Chapter 23- Double Date
January eventually removed all its traces from Hogwarts to make way for February, which brought with it increasing pressure of the N.E.W.T's. Teachers were handing out homework like candy treats on Halloween. An exceptionally evil teacher (i.e. SNAPE) gave his students so much work that it seemed like he wanted them to live homework, breath homework, eat, sleep and drink homework.
In addition, the weather remained cold, but less wet than before, with the sun making unexpected appearances every now and then. Draco was grateful for this as his Quidditch practices would not need to be suspended due to the sudden arrival of monstrous rainfall (this had happened quite a number of times in January). The Slytherin team needed as much practice as they could get because their match with Ravenclaw was coming up; in three weeks time, to be exact. It had been scheduled a week after Valentine’s Day.
Yes, Saint Valentine’s Day “ the season of lurve… The season of chocolates and flowers and all things romantic… The season where girls got all giggly upon seeing their crush in the hallways and where boys acted all macho in front of the female population in general... The season which was overrated in Hermione’s opinion.
So when she saw a huge bouquet of assorted flowers for her on the Heads’ common room table on Saturday morning (a week before Valentine’s Day), she was pleasantly surprised.
“They arrived this morning for you, Hermione,” Godric Gryffindor informed her as she bent down to pick the bouquet up. “Aren’t they just lovely?”
Hermione looked at the assortment of flowers and smiled. “Yes, they are lovely.”
“And my, aren’t you happy to see them!” Jinx commented, glowing a merry rose pink. The mood ring had somehow managed to find her way back onto Hermione’s finger it seemed.
“I'm guessing it’s from a secret admirer,” Godric Gryffindor commented with a wink, “for Valentine’s Day.”
“Teenage romance,” Salazar Slytherin yawned. “How dreadfully boring.”
“Who’d send you flowers, Granger?” Draco said, staring at the mixture of pink, yellow and orange flora in her hand. He was attempting to act nonchalant about Hermione receiving flowers, but inwardly, curiosity was swallowing him whole.
Hermione shot Draco a look. “Well excuse me, Malfoy, but you're not the only one who can have admirers.”
“Now that’s a revelation,” Draco smirked. “I thought Weasley was the only one thick enough to fancy you.”
“Oh shut it up, Blondie,” Jinx shot, her pink color now tinted with a slight green. “You're annoying her.”
Ignoring Draco, Hermione plucked a card from the center of the bouquet and opened it, reading the stylish, italic words:
My dearest Hermione,
Many apologies for not writing in such a long while. Quidditch has been keeping me very busy. How have you been? Doing well, I hope. I have been fine, but I do wish to relax a little bit more. Quidditch is tiring.
Now, let me get down to business, as you English say. The actual reason for this letter is that I need to ask you something.
I will be coming down to England on Wednesday for a friendly match of Quidditch; England versus Bulgaria. After that, I have training, but I will be free on Saturday evening to do as I please. So I was thinking, Hermione, will you be my Valentine? We could go out on Saturday evening and dine at a restaurant. I have not seen you in three years and we have lots to talk about.
Do reply me as soon as you can. I hope the answer will be positive.
Yours truly,
Viktor.
“Viktor?” Draco said loudly as Hermione closed the card happily (Jinx’s rose pink was turning into a denser pink) and tucked in back within the flowers. “Who the bloody hell is Viktor?”
“You read my card?!” Hermione exclaimed in indignation.
“Only bits from over your shoulder while you were getting all gooey-eyed over it,” Draco sneered.
Hermione narrowed her eyes. “Do you even know what the meaning of privacy is?”
“I do know perfectly well what privacy means,” Draco said as he took a seat on one of the wooden chairs. “But do you know it’s still on holiday?” He pointed at the Love-Knot.
“Permanent vacation more like it,” Hermione remarked with a sigh, taking a seat next to Draco.
Picking up a spare piece of parchment she had left on the table the previous night, she wrote a quick reply to Viktor, telling him that she would love to have dinner with him on Saturday.
Draco nearly toppled out of his chair when he saw what Hermione had replied. “You're agreeing?!”
“Will you stop reading my letters, Malfoy?!”
