“beyond wandpoint” 074 by gingerbred
Mar. 22nd, 2019 02:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beyondwandpoint“11 11n Tuesday - Snakes Herding”
Hermione, Draco, the Bloody Baron, Theo Nott, Tracey Davis, Daphne Greengrass, Severus, Crooks, Harry, Ron, Neville, Hannah Abbott, Lavender, Parvati, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Susan Bones, Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, Vincent 'Vince' Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Alberta Runcorn, Millicent 'Millie' Bulstrode, Professor Toirdhealbhack Terrence Call-Me-Terry Taylor, Professor Septima Vector, misc Ravenclaws, mentioned: Ernie Macmillan, Terry Boot, Morag MacDougal, Poppy, Albus, Professor Sarah Sapworthy, Professor Sybill Trelawney, Peeves
Originally Published: 2018-05-16 on AO3
Chapter: 074
"Draco," Theo calls out, not even looking Hermione's way, but then she isn't as noticeable yet from the direction he'd come. "I brought you something to eat."
He opens the napkin in his hand, and sure enough, there are three pasties.
"Oh, thank gods." Draco's relief is authentic. Watching Granger eat has only made him hungrier. He reaches for one immediately.
Which is when Theo finally spots her by the classroom door. He's still firmly in his role. He's the new Theo, a man of consideration, the solver of problems. Obviously he needs to pay his Head's wife the proper respect...
Hermione, naturally, couldn't begin to guess what's going on in his mind. But then that's a big ask. All she knows is she's in an otherwise deserted corridor, outnumbered two to one by the boys who'd held her captive Friday...
There's a spike of anxiety, surprisingly sharp given the Draughts in her system, but not enough so to cause Severus any more than discomfort where he's sat in chambers.
Fucking hell. She... No, that's unfair. The bond is making a dangerous situation more so... He's absolutely convinced this thing is going to get him killed, and even if it doesn't outright, it has taken a high risk situation and made it even more so. Albus is a godsdamned idiot.
He's not entirely sure what that makes him for listening to the man...
Theo turns to the young woman and greets her, "Good afternoon, Madam Snape. I gather you didn't get to eat either."
He begins to move towards her with the two remaining pasties, his hand holding them out to her to offer her one, or both should she like, and he still fails to properly register how her wand goes up, or the Bloody Baron shifts, becoming decidedly more opaque, between them. Draco, however, understands it immediately. He extends one arm stiffly, rigidly horizontal in front of his friend, stopping him in his tracks, effectively clotheslining him.
And now Theo, thoroughly baffled, looks from one to the other in confusion.
Theo's really thriving in his new role. He made his father proud. He saved Patil from the explosion, he defended his Head and his wife's honour - successfully, even - against the Ravenclaws, he thought to bring food for his friend, because he's just that attentive, and now he's trying to welcome the Head's wife to the House. So to speak. He feels good about himself.
And she just stares at him like he's sprouted antlers.
He actually checks, reflexively lifting a hand to his face and head, that's how intently she's staring. But no, no trace of the Anteoculatia Hex. Or anything else for that matter.
He doesn't get it.
Draco doesn't explain, not really, he simply hooks him around the arm and pulls him back to the stretch of wall next to him. And then he swallows his mouthful of food and tells Theo, "She just had something to eat."
The Baron moves closer to the witch and even more softly than usual, pitched so only she can hear, whispers, "You are not alone, Madam." He's... gratified when he sees most of the tension leave the witch's body.
"But for what it's worth, Madam Snape, I believe he only meant to extend his... hospitality to you as well."
That just leaves Hermione feeling a little guilty again for making the food disappear a few minutes ago. She can probably thank her parents for that reflex. Pity there's not a Charm to Banish it directly to all the proverbial starving children in Africa. Not that a single pastie would help much.
She feels... petty for Vanishing the food. It's hardly something one aspires to... Although... Honestly? She also thinks she has a right to be if she wants to. And that brings her right back to where she was thinking of all the things she could want to be, and how 'petty' certainly hadn't made the list.
She's also beginning to weigh how Malfoy's Crucioing and the... 'fall' down the stairs, the multiple broken bones stack up against her own experience. She's not at all sure it can be measured that way, but still... Somehow no one seems to be coming out of this unscathed. Well, except Ron and Harry. And the Headmaster, of course, who she's starting to think was more thoroughly involved in this than she'll ever understand.
Theo, for his part, assumes Draco's got the wrong end of the wand. Or at the least, given he hadn't been present when the Slytherin upper years had decided how they needed to treat the witch - their Head's bondmate, for Merlin's sake - with respect, that he needs to be set straight. So he proceeds to quietly update his friend.
Almost instantly, Draco realises that will present a problem. Because Theo, Blaise... they have no idea, no clue and will have no understanding for Granger's otherwise inexplicable reaction. How could they? They'd been Obliviated, for fuck's sake. He can easily picture both sides just making things worse. There's no way this doesn't go badly wrong. And Snakes don't handle rejection well, especially not when they've dug deep to overcome their reservations.
Bugger.
Tracey appears just then and comes to stand with them, although she greets Granger and the ghost with a polite, "Madam Snape, Baron," and a respectful inclination of her head as she does so. As she and Theo begin quietly speaking, apparently picking up a thread from the discussion at lunch, Draco decides he probably needs to do something.
Pulling away from his friends, who don't spare him more than a curious glance before continuing their conversation, he slowly approaches Granger and the ghost, somewhat like one might a wild Hippogriff. He has a bit of experience there. He hopes this goes better.
He doesn't get remotely close before the Baron moves in front of her again. Draco stops, but nods to him, trying to signal that he understands. He manages not to bow, just, but a small voice in the back of his mind is screaming for him to placate the ghost. Now. Those may even be sympathetic phantom pains in his arm...
As he sees it, the three of them are the only ones beside Severus to really understand what the problem here is.
But Draco's the only one who currently sees the problem that's bound to come.
Ill at ease, he manages a suitably formal, "Baron, may I speak to you for a moment?" It's ruined by the fact it's depressingly squeaky, his voice leaving him in the lurch.
Draco registers how the Baron almost seems to seek Granger's approval. At any rate he waits for her nod before coming over to join him. Apparently his friends aren't the only Slytherins who've decided they need to integrate, to watch out for the witch. This is more than a little strange.
Draco casts a Privacy Charm and then does his best to explain the situation.
