The Muggleborn Vampire: A Dramione Story

Chapter 17: Welcome Back!

"Come on, Harry, lets go!" Ron tugged on his best mate's elbow, willing the raven haired boy to stand up from the table already.

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Merlin, I have never seen you this excited to leave breakfast in order to get to potions class." Harry chuckled. He stood up and half climbed/half stumbled over the Gryffindor table's bench, thanks to Ron's insistent tugging.

"You know what McGonagall said yesterday about...wait." he paused as he swiped the leftover bacon laying on Harry's plate and stuffed it in his mouth. "...about Hermione returning to classes today!"

"Yeah I know and I'm excited too, I just would have liked to finish my breakfast first." Harry fake pouted but truly wished he had eaten that bacon before Ron did.

As the male portion of The Golden Trio sped-walked their way down to the dungeons, they both thought back to McGonagall's evening visit to the tower the day before. As Ron stated, she had told them that Hermione would indeed be returning to Hogwarts but only for their Monday and Wednesday morning potions classes until she was fully stable enough to attend classes normally. The professor warned them that, though she may look normal, she was still sick from her blood illness and low immune system, so they were asked to limit their physical contact with her to only handshakes or other gestures if she initiated it, for she would know her limits.

Neither Ron or Harry cared about these limits, they were just happy to have their friend back.

Ron, for one, was especially excited to see Hermione. Though he wouldn't admit it out loud anymore for fear of hurting her feelings, when he had first met the girl in their first year of Hogwarts, he had found her rather annoying and overly motherly, but as the years went on, he found himself becoming more and more fond of her and thankful for their friendship. And once puberty hit them, he began to grow fonder of her for other reasons. When she collapsed on her sixteenth birthday, he was truly worried he would lose her before he ever had her. But now that she was alive and healthy, he vowed to make her his by the end of the year.

As they approached the potion classroom, they saw that the door was open already, for they only had a couple minutes until class started. Ron, not being able to wait another moment to see Hermione, slid past Harry to enter the room first, earning an unappreciated grunt in return. He received another grunt and a sharp "Hey!" only a moment later when he proceeded to freeze in place as he rounded the student desks.

Sitting in her normal spot, which had been unspokenly left empty for the pass four months in silent vigil for their missing classmate, sat Hermione, or someone looking awfully like Hermione. This Hermione had shinier hair, palor and softer skin, and just seemed different then their Hermione. She sat in her seat ram-rod straight, glancing at the other side of the classroom as she fidgited with a pair of black gloves on her hands. She looked preoccupied with something until she looked up and saw them approaching her.

"Oh, Harry! Ron! I'm so excited to see you!" She squealed, hopping up from her seat to greet them. She hesitated for a moment before offering them her hands.

"I'm so glad you're back 'Mione!" Ron smiled, grabbing the hand outstretched for him. "I've missed you!"

"We've missed you Hermione!" Harry smiled at her, though Ron was oblivious to the stress placed on the pronoun. "How are you feeling? You gave us quite a scare!"

"I'm feeling much better then I was." She answered as she sat back in her chair, only showing mild surprise when Ron scrambled to sit beside her instead of behind her at the table with Harry like he usually would.

"I must say, 'Mione, I don't know what St. Mungo's did for you, but you look great." Ron gushed, looking a moment too long at the smooth skin below her neck.

"Erm, thanks Ron." Hermione plucked at her robe, closing the top a bit and scooting to the other side of her chair, though Ron didn't seem to notice.

"So, are you moving back to the Tower?" Harry asked, wanting to move the topic back to safer ground. Sure, he also noticed that something was different about Hermione, but it wasn't giving him lustful feelings like it was for Ron; she was like a sister to him. Plus, he was finding himself becoming more and more interested in Ginny.

"I will eventually, I'm sure." Hermione answered, shooting Harry a covert nod in appreciation. "I'm staying in a guest room by Professor Snape's in case I need an emergency potion."

"Ugh, I bet it's torture having to live so close to that greasy git." Ron crinkled his nose in disgust.

"You will be serving detention with that greasy git for that comment, Mr. Weasley." Came his response via the dark and forbidding professor who seemed to have materialized behind him in a flurry of black robes at that precise moment, causing Ron and Harry to jump in suprise; both not noticing Hermione's lack of response, almost like she already knew he was there.

"If you three are quite done flapping your jaws, I would like to proceed with my class."

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Twenty minutes earlier

Hermione entered the potions classroom alone, turning the opposite direction than Severus at the fork of the hall closest to their quarters so that he could enter the  classroom through his office and she could enter through the student doorway. She was the first to enter the classroom and she automatically went to her usual seat.

Her hypersensitive nose detected the odors of different herbs and spices that must have been used before Christmas break, for they were fairly faint. Years of exposure to countless potions left traces of the herbal scent buried deep in the grains of the wooden desks. Hermione closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, letting the floral smells calm her still-buzzing nerves.

That is, until her eyes popped open due to the introduction of a new, stronger scent entering the classroom: sharp, tangy, metallic. Blood.

Her gaze flicked over to meet the first of her classmates entering the classroom, three Slytherins, who were in deep conversation and passed by her without acknowledging her presence. Hermione shut her eyes and began counting to twenty in her head, each number separated by a breath through her nose and out of her pursed lips. 'I can handle this, I can handle this.' She told herself, silently repeating her mantra and continuing to breath until she felt the immediate urge to attack begin go fade. She then opened her eyes and rolled the tension out of her shoulders. 'There, that's not so bad.'

And 'not so bad' continued as the classroom was filled with the rest of her classmates in a steady pace.

As the five minute warning bell rung through the castle, Hermione smiled to herself, feeling pretty accomplished at her self control. She continued to skim through her open text book until the most amazing smell caressed her senses. Confused at the new smell, which still smelled like human blood but also had a touch of something she couldn't name but that caused her stomach to clench and her nerves to sing, she jerked her head up and was met with the sight of the last handful of classmates entering the class. Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, sauntered to the Slytherin side of the classroom, carrying the beautiful scent with them. 'Why do they smell so good? Is it something they ate?' Hermione was about to pursue the thought more when her gaze was distracted by a mop of orange hair.

"Oh, Harry! Ron! I'm so excited to see you!" Her heart swelled with joy as she leaped out of her chair to greet her boys.

She will have to ask Severus about the odd scent later after class.