She made a list of research projects to fill her restless mind — and put Hermione Granger at the center of the next one. Vera Neral is brilliant, ruthless with experiments, and allergic to being bored. When a frantic Gryffindor stumbles into a Slytherin stall and a monster blocks the corridor, Vera saves her — then turns the rescue into a deliberate study: adopt a “vulnerable mixed-blood” persona, bait Hermione’s sympathy, study attachment, and move on. It’s elegant, clinical, safe. Except clinical doesn’t last. What begins as clever manipulation becomes a stubborn warmth. Vera’s private past — a cruel uncle, a hidden bond with dangerous creatures, nightmares that bleed into waking life — collides with a rising threat: soul-fragments, a prophecy, and a darkness that wants to own her. To protect Hermione Vera must choose: keep the scheme and lose what’s real, or dismantle her defenses and risk everything. This is the story of a calculated project that turns into a love that has to be earned, a Slytherin who must learn how to hold instead of analyze, and whether a heart that has studied everything can finally learn to feel.

13 Chapters