“Bugger off, Blonde boy! The poor girl’s really happy, but you just keep pestering her!”
“How can you agree?!”
“I haven’t seen Viktor in a while and it would be nice to see him on Valentine’s Day.”
“Then what do you expect me to do?! Snip off the Love-Knot so you can go rendezvousing with some bloke?!” Draco was close to shouting. “Oh wait, I forgot,” he glared at Hermione irritably, “I can’t do that!”
“Malfoy, I have this figured out,” Hermione said coolly as Jinx glowed sky blue.
Draco chortled in disbelief. “And how exactly do you have this figured out? Do enlighten me.”
“You see, Harry has this,” she paused and frowned deeply, “thing that can help us in this situation,” she explained, or at least tried to.
“What in Merlin’s name are you talking about, Granger?” Draco demanded, one blonde brow cocked in incredulity.
Hermione wanted to tell Draco about Harry’s invisibility cloak, but she was not sure if Harry would appreciate her doing so. She would have to discuss it with her raven-haired friend first. And probably do a fair amount of convincing too.
“Look, just trust me on this one,” she assured him.
“She is right, you know,” Jinx affirmed, with the sky blue color acquiring a hint of pale orange. “She is certain about it.”
“Just trust me on this one,” Draco mimicked. “That’s easy for you to say. Who knows what you have planned. Plus, what if I have a date on Valentine’s Day? What if I want to go out?”
Hermione sighed. “Malfoy, I know for a fact that you don’t have plans because in case you didn’t notice, I'm with you twenty-four seven.”
Draco swore loudly.
Hermione wagged a finger at him. “Watch that tongue of yours.” She folded the letter she had written to Viktor into half. “I have to go up to the Owlery to deliver this letter. We can go to breakfast after that.”
“Don’t think I've agreed to your little date just because I'm not saying anything,” Draco snapped as they headed out of the common room.
He was sulking on his way to the Owlery for two reasons; one, Hermione had a date for Valentine’s day, and two, he was going to have to spend it with her and Viktor. It was not the least bit fair.
He thought that they would spend Valentine’s Day together, albeit grudgingly, since they had no other alternative. It would not be the best Valentine’s Day he ever had, spending it alone with Hermione, but he had been mentally prepared for it because of the Love-Knot.
But now, Hermione had to complicate matters “ she had to land herself a date.
Who in his right mind would date Granger anyway?
This Viktor person, who is he?” he voiced his thoughts out loud. “You still haven’t told me.”
“Yes, Hermione, I'm pretty curious myself” Jinx agreed, “who is this Viktor bloke?”
“He’s a friend of mine,” she said nonchalantly. Draco obviously did not read much of her card earlier on, otherwise he would certainly figure out who Viktor was.
“Well, that’s very informative,” Draco said, the sarcasm in his voice evident. “Care to elaborate.”
Jinx glimmered indigo. “Why are you so reluctant to talk about him, Hermione?”
Because I don’t want Malfoy going into a frenzy when he finds out that he is a World-famous Quidditch player! “I met him in the fourth year when his school, Durmstrang, came to Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament. He””
“Hold on a minute,” Draco interrupted. “You're not talking about Viktor Krum, are you?”
When Hermione nodded, he went on to say, “The Viktor Krum? Bulgarian Seeker extraordinaire?”
“Yes, Malfoy, I'm talking about him,” Hermione confirmed with a small sigh.
“Holy Merlin’s beard!” Jinx gasped. Viktor Krum was popular among mood rings too apparently.
Draco’s eyes went as wide as saucers. “How the bloody hell do you know Viktor bleeding Krum?!”
Just the reaction she had expected. “If you had let me finish what I was saying earlier, you would be able to find out,” Hermione said flatly. When she was certain that Draco was not going to butt in again, she continued. “He took me to the Yule Ball and since then””
“I remember! You were the girl he took to the Yule Ball! Why he did such a thing is still beyond me…” Draco cut in again. This time, he received a pointed look from Hermione and decided it would be best if he shut up.
