A/N: So I noticed that I have a new reader that drops off cute and warm reviews for all the fics he or she has read. Since it's a guest reviewer though, I can't send them a message of thanks.
To 'K', you know who you are, thank you for reading all this silliness XD
ZERO VISIBILITY
by: tweety-src-clt9
Chapter Two
Sirius Black had a smug smile on his face as he removed his godson's most recent letter from his jacket's inner pocket. His plan to open Harry's eyes to the possibility of losing Hermione – literally – seemed to be working in ways that he didn't expect. His godson's desperation was so intense that he could already imagine a wedding taking place in two to three years.
With the poor kid no longer able to see his best friend, he was absolutely certain that before graduation, maybe before the Christmas break even, Harry would be begging Hermione to date him at the very least.
He had always known that Harry and Hermione belonged together. The pup used to cry himself to sleep when his best friend joined the rest of her family for their annual summer vacation and they were not joining the trip. Of course, Harry's separation anxiety got better as he got older but he still moped around the house when Hermione was away on vacation. He chuckled as he remembered instances when Harry would carry his cordless phone wherever he went, just to make sure that he could answer Hermione's calls.
The only hindrance in getting their happily-ever-after fairytale was Harry's apparent playboy tendencies. That of which, he could only blame himself for because he did spoil the lad growing up.
So, when he got Harry's troubled and desperate letter this morning, he was so happy that he wanted to increase the torture until the pup would finally crack. Harry did not know that he was working against a timeline here. Should Hermione leave Britain without forming some sort of romantic relationship with Harry, then she was fair game for all the wizards she would be meeting in Spain.
Being the best godfather in the world, he knew that it was time to up the ante of pushing Harry's buttons. He had a lot of insiders, his fellow Marauder – Remus, one of Harry's professors – being a reliable source of information. Per his best friend, his godson had been very exasperated in every defense class because Hermione was now partnered with some other kid who clearly fancied her as well. Things are about to get even more interesting, he grinned mischievously as he read Harry's letter again...
Dear Sirius,
The weirdest thing has happened to me. I've been bewitched. I don't know if it's a potion or a spell but I am so bloody pissed. Of all the possible pranks or stupid things that could happen to me, the worst thing just had to happen.
I BLOODY CAN'T SEE HERMIONE. AT ALL.
It's crazy. I can hear her. I can touch her. But I can't bloody see her. It's so frustrating! Why can't it be Malfoy that's invisible to me of all people? That would have been a blessing. But no! Whoever did this to me just has to make sure it's Hermione I couldn't see. I mean really! Isn't that like the cruelest thing in the world? She's my best friend for Merlin's sake!
It's been a week, Sirius. A bloody week of torture! And the worst thing, I haven't found a cure to this – whatever this is! Do you think you can help me look this up in the Black and Potter library? I'm desperate, Sirius. Please help me find a cure for this. I've been sneaking around the Restricted Section trying to find a solution to Hermione's invisibility, but no such luck.
Anyway, I broke up with Claudia. She's been wringing my neck because I've been obsessing about finding a cure to my weird illness. Good riddance by the way! I don't even know why I dated her. Argh! I know! I know! I'm an idiot!
Back to the main issue. I NEED HELP! I have to find this stupid cure. It's bad enough that I can't see Hermione anymore but it's worse when I can no longer partner with her during classes. And no, it's not what you're thinking! I can survive without having Hermione as a partner thank you very much. I'm not dumb. It's just that – well it's different working with her. I understand her and she understands me. And she's my best friend. And if we work together, Terry Boot and other gits who fancy her can't go near her.
Whatever, it's a long story. I'm really desperate, Sirius.
Your marauding godson,
Harry
P.S. Did Hermione tell you about my problem?
Sirius chuckled as he stored the letter inside his drawer. The pup was too hilarious. It's obvious that he was head over heels in love with their favorite bookworm but it seemed that Harry was an even bigger idiot than he had ever been. Oh well, time to up the ante!
