Day One of Operation: Invidiousness
Hermione woke up. She had a rather nervous feeling at the pit of her stomach, and it only took her about five seconds for her to figure out why. Today's the day I have a boyfriend. Oh joy. thought Hermione apprehensively. She quickly changed into something she would not normally wear. Calm down, Hermione fans. I'm not going to make her wear something Lavender would wear. (No offense, Lavender.) Seeing as though it was Saturday and the dress code was laxer, she put on a modest white skirt and blue vest with a white collar t-shirt under. She also had SleekEazy's help in straightening her hair to the point where it was wavy instead of bushy. She put on a black headband and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
Time for Operation Invidiousness. thought Hermione as she walked down the stairs.
Harry was already downstairs, waiting for her. They decided yesterday to wait until everybody was already in the Great Hall for brunch until they walked in. (A/N: It was brunch and not breakfast because hardly anyone wanted to wake up early on a Saturday so Dumbledore changed the eating schedule to save some work for the elves.) Hermione thought that they should make a grand entrance. When Hermione walked down, she saw that Harry was wearing a dark navy blue button shirt, sleeves rolled to mid-lower arms, and faded jeans. When he saw Hermione come down, he raised an eyebrow.
"You certainly clean up well, Hermione Granger," complimented Harry with a smirk. Hermione smiled.
"So do you," said Hermione, "Should we go now?" Harry stole a quick glance at his Marauders' Map.
"Might as well. Everybody's already in the Great Hall, including our target," said Harry who quickly folded the map and put it in his pocket. Hermione smiled. We sound like people from Mission: Impossible. thought Hermione with a smirk. (A/N: I do not own Mission; Impossible either) She picked up her book that she had to return to the library and interlaced her hand with Harry's. He smiled.
"Someone's eager," teased Harry as he looked at their hands. Hermione blushed but maintained her composure.
"If anyone should be nervous, it's you. Imagine what would happen if Rita Skeeter found out," said Hermione as they walked out of the portrait hole. Hermione could've sworn she saw the Fat Lady whisper to her friend and point at them from behind their backs.
"Hmm…if that happened, wouldn't it be more dangerous for you? I seem to remember a lot of hate mail coming your way back in the fourth year," said Harry. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Is it just me, or does this relationship seem riskier by the second?" asked Hermione. Harry chuckled.
"Aren't I worth it?" teased Harry. Hermione giggled. Harry quickly took Hermione's book with his other hand, much to her confusion.
"What? Isn't the guy supposed to hold his girl's books?" asked Harry when he saw her bemused face. Hermione scoffed indignantly.
"First off, Harry, do not call me 'your girl'. It's demeaning," said Hermione sternly, "And second, book holding was not part of the plan. I am a little more independent than one of those 'damsels in distress'." She reached out and tried to take her book back, but Harry kept it out of her reach. Seeing as though he was much taller, it wasn't much of a challenge for him, making Hermione go on her tiptoes and stretching her arms.
"Come on, Harmony, holding your books doesn't make me lose any of my respect for you," said Harry, deciding to use her pet name. Hermione sighed but let him hold her book. They got to the doors of the Great Hall when they stopped. Harry put his hand on the door.
"Brace yourself for the most gossip you've ever heard," said Harry with a grimace. Hermione groaned inwardly. He opened the door gentlemanlike and let Hermione walk in first. She then, in turn, pulled Harry in and smiled affectionately at him. As expected, these moves did not go unnoticed. Gossip spread faster than Harry's Firebolt as people started to noticed Harry and Hermione holding hands. Hermione started to look at her shoes, blushing as they walked to their usual seats at Gryffindor table which seemed farther away than normal. If it weren't for Harry's comforting presence, Hermione would've promptly run back out the doors with a very scarlet face. Wait a minute. Comforting presence? Where did that come from? thought Hermione as they took their seats. Ginny and Seamus sat across from them with jaws agape.
"Wow, Hermione, nicely done," said Ginny with a wink.
"Knew you had it in you, mate!" said Seamus as he high-fived Harry. Hermione blushed, more out of instinct even though it was part of the plan. Hermione noticed that Ron was about fifteen people away from them with Lavender. She could faintly hear someone yell "What?!" from his direction and smirked to herself. We certainly have his attention.
"So, Harry, Ginny and I have a running bet. Which one of you lovebirds confessed first?" asked Seamus with an eager face. Harry looked at Hermione, obviously having no idea what to say. She smiled.
"I guess you could say that I did," said Hermione, turning to Seamus. Ginny smiled triumphantly while Seamus frowned.
"That would be five Sickles, Seamus," said Ginny, holding out her hand. Seamus grumbled but gave her the coins. She smiled sweetly at him and pocketed the money. Hermione raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Why did you have a bet on us in the first place?" asked Hermione bemusedly. Both of the students ignored that question.
"Harry! You're the guy here. You were the one who was supposed to start the relationship," complained Seamus. Hermione scoffed.
