Hermione shook sleep from her eyes, pushing away the pile of parchment in front of her for the moment. Two weeks just wasn't enough time to do everything she wanted to! She looked mournfully at her stack of essays, originally written in advance for various classes. Were any of them good enough for a project entry? Certainly, she didn't want to restrict herself to just one category! A chance to participate in CRIW, [even as student entertainment], might only come once in a lifetime; at least she imagined she wouldn't be back again until she was some old witch receiving the Order of Merlin for an obscure contribution to society.

Her arithmancy essay on the Chaldean system wasn't bad, she decided. It could be polished up fairly easily. Her favorite as-yet-to-be-turned-in astronomy essay was a bit sarcastic, a bit tongue in cheek as she rambled on about the hypercosmic reality underlying the physical, and how the phenomenon of entanglement at the quantum level influenced magic; she'd only written it because that sort of thing really tickled Professor Sinistra; but it was just bizarre and esoteric enough, with enough diagrams and charts, that it could pass for a serious entry. She could probably whip up a magical model to go with it, if need be. ~Besides~, Hermione chuckled, ~It's not as if I didn't do my research. But my biggest project has to be -~

~Potions.~ A little voice inside her spoke.

"Potions, yes." Hermione agreed. "A transfiguration project would take too long, and charms just isn't as appealing."

~I love brewing potions.~

"Love? Do I really love brewing potions?" Hermione scrinched her nose. Her inner diologue was running amok, it seemed. "I do really, really like it, that's true. It is one of my favorite classes. Is that love?"

~The gentlest tap of blade on flower, the fleetest scent of lavender, the bubbling sound, the warmest glow, the clock inside my mind. Two drops, gentle flame, two sprigs, three stirs, one wave, ninety-five minutes~

"Two measures SI, 4 mistletoe, eight grinds, 2 pinches, five stirs, one wave.." Hermione continued the recipe, choking back a sob as a rush of sensations hit her. A lifetime of smells, sights, sounds, of love, crashed into her until she was drowning in a warm fire.

~And always, always him.~

~STOP~ Hermione screamed inside her mind, but the memories continued.

~I'm sorry~. The voice said, clearer.

Hermione understood now that it was not herself that was speaking, but someone else.

~You have many precious memories, they are hard to take in at once.~ The voice resolved itself into the mental image of a woman. Amelia. ~It must be the same for you. I can feel your distress.~

"Distress?" Hermione held her head. The onslaught was over; a lifetime downloaded in an instant. "I'm not really sure how to put it into words. It's not just that you're inside my head - but you knew this would happen. You planned all of it. For that man."

~Richard.~ Amelia agreed. ~As for merging with a Pheonix Butterfly, it would have happened to you regardless. It would have happened to my son, and his first child, and so down the line.~

~But you delayed it.~ Hermione bit her lip, mulling over the information in her mind. It was like having a whole new library in her head; she had to confess she didn't hate that. ~You took the Butterfly out of yourself and put it into the ring.~

~Yes, and?~ Amelia prodded.

"Not just your butterfly!" Hermione gasped, sitting upright. "The ring! You set it up! Richard had the ring buried with him; when he died, his butterfly joined yours in the ring!"

~A blissful but lonely century we drifted together.~ Amelia sighed. "We called to the upper world; first to a grave robber, then an auror, then his child. We thought we might stay forever, flying together in that world, but we were losing ourselves. Blood was no longer enough, we needed someone with our passions to break the seal on the ring.~

~Symbiosis with the Phoenix Butterfly comes with a price, then." Hermione added thoughtfully.

~For a normal lifespan, both partners are equals. It is only over time, as the butterfly is reborn, that one begins to slip away. There is no such thing as true immortality.~

"So you chose Snape and I because we were compatible descendents."

~And it still took time for me to awaken fully. I was drifting in and out. Your mind holds many thoughts. Your language is less cumbersome.~

"I was wondering about that." Hermione asked the question while perusing memories for the answer herself. "You originally spoke older english than Richard, and yet now you are speaking almost normal."

~I'm older than Richard. I inherited the butterfly from my mother through my grandfather.~

~You mean the butterfly.~ Hermione understood, and then blushed bright red. "Oh! Is THAT how Richard became merged with a butterfly phoenix?"

~Yes. As the true phoenix renews itself every five hundred years, so the Phoenix Butterfly is also a creature of the sun, which must renew itself roughly every two hundred and fifty years. It's process is slightly different; using the fires of passion to burn itself out, and from the ashes are born two new lives inside each respective heart. Choosing a mate must be done carefully, as the phoenix will spawn upon first intercourse.~

~You mean, when Draco almost?~ Hermione shuddered. It seemed Snape had gotten there in time, but if Draco had carried out what seemed to be his intention -

~When Draco what?~ Amelia seemed taken aback.

"The other night. You should know, you popped in for a while."

~My memories are hazy of this last while - OH~! Yes. That would have been a problem.~

Both women blushed furiously.

Hermione was the first to speak. "Why did Draco stop?"

~Never mind that.~ Amelia fumed. "Why did my Richard let your Snape TOUCH ME?"

"He's not 'my Snape'"

"Oh? Your screaming 'Severus' into his ear would say otherwise."

"Did I do that?" Hermione laughed nervously.

"You certainly did." A new voice drawled from behind them, near the fireplace.

The two whirled to see a rather bemused potion's professor.

"I wondered what could keep the Academic, punctual Granger from keeping her appointments." Snape reminded her of her detention, "But I see from the two of you bickering to yourselves that you've met."