Title: I would Nott!
Author: Dimrilla
Genre: Humor (mostly), some romance
Pairings: Hermione Granger/Theodore Nott, Seamus Finnigan/Parvati Patil, kind of Lavender Brown/Ron Weasley
Time frame: 6th year
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, places etc, I'm merely playing with them.
Chapter 1. One day in september
The sun was shining, birds were chirping, younger students were yelling...(well, some of the older ones too...). And it was peaceful. A rare occurance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry actually. Of course there was a war going on. Even the not-so-very-bright Ministry of Magic has finally admitted that Voldemort has returned ...Or rather they have admitted that You-Know-Who has returned, but choose of words is not so important right now...
Anyway- it was hardly a time one should be calling peaceful, yet to Hermione Granger it felt so. The OWLs were successfully passed , and there won't be any exams of this importance until the end of the 7th year. Lucius Malfoy and his merry pack of Death Eaters were safely locked in the Azkaban cells. And Hogwarts had an extra protection in form of a whole team of aurors.
To some people the order of those factors could seem strange, but it was Hermione Granger, the girl whose boggart was a professor telling her that she's failed all her exams. Well, she did think men in black robes and white masks were creepy too, but she was determined to learn to be able to do something about them, thus placing schoolwork and awaiting in the far future exams in the first place.
Right now however, she just sat with her housemates under the huge oak by the lake, enjoying sunny september saturday. Sun was warm on her skin, and almost constant giggling of Parvati, Lavender and other Gryffindor girls didn't irritate her as much as it usually did.
Ron was talking animatedly to Dean Thomas about his favourite subject, making grand gestures with his hands and almost choking on the tart he had managed to smuggle outside from the lunch at the Great Hall and now tried to eat- all while discussing with Dean possibilities of getting on the Gryffindor quidditch team. Ron was playing the keeper last year, but Harry, who had been made the new team captain, announced that this year there would be tests for players.
Harry himself was absent. Hermione wasn't sure whether he went for his private lesson with professor Dumbledore or if he were trying to spy on Draco Malfoy. She suspected the latter, since Harry would have probably told her and Ron about the meeting with the Headmaster, while he knew how sceptical they both were when it came to Harry's theories concerning Malfoy being a Death Eater.
She decided to let him investigate though. If it were to make him happy or at least make him feel more secure or in control. Hermione stretched and reached to her bag to retrieve something to read.
-Oh no, Hermione- suddenly she heard a playful voice- You're not studying on a day like this. -She liftet her gaze and noticed an amused face of Seamus Finnigan. He was chewing on a grassblade, waggling his eyebrows warningly (or so she supposed it was meant to look like) and generally looking rather impishly.
-Oh, and why not Mr. Leprechaun?- she grinned.
-Me, a Leprechaun? I'm taller than Flitwick and Slughorn put together!- he cried with faked indignation.
-No, You're not.- Hermione laughed- Then You'll have to be as tall as Hagrid. Sorry if I offended You Seamus. It's just that You looked so impish and so Irish at the same time, that the first thing I thought about were leprechauns.
Seamus joined her in laugher. -Why, I'm not offended- he stated,- In fact I'm quite flattered. I didn't know that I looked Irish. Haven't even known that it's possible, well at least without wearing a green hat with a shamrock that is!
You're hair is reddish, that's for starters, and You have freckles- Hermione started to list.
Hey! I have a redder hair and twice as many freckles as Finnigan! - an indignant Ron Weasley exclaimed, distracting himself finally from his Quidditch debate with Dean.
Hermione couldn't help but laugh. Ron sounded so jealous! And so childish too. Honestly- boasting of having more freckles?!?!
Well, I've meant to say that although I have red hair and freckles, it doesn't make me Irish- he added hastily, his face getting as red as the aforementioned hair, as he realized everyone was laughing at him now. Everyone except Lavender that is, she was actually eyeing him as if she intended to eat him, and this didn't help matters, quite the opposite.
While Ron was turning into a beetroot without the help of transfiguration charms, Hermione only shook her head. This was sooo typical of him. And rather cute. Yet she thought that he could actually try to express his feelings for her more directly. She has known something was there already since their fourth year and the memorable Yule Ball, and he has surely known it too. Why wasn't he doing anything? He was a man here, wasn't he? Ok, a boy, but still...
Yeh don't have m beautiful accent – Seamus offered to Ron in the meantime, purposedly exaggerating and accenting each syllable.
Thank goodness- the redhead muttered which earned him a glare from the Irishman.
Yeah, whatever- Seamus addressed now the whole group, his impish smile back on place - As I can see I have all of You's attention now. Sooo... why don't we play a game or something, Yeh now, to get to know each other better, strenghten innerhouse relations and such stuff..?
But Seamus! We've been in the same house for over five years now! - Parvati patil exclaimed.- We know each other very well.
Really? Then tell me Parvati: What do I like to do on fridays at 6 o'clock pm?
Umm... well... I don't know- she admitted,- what do You like to do?
Dinner is at six pm Parvati – Hermione interjected, looking at Seamus with bemused twinkle in her eyes.- I have no doubts he likes to devour steaks with smashed potatoes and sellery salad.
Fun spoil- Seamus sighed half heartedly.- And no, I actually don't like sellery salad, Yeh know? Which proves my point exactly. We should learn more about each other. - he finished, grinning madly again.
Fine...
After some discussing everyone decided that instead of playing classic truth-or-dare (without a dare part), they'll make it more random. Each of the present Gryffindors were supposed to write one question on the piece of parchment, and then they'll be picking them in turn.
Afterwars no one knew who suggested that, but they also decided to prepare a second set of notes. They read f.eks.: 'Announce it to the whole school at dinner today evening', 'Go and tell Your head of House', 'Sing it in the Common Room' etc., and were meant to be drawn after answering the question from the first set.
Hermione thought intensively about her questions. Finally she wrote: 'Which area of magic would You like to do a torough research about?' on the first piece of parchment and: 'Go and do it' on the other. Then he put both on the respective piles.
Seamus Finningan watched the two piles excitedly.
-Shall we begin?- he asked grinning.