Hiding

Hermione felt safe for now. Hardly anyone ever came into the artefacts room, and there were not even any portraits in here which might see her. After a couple of minutes she gathered the courage to release her grip on her own body and relax a little.

The idea of being naked in school was not so horrifying now that she could not be seen. It even gave her a bit of a thrill, the naughtiness of it. She began to think that she might do this more often, maybe borrow Harry's invisibility cloak and go for a roam in the halls wearing that and nothing else...

After idly looking over the dusty objects stood around the room on plinths, Hermione dropped down onto an ancient armchair to wait. It should not be long now before Luna came back with her clothes, and she could put this whole incident behind her. Well, except for getting some **** on Ginny. She deserved a lot worse than a destroyed pair of trousers after this.

The door handle began to turn, and several thoughts chased themselves through Hermione's brain. The first was panic that someone was about to find her. The second was relief as she realised it must be Luna. The third, and loudest, thought was- what if it wasn't?

With that final thought, Hermione jumped off her chair and ducked behind a plinth.

It was just as well she did, as several pairs of feet entered, and none of them belonged to Luna.

"And this is our collection of artefacts." Hermione recognised Professor McGonnagel's voice.

"I see, and what exactly are we looking at here?" came a voice Hermione did not know.

"Well, this one here is the spellbook of Marcus Jigglebeak, first wizard to employ rhyming couplets to amplify the potential..."

Hermione risked a look around the side of the plinth. Besides the professor there were four important-looking witches and wizards, evidently on a tour. And she had very little time before they reached her hiding place, at which point she may not stay hidden. She needed to go, but the door was an impossiblity.

A few metres away she saw a pair of long curtains, and the glimpse of a window on the other side. It was far from ideal, but it was also her only chance.

She looked back at the tour. They were two plinths closer to her, examining a statue of, ironically, a naked woman. Hermione held her breath. If they carried on the way they were going, she had barely minutes left...

Suddenly, the rearmost witch asked a question about an artefact on the other side of the room, and the entire group turned away. This was her chance- Hermione jumped up and bolted for the curtains. Trying to make as little noise as possible, she pulled them aside just enough to slip through, and then she was stepping through the window on the wide ledge beyond and stood out there, naked body exposed to the crisp evening air.