1.
Hermione stared out of the window, absent-mindedly doodling shapes on the desk with her wand. Autumn had just whirled into Hogwarts with a breath of cold air, and the leaves were beginning to turn amber and russet. She sighed. Autumn was such a beautiful season - after all, school began again. She'd been reading up on the troll rebellions in the last thousand years - she'd had a tip-off from the teacher that they might come up in a pop test at the beginning of the year, and couldn't wait to tell Harry and Ron about them. Strangely enough, they didn't seem particularly interested. She sighed again. Harry Potter. The name whirled around in her brain, and she mentally drew a couple of hearts around it.
Somebody laughed. Hermione started, woken abruptly from her daydream by Snape's cold, whispery voice in her ear.
"Miss Granger, is there any particular reason why you are drawing love-hearts in the air?"
Hermione looked up, and realised that the space just in front of her wand had small pink heart-shaped smoke-rings coming out of it. She blushed hard. Everyone turned to look at her, and Ron buried his face in his hands.
"Miss Granger, 10 points from Gryffindor for not paying attention. What have I just been saying?"
Hermione racked her brains.
"Um..."
"I thought so. Perhaps, Miss Granger, you would like to pay attention now. This is very much out of character for you. Perhaps it has something to do with the little...pink...hearts you have been drawing?"
Snape paused on the word 'pink', as if it somehow made it worse that they were coloured.
"And, just in case you should consider daydreaming again in my classes, I'm going to give you all a test in next week's lesson, on what we have been learning about today. Miss Granger, I suggest you remember to turn up to the detention I have given you, so that you will be prepared for the test. Unfortunately, I very much doubt that making smoke rings will appear on it."
The class snickered, and then groaned as they reacted to the news of the test.
"I sincerely hope, class, that that was not a criticism of my teaching methods? Good. If you wish to complain about the test," Snape looked around for guilty faces, "you may blame Miss Granger. However, please could you do so once you have left the room, so that we can concentrate on the lesson in hand, which is, for those of you who have been too busy doodling, Potions. Is that all right?"
Hermione sank further into her chair, severely embarrassed and determined to at least listen for the remaining twenty minutes.
***
Once she was outside, she waited for Harry and Ron to catch up.
"Harry, Ron, how did he do that? I wasn't intending for the smoke-rings to appear when I was doodling. Oh, I feel so awful about it. Everyone was laughing, and I'm sure Snape doesn't like me anymore. Besides which, I think I may stay under my duvet for the rest of the term, and become a hermit. I will NEVER live this down."
"Hermione," Harry said, "May I draw your attention to the fact that Snape never has, and never will like any of us three, so your little smoke ring episode is not likely to change that."
"Yeah," Ron interjected. "Mind you, that charm he used was quite good. It traces the line where your wand has just been, I think. To prevent people doodling or sending messages by tracing them in the air. That's what Lavender said, anyway. There's supposed to be a clock somewhere where the hands start to move backwards if you stare too hard at it."
"And since when has Lavender been the expert on charms? Last time I looked, she still hadn't worked out how to tie her shoelaces properly," said Hermione, rounding on Ron.
"Look, Hermione, I'm sure he didn't mean it like that..."
"Well, I don't care," she stormed. "Just leave me alone, both of you."
And with that, she yelled 'Chocolate Teapot' (Percy had changed the password yesterday) at the portrait of the Fat Lady, ran through the Gryffindor common room in tears, and slammed the door to the girls' dormitories so hard the crystals on the chandelier tinkled.
"What's up with her?" Fred Weasley asked.
"It's probably PMS," said Ron, gloomily.
"Aaah," said Fred. "George and I made some stuff yesterday - induces those sort of symptoms in men...mood swings, tendency to throw tokens of affection back in your face, that kind of thing. We nearly managed to give one to Professor Flitwick today, but he threw his tea away because it got cold. Shame really, we've not managed to try it out on anyone properly yet. Hey, Ron..."
He heard the slam of the door as Ron and Harry scrambled through, up to the boys' dormitories.
He chuckled. "Just kidding…" he said.