It's not that the Baron disagrees, quite the contrary, he thinks the boy is absolutely correct. But the Baron can hold a grudge. Before Malfoy can lift the Charm, he looks very pointedly towards the boy's left arm, the arm he knows has the Serpents wrapped - tightly - around it, and in his roughest whisper tells him, "I had three once, too. It placed me in the Infirmary. I wish you the best of... luck with those." It has the desired effect, sounding irreproachably polite while leaving the boy disquieted, anticipating his... unpleasant afternoon and evening, and the Baron floats back towards Madam Snape while the blond chews on that.
It can be difficult to tell for sure with a whisper, and ultimately the Baron is a Slytherin and appearances can be deceiving, but Draco is reasonably certain there was at least a hint of sarcasm in there somewhere. But he is sure of one thing: having just escaped the Infirmary yesterday evening, he won't end there again today, because he's also reasonably certain Madam Pomfrey means to see him dead.
He'd prefer to do his dying in his own bed, if it's all the same.
The Baron has a little experience of his own with the occasionally... sub-optimal response of the rejected Slytherin. He recognises the problem clearly as well. He's just not entirely sure the witch will. Gryffindors are... different to the Snakes.
Resolved, he wafts over close to her and tries to report what young Malfoy said. He begins by asking her to cast a Privacy Charm so he can apprise her of the situation. But she gives him an measuring look, "You're just going to tell me what he said?" The Baron nods, sort of bobbing up and down in the process, although he silently adds to himself that he'll also presumably struggle to convince her Malfoy is correct. It rarely helps to point out in advance of a conversation that one discounts the other participant's perspicacity. Almost completely in fact. At least on the given subject.
"So we're basically playing Chinese whispers?" She accuses. He has no answer for her, not being familiar with the term. It doesn't matter; the question was largely rhetorical. She hates Chinese whispers. It's a singularly stupid game. She's not Ron, she goes straight to the source. Possibly because she lacks many of Ron's connections, but that's not the point.
Instead she leans around the Baron and calls out to Malfoy and signals him to join them. He does so, a little warily. Once he's very close she hisses at him, "Just keep your hands where I can see them."
He blinks only once and immediately tries to reassure her, "I wouldn't have dreamt of doing otherwise. I'll leave the Privacy Charm to you then, shall I?" She's quick to accommodate him, silently flicking up a Muffliato.
He hadn't planned on speaking to her directly, he'd happily have left that to the Baron, and now he finds himself casting about for the right thing to say. He falters, but then finally makes up his mind, "I assume from your reactions yesterday and this morning, from your presence last night when Severus..." And his voice fails him again, this time more thoroughly. He really doesn't enjoy thinking about being Crucioed. Few people who have experienced it would.
"Yes?" There's no succour to be found here. She seems eminently comfortable with the notion of his torture, and that... It's hard for him to face. She may be unsure how she feels about him and what he's experienced, but one thing she's positive about is she doesn't feel sorry for him. It makes many things... easier.
"As a result, I'll assume that you haven't been Obliviated." He finishes a little more strongly, not wanting to flag in front of her.
Knowing that he actually has been, at least in part, she finds a certain amusement in that statement. With a bit of a smirk, she asks innocently, "And how would I know if I had been?"
"Right," he agrees with the objection, swallowing. This is harder than he'd have thought. "Then let's say we have similar recollections of..." Much harder.
"The 'events' of Friday evening?" She brutally supplies with mock cheer.
"Right," he manages again, very clearly distressed, and she finds herself beginning to enjoy that. Rather a lot. But then, she's feeling a little more relaxed as a whole anyway. Much later, she'll have reason to wonder if some of that isn't due to the Professor's liberal consumption of alcohol. But for the moment, she has no explanation for her increase in courage and decrease in certain inhibitions. She has little problem just now speaking her mind, and derives more pleasure than usual from doing so.
"They," he nods at Davis and Nott, "have no awareness at all of those... events." She doesn't answer, she lets him speak. "They've decided, given you're the..." He stalls. "As Severus is your..."
"Husband?" She asks sweetly, deliberately trying to provoke him. He just swallows again and nods. "Thanks for that, by the by," she adds. It occurs to him that he hasn't just damned Severus to a life of celibacy, and he probably should watch his back around her, too. This year keeps getting better and better. His shoulders droop noticeably.
"So what's the problem, Malfoy?" She prods.
"They've decided that you should be properly received by the House."
"So? What? It's tar and feather the Mudblood day?" She sounds almost nonchalant, not particularly concerned in the least, although a good observer might note her arms are now crossed tightly over her chest. Draco's trying to puzzle out what 'tarring and feathering' is; wizards obviously used Sticking Charms when need arose and tend even onto the present day to reserve feathers for quills and duvets.
And then the corner of her mouth quirks up and she laughs darkly, "I'd like to see them try." She looks at him significantly and a bit maliciously adds, "I believe Severus will have a thing or two to say about that, don't you?"
"Merlin, Granger, don't be stupid." Her irritation is instant, but when he runs his fingers through his hair in frustration, he reminds her of a paler Harry for a moment, and she softens a little again; the response is practically ingrained. "You'll have people like them," he nods to Nott and Davis again, "and Gregory and Blaise, say, trying to extend an olive branch, and they won't be able to understand when you reject it."
She fails, utterly, predictably, to see why that's her problem. "So I should feel sorry for them? Take pity on them? Those poor ickle Snakelets? Because they might get their itty bitty feelings hurt?"
He wisely avoids addressing any of her questions, he wouldn't touch them even if Imperviused, and tries to illustrate the problem instead. "There's already been one duel, in defence of your... honour."
Ignoring the complete absurdity of that, it's probably wisest, she replies a little petulantly, "I didn't ask them to." He's quite well aware of that, having participated in the duel himself, but he doubts saying so will help.
"That's not the point. The point is do you want them, us fighting for you or against you? To me it seems you already have enough people working against you."
Honestly, he's thinking primarily of the Ravenclaws and Macmillan as he says it, which makes perfect sense as they'd only just fought, and, frankly, MacDougal's made herself hard to forget. Fuck. His hand rubs his ear automatically at the thought. He's sure there are others who will cause the Gryffindor trouble, but those four are who he has in mind. She instantly thinks he means Ron and Harry, which should tell her something but doesn't really, and glares at him defensively, secretly frightened he might be right.
She's just doesn't seem to be getting it, and there's a mulish cast to her features. Malfoy is wondering now what he ever thought he would accomplish by doing this. He's about to give up when the Baron speaks. Well, whispers.
"Madam Snape, he has a valid point." She looks at him for a moment as though he were a traitor. He's surprised to find he doesn't... like the associated feeling.
