Holiday Surprise #2: To: Hermione Granger
Hermione was doing her best to concentrate on Slughorn's lecture, she really was. They were due for a theoretical exam in two days, and she wanted to make sure she knew every single attribute of the potion itself, as well as its ingredients.
"Best to know what you're dealing with first," Slughorn had added when he had made the announcement. "You wouldn't want to poison your target, now would you?"
Of course, he was right. Hermione didn't want that to happen when it came time to finishing up her batch of Veritaserum at the end of term.
Slughorn was in the middle of explaining the difference between in using dry and fresh ginger root when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Hermione brushed it off, continuing to take notes. Then, something poked her in the arm, which was followed by a loud cough. She was tempted to ignore it, but if her instincts were correct, this person wasn't going to leave her be until she gave them her undivided attention.
Turning to her left, Hermione saw Ron glaring at her. Annoyed, she took a fresh piece of parchment, wrote something down and slid it on his desk.
Hermione huffed, crumpling up the note and throwing it into her bag, much to Ron's horror. The nerve he had to make such an accusation! He was supposed to trust her! Hermione was never one for possessive blokes (she would know after dealing with Cormac), but she thought Ron was better than that. She threw him a nasty look and resumed her note-taking.
As soon as class was dismissed, Hermione quickly packed her stuff in her bag and stood up to leave. She'd let Ron find her, but she wasn't going to let him make a scene in the dungeons. When fingers wrapped around her wrist, she pulled away forcefully.
"If you're going to start another argument, don't do it here!" she hissed angrily.
"Easy there! It seems like lions really do bite," commented Blaise, raising his eyebrows. "Especially this one."
"Very funny," replied Hermione sarcastically. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, you said you wanted to talk some more today," said Blaise, hitching his bag on his shoulder. "Just remind me not to get on your bad side."
"You'll know when you've crossed the line, trust me."
They waited for the classroom to empty out before stepping out into the corridor.
"Just to let you know, I made sure Weasley was out of sight before approaching you," Blaise told her. "In case you were worried about that."
"I wasn't worried..." Hermione trailed off, but her words sounded weak to her ears.
Of course she was worried! Ron thought she fancied Blaise! Hermione had meant every word when she said she was helping a classmate (with what, Ron didn't have to know, did he?) But just because Zabini became Blaise to her didn't mean they were friends. And they were nowhere close to becoming lovers. That idea was preposterous!
"You're thinking too much," said Blaise with a smirk.
Finding a window sill and an empty corridor, they set their stuff aside and sat down. Blaise stuck his hand in the pocket of his robes and pulled out a Fiery Fortune Cookie. He tossed it to Hermione. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.
"Bribery, hm?"
"Not necessarily. This, though, is something you can use."
Hermione rolled her eyes and tore the package open.
Just as she broke the chocolate-covered cookie in half, a puff of red smoke came out and presented her with a steaming mug of hot cocoa. Just the way she liked it.
"These fortunes are horrible," noted Blaise, taking a look over her shoulder. "Though, that cocoa smells--"
"This is mine, thank you," interrupted Hermione sweetly, taking a delicious sip and setting the mug down away from Blaise. "So, your plan--have you come up with anything yet?"
"Been working on it. You've been watching Potter, yes?"
"As far as I know, Harry immediately shuts down if anyone even mentions Malfoy."
"Draco's been sulking. Avoiding Potter like that plague and throwing himself into his schoolwork."
"And then there was that whole thing with that parakeet--"
"That bloody bird won't shut up! I don't know why he won't get rid of it."
"You mean Malfoy kept it?!"
Before Blaise could answer, the sound of squawking echoes in the corridor. Blaise and Hermione looked at each other before turning to see Malfoy walking in their direction. As Malfoy got closer, he suddenly stopped.
"What are you two doing here?" asked Malfoy suspiciously. "Having a cosy study session, are we?"
"I can ask the same of you," replied Blaise carefully. He gestured to the parakeet. "Find a way to shut that thing up?"
"Shut up! Shut up!" repeated the bird, happily perched on Malfoy's shoulder.
"Why don't you shut up, bird?" muttered Malfoy. "I'm about to see if Potter can deal with this, since it's his. He wanted to meet up for our Defence project already. So, if you'll excuse me..."
He nodded at Blaise and Hermione before walking away, trying to swat at the parakeet every so often.
They waited until Malfoy rounded the corner before resuming their conversation.
"What are the chances they can resolve things on their own, Granger?"
"I'd say we should still keep an eye on them. In case we need to intervene."
I sense some jealousy (oh, Ron), and some interesting things coming from this new alliance! Who will be the lucky recipient of the next Fiery Fortune Cookie? What kind of surprise will it hold for them? Stay tuned to find out as we celebrate the holidays!
Inspiration for this mini series goes to awdt's Christmas Quickies!
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