Rictusempra

BloodScorpion

Rating: G
Genres: Humor
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 5
Published: 08/11/2004
Last Updated: 08/11/2004
Status: completed

Rictusempra: the tickling charm. What happens when its used out of context?

Chapters

1. Rictusempra

1. Rictusempra

Rictusempra

It was, for some strange reason, quiet in the Great Hall. There was still the clatter of silverware against silverware and silverware against plates, but that was all. Conversation was spoken in low whispers for some reason. This unknown reason was not sitting well with Harry Potter. It was too quiet in the hall for meal time.

Harry Potter was already edgy, but very few noticed. The silence of the hall just made him all the more edgy. He was currently sitting in between Ron and Seamus, with Dean and Neville sitting across from them. Hermione was sitting on the other side of the table from Harry several places down, not close enough to be included in whatever conversation was taking place between the four boys. Rather, the three boys, as Harry wasn't currently paying attention to the conversation. His attention was split between idly staring at his food covered plate and watching Hermione out of the corner of his eye.

His paranoia towards Hermione did not faze anyone in the surrounding area. Harry finally decided to stop trying to avoid the situation and pushed his plate away while looking towards Hermione's direction, hopefully nonchalantly. It apparently worked as no one seemed to notice except maybe the subject in which Harry's nonchalant gaze was directed.

Harry couldn't help himself though; the paranoia was getting to him, making him edgy or at least more edgy than normal. It made him even make his potion correctly today he was paying such close attention to his surroundings. That ticked Severus Snape off to no end, but he could do nothing and couldn't take points away because Harry's potion was correct.

However, someone did notice Harry's newfound and reinforced paranoia and guarding, one Hogwarts headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Not much escaped Dumbledore when the subject was Harry Potter. Dumbledore saw Harry's `nonchalant' look toward Hermione and yet he also saw Harry was fidgeting more than usual, his demeanor guarded, it looked as if Harry was ready to run at a moment's notice. Maybe he was, but Dumbledore did not know why, so he did the only thing he could do, he multiplied the twinkling in his blue eyes.

Minerva McGonagall noticed Dumbledore had stopped eating and appeared to be staring at something or someone. She followed his gaze to see it focused on one Harry Potter. McGonagall wondered what Dumbledore was twinkling about now, what had Harry done in order to make Dumbledore's twinkle exponentially more than normal. McGonagall only sighed, knowing she would never figure out the man's sense of humor or what made his eyes twinkle.

Hermione noticed Harry's gaze, anyone with only a single brain cell could notice it. Why people didn't notice it though was because it didn't hold an open lust or anything of that nature, the emerald pools held a twinge of fear and mostly apprehension. She saw Dumbledore gazing at Harry, probably wondering what was going to happen next, but Dumbledore probably already knew or would find out play by play. Hermione wanted Harry to squirm; she wanted him as paranoid as possible, to make him jump at every shadow before she exacted her revenge. She would make sure Harry would know never to do that again. Until that time came, she would make him squirm and beg for mercy. At least squirm, a begging Boy Who Lived on the front page of the Daily Prophet would probably not look too good.

Moments passed that seemed like an eternity with Harry `nonchalantly' gazing at Hermione, Dumbledore nonchalantly gazing at Harry, and Hermione looking at Harry through her peripheral vision. Then, it happened. The moment in which Harry had been anticipating and looking for, but it still came as a surprise to him. It was the moment which Hermione couldn't resist anymore and did what she wanted to Harry: make him squirm, make him jump, make him extra paranoid and scared. It would hopefully put him onto the path of begging which didn't seem like a bad idea at the moment. Hermione turned her head slightly towards Harry and grinned, a grin of mischief and secrets. A grin that made Harry do the only thing he could do, yell and then turn and run.

Harry yelled and jumped up, however, it is not the smartest thing to do when everyone in the school is located in the Great Hall and it is quiet, a strange, too-quiet quiet. Maybe they had been foretold what was going to happen and wanted to see it happen. But that wasn't possible, Harry and Hermione had been alone together in the Room of Requirement, no body could have heard or seen them. No body, but Harry and Hermione had seen or heard what Harry had done to Hermione. Except maybe Dumbledore, he knew everything that went on in the school.