As she doesn't see the sense of what he's trying to say, Draco deduces her current approach to how to deal with this probably wasn't her strategy either. He regroups, "Severus will have suggested trying to behave as though nothing were amiss?" She nods, reluctantly, perfectly reasonably more than a little unwilling to take him into her confidence.
"He had to make a... report, last night," Draco informs her, trying to explain, and suddenly she takes his meaning. She winces, and he struggles not to flinch, remaining as neutral as he can, he continues, "Word will eventually get out. You have a small window of opportunity to define how almost everyone is going to behave moving forward." He sounds so much like the Professor that she involuntarily finds herself paying closer attention. "They don't know any better, and are giving you a chance they most assuredly won't once that word spreads."
Her flash of panic segues seamlessly to indignation. "So I should feel grateful now?"
"No! Merlin..." He doubts he'll ever get through to her. Of course, how is she to know that just this once, he's not being a completely hateful little... scrote. Yes. Well, his record presumably speaks for him, or rather, against him.
The Baron steps in, metaphorically speaking, "He's suggesting, Madam Snape, that you should take advantage of the opportunity... presented. Rebuffing them will make things worse, now, and even more so once the... rumours circulate."
Malfoy just nods.
Once he has an 'in', he believes he's quite alright arguing strategy. He's just not good at securing that 'in' himself. Certainly not with the witch before him. "This has nothing to do with how you should feel about it, that's entirely up to you. This is only about what you do. Lock them into a course of action. Once they commit, most will be too proud to go back on it."
Hermione looks to the Baron who simply nods. She thinks she'll never get the Snakes, which is funny, as that's pretty much precisely how Crooks behaves. Of course, Crooks might argue she doesn't get him either, were he the chatty type.
She doesn't look convinced, so Draco tries again, "If they establish themselves - publicly - as your supporters, how would they justify ceasing that support to the rest of the school without losing face?" He addresses the Erumpent in the corridor before she can object. "Because of blood status?" He points to the badge on her uniform. "No one could ever claim it was unknown. It's there for all to see.
"They want to do this, they've decided to do this. You just need to let them. Make it easier for them." He shrugs, hoping she finally gets it. She should, but then he'd have thought it was obvious from the outset.
She sounds wary. "So your suggestion?"
Draco looks at her a little stupidly. He's just said, for Merlin's sake, hasn't he? Hell, the Baron's just said as well, too. He shakes his head in frustration again.
"Concretely?" she amends.
A little impatiently he expands on it, "Theo offered you food. You should take him up on it. Just take the pastie from him. For appearances sake. How hard is that?"
She actually laughs at that. "You don't honestly expect me to eat something you people provided?"
Draco practically groans. The hand on his forehead can't seem to decide between running his fingers through his hair again and cradling his head against the headache that seems to be coming on. The bloody Bloody Baron may be smirking, he has something of a soft spot for intelligent witches.
Draco's not quite of his opinion about her at the moment. "Give it some thought, Granger, would you?" He half snarls. "Theo stood up for you Friday, when he had to go up against all his friends to do so. He argued - with all of us - to leave you alone. He's hardly likely to turn around and try to do you harm now. What would be the point?"
"Unless he were trying to prove himself to you," the Baron supplies, not actually believing it, but feeling someone should protect the witch's interests.
"Well, he's not, because he doesn't even remember he has something to prove," Malfoy sounds frustrated. He turns back to Hermione, "But no, I don't actually expect you to eat it. Merlin knows, you've already demonstrated you know how to Vanish food." She pinks, slightly, at that, but only slightly. "It's about appearances. And not turning people away who might be potential allies."
She mulls it over, her lips thinning as she does so. Finally she answers, "You didn't have lunch?" He shakes his head, but he fails to see the relevancy of her line of thought. Unless this is about taking both pasties and enjoying their Vanishing even more... Fine. He's not going to get his hopes up again.
"Well, I'm not going to waste more food by taking yours from you, that's just... inconsiderate." It's one thing not to offer him hers, it's another altogether to take his.
Draco can't help it, he laughs. He quickly apologises again, but... "No, of course not, you wouldn't want to be inconsiderate." She's more than a little absurd, and his nerves are raw. To be fair, the Baron finds her more than passing amusing as well.
She just quirks an eyebrow at Malfoy and asks, "So your great plan is I go over there," her head jerks towards Nott, "take the food from an actually hungry person," she bobs it back towards him, "and then stand here pretending to eat it like some oversized squirrel, om nom nom, before Vanishing it? That's your grand scheme?" When she puts it like that... But both Malfoy and the Baron try to silently convey their encouragement, despite similarly quizzical looks. She finds them amusing as well.
So much so, she now laughs. "Sounds like a sad bit of panto to me.
"Alright."
And with that she summarily turns and walks off towards Theo and Tracey, taking both the Baron and Draco by surprise. They hasten to follow in her wake. "Nott, hey, thanks for the offer," she manages quite warmly, indicating the pasties he's still holding.
Both Draco and the Baron are surprised at the seeming sincerity of it. Frankly, both were certain she hadn't got it in her. They're probably correct, but something Malfoy had said had clicked for her, though.
She doesn't usually think of Nott as an individual, he's simply a member of his House. After six years of sitting with him in most of her classes, she still fails to see the person. But when she now stops to consider him, she has to admit he isn't the most... dominant personality in his year. In fact, he's sort of their Neville. That is if Neville had something like Hermione's marks.
Honestly? Nott's probably second to last in the boys' pecking order and only barely ahead of Goyle. That's if he isn't dead last; it's hard to tell from the outside, and she isn't sure how academic success is measured in their House against Quidditch prowess. She figures - somewhat incorrectly - that intelligence is probably not much more highly valued there than in her own House...
And now she's trying to resolve how she felt she hadn't owed him any thanks for his attempted defence of her Friday. It's not like she could actually have thanked him as such post-Obliviation, that's not the issue, but she hadn't even meant to. Somehow it's because she felt it was the right thing for him to have done, the only thing for him to have done... She'd been so busy lumping them all together... She came out of it feeling she'd owed him no gratitude...
And yet she feels very grateful towards both the Professor and the Baron. She's wondering if their success made the difference, which makes her feel uncomfortable, because surely that shouldn't be what counts. Not to her. Not as she sees herself.
She's also wondering if Nott's arguing with his friends to just leave her be hadn't made the crucial difference, enabling enough time to pass for the Professor to swoop in and save her before... Well, before matters got any worse.
She thinks part of the problem is she's sure the Professor had done all he could for her. In fact, she suspects he's done more than she knows, for that matter. It's easy to be grateful to him. To see the dashing hero in the swishing black cloak... That was incredibly easy.
