
"The Shrieking Shack. Located Up Ahead."
"Hmm..." Hermione hummed softly, sending a discrete, highly suggestive look over her shoulder to Lucifer. "You know... I've just remembered that I have to get a few more specific things for our Transfiguration homework. I'll see you guys back at the castle later."
She spoke in an incredibly peculiar tone of voice, her large eyes darting toward her boyfriend as if she were heavily hinting at a secret rendezvous, before she turned and walked rapidly up the dirt road toward the outskirts.
It took a few heavy seconds of silence for Lucifer's mind to fully realize that she explicitly wanted him to follow her lead into the quiet area.
"Right then," Ron said the exact second Hermione disappeared around stone wall, gesturing toward the main street. "Let's go have a proper look inside Zonko's, shall we, Harry? Fred and George said they've got loads of brand-new defensive pranks stocked up!"
"You guys go on ahead without me," Lucifer called out hastily, pulling his shoulder back from Ron's reaching grasp. "I wanted to head over to Honeydukes first and pick up some clean candy for the staff table."
Ron furrowed his red brows, looking slightly confused. "Why don't you just wait for us, mate? We'll come with yo—"
"No, it's perfectly okay," Lucifer said sharply, his tone dropping enough to earn a pair of confused glances from his housemates. Thinking quickly to smooth over the edge, he continued, "I know exactly how you two get whenever you are inside Zonko's. We'll have to leave the village by the time you're finished looking at the shelves... I'll just nip over to Honeydukes by myself and get it done."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right about the timing," Harry shrugged, turning toward the joke shop doors. "We'll catch up with you back at the common room later then, Lucifer?"
Lucifer gave a brief nod. Although he wasn't entirely convinced by the excuse, Ron tramped off after Harry into the crowded shop. The Gryffindor Prefect waited perfectly still on the pavement, watching through the glass windows until his friends seemed completely occupied with the shelves before he turned on his heel and set off in Hermione's exact direction toward the lonely hill of the Shrieking Shack.
Bypassing Honeydukes completely, Lucifer kept walking down the main street before turning right onto the secluded path leading toward the outskirts of the village.
Walking up the grassy hill, the old viewing area for the infamous Shrieking Shack was exactly as he remembered it from his previous timelines, secluded and quiet, offering a stark view of the creepy, dilapidated building with its boarded-up windows and overgrown, dying garden.
This time, however, the viewing area wasn't deserted. It was occupied by a single, beautiful person standing near the wooden fence with her back turned toward the path. It just so happened to be the exact person he was in search of, his gorgeous girlfriend.
Smiling widely to himself, Lucifer crept up silently through the grass behind Hermione before wrapping his strong arms securely around her waist. "Hi, pet...."
Although she was slightly startled by the sudden touch at first, it took Hermione all of a single second to realize exactly who the arms belonged to. The second she did, she let out a soft sigh, nuzzling her head back into his embrace and leaning her weight fully against his hard chest.
"Took you long enough to escape," Hermione whispered, her eyes closing in bliss as Lucifer moved her thick hair back over her shoulder to place a series of soft, warm kisses along the sensitive skin of her neck.
"Weasley simply couldn't take a hint," Lucifer muttered against her skin, his deep voice sending a sharp thrill of shivers straight down her spine. "But I am here now, pet."
She smiled warmly, moving her small hands over his long fingers, stationing them securely around her own waist to hold him close. Lucifer moved his face to place one final, tender kiss on her blushing cheek before settling his chin comfortably in the crook of her neck, peering up at the creepy sight of the shack in front of them.
They stood there in a heavy, beautiful silence for a long moment, simply enjoying each other's physical company away from the eyes of the school, until Hermione spoke up. "It's bizarre, isn't it?" she whispered into the wind.
Lucifer's ears perked up slightly. "What is?"
"It felt... it felt so incredibly good asking for your explicit permission like that inside the shop....." She murmured, her voice dropping into a breathless, submissive whisper as she focused her attention on the fence.
"That is because you are a very good girl, Hermione," Lucifer whispered back, his grip tightening on her waist.
"Yeah... Would you maybe want to get a bit closer to the property?" Hermione asked, a playful spark returning to her tone.
"To the Shrieking Shack?" Lucifer asked, raising his eyebrows in amusement. "You want to trespass?"
"You know, the papers say it's the most haunted place in all of Britain," Hermione informed him again, her shoulders shaking with a soft giggle. She turned her body around inside his arms, unable to hold her laughter in any longer, looking straight up into his mouth before connecting their lips in a deep, passionate kiss.
Not complaining in the slightest, Lucifer pressed his lips firmly against hers, pulling her body flush against his frame by her waist.
Hermione's hands ran wildly through his hair, her fingers knotting into the strands as she deepened the kiss. Every single time they kissed, the connection felt more meaningful, powerful, and loving... if that was even humanly possible. It was as if the unique taste of each other's lips was something their souls simply couldn't get enough of.
She moved her hand down, knotting her fists tightly into the fabric of his shirt, pulling him harder against her chest.
Lucifer let out a soft, low groan deep in his throat as Hermione kissed him with a sudden, savory passion, her tongue tracing his lips.
"Wait... wait, wait," he panted, manually pulling his face back before they got far too carried away on the open hillside. "We can't do this out here in the open, pet."
Although she let out a soft groan of disappointment at the sudden loss of physical contact, Hermione seemed to agree with the logic, her chest heaving. "Yeah, you're right..." she mumbled against his chin, her eyes dark with desire. "...but when exactly can we?"
"Tonight," Lucifer smiled at once, a wicked spark in his eyes. "Let's do our official Prefect rounds later... if that's alright with you?" He winked at her suggestively.
"Sounds perfect," Hermione squealed softly without a single shred of hesitation. She didn't even care to remember how many strict school rules she had broken at this point just for the thrill of meeting him secretly late at night in the dark corridors.
Lucifer placed one final, chaste kiss on her lips. She linked her fingers securely through his, and after a quick walk back down the hill, they easily met back up with Ron and Harry in the middle of the crowded High Street as the student body began walking back toward Hogwarts.
"Hey," Ron said to Lucifer the second they pulled inline, looking at his empty hands curiously. "Where is all your stuff from Honeydukes?"
"It's safely inside my extension pouch, Weasley," Lucifer said calmly, his tone level.
Ron's sharp eyes flicked instantly from Lucifer's face over to a heavily blushing Hermione, who was desperately trying to fight the wide, involuntary smile breaking across her features.
"Right," he muttered, his voice trailing off as he looked slightly suspicious of the timeline. "That's handy, I suppose."
"Yeah, I guess it is," Lucifer shrugged carelessly before shifting the dangerous subject away from them. "So, according to the parchment, exactly thirty-five people signed up in total today?"
Hermione gave a firm nod of her head. "Yeah. But that total is with us included in the count."
"Where the bloody hell are we going to fit thirty-five students for a practical magic lesson without Umbridge finding out?" Harry whispered from the side, sounding quite exasperated as the reality of the logistics hit him.
Lucifer shrugged his shoulders as they walked past the massive winged stone boars that guarded the entrance gates of the castle once again. "Just give me some time to figure out the ward lines, Potter. I'll find a place."
Harry gave a slow nod. But little did the three Gryffindors know, a highly curious woman was currently peering over the stone balcony directly above the grand entrance to the castle, her bulging eyes fixed onto their huddle, listening closely to every single word that left their mouths.
xxxxxxx
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