Harry's yell echoed throughout the Great Hall startling everyone from their quiet mood. Everyone turned towards Harry Potter who had now jumped up from his seat and saw him tense nearly reach for his wand as if he was provoked and ready to defend himself at any time.

Dumbledore merely looked on in amusement at Harry, unsure of what had provoked him, but knowing it was nothing life threatening or scar related. Hermione looked on slightly amused also; he was scared, paranoid, squirming, almost to the brink of begging, just the way she wanted him. The rest of the Great Hall looked on in alarm, what had startled the Boy Who Lived; even the Slytherins looked on in surprise and apprehension. Most thoughts in the Great Hall centered on what could have made Potter jump up and yell, most thinking it might have been his scar, his link to Voldemort. Wrong they were, it was so much closer to home.

Harry looked around the Great Hall in panic, if he didn't get out soon she would get up and come after him just like she promised. The main entrance was blocked by her, if he chose to go that way, he would have to walk right by her and that wasn't promising. The only other exit he knew of was a secret door to the side of the Head Table, not very far from where he was now standing.

However, before Harry could move towards the hidden door, he noticed the entire population within the confines of the Great Hall was staring at him. Harry didn't know what to do, what excuse could he make up to tell the population for surely he couldn't tell them he jumped because someone had looked and grinned at him. His eyes darted around the Great Hall trying to come up with some lie that might be somewhat convincing. However, his higher and lower thought processes had shut down while the danger thought process had taken over making it very hard to make complete sentences and say them with only spells going through his head.

Harry did the only thing that made sense to him with his danger thought process in full gear, escape. Harry calmly walked over to the side of the Head Table with every pair of eyes in the Great Hall staring at him. Turning around in a swift motion that flared out his robes, he grabbed his wand in his left hand and put both hands behind his back and pressed the required bricks in the required order opening the doorway allowing no one to see what bricks were pressed.

Slipping his wand back into his robes, Harry looked over to Hermione, although it seemed to the rest of the Great Hall occupants that he was just looking out over the crowd, ending at the Gryffindor table. He saw her dab her mouth with her napkin in the she always does that signifies she is done with eating and was about to get up. Harry's calm façade faded briefly for a moment before going right back up.

Hermione looked toward Harry standing next to doorway and wondered, briefly, where he had learned of this door before coming to the matter at hand and grinned again. She saw Harry's calm façade flicker again before he stepped backwards into the doorway and disappear for sight along with the door.

The Great Hall's occupants were astonished by the Boy Who Lived disappearance and immediately brought the Great Hall's noise to its regular noise level to wonder out loud what had just transpired. Dumbledore even looked surprised at what had just happened. Both Dumbledore and Hermione got up to examine the hidden escape-way. Dumbledore examined it first trying to find the correct combination of bricks, but was unable to find it. Hermione examined several more combinations of bricks before she pulled out her wand and tried to destroy the wall hiding the doorway. That, however, when used against a magical castle wall, does not work.

Hermione seemed semi-flummoxed before she smiled slightly and nearly skipped out of the Great Hall with no one taking notice except Dumbledore.

* * * * *

Harry didn't appear for Transfiguration after his lunchtime disappearance which caused McGonagall to send a note to Dumbledore. Dumbledore smiled briefly at the note before he got up in search of the Boy Who Lived. The Headmaster was unsure where to look for Harry until his internal magic sensors kicked in and he found him to be nearing the Room of Requirement. Harry entered the Room of Requirement nearly ten minutes before Dumbledore reached it also.

However, when Dumbledore came to the wall where the door was supposed to be, there was nothing there but stone. He looked to the area for several long moments before his shoulders sagged slightly and he turned to walk away. The doorway appeared, however, before the Headmaster reached the end of the hallway.

“Is Hermione with you Professor?” Harry asked cautiously, mostly hiding behind the door that had opened only a sliver.