It's harder to see a hero in her shy and lanky classmate, no matter how hard she squints.
As for the Baron, she's not sure if he could or should have done something differently, particularly given how the Headmaster seems to want this handled, and she's come to understand that ghosts aren't entirely... free. She feels... confident that he had done... well for her. That politics and hidden agendas probably kept him from acting otherwise. And that's where things get... tricky.
Because had the Professor returned from the Manor even a little later... Well, what would the Baron have done then? What should he have done then? He probably would have fetched the Headmaster, and she finds herself wondering how safe she would have been if he had.
Summoning Professor McGonagall, Hermione is sure, would have kept her safe; her Head would have brought help. Hermione's begun to suspect she wouldn't have been informed. So if she makes excuses for the Baron within the constraints of his role...
She's wondering why she's so hard on Nott?
He hadn't Stupefied her and tied her to the chair. He hadn't brought the Potion or given it to her. He hadn't laid a finger or Spell on her. He hadn't even brought the blood or dumped it on her. Technically that seems to have been a joint effort of the Professor's and Malfoy's, she thinks a little ruefully. But an honest assessment would be that it was Malfoy's plan and he would have carried that through if left to his own devices.
Nott, well... Nott had looked shocked when he saw her there, and then stood there arguing with the others that enough was enough and they should simply leave. Perhaps Disillusion themselves and tell a portrait to send for her Head of House so she'd find her there. But whatever else, that things had gone far enough.
Everyone knows his father is one of the inner circle. Has been since Riddle's school days, for goodness' sake. The man had spent the last year in Azkaban, in no small part thanks to her and her friends, and yet Nott - Theo - had tried to stand up for her Friday, apparently against all of his friends, and certainly in front of those who were best connected to the Death Eaters in their school. Malfoy may actually be right... That took... That took quite some nerve.
Which now leaves her fairly unsure how she feels about him.
She'll need to give that some thought.
But for the time being, there are pasties on offer.
She takes one from Nott's hand, now once again automatically extended towards her, offering her her choice of his bounty, and Hermione could swear she hears Malfoy sigh in resignation behind her. "Malfoy's right. I just had something," she tells Nott, passing the pastie back to Malfoy. He looks thoroughly nonplussed, then beams like a small boy gifted his first broom before falling upon it ravenously. She thinks the Baron may have chuckled, and she imagines she could learn to enjoy screwing with Malfoy. Everyone needs a hobby.
She can't help thinking of Ron as she watches the relief play over Malfoy's face as he gets something between his gums after all. Just another stomach-driven, Quidditch-obsessed pure-blood... To be fair, the Slytherin hadn't had much breakfast thanks to the Poste Serpentes, and he already knows he won't have any dinner for the very same reason. He's also always cared more about his academics than Ron ever will, and with all the other things going on in his life, he's just going through the motions on the pitch these days. But none of that's very obvious from the outside. Nott isn't the only one she doesn't really see, but then why would she?
Hermione's almost subtle as she talks with the Slytherins, unless one is aware of recent events that is. But as the other two aren't, they don't notice anything particularly strange about her behaviour. Soon she's manoeuvred herself between Nott and Davis with her back to the wall, correctly deeming neither of them threats, and keeping Malfoy clearly in sight. He cooperates, making it easy for her. She stands there chatting with the three Snakes about their assignment for class, and it's not long before Daphne Greengrass comes to join them.
"Hi, Hermione," she greets her, apparently having decided she's one of 'them' now, and then proceeds to ask her for some detail about the Spell she'd mentioned this morning in Transfiguration, not that Hermione can provide much more information.
Which is where they are and what they're doing when Hannah Abbott, the Ravenclaws and Professor Vector arrive, all of whom are a little surprised to see her standing with the four Slytherins and their House ghost. It has a way, however, of keeping the Ravenclaws from making any unwelcome comments. Truthfully, Hermione's had enough of those for today.
As they prepare to begin class, Professor Vector asks if anyone knows if Mr. Macmillan will be joining them.
Theo, still enamoured of being ever so helpful, is happy to inform her, "I believe he's in the Infirmary, Professor."
He may have neglected to say he's the one who put the Head Boy there.
Hannah, however, is more than happy to correct that oversight, "Yeah? And whose fault is that?"
Arithmancy is a small class and a difficult one. It attracts many of the best students, certainly those more willing to learn at the very real risk of a lower cumulative average, which has a way of simplifying classroom discipline. It doesn't hurt that there's nothing dangerous in the class beyond the wand wielding students. Arithmancy is not even prone to the occasional misfire one might expect from Charms or Transfiguration.
Consequently, Professor Vector has little trouble getting the students to settle down, and only has to dock Hannah five points when she kicks up a fuss with Nott before the rest fall in line.
Hermione enjoys the subject as a whole, she always has, but just at the moment, she's appreciating it even more as another hour without Harry and Ron. She's not looking forward to DADA next period, because these days she never does - Professor Taylor, Holy Cricket - and, well... Harry and Ron, obviously. When Professor Vector's Tempus chimes, she somewhat reluctantly gathers her things.
As Daphne follows Tracey into the corridor, she turns back to half ask, "We'll see you in Herbology, Hermione?" It's a little silly, because yes, naturally she will, just as she has done for yonks, barring some catastrophe or a basilisk, say. But it's probably typical of Daphne, she's the silliest by far in the course, and she's clearly trying to be nice. That's perhaps her more defining characteristic, but people have a way of missing that.
A little less certainly than her words suggest, Hermione replies, "Sure... Daphne, I'll see you both then." Still, she manages a smile and her tone is friendly enough. Malfoy gives her a very inconspicuous nod of approval as Nott joins the little group.
Hermione's still trying to get used to the new paradigm. It's odd. Even odder, it strikes Hermione, is the fact Daphne seems to adjust to the change most easily of the five individuals affected by it and now gathered in the hallway. In every way that matters, Hermione would have said the other four significantly outperform Greengrass. And yet... It's probably another indication that there are skill sets Hermione not only undervalues, but tends to not even recognise. Unfortunately, she misses that yet again.
Tracey takes her leave with a somewhat formal, "Madam Snape," and a smile at the... boys who now seem to be falling in at Hermione's side as the two Slytherin girls turn down a different corridor. Which is when the... oddness of it all really sinks in.
Of the ten students in Arithmancy, only five are in DADA. Defence is taken by far more Gryffindors and Slytherins, for obvious reasons, than Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. But because those Badgers and Eagles are all members of the DA, or were as was, 'they' outnumber the Snakes two to one.