“As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted again,” Hermione said, glaring at Draco, “he took me to the Yule Ball and since then we’ve been keeping in contact. We write to each other once in a while. He even invited me to Bulgaria during the summer once or twice, but I declined.”
“He invited you to Bulgaria?” Draco felt a stab of something that he had never experienced before, but quickly brushed it away.
“Yes, he did, a couple of times,” Hermione told him.
“Does Weasley know about Krum?” Draco asked as they entered the Owlery. The smell of owl droppings and stale straw filled their nostrils and they grimaced momentarily.
“Ron?” Hermione went down the rows of owls to look for a suitable one. “Yes, he knows.” She picked a regular tawny owl and tied the letter to its foot, which it gladly stuck out for her.
“Bet he wasn’t too thrilled about it,” Draco snorted as he watched the owl soar off into the azure morning sky. For some reason, I know I'm not.
They exited the Owlery, making their way to the Great Hall for breakfast.
“Oh bloody hell!” Draco suddenly cried out, causing Hermione to jump a good two feet into the air, with Jinx turning a violent shade of olive green. “It was Krum!”
“You just scared the crap out of her, you prick!” Jinx rebuked.
Hermione, who was trying to calm herself down from the shock of Draco’s yell, stared at him. “What are you on about, Malfoy?”
“It was Krum!” he repeated, waving his hands around frantically, as though trying to make Hermione understand some weird, foreign sign language. “You snogged Krum!”
Face turning beetroot red (and Jinx turning a deep burgundy), Hermione flinched at Draco’s discovery. For a moment, she was too tongue-tied to say anything.
“I can’t believe you still remember that!” Hermione finally said, surprised that since the Hogsmeade trip till now, Draco was still contemplating about who she kissed.
“It was him, wasn’t it?” Draco pressed on, that familiar emotion he felt earlier growing within him like a little balloon. “Oh come on Granger, I know I'm right. That look on your face says it all!”
Walking down the steps to the ground floor, Hermione stopped, turned to Draco and said, “All right, Malfoy, it was him. Congratulations on making this wonderful new breakthrough in my personal life. Now please, there’s no need to make a racket about it. I don’t want the whole school finding out.”
“And she means business, feller,” Jinx added. "So tell me Hermione, how was it like snogging a Quidditch player?"
"Jinx!"
"What? I was just wondering..."
Hermione sighed and resumed walking. “I need to use the bathroom,” she announced after a while.
So, they took a slight detour for Hermione’s sake, heading towards the Girls’ Bathroom on the ground floor. Shutting herself into one of the cubicles, she went about her affair, with Draco waiting for her outside.
I cannot believe she snogged Krum! he thought grumpily. I cannot believe she snogged anyone for that matter. Then there was that strange feeling again. He was quite certain he knew what it was, but did not want to admit it. Admitting what it was would make it real. If Granger’s got a bloody date on Valentine’s day, I'm not going to sit around and watch them get all mushy and sappy. I'm going to bloody well find myself a date. And hell, it’s not going to be Pansy. That would be too predictable.
The stall beside Hermione’s opened, interrupting Draco’s thoughts, and out stepped a tall, strawberry-blonde haired girl. Her sea-green eyes widened in curiosity when she saw him standing in the Girls’ toilet, but then she glanced down at the Love-Knot and a look of understanding dawned upon her pretty features.
Tossing her hair behind her shoulder, she made her way to the basins to wash her hands, knowing full well that Draco was ogling at her as she walked.
His eyes traveled down her slim body and her long legs, which were revealed through her tight sweater top and miniskirt. Her long and straight hair ended off at her shoulder blades and she gently tied it up with a ribbon from her pocket, revealing the curves of her creamy neck.
With a suggestive smile in Draco’s direction, she departed the lavatory just as Hermione came out of her cubicle.
Hermione gave Draco an inquisitive look, as there was an unreadable expression on his face, before tottering over to the sink nearest the exit to wash her hands.
“Granger, your hair’s in a mess,” Draco mentioned suddenly. “I think you should fix it. Take your time. I’ll be waiting right outside the door.”
Hermione raised an eyebrow at Draco’s abrupt statement and stared as he whisked himself out of the door, amazed that he was not pulled back by the Love-Knot. I guess he still is within three and a half feet of me, she thought to herself. Then she looked into the mirror and glanced at her hair.