“No, Mr. Potter, she is not. However, I may have her called up here if you wish?” Dumbledore turned around to confront the lone emerald eye that could be seen in the doorway with his twinkling blues. The two stared at each other for several moments before Harry's resolve broke and he opened the door to allow the Headmaster to enter the Room of Requirement.

The Headmaster entered the room to find a simple room, of no real definition of any house at Hogwarts, with a fireplace and chairs sitting in front of it. Harry motioned to one of the chairs for Dumbledore to sit in before he took his own seat and let out a winded sigh, one of almost resignation. The Headmaster surveyed the young man beside him; his resigned posture as if he were a little child about to be reprimanded for a wrong doing. Harry broke the silence.

“You know, I'm more afraid of Hermione then I am of Voldemort. Voldemort can throw out the Imperius Curse, but I'm not affected by it; he can throw out the Killing Curse, but luck will most likely be on my side and I'll just get another scar; then, he can use the Cruciatus Curse, a little pain, but it's nothing really.

“Hermione, however, knows volumes of curses, hexes, and jinxes. Not to mention an innumerable amount of other spells that could be used as a curse, hex, or jinx. Voldemort's Unforgivable Curses have nothing on Hermione's knowledge.”

“I would very likely agree with you Harry, but I am unsure as to how that relates to the current situation.”

“Current situation?” A dumbfounded expression on Harry's face before the light bulb seemed to light up. “Oh…well, it's nothing really, just one stray spell and not being able to undo it is the current situation.”

“That is enough to anger Ms. Granger so much that she would want to see your head on a silver platter, if I interpreted her actions correctly?”

“Sort of Professor Dumbledore, but it doesn't matter. I should be getting back to the Common Room. Goodnight Professor.”

Harry left a very confused Dumbledore behind in his wake as he made his way back to the Gryffindor common room. Dumbledore stayed in the Room of Requirement gazing into the flames for some time trying to make heads and tails of this new `situation' at Hogwarts. The silence of the room was only disturbed when a shriek echoed throughout the castle. It was hard to determine if the shriek was of terror or of pain. The shriek was quickly shifted off to the side as it had most likely been a ghost, a very loud ghost, but a ghost nonetheless. Dumbledore left the room a little before midnight taking his time going back to his rooms.

* * * * *

The Great Hall, unlike the day before, was raucous and loud with chatter between everyone. The students were predicting what was wrong with Harry. The teachers were just as confused, not going so far as to predict what was wrong with one Mr. Potter, but something along the very same lines. Most of the students seemed to take the news of Harry not returning to his dorm room a little extreme wondering what could have prevented him from reaching it. Hermione Granger was sitting at the far end of the Gryffindor table trying to make herself look as small and inconspicuous as possible.

Halfway through breakfast, Harry Potter walked in with a smug look on his face like he had the greatest secret or treasure in the world. He glanced out of the corner of his eyes towards the end of the Gryffindor table and his smile seemed to grow both brighter and bigger. Perfection occurred right now, right now Harry wanted to make Hermione squirm, jump, and scared. Do what she had done to him. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Harry sat at approximately the same number of spaces away from Hermione as she had done yesterday to him. Without notice from anyone in the surrounding seats, Harry pulled out his wand and cast the tickling charm, Rictusempra, on Hermione without very much power. The effect would only be a minor tingling, possibly a little tickle, but nothing to make her laugh out loud. The charm hit right on target.

Hermione's surprised face only lasted a fraction of a second before it was covered in an expressionless mask. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Harry smirking slightly. She was surprised he didn't put all of the power behind the charm needed to cause a scene by her. But then, this was Harry and he was using the brain cells he possessed today only to see her is discomfort, to make her squirm, jump, and scared while he exacted his revenge. Just then, another Rictusempra hit Hermione which caused more tingling than the last spell and a slight bit of discomfort at first.

Dumbledore looked up from his conversation with Filius Flitwick after it had concluded and took in the sight of Mr. Potter. He looked relatively well for not returning to his dorm last night especially since he walked in like he had been the cat that had caught the canary as the muggle saying went. Before Dumbledore went back to his breakfast he noticed that Harry had his wand in hand. It was pointed in the direction of Ms. Granger.