Usually on the trip from the Arithmancy classroom to the DADA room, Hermione sticks to Ernie and Hannah, and they let Malfoy and Nott go a little ahead of or behind them. They tend to feel smugly confident either way while doing so, because it's three of 'us' against two of 'them'.
But today she finds herself walking with Nott and Malfoy, with Hannah awkwardly trailing much further behind. Having just argued with Nott, Hannah's very reluctant to get anywhere near the three of them and tries to keep her distance.
Malfoy, Hermione notices, makes an effort to keep Nott between them and himself a little bit ahead of her where she can clearly see him, but he really hasn't got the space to react if she pulled something. That probably takes guts, because she can feel her fingers itching occasionally to just... Hex the stuffing out of him.
Draco would never admit it, but those fine hairs on the back of his neck seem to sense that about her. He much preferred their response to MacDougal. Merlin. Fuck.
It seems... disloyal, Hermione can't help thinking, to leave Hannah twisting there on her own. Feeling she has an opportunity to bridge the divide here, she decides to do just that. She might have felt differently were she aware of the details that led to Ernie being Hexed by Nott. The very ones that Hannah had seemed to feel inclined to defend. Ernie and Terry had been rather... crude, and they got no less than they deserved.
"Would you two mind waiting just a moment?" She asks the Snakes. "Please?" She adds, catching herself, but doesn't pause for their reply. She turns back instead and with a beckoning wave calls, "Hey, Hannah, come on and join us."
Actually, it's a decent test of the boys' commitment to change their behaviour. Despite his fondness for his reimagined self, even Theo is uneasy with the thought of Abbott there beside them. In a duel, a little space to react is crucial. And in this corridor, there isn't much cover.
But the three stand there waiting for her to catch up, and Hannah can't think of a good way out of this. They all have the same destination after all. Deciding to trust Hermione, Hannah closes the distance between them. It leaves her feeling a bit guilty about the things Ernie had told her when she visited him in the Infirmary before class. He hadn't exactly been... kind.
They walk in awkward silence a little ways, obviously nervous with one another. Hannah to Hermione's left, the boys to her right. Everyone trying to keep the others in sight... Hermione is beginning to think she made a mistake, Draco certainly is of that opinion, when Theo breaks the silence.
"Daphne was really interested in that healers' Charm you mentioned. Now she may have Fwoopers on the brain..." Draco groans. He can't believe Theo would point that out. To outsiders. On the other hand, it's not like the others aren't well aware of it. Pretty much everyone in that class is. "But she checked out a tome on healers' Spells from the library before lunch..."
Hannah mumbles, "I thought she was in a terrible hurry to leave Care of Magical Creatures..."
Theo just glances at her and proceeds, "And she discovered it's not a Charm with a modifier after all. It appears you were right, Madam Snape, it's an example of dynamic Transfiguration."
Hannah blinks at the 'Madam Snape', and Draco just groans, "Only Daphne would use a book on Healing to research how to write notes..."
It says something about Daphne that all four of them not only can but do picture her using it to write notes covered with smiley faces. Some of their thoughts include hearts and butterflies in that scenario. And it says something about Theo and Hermione that they then both proceed to wonder how one would dictate a pictogram in a Charm.
Hannah finds herself unexpectedly defending the girl. It probably helps that she's used to seeing Malfoy as the opposition. "No, it was a good idea. I... When I visited Ernie after lunch," she purposely doesn't mention where, and she and Nott both avoid eye contact, but the next statement renders that omission largely pointless. "I asked Madam Pomfrey about that. Greengrass is right. The Spell is unmodified and dynamic."
Hermione's "Oh, did she teach you the Charm?" coincides with Theo's "Did you learn the Spell?" He gives Hermione a shy smile and quips, "Great minds?" If it had been less of a question, sounded less thoroughly uncertain, he might be more of a player, but then the witches present would probably think a good deal less of him. Hannah thaws a little further. Theo explains, "Daphne's tome mentioned the Spell. It doesn't detail how to perform it. In fact, a lot of things aren't really explained. It's practically a volume of teasers."
"That's probably because many Healing Spells are restricted to the use of those who've taken some variation of the Healers' Vows," Hermione explains, putting Madam Pomfrey's recent tutelage to use, swotty thing that she is. It rolls off of her tongue so naturally, she makes it sound like she was born with the knowledge. "But it's still useful to understand, to learn what could be done, even if you yourself aren't capable of doing it. It's just learning theory."
Theo gives her an approving look. Malfoy rolls his eyes. Fortunately, he's still a little ahead of them, and it's not quite as noticeable as it otherwise would have been. Still, Hermione doesn't miss it because she's keeping a close eye on him.
"So if we can't Transfigure something into a Fwooper, say, without removing it's voice at the outset..." Hannah begins.
"Not unless you're using a completely different Spell," Malfoy objects. "The voice is part and parcel of the Fwooper," Hermione could swear she hears his teeth grating at the mention of the bird, it makes her want to talk about it more often - Fwooper Fwooper Fwooper, "anything else, and it's not the same creature, so it wouldn't be the same Spell."
"But it's not really a Fwooper," Hannah feels the need to object right back.
"Of course not," Malfoy sounds exasperated. Theo gives him a subtle nudge with his elbow to remind him to mind his manners. In a slightly more moderate tone, he continues, "Gamp's laws prove that. But it has all the characteristics of a Fwooper," he really can't seem to say it without gnashing his teeth, "which means you still have the issue of his maddening birdcall."
Hermione starts, considering that this is the first time someone else has mentioned Gamp's laws in conversation in her presence. She waits for the derision, the ridicule that invariably seems to come whenever she brings them up.
It doesn't happen.
Instead the other three just carry on their discussion of Transfiguration, apparently noticing nothing out of the ordinary.
Only then does it dawn on her that she's having a conversation, an actual conversation, with people that doesn't seem to revolve around Quidditch. And one of them's a team captain, too. She begins to smile and rejoins the conversation with gusto. It wins her a smile in return from Nott.
By the time they reach DADA, the four are deep in their discussion, presenting a very strange picture to the others already waiting in Professor Taylor's class.
Naturally, that's when they remember their roles, and for the most part a little grudgingly, they put an end to their Transfiguration musings, take their seats and wait to be subjected to another worthless hour of Taylor's mandated meditation.
Merlin help them.
Even Snape's biggest detractors are now willing to admit, last year they had indisputably learnt more.
Severus sits there on the floor, it's all perfectly dignified, he's positive, watching the Kneazle play with the ball of yarn he'd Transfigured for him yesterday. He thinks the feline might be pandering to him, but frankly is too cabbaged to care. And honestly, it's about time someone pandered to him. Isn't it?