To her, her brown tresses looked the same as it did everyday “ frizzy, curly and generally untamed. Why had he said it was in a mess? Since when did he even care? Hold on a minute, something was not quite right here.
“I feel the same way, Hermione,” Jinx quipped from her opal. “Something fishy is going on. Why would Blondie be bothered with what your hair looks like?”
“Exactly what I'm thinking, Jinx. And why was he in such a hurry to leave the bathroom? I don’t usually take long.”
Brows knitted, Hermione made her way out of the restroom, but halted dead in her tracks when the sight in front of her met her eyes.
Draco had a pretty girl up against the wall, with his hands placed beside her head. She had one of her knees popped in between his legs and was currently giggling at something he had whispered into her ear. Then, without warning, one of Draco’s hands slid from the wall and came to rest on her waist.
At this point, Jinx flashed a vivid maroon. “Oh dear,” she said with a tiny gasp, “do I sense jealousy?”
Hermione, however, was too fixed by the image in front of her to hear the mood ring. She cleared her throat noisily to make her presence known. “For heaven sake,” she said loudly when the throat clearing did not have an effect.
That did it. Draco turned to look at her and did not seem pleased that he was interrupted. “Granger, you're out I see.”
Hermione folded her arms and glared. “I'm glad you pointed that out for us.”
“Ah, how rude of me! Let me make introductions,” Draco gestured at the pretty girl. “Granger, this is Simone from Ravenclaw and she’s my date on Valentine’s Day.”
“What?!”
“And Simone, this is””
“Hermione Granger,” Simone answered for Draco. “Everyone knows her.” She smiled good-naturedly.
Hermione forced a smile, but failed miserably.
Whispering into Simone’s ear again, Draco planted a kiss on her cheek. “I better not keep you any longer, Simone,” he said with a charming smile, one that Hermione had never seen before.
“I don’t really mind staying actually,” she chuckled lightly, “but my friends will be wondering where I disappeared off to.”
Draco moved away from her to allow her space to walk off. “I’ll be seeing you next Saturday then.”
Simone flashed him a playful smile. “I can hardly wait.”
“Nor can I,” Draco brushed his lips across her fingers and watched her as she sashayed away. “She does have a nice arse, doesn’t she?” he commented, smiling impishly.
“Ooo, Blondie, I think you better shut up,”, Jinx said. She was emitting a faint glow of red, to reflect Hermione’s not-so-good mood.
Astonishingly, however, the Head Girl did not say a word. She glared for a moment, then simply turned away from Draco and started to walk in the direction of The Great Hall.
The Slytherin stared after her questioningly. No arguing? He sure had expected it. He even had a few good counter-arguments already in mind.
Abandoning thoughts of quarreling, he trotted up next to Hermione, matching his pace with hers. Instantly, his eyes dropped to notice Jinx, who was alternating between colors by the millisecond. He gulped. Surely that was not a good sign.
“I thought it would be fun to have a double date,” Draco remarked sardonically. He knew that sarcasm was not the best tactic given the circumstance (and Jinx’s color-changing flurry), but he did not want Hermione to think he was daunted by the (slightly intimidating) expression on her face.
Hermione threw Draco a contemptuous glance. “All I have to say is that it’s odd that you never mentioned anything about taking anyone out on Valentine’s Day, but the minute I get a date, you unexpectedly produce one for yourself as well.”
Draco immediately jumped to his own defense. “I took my time with getting a date because I wanted to meet the perfect girl to go out with. And””
“Oh,” Hermione interposed, “therefore it is simply by luck that you happen to meet this perfect girl of yours moments after I make plans for myself?”
“Merely a coincidence.”
“Nonsense. How do you come up with such ridiculously pathetic excuses anyway?” Hermione asked, making a sour face. “Now, not only will I have to explain to Viktor how come I'm stuck to you, but I’ll also have to tell him that you decided to bring a friend along!”
