Dumbledore and Dinner

Hermione walked down to ask Dumbledore a question before dinner. When she stopped in front of the portrait, she called for Dumbledore. After a minute or two, he arrived.

"Hello, Hermione. And how are you this evening?"

"I'm fine, thanks. There was something I wanted to ask you."

"Ask away."

"Well, you have a portrait here, Hagrid must have a portrait of you in his hut, and there's the portrait of you in McGonagall's office." Hermione said this as a statement, not a question.

"You are correct," Dumbledore responded.

Hermione took a deep breath. "Where are your other portraits?" She asked quickly.

"Ah..." Dumbledore observed. "You are worried that I'm able to watch your more... Intimate moments?"

"Well..." Hermione began. She didn't want to say it outright.

Dumbledore spoke before she continued. "Do not fret, Hermione. While I have portraits that cover quite a bit of ground here in the castle, just to help keep an eye on things, I specifically requested myself that we do not put portraits in offices, classrooms, bathrooms, lavatories, common rooms, or in the dormitories."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.

"And I must say, you did excellently in your meeting with Professor McGonagall." Dumbledore beamed. "She mustn't know quite yet about this plan quite yet!"

"Plan? What plan?" Hermione asked.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't fully explain. Before my ****, when I wasn't preoccupied with trying to permanently undo Tom Riddle, I had tried to bring back the House Tasks for all students, not just witches." Dumbledore's face dropped. "But alas... When Lord Voldemort returned at the end of your fourth year, I had to put those plans aside..."

He turned back to Hermione. "Only after you complete the tasks will Phineas Black's magical ban be lifted from this castle entirely, and the tasks will be free to be an open secret once more."

Hermione thought for a moment. "So... You need to keep this from Professor McGonagall? To keep her from stopping it until it's over?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Very good, Hermione. Yes, I admit that I have been steering her towards this plan of action. Rest assured that I will do all I can to calm her so she doesn't lose her temper if and when she finds out."

Hermione couldn't help but smile. "Thank you, Professor Dumbledore."

"You're welcome. Before I go, I did have one more question for you, however. I noticed that Peeves' attitude towards humiliating you has changed considerably. What did you do to make this happen?"

Hermione recalled her actions in the common room and gave Dumbledore a full retelling.

"Ah... Not bad, Hermione, not bad at all... In fact, I think you're ready for another bit of homework, assuming your needlework has been finished."

"I've done the first robe, Professor. I think I can handle the next one!"

"Very good... See, you had used your wand, but are you aware that witches and wizards can use magic without them?"

"Well... I know that children can perform magic when they're young, but when they start to learn magic proper, they can only do it with their wands."

"Yes and no... See, we grew dependent on wands, but it's entirely possible for a fully grown witch or wizard to cast magic without the use of a wand. They teach this sort of magic at Uagadou in Uganda. Wands make it easier, that is certain, but it is possible to cast magic with your bare hands."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "Are... Are you serious, Professor? That's possible?"

"Very much so!" Dumbledore smiled. "We have a book in the library on the matter, but I'm afraid that due to its nature of potentially violating the statutes of secrecy and underage magic, it will be in the restricted section and, without Madam Pince, you would normally have difficulty getting in there... However!" He spoke that last word just as Hermione began to look disappointed. "I believe our Master of the Keys has left a fair few doors open for you. I'm sure that if you borrowed the book from the library and returned it before Madam Pince recovered..."

Hermione nodded to show she understood.

"Very good... Practice with beginner spells first, then keep practicing until you have mastered wandless magic! Now, off to dinner. You barely ate at lunch, and I'm sure you're famished" And with that, Dumbledore left his frame again.

When Hermione arrived in the great hall, the Slytherins were there, but they didn't bother asking her for a wardrobe check. It seemed they had their fill from this afternoon. Millicent spoke up as soon as Hermione sat down. "Listen up, Granger. Tomorrow night, you will be participating in Slytherin Creature Night. Normally, how it works is that two witches pick a kind of creature for one another, and they have to sleep with that creature. Whatever happens..." Millicent's eyes darted down to Hermione's groin, "happens."

Hermione stared for a moment. "You... surely you don't mean that you're going to use that spell again?"

Millicent smiled. "Only if it gets boring. Now, since I'm not doing anything, you have to pick a non-human creature for yourself. I've got a list," she pulled out a sheet of parchment, "of all magical creatures on the grounds right now. You take your pick, and we'll make it happen."

Hermione looked over the list... Having reviewed these in the library just before, she knew which ones to eliminate immediately. The moon was waning, so centaurs wouldn't be interested... a merman would be difficult, as their genitals were not designed for penetration...

Hermione also flat-out removed anything that wasn't sentient. She didn't want to engage in any sort of ****. As she looked down the list, one kind of creature stood out to her... The house-elves... She didn't want to **** them into it, of course, but she had greater respect for house-elves than most who had ever walked through the doors of Hogwarts. Not to mention that, if word ever got out, she could say that, as the head of the Society for the Protection of Elvish Welfare, she wanted to truly understand them...

"If..." Hermione began, speaking slowly, "we could find a house-elf that would volunteer, not as an order, but as something they truly want to do... Can we go with that?"

Millicent looked surprised. "A house elf? Really?"

Pansy cut in quickly. "Ooh, the elf lover wants to really be an elf lover, eh? Fine, we'll check the kitchens tonight before bed to see if there are any volunteers. We'll tell you at breakfast. If not..." She put her finger on the list. "You won't have nearly as much time to pick anyone else!"

The Slytherins finished dinner rather quickly and immediately took off toward the kitchens to ask the elves for a volunteer.

Hermione decided to go to the library before bed to find that book. If wandless magic was as difficult as Dumbledore said it would be wise if she were to start reading tonight. It took her a few minutes to locate it, since the restricted section was organized in a way that was only convenient for Madam Pince.

After finding Wizardry From Around the World, Hermione returned to the common room to read by the fire. The subject was just as complicated as Dumbledore said it would be, as it required an entire shift of mind on how to use magic. Hermione pointed her finger at a nearby chair. "Flippendo!" she enchanted, moving her finger the way she'd move a wand. The chair moved maybe half an inch, if that. It wasn't nearly as strong as it would have been if she had her wand. She'd need to continue to practice...

Hermione was tired, but feeling slightly naughty... She decided she wanted to try something that night. She wondered if Gilpy would consider the robe she was wearing as abandoned if she still had it on her person, even if she wasn't wearing it. Would he take the robe off of her himself, exposing her nude form to him?

Hermione undressed in the common room and sat back in the squishy armchair, using the robe as a blanket.

She yawned as she fell asleep, the last thought she had before she fell asleep being one of wondering if she would be turned on at being exposed by a house-elf...