The Kneazle meows in agreement. Probably. It doesn't seem to be disagreement.
No, disagreement probably involves more of those claws the creature is extending to snag the wool.
Merlin, are those some claws.
He watches him a while longer, the two sitting there in companionable silence, nothing but the sound of the intermittent pounce when the yarn ball rolls too far away to comfortably reach - although Severus suspects some of the pounces were gratuitous - until a thought occurs to him.
"Would you care to whet your claws occasionally on a portrait? Every now and again? All in the name of propriety, of course."
The Sirius not dog had certainly demonstrated a thing or two about the efficacy of claws on portraits, but Crooks has never had the opportunity to try it for himself. The half-Kneazle is instantly all ears.
The 'mrawr' Severus gets in response sounds interested, he's sure of it.
This keeps up, they'll get along just famously.
Ron occasionally has some pretty good ideas. One such idea had been to make use of his free period to get himself out of his far too tight pants and also into a uniform that wasn't quite as snug and preferably didn't scratch. As plans go, it wasn't bad, and he'd sent Harry off with Seamus and a couple of the others to take a few swings around the pitch and get in just a little extra practice time.
So far so good.
Unfortunately, he hadn't quite figured on Peeves stubbornly lying in wait for him.
Ron still hasn't quite made the connection between this and his taking the stale bread from this morning, paying little attention to the things Peeves keeps shouting, as many do. Colin, more than passing familiar with 'Hogwarts: a History', will happily fill Ron in when he complains - vociferously - about the attacks this evening. It can't be said often enough, there are advantages to reading.
Things being as they are, Ron spends far too much of the hour running from the Poltergeist and becoming sweatier and itchier. Starch has a way of doing that. When he finally makes it back to the tower and changes his clothing, he neglects to shower, teenage wizards not being substantially different to their Muggle counterparts, or apply any sort of Cleansing Charm for that matter, and he'll be puzzled to find he still itches despite the fresh clothes. In his defence, the time was perhaps a little tight for showering, but there's no excuse for not performing a Charm beyond ignorance.
Of course, there's little excuse for that.
The beginning of the next period, the ginger is sourly slouched in his seat in the DADA classroom, still itchy and, as far as his friends are concerned, unaccountably more... ripe than those of them who'd legitimately worked up a sweat getting in a little Quidditch practice. They're really not sure how he does it. Harry's considering gifting him a Muggle deodorant; clearly his Charms aren't working.
Unsurprisingly, Ron's grumpy and not particularly happy to see Hermione. He's even less happy to see her entering the room discussing something he hadn't really understood the point of from this morning's Transfiguration class with a couple of Snakes. They all seem so cozy, so chummy, so terribly, terribly... bright. Just a bunch of clever dicks, smarming about her, trying to prove how frightfully smart they all are... His lip curls in a reflexive sneer at the thought.
Productively, so very, he's sublimated that displeasure and begun whinging about the lesson.
It's not that everyone else doesn't agree with him... Well, except maybe Lav and Parvati; they've come to enjoy the regular chance to clear their inner sight and focus on themselves. Professor Trelawney would totally approve. In one transcendental moment during meditation a week ago, Lav had gone so far as to begin to envision her inner eye with a shimmery eyeshadow and a Lash-lengthening Charm. She was quite pleased with that.
Ron and Harry are happy to point out that's hardly the point to a Defence class, but Lav's killing argument, "Maybe, but Professor Taylor is way fit," has a way of ending the discussion. Parvati just enjoys watching it. Ron's ears and neck go red whenever Lav does that.
So today once again finds Ron typically unhappy with the coursework, and thanks to the events of the past day or so in the sort of mood that prompts him to give voice to those thoughts. Most, as mentioned, agree in principle, and yet they still almost universally wish just he'd shut up about it. Crabbe and Alberta Runcorn may just be leaning back waiting for the inevitable point loss.
Sure enough, Taylor's Detection Charm alerts him to the mutterings, he interrupts class and a perfectly useless discussion ensues. By and large, they'd preferred the silence. It wasn't any more productive, but it had been more pleasant.
But while Ron muppets about with Taylor, Neville takes advantage of the distraction. It's the first class he's had with Hermione since... well since yesterday's... announcement, and, for all too obvious reasons, it's not like he's run into her in the Common Room.
Right.
So he leans over and quietly asks, "Hermione? Is everything... you know, alright?"
Everything is very definitely not alright, but she's reasonably certain that isn't what he means. Naturally, she's not as right about that as she thinks. He would be interested in her problems, but she's correct that it wasn't what he had in mind when he asked. She glares over at the table where Ron and Harry are sitting and a little distractedly answers, "How do you mean, Neville?"
Frankly, Neville can't imagine the question needs to be explained, but, sure, why not... He says a silent prayer that she doesn't share this conversation with her... bondmate and tries again, "The Professor... He's, um, treating you alright then?" The assumption being if he weren't, then Neville wouldn't have needed to expand on his query. Neville may want for confidence, but he's far from dim.
"Neville!" She sounds scandalised, the depth of which is all the more impressive given they're whispering. "It's not like a bonding requires... intimacies." That last is barely even a hiss, but it's sufficient to drain every last bit of colour from his face, which is fine, as her face has all the more. There's probably some kind of law about that, conservation of colour or something.
But, Merlin! Of course not! Only he can't even find words for a reply. Still, his shock speaks louder than any words would have. "Oh, I'm sorry, Neville. I guess I've caught a little too much speculation on that front. I assumed... Well, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have."
It takes him a moment to regain his powers of speech. Well, whispering anyway... "Gods, Hermione. No, of course not. I do know what a bond is after all." He's quiet for a bit, but Taylor's lecturing Ron seems to be winding down and he won't have much time left, "But you did move into his quarters, I gather. A Protection Vow, I assume?"
She nods.
"Have things gotten so dangerous then?" He asks her.
Hermione weighs her response, "The Headmaster seems to think so."
Neville thought he'd picked up on something, some undercurrent... And Hermione had been in the Infirmary all weekend. After the fact, when he'd worried maybe something had happened to her, he'd felt bad about not visiting her. But in advance he'd worried it would seem a presumption if he had. That it wouldn't have been... welcome. She has Harry and Ron, after all. And he's just... Well, himself. It's really not his place...
But now...
So needing to make sure, to know how his friend is, he checks again more explicitly, "But you're alright? You haven't been harmed?"