The headmaster scrutinized her next. She seemed to be fine as well except for the fact that she looked like Harry did yesterday without the non-inconspicuous staring. A flash of surprise and then discomfort crossed her face, but it looked as if she ignored what had just happened to her.

Dumbledore looked back at Harry. Putting two and two together, it looked as if Harry Potter was intentionally cursing or hexing Hermione Granger to cause her discomfort. That did not make any sense to the headmaster. Why would a best friend hex another best friend?

Hermione was already scared and squirming, now it was time to up the power of the charm to make her jump. Another incantation of Rictusempra was sent towards Hermione by Harry, but it didn't make her jump. The discomfort placed on her face by the charm held a little moment longer than the past ones. She was close, she was close to jumping, and she wouldn't be able to hold in her discomfort for much longer.

The next casting caused just what Harry wanted. Hermione jumped at the spell and a small sound distressed and scared sound erupted from her mouth. Several students surrounding her looked at her strangely, but they went back to their meals and talking with one another.

Hermione not so conspicuously glared at Harry several seats down from her, but he looked as if he were off in his own little world and eating every now and then. He was trying to look the part of an innocent, but it didn't work on Hermione, she knew he was the culprit. She made another noise in the back of her throat this time it was a rather agitated noise. Abruptly, Hermione got up from the Gryffindor table and left the Great Hall not casting a look towards anyone. Right before exiting the Great Hall, she removed her wand from its hiding place.

Harry got up from the table soon after and cast a glance towards the Head Table. He noticed that Dumbledore was looking at him strangely, a thoughtful expression on his face. His eyes, however, still had their ever present twinkle in them, but it seemed more pronounced. Harry smiled slightly, he was having fun for once. He walked out of the Great Hall also.

* * * * *

Outside it was still a little cool on the grounds, but it was warming up quickly with sun rising over the castle. The Boy Who Lived walked out of the front doors of Hogwarts onto the grounds to find nothing and no one around. Harry cautiously continued walking onto the grounds watching for any movement, namely any flashes of a brown mane of hair. The prey pounced on the predator first.

Rictusempra. A dodge and a roll. Rictusempra. The prey wasn't as lucky as the predator to dodge and roll out of the way.

Hermione lay on the ground holding her sides trying not to laugh out loud from the tickling caused by the charm. Harry's face showed up in her field of vision which caused her to try and glare, but that made her lose her concentration on not laughing and made her laugh. Harry smirked, he had won the battle. He had gotten the last charm in and caused his opponent to fall in battle.

The victory was short lived though as the opponent brought out their own wand. Rictusempra. The victor was brought down along side by side of their opponent. The ex-victor did not attempt to hold in their laughter unlike their ex-opponent. Both continued to laugh until they looked into each others eyes in which they momentarily glared at each before dissolving into their self-induced giggles, the spells no longer affecting them.

Hermione snuggled up to Harry's side and Harry placed his arm around her shoulders drawing her closer. She laid her head on his chest. They both smirked.

“We really should stop meeting like this.”

“And ruin the fun of tormenting each other? Instead of chasing one another around the school?” Silence. Both of them couldn't argue about the last statement. There was too much fun in chasing one another. Too much fun in the game of predator and prey. They both lay in silence on the grounds of Hogwarts watching the sky and its transformations of colors.

A while later, simultaneously they looked each other in the eyes and silent communication passed from one to the other. Both leaned towards each other and gave in to their emotions like so many times before after the game, they kissed. Together, laying on the grounds of Hogwarts under the colorful morning sky, they both knew they wouldn't give up the game, they would continue it on even if they didn't use Rictusempra the next time.

* * * * *

Rictusempra is the tickling charm. It does not have many uses within a proper wizarding duel. It has however been noted to have been used mainly to distract one's opponent while the other gets into a different position from what they are already in. It is more commonly used in faux duels among children who are learning to duel as it causes no harm to the other duelist. In this case however there was no dueling, but a game between two people in order torment one another. Not all spells are just made for one specific purpose such as is the case here.

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