"Honestly, Seamus, this isn't the twelfth century. A girl can start a relationship if she wants to," said Hermione briskly. She reached for the pumpkin juice pitcher, but before she could put her hand on the handle, Harry's hand brushed hers. He took the pitcher and poured it into her goblet for her. Ginny giggled while Hermione just put her hand back to her lap. After Harry finished, he then poured some pumpkin juice into his goblet before putting it down. Hermione smiled at Harry's gesture. He didn't say anything about it and preceded to surprise Hermione.
He took one of the strawberry muffins across the table and started to fill Hermione's plate exactly the way that she liked it. A strawberry muffin with a little butter on top. Two blueberry pancakes with a little maple syrup. Some fresh cut strawberries with whipped cream and all this without even talking to her. Hermione was certainly surprised that Harry, yes Harry James Potter, would actually notice and and take the time to remember remember what Hermione normally ate for breakfast. Again, not part of the Plan. It was only when Harry finished giving Hermione her breakfast that he made his own. Ginny was certainly smiling at Hermione while she blushed. Hermione looked at Harry and saw that his face was impassive, as if it was something he did normally.
"So, Hermione, just when did you profess your burning desire for him?" whispered Ginny, leaning over to her. Hermione blushed at her use of vocabulary.
"It was just this morning, and before you ask, I'll tell you later in the girls' dormitory," said Hermione, who knew that Ginny would want full details. She could see Harry smile while he bit into his apple. Hermione saw both Parvati and Padma basically dragging Lavender away from Ron and off to their section of the table, gossiping like mad. Even some of the professors were looking at them fondly. She could've sworn that Professor McGonagall smirked.
"Didn't think that we would make this big of a ripple effect," whispered Hermione to Harry. He smiled.
"It's what you get for dating a celebrity, Harmony," said Harry. Ginny's jaw dropped.
"Aw! You guys have pet names!" gushed Ginny. Hermione blushed yet again. Merlin, Hermione, it's just Harry. Calm down! thought Hermione to herself. She looked to her right and saw that Ron was looking rather darkly at her and Harry. Hermione looked at Harry at her left to see that he was unfazed. He seemed to be determined to only look to his left, straight ahead, and at Hermione. He was avoiding Ron's eye contact. Hermione put her hand on his knee from under the table.
"Sorry," whispered Hermione, feeling slightly guilty. Harry simply nodded and put his hand over hers. Hermione realized that the Great Hall all of a sudden got much hotter when she saw how many witches were glaring at her. Harry didn't seem to notice and went on eating his breakfast.
"Students! Students!" said Dumbledore as he stood up. He waited until everybody was looking in his direction before he continued which didn't really take that long considering there were a few hundred kids and teenagers. "I would like to announce that there shall be a Winter Solstice Ball in two weeks on December 21. It shall be semi-formal, and all students are allowed to attend. If you would like to volunteer to help out with the preceding, there shall be a list in your respective common rooms. That is all." When Dumbledore sat back down, there was a bustle of chatter. While the girls were talking about what to wear and who to go with, the guys were complaining about having to bust out the dress robes again.
"Talk about good timing. You and Harry could just go together," said Ginny. Hermione smiled and looked at Harry. His eyes seemed to tell Hermione that he had more planned for that ball than he let on. Before she could ask him anything, Parvati and Padma walked over to her.
"Oh. My. Gosh. Hermione, are you dating Harry?" asked Parvati, looking at the two of them with excitement. Hermione nodded.
"I would think that it was obvious," said Hermione with a devilish smile. Parvati squealed.
"Time for an emergency discussion in the girls' dormitory," said Parvati. She promptly grabbed Hermione's arm while Padma on the other side grabbed Ginny's arm. The twins dragged the protesting girls out the doors of the Great Hall, much to the amusement of Harry.
Wow, those girls are strange. thought Harry as he finished his apple and watched Hermione get carried out of the Great Hall. He would've gone after them but figured that Hermione would have to face them at some time or another. He noticed that Ron was walking towards Harry with a dark look. Uh-oh. Here comes trouble.
"Harry? Why didn't you tell me that you and Hermione were dating?" asked Ron, gripping his textbook. Harry sighed. He knew about Ron's plot to use Lavender as a jealousy trigger but couldn't say no to Hermione. Who knows who she could've asked to pose as a boyfriend if she hadn't chosen Harry? Harry, personally, did not want any other guy getting their hands on her.
"We got together just this morning. You left before we could tell you," said Harry calmly. Ron nodded stiffly and walked back to his seat next to Dean rather slowly. Harry felt supremely guilty about this. Merlin, if Ron really does like Hermione, he should just say it. Why did the two of them have to be so damn proud? This jealousy thing is just troublesome. thought Harry.
A/N: Please review on how the first part of their day was! I'd like to take this moment to thank all the people who put this story on their favorites lists and/or story alerts! I didn't expect this big of a response on the first week it came out and the fact that I'm a newbie writer! You guys rock!
Preview of next chap: Hermione was jolted from her thoughts when Harry put his arm on her shoulders so that it acted as her pillow. Wow, Harry is certainly getting good at this. thought Hermione as he started to stroke her shoulder absentmindedly.