"Aside from some very... unfortunate responses to the news of the bonding, yes. I'm absolutely fine." It's a lie. Even she knows it. But it would be too hard to explain why she isn't fine, some of it she can't even mention if she wanted, not that she's sure she would if she could, and this isn't the time or place for it at any rate. But the lie comes much easier with the Calming in her blood, and that weird... whatever it is that she can feel from the Professor across their bond. As she says it 'I'm absolutely fine'... Hell, it almost feels... true.
"And living with 'him'... in the dungeons... It's not so bad? He is treating you alright?" Hermione looks at Neville and imagines she can just see the hint of a knight errant, prepared to take up arms if the Professor were not. She pictures him rushing forward, shield on his arm and sword in hand... And then she pictures him trembling over the remains of his cauldron in any given week during the five years they took Potions together. So probably not. Still, it was frightfully sweet of Neville. Her affectionate smile almost tells him so.
"No, he's been a perfect gentleman." She thinks of him carrying her books. And then she thinks of him carrying her and blushes in a way that's making Neville uncomfortable. There are reasons the Slytherins work to get over that reflex. "Quite civil, in fact. Thanks for asking."
Neville swallows and chooses to concentrate on the word 'civil' - although he has great difficulty imagining Professor Snape being civil, but still, 'civil' seems... safe - as Professor Taylor redirects everyone's attention to the great nothing that comprises their lesson.
Blaise and Pansy use the lapse in Taylor's attention to tell their friends about Professor Sapworthy's Prophecy in Xylomancy.
When Taylor starts haranguing Weasel, and Weasel starts mouthing back - Merlin is he an idiot, all Slytherins agree - Blaise shifts slightly in his seat, twitching a brow and catching Draco's eye. Draco takes the hint and casts the Privacy Charm for their group, something unusual enough that he's confident that chump Taylor would neither know how to detect nor break it. It's certainly better than that buzzy thing Granger, Snape, whatever had used. Gryffindors. Merlin.
Theo, overly fond of belts and braces, casts his very own Notice-Me-Nott on top of Draco's Charm, just to be sure. He has no desire to get the same dressing down Weasel's having. Or to lose eight times as many points were the lot of them caught. Or more, probably, because they're Slytherins. It usually seems to work out that way.
This is the second Prophecy in days, which was causing some degree of excitement. Yesterday's had quite obviously come to pass were one to go by the Weasel's never-ending snit, which all have cheerfully noted - quite possibly the only upside to Professor Snape's bonding - and somehow that makes everyone more inclined to credit Seers with powers they hadn't previously attributed to them. That belief shouldn't have transitive properties. Just because Professor Trelawney had gotten something right, it by no means heralds Professor Sapworthy's success with her vision...
But.
The topic of this Prophecy seems to hit far closer to home, and they're able to say with perfect confidence that - within a couple of hours - it should come true.
"Three little snakes bringing the biggest snake of them all to his knees..."
Pansy gives Draco a truly apologetic look as Blaise tells them all about it, just a touch too enthusiastically. He only interjects a, "Sorry, mate," midway through, feeling rather less guilty as he's got a Serpent of his own. Not that it can hold a candle to three, but still... And it's not like he can help it. But it probably doesn't dent his eagerness to relate the story any that Professor Sapworthy hadn't said something about a 'handsome young Nubian god being brought to his knees'... No, that undoubtedly makes it easier.
Draco's hand goes to his arm as he hears it, fingers subconsciously running over his sleeve and feeling the ridges beneath.
Theo groans for him. And then out of a mix of caution and suspicion asks, "Do you think she saw them arrive?"
Vince is sure, "She was a Ravenclaw. Even if she did, she wouldn't know what they are." Not everyone is as convinced about that. One needn't know the details to understand the nature of the Serpents. But it doesn't seem worth arguing, as the point can't be won - it can't be proven.
And then Alberta raises a valid objection, "Sapworthy wasn't at breakfast to see it."
Theo's caution marries well with his powers of deductive reasoning. "The incident with Trelawney this morning?" He prompts Draco.
Vince helpfully jogs everyone's memories, "Yeah, when she knocked you on your arse..."
"Ear," Pansy equally helpfully corrects. "Language." She is a Prefect after all.
Theo ignores them both, "You don't suppose she was checking to see how many you'd received?"
Pansy is too invested in believing in the truth of prophecies, and immediately objects, "Even if she had, it was Professor Sapworthy's Prophecy, not Professor Trelawney's."
"Mmmh," Draco appears to agree, she begins to smile at him, but really should know better, "because Seers don't possess the power of speech..."
Vince snorts his amusement while Pansy gives Draco her most put upon look. But he smirks back a bit rakishly and she softens. They've known each other too long and too well for her to be mad.
"Taylor's done with the Weasel," Gregory alerts them with a jerk of his head to the ginger. "We should get back to..."
"Work?" Blaise mocks with huff of derision for the material. A bunch of the others laugh.
"Faces front everyone..." Theo tells them.
"Faces blank everyone," Millicent jokes.
"Not helping, Millie," Theo informs her. "I'm dropping the Notice-Me-Nott in three, two..."
Draco lifts his Charm in the moment before Theo lifts his and before Taylor looks, all of them are quietly facing front and suitably slack-jawed. Merlin, is this class ever the worst...
Harry once again demonstrates some sense and pulls Ron out of class as soon as it's done. There's quite a trek ahead of them to the greenhouses, and he means to minimise the fighting between Ron and Hermione. If things keep up, he's worried they'll do irreparable damage to their friendship, missing the fact both boys probably already have. How badly they've done so at this point depends entirely on her capacity to forgive. It's a spot of luck that it's one of her strengths.
Lavender, Parvati and Neville aren't as quick to make their escapes, but are fortunately far less mercurial.
Justin Finch-Fletchley and Susan Bones are almost as fast as Harry, and scoop up Hannah, hurrying her from the room. One might think they're intent on bodily saving her from the Snakes by the singlemindedness with which they do so. That would probably be correct. As both of them had used their free period before DADA to visit with Ernie in the Infirmary - and wasn't he a sight? - they really can't understand how Hannah could have just been chatting idly with Nott only a couple of hours after the Snake had hexed their friend.
Hannah tries to explain what she'd been doing with the Slytherins earlier, keeping her thoughts about Ernie's part in the duel with the Slytherins to herself. Justin, at least, can follow a little, as he's in Transfiguration as well, but that's not to say he'd seen the point of their line of thought any more than Ron had. Still, even if he and Susan can accept there may have been a purpose for the discussion, they aren't convinced it's... seemly.
Hannah can't really see any sense in arguing with her friends about it; fundamentally, she's not entirely convinced of the propriety of it herself.