Draco scowled. “Look, you're the one who’s always going on about how we have to compromise now that we’re got the Love-Knot on. So I'm only trying to be reasonable here. It’s not very fair if either of us go on a date whilst dragging the other along as a third wheel, regardless of whether Potter has a solution or not. Either we both go out with our individual dates while being stuck together, or we don’t go out at all. It’s your choice now.”
Finding it somewhat hard to believe that Draco was talking about being reasonable, Hermione answered (with some reluctance), “I pick the first option.”
Draco smirked. “Glad to see that you came around. I'm sure the double date will be enjoyable.”
“Please stop calling it that,” Hermione sighed.
“Merlin, I thought you two were never going to work that one out!” Jinx said suddenly as they entered the Hall. “I was changing colors by the second like a deranged rainbow! It’s no wonder my head’s spinning slightly now. And I do feel a little sick.”
Draco frowned. Mood rings feeling sick? “Granger, I think you may have a defective mood ring,” he stated in genuine amazement. “Very defective.”
“Who’re you calling defective?” Jinx hissed menacingly. Like some time before, Hermione had a splitting image of Jinx brandishing little fists at Draco if she had any.
“Ignore him, Jinx,” Hermione coaxed the mood ring into calming down. “Will you be all right? Do you want me to put you away for a while?”
Jinx nodded in her tiny opal. “Yes, that would be nice.” She smiled gratefully as Hermione slipped her off her finger. “But don’t forget about me!” Jinx said before being dropped into the pocket of her owner’s jeans. Hermione chuckled at her mood ring’s statement.
“Morning, ‘Mione! You look awfully happy today,” Ron noticed as she approached the table and sat next to Ginny. “Did Malfoy do something stupid to make a fool of himself?”
“Very funny, Weasley,” Draco made a face as he sat.
“It’s nothing in particular.” Hermione selected a croissant from the basket in front of her and started spreading cream cheese on it. “How has your morning been so far?”
“We were just talking about the friendly match next week. England versus Bulgaria,” Harry informed her. “Ron reckons that England is going to beat Bulgaria. I'm not entirely sure about that though.”
“Speaking of which, Viktor asked me to go out with him on Valentine’s Day,” Hermione said casually, attempting to make it sound like a passing statement. “I thought I’d let you know.”
It did not come across all that casual though. Harry and Ginny dropped their cutlery onto their plates noisily, while Ron, who had been drinking orange juice, sprayed it all over the unsuspecting Neville, who was sitting right across him.
“V…Viktor Krum?!” Ron sputtered, his blue eyes watering from the juice running up his nose.
“Do you know of any other Viktor, Ron?” Hermione asked, continuing to spread cheese on her bun like nothing had happened.
“Is that why he set up that friendly between England and Bulgaria?” Ron demanded, convinced that Viktor somehow had a hand in getting the upcoming match organized. “So that he could come down here and meet you? I can just imagine him ordering his coach to have a match here…”
Hermione rolled her eyes and poured herself some juice. “No, Ron. He did not do anything of that sort. The management of the Bulgarian squad set that match up for the team. After the game, he will be having regular training, but he’ll be free on Saturday evening, so he asked me to go out with him.”
“Are you going to agree to it?” Ginny questioned, eyeing Hermione inquiringly.
“I already did.”
“You what?!” Ron could not believe his ears. “And what is Malfoy here suppose to do while you're out with Krum? Pretend that he’s nonexistent?!”
“Actually, I have a date of my own, Weasley,” Draco informed him coldly. “Thanks for your concern.”
Harry’s eyebrows shot up slightly into his hair. “So it’s going to be a double date then?”
Hermione grimaced. “Don’t call it that, Harry.”
“A double date?!” Ron’s face was almost as red as the strawberry jam on his plate. “Isn’t that sweet? A romantic little double date on Valentine’s Day. What could be more perfect?” Ron stood up from his seat angrily. “Well, I hope you have fun with Vicky then, Hermione.” Leaving the rest of his food untouched, he stalked out of the Great Hall.
Gaping after him like a goldfish, Hermione asked, “Isn’t he overreacting just a little?”
Draco saw Harry and Ginny exchange a knowing glance, as if they were fully aware of why their friend acted the way he did. And for some inexplicable reason, Draco seemed to understand exactly how Ron was feeling.
