The Darkwood Wand

Seduction

Hello everyone! This chapter gets very nerdy, as is expected when you have Hermione, the library and a Ravenclaw.

In that spirit, I thought I'd take a moment to talk about the Accio spell in this story. The little Accio lesson in the last chapter came about by accident: I needed Draco and Hermione on the bed, but why couldn't she just summon the tiny Jupiter? How does the Accio spell identify the object to summon, anyway? I decided that the caster had to be very specific when summoning to bring the right object.

You might recall the principle in action when characters summon wands and there's more than one wand in the room. In Chapter 8, when Hermione said "Accio wand," the checkered wand came because it was the closest wand and in her sight. Draco said "Accio snake wand" so he'd get the more powerful wand. He might have Summoned the checkered wand out of Hermione's hand, but that's risky because it's hard to just Summon a magic worker's wand. He could have cast Expelliarmus, but Hermione likely expected that and might have been able to block it. Now that I think about it, that was a little duel between them in Chapter 8, wasn't it?

People also have varying proficiencies with Accio: Hermione can wandlessly summon objects whether she can see them or not, but an object in sight trumps an object out of sight. It's more difficult for Draco, his wandless magic isn't nearly as strong, and he has trouble summoning an object unless he can see it.

Accio also depends on the object summoned: A magical creature, for example, is more difficult to summon than an ordinary one.

Well, now that THAT is all cleared up, on we go!

Thebe

Draco headed to the library after dinner in as good a mood as he was capable of these days. That nonsense with the Vanishing Spell was over and he could now concentrate on being harsh and cold and hated by nearly all. It had been folly to get mixed up with Gryffindors, a mistake he didn't intend to repeat.

Instead he would pursue Lovegood's Ravenclaw. If this Imogene needed a little walk on the Dark Side to feel good about herself, Draco was happy to oblige. Of course he had no intention of being a gentleman about it; he wasn't running a charity here. An enthusiastic shag would do the girl a world of good, and she'd be smart enough to be discreet. Also, he'd discovered there was something incredibly arousing about seducing a prim, intellectual type. Thoughts of touching Granger, whispering "Intermissum Harmonia Nectere" into her ear, continued to haunt Draco. Repeatedly throughout the day he would catch his breath, instantly transported to that time and place as if under his own Vanishing Spell.

Granger, on the other hand, clearly had felt only revulsion afterward; she couldn't wait to run off and spread her legs for some tweedy Puff. Fine then, Draco grumbled as he slipped into the library. He would re-create the experience with a different spell and a far less annoying witch and Granger would be a distant memory.

He spotted his target right off; the Ravenclaw was so absorbed in her tall stack of books that she didn't notice Draco take a table in a shadowy corner. He arranged his own scrolls and texts with care (eagles appreciated such things) and opened his Divination textbook. But instead of reading, he covertly scanned the library wing.

Once again Draco saw Blaise's long form tucked behind another tiny table. Blaise looked rather menacing, actually, half in shadow. His former friend had begun the school year as elegant as ever in rich green silk, but over the past week he'd traded the tailored look for flowing black robes. Blaise had always been quick with a quip or a smile for the ladies—now he was floating around the castle like a Dementor with a toothache. Odd.