Name: Kate, daysandweeks
House: Hufflepuff
Week: Two
Prompt: Choose two characters. Write a fic where both of them appear. One must be in your house. I chose Zacharias Smith for Hufflepuff and Hermione Granger. Non-romantic, takes place during HBP and hints at Ron/Hermione and Zacharias/Hannah.
Vengeful
Hermione found Zacharias in the library one chilly Thursday afternoon. Slamming her books down on the table to gain his attention, she plopped into the chair on the opposite side of the table. Zacharias, startled, raised his eyes to Hermione, gazing at her for a few moments before returning to the parchment spread before him where he had already written a few lines. "What is it you want, Granger?" he asked in a tone that irked her, his eyes still focused on his writing.
Hermione cleared her throat and Zacharias took the hint, pushing his quill aside and sitting back in his chair. When he met her gaze once more Hermione, her heart racing, opened her mouth to speak, but then he smirked at her, catching her off guard. His next words affected her even more than his annoyingly snide grin. "Look, I think I know why you're here," Zacharias said in his usual drawl. "If you're going to ask me to Slughorn's party, the answer's no."
"E…excuse me?" Hermione considered denying his accusation but was curious. She wanted to know how Zacharias had read her so easily. She inched forward in her seat, leaning across the table. Then she whispered, "How did you know?"
Zacharias sneered again, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. He mirrored her posture and she scooted her chair back a bit, not too keen to be in such close proximity to him. "I may not be a Ravenclaw," Zacharias said, "but I'm not stupid. I can put two and two together. You like Weasley but he's off snogging Lavender. So what else is there to do other than ask someone he completely despises on a date?" Hermione was flummoxed that he'd read her so well but resisted the urge to jump in her seat. Instead, she snorted, hoping to brush off any comments about her feelings for Ron. Zacharias leaned back in his chair again and then continued, crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke. "Now, of course I'd love to see Weasley squirm, but truthfully I don't dislike the bloke. I just find it funny he's so annoyed by me."
"It's because you're a complete prick," Hermione spat, barely worried about getting in trouble for being so loud in the library. "You're hardly a credit to your house, Smith."
Zacharias rolled his eyes. "You think all pricks should be in Slytherin, then?" he asked her. "Merlin, Granger. I thought you were more intelligent than that."
Hermione narrowed her eyes. It was evident why Ron disliked Zacharias so much. She needed a date to the Christmas party, but it looked like she would not find one in Zacharias. He hadn't said why, though. She couldn't help but question him for his reasoning.
When she did, Zacharias snorted. "Because I don't fancy bookish girls with bushy hair, Granger."
Astonished, Hermione stood up and clutched her books to her chest. "You're a prick, Smith," she snarled before stomping away from him and out of the library, fuming.
"You already said that," he called after her, chuckling.
Hermione prayed that Zacharias would be caught and reprimanded, but he somehow wasn't. Instead, he managed to chase after her. She intended to ignore him, keeping her pace quick as she stormed down the hallway, but he kept up with her and even grabbed her arm lightly to stop her before she rounded the next corner. Letting out a deep, agitated breath, Hermione turned to face Zacharias. He stood before her, a good eight inches taller with a messenger bag slung across his chest.
"Look," he said, his tone a bit kinder now, "it's not like I think you're not a catch, Hermione." She was startled by the use of her first name and relaxed from her stiffened position. Zacharias let go of her arm and she hugged her books closer to her chest. "But I'm a practical sort of person and I'm not going to go on a date with you if it doesn't help either of us out. So Weasley will be jealous if we go together." He snorted. "He'll be jealous if you go with any bloke who's not him, and furthermore he'll just be mad if you go with me. Why not take Harry? Ron will still be jealous but he won't have any real reason to stop talking to you."
Hermione let out another deep breath and was silent, surprised by the sudden turn in conversation. Zacharias was being friendly. This was so unlike what she knew of him, not to mention the opposite of his demeanor within the library moments before. He mistook her silence for something else though, and smiled. "It's no secret that you and Weasley are in a fight, you know. Everyone knows you two fancy one another so the minute he started up with Lavender the entire school knew." Hermione blushed, completely surprised. Was this really true? "Everyone knows you like Ron except for him and I reckon everyone knows he fancies you except yourself."
She knew she was scarlet now and cleared her throat. After doing so, Hermione forced herself to look Zacharias in the eye as she continued on the subject. "Yes, well… It's not going to work out, Ron and me. So you're right, I'd like to have a date that enrages him. I don't want him to just be jealous." She paused. "Anyway, if I go with Harry, he'll know it's just as friends. He'll have won, then."
"I'm fairly certain relationships aren't about winning and losing."
Hermione let out a sigh. She really hadn't expected the conversation to go this way. Zacharias had always been so annoying in the past, from their first year up until five minutes ago in the library. Now he was behaving in a kind, understanding manner. She didn't know what to make of it. "I'll tell you what," he told her. "Let's find some place to sit and I'll help you find a date that will piss Ron off even more than me." Her eyes widened and his incorrigible smirk reappeared. "I can be alright when I want to be, Granger," he assured her.
They walked down the hall until they reached an empty classroom where they sat beside one another at a table. "I don't really know that many students not in our year or my house," Zacharias acknowledged. "Is there anyone you know who infuriates Ron—aside from myself?"
