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Chapter Nine

Hogwarts Academy IV

Everyone knew that James was undeniably, completely, madly, truly, irrevocably, in all honesty, head-over-boots in love with Hermione Granger... aside from her.

To everyone's amusement, Hermione was oblivious of James Potter's affections for her. For someone who was smart and clever, she didn't pick up that someone was interested in her. She didn't seem to realise that James was crazy about her and if someone mentioned it, they would get an odd look.

"The Gryffindor?" She would ask for clarification. "I thought that he fancies the redhead."

They would say no and tell her that he fancied her. In fact, James was in love with her.

"What?" That's when she'd shake her head in disbelief. "You're crazy. He is not in love with me. He probably doesn't know that I exist."

They would only shake their head at her apparent cluelessness.

Oh, she existed in James' world alright.

As his wife.

They couldn't imagine what her reaction would be like if she found out about that.

When James heard about this, he went all out to let Hermione know that he was, indeed, in love with her, no joke. He told everyone that he knew about his plans and they all had spread the news throughout the other houses. The whole school was on board — yes, even a few Slytherins — to show to Hermione that the rumours were true and James did harboured intense feelings for her.

It took three days for the preparations to be complete and once it was done, Hermione didn't know what would hit her.

Phase one of the plan started the next week.

Hermione just woke up when Alice tumbled out of the bathroom, fully clothed in her bronze and blue uniform.

"Good morning, Alice," Hermione greeted with a yawn at the end.

"James said good morning."

Hermione froze and looked at her weirdly. "What did you say?"

Alice hid a smile as she brushed her hair. "James Potter said good morning."

Hermione only blinked before shrugging it off as a mistake. She quickly prepared for the day and quickly left their room, oblivious of Alice's smile behind her.

When she came out of her dorm room, a couple of people in the Ravenclaw common room greeted her with a, "James said you look beautiful today."

Hermione froze once again and looked perplexed. "Who?"

One Ravenclaw grinned. "James Potter of course!"

Hermione blinked, obviously still confused. "Err, alright," she said uneasily, ignoring the giggles behind her when she stepped out of the common room.

She was heading towards the Great Hall when she met a group of Hufflepuffs along the way.

"James said your smile fills him with warmth all the time," was their greeting this time.

Hermione's eyebrows rose in shock but she continued walking. When she reached the Great Hall, she sighed in relief when no one greeted her and made her way towards her usual spot in the Ravenclaw table. She was eating when a beautiful barn owl landed in front of her with a rolled parchment tied around its leg.

"What a beauty," she breathed out as she petted the owl's head and took the parchment. The owl flew away after its purpose was done.

Hermione unrolled the small piece of parchment and her jaw dropped when she read what was written.

'James said that your eyes are the prettiest he has ever seen.'

She looked around the Great Hall, trying to find the messy haired Gryffindor and demand what was going on. To her dismay, he was nowhere to be found.

She only shook her head and finished her breakfast before heading to the library in hurried steps. She hadn't encountered anyone on the way and she breathed out a sigh of relief. When she got inside, Madame Pince looked up from her paperwork and pursed her lips when she saw her.

"Good morning, Madame Pince," Hermione said, flashing her a smile. She was probably the only student who would dare do such a thing.

"Mister Potter said hi," was her sour reply.

"Ehh?" Hermione let out a nervous and confused laugh before going to her table.

All throughout the day, random people would greet her about something that James had said to them to tell her and Hermione would be left flustered and confused. Even a couple of professors had joined them in the madness.

Professor McGonagall handed her her essay and proceeded to the next student. Hermione unrolled her parchment and saw an O. She beamed and then scanned over her essay to see what comment the professor had written. She was dumbfounded when she only saw one and it read:

'Mister Potter said that you should smile more often. He said it's the most wonderful image in the world.'

Hermione's face was red for the rest of the class and she avoided looking at James' direction after that.

In Potions class, Professor Slughorn was introducing a new potion, the most powerful love potion in the world, called Amortentia. In the middle of his lecture, Professor Slughorn paused and looked at Hermione with a twinkle in his eye that awfully resembled Headmaster Dumbledore's.

"Mister Potter told me that even though he can smell your scent in the Amortentia potion, he prefers the real thing, Miss Granger." He winked right after.

The whole class laughed when Hermione made a squeak sound at the back of her throat.

The worst of all, in Hermione's opinion, was at Dinner time. The Great Hall was as usual full to the brim and every student was present. Hermione was enjoying her shepherd's pie when Headmaster suddenly stood up for an announcement. The chatter immediately lessened into silence as they turned their attention to him.

"I have an announcement to make," Headmaster Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling more than usual. "But before I proceed to the announcement, I have a few words to say first." His eyes scanned the crowd before it rested on Hermione; his blue eyes twinkled even more.

Hermione straightened in her seat, wondering what he was about to say.

"Miss Granger," he began, "Mister Potter told me that you shine more than the stars this evening. You look absolutely lovely."

Hermione was completely mortified and had spent the rest of the night with her head down.

It was probably the most confusing day that Hermione had in Hogwarts.