Feeling slightly upset following Ron’s anger departure, Hermione headed straight for the library to bury herself in research after breakfast. Needless to say, Draco was forced to go with her whether he liked it or not.
Satisfied with the huge stack of books that she had picked off random shelves, Hermione sat down and started looking through the first of the lot for material that could help her with her Transfiguration essay. Draco, who was in no mood to study, settled on reading a Quidditch handbook and reminiscing about the good, old days when he was able to play his favorite sport.
Just as Draco was getting very engrossed in a portion about the greatest feints ever performed, he heard a loud gasp from Hermione. The next thing he knew, she was gripping his arm so tightly that he was certain that she would leave bruises on his pale skin even through his sweatshirt.
“Will you let my arm go, Granger? I think the blood has stopped circulating there!” he snapped, earning himself a reproachful stare from Madam Pince.
“Malfoy, there’s something about the Love-Knot in here!” Hermione whispered urgently.
Draco’s eyes widened. “What?!”
“I was reading up on Alfred’s principle of…” When she saw the confused look on Draco’s face, she decided to use a different approach.
“Listen to this,” she said, pointing out a section of the large, leather-bound book she held in her hands, “Alfred Thomas Pedwiggle, one of the greatest wizards of his time, is well-known in the Wizarding community for his brilliant contributions to the study of Transfiguration and his discovery on some new properties of the Love-Knot, a magical entity that has baffled many great wizards through ages. Though his findings were not supported with sufficient evidence, his work on the Love-Knot was published in his autobiography, The Journal of Alfred Pedwiggle, and has formed an interesting basis for speculation even years after his death.”
“So all we need to do now is to look for his book.” Draco looked at the tall shelves that loomed around him. “Where do we start?”
“We could just ask Madam Pince,” Hermione suggested matter-of-factly.
They hurried over to the cranky librarian and asked her for a copy of Alfred Thomas Pedwiggle’s autobiography.
“It is out on loan,” she growled at them. “Won’t be back till the end of the month.”
Draco cursed under his breath. “Can you tell us who borrowed it?”
“That’s against library rules!” Madam Pince scolded shrilly, making a few nearby students start.
“Can we place it under reservation then?” Hermione asked politely, not wanting to aggravate her any further.
Madam Pince shoved a bit of parchment and a quill in Hermione’s hand. “Write down your name and the title of the book. You can come check whether it has been returned in three weeks times.”
Quickly scribbling down what was required, Hermione thanked the librarian and left the library with Draco for lunch.
“That women’s such an old grouch!” Draco exclaimed once they out in the corridors. “She should do us all a favor and marry Filch. Maybe that’ll lighten the both of them up.”
Hermione chuckled. “She’s not that bad. She’s just a little obsessive about books and doesn’t trust students with them, that’s all.”
“I still think she should marry Filch,” Draco grumbled and Hermione laughed again.
But her laughter soon faded when she saw someone walking towards them from the opposite direction. It was Simone.
“Fancy running into you again, Draco,” she flashed him a smile and gave Hermione a nod of acknowledgement.
“I guess it must be my lucky day,” Draco returned her smile, placing his hands on her waist.
Wincing, Hermione pretended to be very interested in the floorboards.
Draco pulled Simone close. “So where are you headed off to?”
Hermione noticed that the cracks on the floorboard directly in front of her joined together to form the shape of a leaf.
“I'm going to the library,” Simone held up a book in her hand. “To return my book.”
“All You Need to Know about the Divine Art of Divination,” Draco read the title aloud. “Fascinating. Would you like to show, I mean, tell me what you learnt?”
And if one stared at the cracks long enough, she was certain that a little flower appeared alongside the leaf.
“Not today,” Simone said, grinning slyly. “Maybe some other time.” She ran her hand through Draco’s silky blonde mane.
Hand Hermione a quill and some parchment, and she would probably draw you a picture of the floorboards beneath her feet in astounding detail purely by memory.
“Why not right now?” Draco asked, tracing her jaw line with a finger.