Sirius musings were interrupted when he heard a loud banging on his office door. With a flick of his wand, he canceled the privacy charms. As the Head Auror, he was a tamer version of Mad-Eye Moody so he was always vigilant. Hence, it's one of his best practices to always seal the doors whenever he was outside the Black or Potter Manor.
To his delight, the Minister for Magic Madam Amelia Bones entered the room. Even in her mid-forties, Amy still had the complete power over his heart. He felt himself getting nervous, tongue-tied, and his palms started to get sweaty. She always had that effect on him. She was an intimidating woman – razor-sharp wit, beautiful face, perfect curvy figure, and a subtle elegance that's just so sexy. Too bad he realized he was in love with her when she left Britain to pursue her mastery in international magical law. Sigh…
"Sirius! What the fuck did you do to my ex-husband?" Amelia growled.
"What? Minister – I don't know what you're talking about," he feigned innocence. A few months ago, Amelia filed for divorce because that wanker, Robert Darthwood, cheated on her. When the news of what happened to their relationship was publicized, he was conflicted with mixed feelings. On one hand, he was happy that maybe he could finally get his chance to win the heart of the one woman he had always loved but at the same time, he felt so saddened that her git of a husband broke her heart.
Because of his need for petty revenge, Darthwood became his obsession. As the Head Auror, he had long heard of a rumor about Amy's ex being involved in the illegal trade of smuggled potions but the bastard was just too slippery. When the couple broke up however and Darthwood was out of Bones' Manor, it was much easier to track his activities. Finally, after three months of monitoring (and extreme stalking), his team caught the bastard in a buy-bust operation.
"Don't you dare act like you don't know what's happening, Siri! You had him beaten up. That's against the law," Amy glared at him.
"Oh, that… Well, he wasn't cooperating during the questioning," he defended himself.
Amelia sighed as she took the seat across from him. She looked at him with fond exasperation this time. "I know what you're doing, Sirius. You beat him up because he cheated on me," she was looking into his eyes as she said that.
"He hurt you, Amy," he could never lie to her so he admitted the truth.
"You went overboard, Siri," she sighed. He gently reached for her hand and he was glad that she didn't pull away.
"He hurt you and used you, Amy. I just – I just can't sit here and do nothing about it," he whispered while his eyes were glued to their joint hands.
"You're a great friend, Sirius," she gave him a gentle smile. "You have to promise me though, no more extreme punishments. Let the law handle him. With the amount of evidence your team has gathered, I'm pretty sure he'll be locked up in Azkaban for a while."
"If that's what you want, then I promise I won't do it again," he said sincerely.
"Thank you, Siri," Amelia smiled before standing up again.
He didn't know what possessed him but he exclaimed, "Amy! Wait!"
"Yes?" she turned to him with a confused look on her face.
"Do you, er, do you want to grab some lunch? My treat," he offered. He was so nervous but he decided to take the plunge. It's now or never and I waited so long for this one chance...
"Like – right now?" she was stunned. Since he was so anxious about her reply, he only nodded.
"Okay… The Leaky sound good?"
"Er, I was thinking more like Circe's?" Grabbing lunch at the Leaky Cauldron was normal because there's nothing fancy about the place. Circe's, however, was a posh upscale restaurant. The restaurant gave off this romantic vibe so it was frequented by lovers during dates.
"Oh…"
"It's okay if you don't – "
"I'll meet you at the Ministry Atrium in ten minutes?" her voice seemed breathless to him now.
"I'll see you in ten, Amy," he gave her his most winsome smile and he could almost swear that he heard her breath hitch as she waved goodbye with a faint blush on her cheeks.
"Young Master Harry! Wake up!" Kreacher gently shook his young master's arm. Even if the young Black heir was a half-blood, he had grown to love the messy-haired wizard. Harry Potter reminded him of his former master, the fallen Regulus Black. He had grown to be so fond of the new Black heir that he even tolerated his mudblood friend, the pretty and smart witch, Ms. Miney.