A little unfortunately, in an effort to take their attention off of her, she tells them about the weird conglomeration of Slytherins, their House ghost and Hermione stood before the Arithmancy classroom. It's such a strange image, that it immediately fuels their fantasies, effectively serving it's intended purpose, although perhaps not quite as Hannah had originally intended.
Hermione sees a gap in the people filing from the room and takes it, knowing it's a long walk to Herbology and a little unsure how best to go about it. Going by everyone's expressions when she'd entered DADA talking with Nott and Malfoy...
She believed Malfoy and the Baron that she should try to get the Snakes onside, but she can't see how to do that without alienating everyone else. She may be missing just how much the others aren't exactly on her side at the moment as it is.
But she isn't sure how she should go about this without making things worse.
It shouldn't have to be her lookout, it really shouldn't, but as she's the one who will have to live with the problems this causes... Well it simply is. She wishes she could ask the Professor what to do.
Taylor gives Madam Snape's hair a broad smirk as she dashes past, his eyes lingering just a fleeting moment too long on her backside, and shakes his head thinking about Severus. The Potions Master is clearly a dark horse. Lavender happens to catch the look, and can't help wondering what it is with Hermione and the fit teachers.
"Longbottom," Taylor hails the boy, delaying his departure, "I noticed you were a little inattentive earlier. Having problems with your concentration?"
On the contrary, the issue isn't an inability to concentrate at all. Perhaps it's more a question of 'on what', for at just the moment, the tall Gryffindor is in fact still busy concentrating fiercely. On the word 'civil'.
Parvati and Lavender descend on Hermione.
"So I hear you broke Snape," Lavender starts in. There may be a little jealousy in play. There frequently is. It's not that either of them are jealous about Snape, gods no, but Hermione always seems to be at the centre of all the attention, 'brightest witch of her age' and all that rot, heartbreaker of the Tri-Wiz, and it's... A little frustrating is what it is. Never mind hard to fathom.
Hermione isn't up for this, not for all the Calming in the world. She turns to her ex-roommates, and a little injudiciously answers, "Oh yes. So much so I landed poor Severus in the Infirmary."
That actually stops the girls cold. Hermione had thought it might. Parvati might even be gawping.
Hermione turns to proceed on her way to Herbology, but the girls shake it off and now naturally want to know more. That was completely predictable really. Now why they should think she'd be willing to share details with them is anyone's guess, but probably boils down to all three being Gryffindors. The two girls didn't think about why Hermione would, and Hermione for her part also doesn't always stop to consider if she should. Which helps explain how she's gotten around her Loyalty Vow as often as she has today.
Lavender is just winding up for another go when the Slytherins catch up to them.
Hermione might have felt more comfortable were they not three of the five boys from Friday.
Of the eight Snakes in DADA, only three are in Herbology, and precisely those three now descend on the small group of Gryffindors.
Given there are eleven students from other Houses in DADA that are also enrolled in Herbology... Well, the numbers are... unfortunate, but one can't always pick and choose. A few of the other Slytherins had offered to provide an escort to help even out the nose count, but Draco had done a quick tally and declined. Particularly given some of the volatile personalities, and isn't it a sad state of affairs when he's stuck being the reasonable one. He's decided chances are good they'll make it to the castle's doors, where presumably Daphne and Tracey will be waiting, without needing reinforcements. It helps that he's reasonably sure the Baron will appear if needed.
The Hufflepuffs, well those not in the Infirmary obviously, have gone ahead, as have Snotter and Weasel. Granger may be neutral, and possibly even on their side if they do things properly. That only left the Patils, Brown and Wrongbottom. It's agreed, perhaps a little highhandedly, if Draco, Theo and Gregory can't manage them, they deserve whatever they have coming to them.
Brown's mouth is hanging open foolishly when Gregory simply insinuates himself at Granger's, Madam Snape's that is, side. He's a born Beater, and while he no longer towers over everyone quite as much as he had in his early years, his mass has turned to solid muscle. As such, he quite naturally just muscles the slight blonde out of the way, silently taking up position beside the Head's wife.
For all the rudeness of the little shove he'd effectively given Lav, he then turns to Hermione and almost shyly greets her, "Good afternoon, Madam Snape." It's incongruous, and Lav is now gawping even more than Parvati had. She looks far too much like a Plimpie, 'freshwater' should go without saying.
Nott falls in at Hermione's other side, and Malfoy again remains careful to keep himself visible and Nott as a cushion between them. It's not badly considered, really, as it leaves the two most neutral Snakes from Friday's... Yes. Well. That. The two least offensive are flanking her. It's a little surreal.
Malfoy turns to the others, Hermione can't believe she's somehow now part of that group, and says, "We should get moving, we don't want to be late for class." Of course what he really means is he's spotted the Ravenclaw Patil and Wrongbottom catching up to them.
They make the doors just as Lavender begins to sputter her indignation. She really lacks perspective sometimes, when one considers the individuals Hexed just in the past twenty-four hours alone and how that must have hurt, but she's convinced Goyle's... elbowing? It wasn't even that. Whatever it was was an indignity too far.
That just sets Hermione's blood boiling, because she's sure Lav doesn't know the meaning of the word. She may just start keeping a list of people to gift dictionaries and thesauri to. Not that she can afford them, but a bit of facetiousness is good for the soul. She could always Geminio them, she snorts with amusement at the thought, because that really doesn't work all that well on books, as she well knows. But perhaps on Muggle books...
Brown's begun shouting after them as Tracey and Daphne fall into formation. For girls not particularly fond of Quidditch they couldn't have done it better. Well, except for Daphne's cheery, "Hi, Hermione," and small wave, which detracts somewhat from the military precision of their movements. (Draco just shakes his head.) Theo and Gregory drop back to take up the rear, ensuring Brown and her cronies don't get any dumb ideas. And Malfoy continues to keep himself visible and in the lead.
Just as well, because that's when Lav's shouting attracts the attention of the three Hufflepuffs ahead of them. Justin turns around, recognising the voice of a fellow DA member, spots Lav shouting after the knot of Snakes and hollers ahead for Harry. "Hey, Potter!"
All five Snakes palm their wands as one, but keep walking. Hermione, a little confused where she stands, finds herself following suit.
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Date: 2021-10-20 02:11 pm (UTC)Daphne, as ever, steals the show. She's doing a marvelous job of defusing tension in a way that plays itself off as ignorance or an inability to read the room, but I'm betting that it's the complete opposite.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-01-30 11:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2022-08-14 11:56 pm (UTC)I do write sometimes, including fanfics, but I haven't published anything; it's mostly just shared with friends.