“All right, that’s about enough,” Hermione said briskly, peeling her eyes away from the ground. She was starting to get annoyed with their behavior. “Do save something for Valentine’s Day.”
Simone giggled and slipped out of Draco’s arms. “I better get going.”
“I’ll be seeing you around, Simone,” Draco said as the Ravenclaw girl continued on to the library.
“Couldn’t you find anyone else to ask out?” Hermione inquired, bitterness edged in her voice. “Honestly.”
“What’s wrong with her? She’s a looker and has a body to die for.” Draco smirked at the expression on Hermione’s face. Looks like someone was not entirely happy about his new acquaintance.
Hermione exhaled sharply. “Of course, how could I forget? That’s all you men want. Does it ever go beyond looks for you? Whether she has a good character, good intentions, and some brains wouldn't hurt either… Doesn’t any of that matter?”
Draco shrugged. “No, not particularly.”
“I should have known.”
Draco smiled inwardly at the insolent look on his companion’s face as they entered the Great Hall for the second time today. How he enjoyed having a go at her.
“Draco!” Pansy cried cheerfully when he sat next to her. “I was just thinking about you.”
“Really? How come?”
Pansy grinned, trying to act demure. “Silly, I knew you’d forget. Do you know what day is it a week from now?” She inched closer to Draco. “I’ll tell you. It’s Valentine’s Day.” She batted her eyelashes. “So, like last year, I was hoping we could go together. I don’t even mind if Granger here tags along. We’ll place a Silencing Charm on her,” she added in a whisper.
With glee, Hermione watched as the color drained from Draco’s face. Apparently, he was not very good at handling Miss Parkinson in such situations. He obviously was never one to incur her wrath.
“Well, Pansy, you see, I…I””
“You haven’t told her, Malfoy?” Hermione interrupted Draco’s stammering, her eyes wide in feigned surprise. She was about to play this to her advantage.
Pansy narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Tell me what?”
“Malfoy already has a date,” Hermione answered, paying no attention to Draco’s expression of horror.
Pansy’s face changed into a nasty shade of green.
“What’s her name again?” Hermione pretended to take some time to think. “Oh yes, Simone, from Ravenclaw. Is that quite right, Malfoy?”
By this time, Pansy was breathing heavily, and if you looked carefully, you could almost certainly see the smoke that was escaping from her nose and ears with each breath. Livid would be an understatement.
“Now, look here Pansy, I can explain...”
Picking up a huge bowl of chocolate fudge, Pansy dumped it down Draco’s pants without a second thought and stomped out of the Hall.
Hermione tried to suppress the laughter that was forming at the back of her throat. “Oh dear,” she said, faking a look of shock. “I had no idea that you hadn’t told Pansy about your date yet, Malfoy.”
“Shut up, Granger,” Draco snarled as the other Slytherins who had witnessed Pansy’s rage chuckled silently. “Just shut up.”
“I guess that double date you were so fondly talking about doesn’t sound too bad now.”
Draco scowled at Hermione and cursed as he felt the fudge trickle down his leg. Damn, for a Gryffindor, she was good at this revenge thing.
I imagine Saint Valentine’s Day is going to be rather amusing this year, don’t you?
Author’s Note: Hi guys! I’m back! Got a couple of things to tell you… Firstly, the original title of this chapter was called Alfred Thomas Pedwiggle because I wanted to draw importance to poor Mister Pedwiggle. But I decided that didn't sound as good, so I changed it.
Secondly, I want to thank all those people who have recommended my story in the forum. I just recently discovered the things that go on there (because I'm slow like that), so a big THANK YOU to all the recommendations.
Thirdly, I have some bad news. I will be having exams from the 21st Nov- 30th Nov, so I’ll be banned from using the computer during this time (which idiot invented exams anyway??). That means no updates and responses to reviews until December! =( I'm really sorry guys, but it’s my mom’s policy. I can’t even sneakily try to use the computer because she’ll have a password on it. But, due to this long hiatus, I made this chapter extra long for all of you! Enjoy that!
I really hope you guys won’t vanish because of my disappearance. I hope to comeback and see all of you still supporting this little story. Thanks for understanding! And again, sorry for the inconvenience.