"Wha – Kreacher?" Harry asked groggily as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.
"Good morning, young Master Harry," Kreacher greeted.
"Hello, Kreacher. What are you doing here?" Harry sat on the bed.
"Master Sirius be giving this to young Master Harry. Special health potions for growing wizard. Just one drink mixed in juice and Kreacher be going," the old house-elf handed him a tumbler.
Harry gave the tumbler a dubious look. If it were Dobby handing this to him, he would think that Sirius was pranking him. Kreacher though was a very serious elf who would throw a temper tantrum if asked to do a mundane and silly task. So, he reckoned that whatever potion this was, it had to be effective.
He opened the tumbler and noticed that the liquid was light pink. It actually looked like strawberry juice. "Er, Kreacher?"
"Drink up, young Master Harry," Kreacher encouraged.
"Is this strawberry juice?"
"Kreacher be mixing potions to strawberry juice since Kreacher knows it's yous favorite."
"Great! Thank you, Kreacher," he grinned at the house-elf. He immediately downed the contents of the tumbler because for a juice laced with potion, it tasted really good. The house-elf extended a hand to him so he handed the empty tumbler over.
"Goodbye, young Master Harry! Kreacher be going now," with a snap of his fingers, the house-elf popped away.
Since he was already awake anyway, Harry decided to just take a shower so he could have breakfast early. Maybe he could even squeeze in some library time because he still had no clue as to how he would solve his 'invisible Hermione problem.'
Harry ran down the stairs with his bookbag hanging on his shoulders. He was determined to go the Great Hall early but the sight that greeted him in the heads' common room made his eyes pop out. Finally, he could see Hermione again. The only problem was – he's seeing too much!
"Hermione! Where are your clothes?" He exclaimed.
"What? What are you talking about?" Hermione glanced down before frowning at him.
"You – you're only wearing underwear!" He stammered as he forced himself to look away.
"Are you insane? Why would I go around wearing just – Harry Potter! Look away for Merlin's sake!" Hermione stomped her foot in exasperation. He tried so hard to ignore the way her chest jiggled in her icy blue lace underwear. Good lord! What the hell is happening to me?
"I'm sorry, okay? I don't know what's happening! I swear!" He covered a hand over his eyes.
"Wait a sec, I'll try something," he heard Hermione say.
"Open your eyes," Hermione said.
He reluctantly removed his hand from his eyes. He was afraid that he'd be seeing more of her this time around. Hermione in her lace underwear was already making his head spin that he was afraid he'd pass out. If he ever saw her naked, he might just lose his head because he'd surely go crazy. Whoever did this to him, they must pay. This was pure torture.
"Hermione? Where did you go?" he looked around the now seemingly empty common room.
"I'm standing in front of you," he heard her voice.
"Oh… You're invisible again," he muttered.
"Are you sure you're alright? What if it's just an illusion?"
"Hermione, I swear! I saw you in an icy blue lace – "
"Shut it! God! This is so embarrassing! Let's just go to the Great Hall," he felt an invisible hand take his own and he allowed her to drag him away.
Whatever curse or potion that was wreaking havoc on his eyesight, it seemed to be getting worse. First, he couldn't see Hermione at all. Now, he saw a glimpse of her for just a few seconds and she was just in her underwear. He really didn't know which case was worse.
Not seeing Hermione was killing him inside because he missed her so much.
Getting random glimpses of Hermione in just underwear – well that's another form of torture that his mind just couldn't erase from his memories. He was a teenage bloke for Merlin's sake!
When they arrived in the Great Hall, Harry was truly relieved that Hermione was invisible again. At least, his hormones wouldn't get the better of him since he couldn't even see her face. This curse is turning me into a perv, he mused. First, he accidentally groped Hermione's breasts when the curse first started haunting him. And now, he just saw his best friend in her underwear. He could never unsee her long legs, perky breasts – argh! I'm going to hell for sure.