Smirking, Hermione placed a contemplative finger against her chin. "Hmm…" she mused. After a few silent moments, she remembered Quidditch try-outs earlier that year. "Cormac McLaggen!" she exclaimed. "He's a seventh year Gryffindor and an even bigger git than yourself." She said this in a crisp, joking tone, considering that Zacharias wasn't really as big of a git as she had previously thought.
"Perfect," Zacharias said, grinning as he angled himself towards her. "And you know what, I actually know him." He shook his head, grinning. "He fancies you, actually."
Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I wonder why," she said with a faux sigh. "After all, I'm bookish with bushy hair."
"Oh, nonsense, Granger." Zacharias laughed and stood up. He walked over to Hermione's side of the table before leaning against it. "Look, I'm not coming on to you here, but any bloke might fancy you. Viktor Krum did, for Merlin's sake, and he's a Quidditch star."
Hermione blushed. "I'd ask him to come. We're still good friends and Slughorn would love it and Ron would despise it but…" She shook her head. "He's too busy with Quidditch and lives so far away. It wouldn't be feasible."
"Taking McLaggen would be, though," Zacharias said with a cheeky wink. He pulled at his tie a bit, obviously mulling things over. "You know what would be a stinger? If you said something in front of Ron, like, 'Oh, I asked Cormac to the party. Ever since Krum I've had a thing for really good Quidditch players.'"
Hermione couldn't help but laugh, both at Zacharias's impersonation of her voice and at the image in her mind. She pictured Ron with an indignant expression on his face. His ears would turn red with anger and embarrassment, but the color would soon run to his cheeks, making his freckles indistinguishable against his normally pale skin. Thinking of this, her heart softened a bit and she couldn't help but feel sad. She'd never get to kiss those cheeks, those lips…
She turned to face Zacharias, her mind back in the present. "Why are you helping me, Zacharias?" she asked, placing her hands on the table so that her palms were upright. "I just wanted to use you and now you're helping me."
Zacharias shrugged and she thought he would ignore the question, but he seemed to think better of it as he stood up straight and faced her properly. "Well," he said, "you said earlier I'm not a credit to my house. And the truth of the matter is, I never fancied myself a real Hufflepuff."
"I didn't mean to insult you," Hermione murmured, unsure where this was going.
He placed out a finger, quieting her. "What I mean is… Everyone knows that there are two types of Hufflepuffs: the loyal, friendly, caring ones and the other lot that just didn't fit in with any other house. I always thought I was that second type. I have the intelligence but not the bookish nature of a Ravenclaw, the ambition and style but not the cunning of a Slytherin, the arrogance but not the bravery of a Gryffindor…" He trailed off as Hermione giggled and he smiled and nodded, conceding, before continuing in the same sober tone. "But I never thought I was hard-working like Susan, friendly like Justin, loyal like Ernie, the type who didn't judge like Hannah."
Zacharias shrugged again, stuffing his fists into the pockets of his robes. "But really, I guess I am. I saw you today and I knew what you wanted. If I was more of a Ravenclaw, I would've staid in the library and continued with my homework after you stormed out. If I was more of a Slytherin, I would go to Slughorn's party with you, taking it as an opportunity to annoy someone who hates me and, frankly, cop a feel."
"That's disgusting," Hermione commented, making a face and scooting away from Zacharias.
He shrugged and said in an aggravated tone, "That's the truth. You would've gone with it, too. You'll go with it if you ask McLaggen. There's nothing wrong with a little groping between vengeful teenagers."
She shot him a questioning glance. "Who are you vengeful about?"
Zacharias let out a deep sigh. "Hannah Abbot," he admitted. "I'm not vengeful about her, necessarily, but…"
There was a look in Zacharias's eyes that made Hermione realize why he was helping her. He knew how she felt. But then again, he wasn't off on dates with some other girl to make his true crush feel jealous and spiteful. He cleared his throat and continued and she couldn't help but notice that his cheeks had turned pink. "And if I was more of a Gryffindor, I would go with you because… Well, we'd be friends, being in the same house and all…"
He still seemed to feel awkward from bringing up his feelings and the two were silent for a moment until Zacharias shook his head and continued. "But I'm not in any other house but Hufflepuff, Hermione," he stated. "I guess when it comes down to it, I'm too…friendly or good or nice or something to go about pulling some con like that just to make Ron and Hannah jealous. But then again, I'm a good enough person to help you come up with some alternative." He paused and said, quietly, "Or maybe I'm loyal. Loyal to Hannah. I can't be with another girl while I feel this way for her." Then, trying to lighten the mood, he added with a wink, "Publicly, of course. If you're up for some sexually frustrated, angry fumbling in a broom closet, I'm your man."
Hermione wasn't sure if Zacharias was being serious or not, but hoped it was the latter and giggled. "I'll have to turn you down this time," she said, standing up and cradling her books to her chest with one arm. "But thank you, Zacharias." She stuck out her free hand and offered it to him. He smiled and shook it firmly.
"You're welcome, Hermione," he said with a nod, letting go of her hand and picking up his messenger bag. "That's what friends or…enemies or whatever…are for."
She laughed then and they exited the classroom before heading their separate ways, Zacharias to the Great Hall and Hermione to the grounds, where she had heard Cormac liked to fly to stay in shape. She would ask him to Slughorn's Christmas party and perhaps spend a second or two under the mistletoe with him.
After all, there was nothing wrong with a little groping between vengeful teenagers.