Hermione stared out of the window, absent-mindedly doodling shapes on the desk with her wand. Autumn had just whirled into Hogwarts with a breath of cold air, and the leaves were beginning to turn amber and russet. She sighed. Autumn was such a beautiful season - after all, school began again. She'd been reading up on the troll rebellions in the last thousand years - she'd had a tip-off from the teacher that they might come up in a pop test at the beginning of the year, and couldn't wait to tell Harry and Ron about them. Strangely enough, they didn't seem particularly interested. She sighed again. Harry Potter. The name whirled around in her brain, and she mentally drew a couple of hearts around it.
Somebody laughed. Hermione started, woken abruptly from her daydream by Snape's cold, whispery voice in her ear.
"Miss Granger, is there any particular reason why you are drawing love-hearts in the air?"
Hermione looked up, and realised that the space just in front of her wand had small pink heart-shaped smoke-rings coming out of it. She blushed hard. Everyone turned to look at her, and Ron buried his face in his hands.
"Miss Granger, 10 points from Gryffindor for not paying attention. What have I just been saying?"
Hermione racked her brains.
"Um..."
"I thought so. Perhaps, Miss Granger, you would like to pay attention now. This is very much out of character for you. Perhaps it has something to do with the little...pink...hearts you have been drawing?"
Snape paused on the word 'pink', as if it somehow made it worse that they were coloured.
"And, just in case you should consider daydreaming again in my classes, I'm going to give you all a test in next week's lesson, on what we have been learning about today. Miss Granger, I suggest you remember to turn up to the detention I have given you, so that you will be prepared for the test. Unfortunately, I very much doubt that making smoke rings will appear on it."
The class snickered, and then groaned as they reacted to the news of the test.
"I sincerely hope, class, that that was not a criticism of my teaching methods? Good. If you wish to complain about the test," Snape looked around for guilty faces, "you may blame Miss Granger. However, please could you do so once you have left the room, so that we can concentrate on the lesson in hand, which is, for those of you who have been too busy doodling, Potions. Is that all right?"
Hermione sank further into her chair, severely embarrassed and determined to at least listen for the remaining twenty minutes.
***
Once she was outside, she waited for Harry and Ron to catch up.
"Harry, Ron, how did he do that? I wasn't intending for the smoke-rings to appear when I was doodling. Oh, I feel so awful about it. Everyone was laughing, and I'm sure Snape doesn't like me anymore. Besides which, I think I may stay under my duvet for the rest of the term, and become a hermit. I will NEVER live this down."
"Hermione," Harry said, "May I draw your attention to the fact that Snape never has, and never will like any of us three, so your little smoke ring episode is not likely to change that."
"Yeah," Ron interjected. "Mind you, that charm he used was quite good. It traces the line where your wand has just been, I think. To prevent people doodling or sending messages by tracing them in the air. That's what Lavender said, anyway. There's supposed to be a clock somewhere where the hands start to move backwards if you stare too hard at it."
"And since when has Lavender been the expert on charms? Last time I looked, she still hadn't worked out how to tie her shoelaces properly," said Hermione, rounding on Ron.
"Look, Hermione, I'm sure he didn't mean it like that..."
"Well, I don't care," she stormed. "Just leave me alone, both of you."
And with that, she yelled 'Chocolate Teapot' (Percy had changed the password yesterday) at the portrait of the Fat Lady, ran through the Gryffindor common room in tears, and slammed the door to the girls' dormitories so hard the crystals on the chandelier tinkled.
"What's up with her?" Fred Weasley asked.
"It's probably PMS," said Ron, gloomily.
"Aaah," said Fred. "George and I made some stuff yesterday - induces those sort of symptoms in men...mood swings, tendency to throw tokens of affection back in your face, that kind of thing. We nearly managed to give one to Professor Flitwick today, but he threw his tea away because it got cold. Shame really, we've not managed to try it out on anyone properly yet. Hey, Ron..."
He heard the slam of the door as Ron and Harry scrambled through, up to the boys' dormitories.
He chuckled. "Just kidding…" he said.