Just to be safe, he avoided looking at Hermione's direction for the rest of breakfast. He reckoned it was better to be safe than sorry. If Hermione would discover that he was ogling her awhile ago, he'd get hexed to the ends of this earth. Maybe she'd turn him into a frog or something worse. So, it's better to avoid looking at her for now – at least until he was cured of this strange disease.
"Boot! Granger! Up on the dueling platform!" Remus Lupin called his two star pupils. He would have called Harry but the lad was looking more and more confused these days. Besides, it would be an unfair duel if Harry was fighting an invisible Hermione. Sirius is really taking this 'getting Harry's blind eyes to open' business to a whole new level, he mused as he eyed his two students.
"On the count of three… One… two… three… Go!" Remus counted off.
"Expelliarmus!" Terry Boot said. His spell failed because Hermione blocked him with a non-verbal Protego.
If only Harry could see Hermione, this would have been a fun duel, Remus thought. Harry and Hermione were the only two students who could fully cast non-verbal spells during duels because they constantly practiced with Sirius, Dora, and himself during the summer breaks.
As the duel went on, he noticed that Harry's eyes seemed to be popping out of his head as he followed Ms. Granger's every move. Odd, he thought. If the potion on Harry was still in effect, why did it seem like he could see Hermione now?
"Stupefy!" Terry yelled but Hermione easily dodged it and she threw him her signature spell combo. When Terry's wand flew to Hermione's hand, the duel was over.
"Good job, Ms. Granger, Mr. Boot," Remus congratulated his students. Terry was blushing so hard when he shook his opponent's hand. If it was due to being defeated by a girl or if it was because of his crush on the beautiful petite brunette, Remus didn't know.
Since Hermione was a good sport though, she gave the Ravenclaw a friendly hug which made her DADA professor smile. Like Sirius, Remus adored Hermione Granger.
Remus could've sworn he heard Harry muttering a curse word and he chuckled a bit. Oh, cub! Just bloody tell Hermione how you feel! Merlin! Even James didn't have it this bad...
As Remus called the next pair on the dueling platform, Harry Potter was lost in his own thoughts since he was busy chastising himself. When Terry and Hermione started dueling, he could see Hermione again – still clad in her icy blue underwear.
He wanted to look away but he was drawn to the view like moth to a flame. Not only was she looking so damned sexy in her underwear but the way she pulverized her opponent made him covertly place a book over his lap.
DADA with Remus used to be his favorite class. DADA with Remus and a half-naked Hermione – well, it's now his worst form of torture. If this vision problem carries on until the end of NEWT year, I won't be graduating this year that's for sure, Harry sighed as he tried to think about disgusting things because Hermione was standing beside him right now. When she clapped her hands to cheer for their classmates, she was bouncing all over and he hated himself for taking advantage of the situation.
Why did Hermione have to be so bloody hot? He felt the need to hit his head with a book or maybe the wall. He was going crazy that's for sure!
As soon as the class ended, Harry noticed that Hermione seemed to vanish into thin air because he couldn't see her again. He felt relieved and disappointed at the same time.
He was about to head for the library to read about his 'vision problem' when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Harry, we need to talk," Remus said with a knowing glint in his eyes and Harry gulped.
Bloody hell! Did Remus know that I was busy ogling Hermione just now?
A/N: Poor Harry (* evil grin *)
Isn't Sirius so adorable with Amelia? (* sigh *)
So... What do you think?
Review, fave, and follow if you enjoyed this chapter.
If you've been reading my other silly stories, then you'd notice that I'm slowly updating my on-going stories. I have so many WIPs that I have a lot to catch up with.
P.S. I posted my supposed entry to Quantum Bang, God Save The Children. Go check it out if you like fix-it fics.