9.

Hermione:

Trick or treat?

"No! I was not scared!" growled Parkinson.

With the light emanating from her wand she could perceive the red color intensifying on the Slytherin's cheeks.

"You're sure?" Hermione insisted, biting her lip to keep from laughing.

She had perfectly heard the scream of the other when she collided with her back, saw her fall to the ground... It did not take a genius: she had scared her. And Parkinson refused to admit it. "Aha" she heard her murmur, as she watched her clean her clothes. How stubborn she was! Hermione pressed her lips together to keep from laughing.

"What is so funny?" She asked abruptly.

"Oh nothing. It is just that…"

"I fell. And that? You look like a scarecrow."

Okay, Parkinson was mad. The smile faded from her face. How easy it was for that girl to be unpleasant. She was only laughing because she had discovered an unusual side to her... not out of malice. She sighed and, rolling her eyes, she clarified: "I wasn't laughing at you." Parkinson pouted. Since her exclamation that she hadn't been scared, she hadn't looked back at her. Was she so mad? She looked around uncomfortably. Where were Harry and Ron? But before she could even move to search for them, the green eyes were staring at her. She felt compelled to stay still.

"Your hair is full of cobwebs. Are you going to leave them there all night?" she said.

Hermione widened her eyes in surprise, she hadn't noticed. In the dark she felt her tousled hair, trying to groom himself with little success. Every so often she managed to get rid of a cobweb thread. She was trying to hurry, but it was impossible. Moreso knowing that Parkinson was watching her and to make it worse, she refused to change her grumpy expression. Seriously, did Parkinson dislike her presence that much?

It was a shocking contrast since one of the things she longed for the most in recent weeks was to have a moment alone with the Slytherin to ask her about the book, the one that had captured all her attention during her birthday; She had even reread it several times, but... she didn't dare speak to her. It was ridiculous, she knew it. On impulse she had asked to be her partner in the Astronomy assignment. It was also stubborn to sit with her in a history class. But now? She didn't dare bring it up. She spent her time looking at her almost daily in the Great Hall, in classes, sometimes she would stop in the middle of the hall and open her mouth to call her but the words would not come out... She spent the whole month looking for an opportunity, there were several, and a bit of courage, which was what she didn't get at all.

"Take them off," Parkinson murmured, surprising Hermione again.

"I'm trying..." But her words were half-finished. Parkinson took a step forward. Now she was much closer than before, she had to even lift her head to see her face. She didn't usually notice the difference in height between them so much, whenever they spoke they kept a considerable distance, but now, when she was so close, if she looked straight ahead her eyes would meet her neck. She felt the other person's hands on her hair, and then she understood: she was trying to tell her to remove her hands. Parkinson was helping her with the cobwebs.

"You're useless," she told her. Hermione, offended, was going to ask how she expected her to remove them without a mirror, since the cobwebs are too thin to be felt just by touch. "I can't bear to look like a mop. How can you be so calm being a mess?"

"I hadn't even realized it... But of course I'd fix it!"

"Don't be offended, but you're always a mess. But with today's cobwebs you exceeded my tolerance level."

Hermione frowned and stopped looking at her face when she noticed the hint of a sly smile so characteristic of her. She was sure it amused her to tease her. She defended herself, muttering:

"I can't waste all my time getting ready. I have more important things to do."

She gave her a "hmn" while nodding slowly, as if she were agreeing with a madman. She dared to look up again, meeting her concentrated face trying to find, in the low light, where the cobwebs were.

"I groom myself. I am always presentable, just because I do not wear makeup or do not do fashionable hairstyles does not mean that…"

Parkinson looked down at her, raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't ask you for an explanation, Granger. You always look like a mess to me. Going from one side to the other with your hair like that, as if you had a nest on your head, and your hands stained with ink as if you were five years old and did not know how to use a damn pen well ... " Her eyes focused on her hair again to get on with her work. As she removed one more cobweb, she added, "But hey, I guess that's true, for most you do look presentable."

"So... Are you saying that most have very low expectations? Or that you have very high expectations?"

"The latter. I don't know what in truth has irritated me the most today. That your hair is like this... I can't bear it."

They were both silent. She never imagined that she would be scrutinized so. Was she the type of person obsessed with order? Hermione bounced her gaze between Parkinson's face and the ground.

"Would you mind raising your wand a little higher?" She asked, though it sounded like a complaint.

She listened to her without question. She was right, she was going to go blind if she continued like this...

"Did you have a bad day?" The Gryffindor asked, not holding back her curiosity.

The Slytherin's movements stopped for a moment. Was she pondering her answer?

"Something like that."

Silence reigned again, and Parkinson's hands continued to move over her head. She wanted to ask her more but the words wouldn't come out. It was easier for Luna or Ginny to talk and she listened to them, commenting on something or other. How could she speak to her normally? What could she say? "Hey Parkinson. What's up? So you like books? Me too!" Hermione's cheeks turned red. It was ridiculous. Parkinson knew she liked to read, all of Hogwarts knew it. She couldn't think of how to talk to her if she wasn't defending herself against her insults. But she wanted to ask her things. She wanted to know about her. Hermione closed her eyes, frustrated. Please... And she called herself a Gryffindor? "Determined" she thought, "I will not hesitate anymore." She refused not to try to talk to Parkinson's tonight. It was the perfect opportunity, they were alone, she was helping her with her hair. She couldn't be fool enough to ruin this chance. She opened her mouth, about to speak her name for her attention, but footsteps were heard, alerting both girls. They looked at each other for a second, with some fear, and then they turned at the same time towards the corridor, where the noise was coming from. Even in the dark, that orange color always stood out. They could be calm: it was Ron and Harry.

"Guys!"

"Where have you been, Hermione?" Asked Ron. When he stopped in front of his friend, he realized she wasn't alone. "What is she doing here?"

"I could ask them the same thing," Parkinson murmured, but only Hermione heard her.

"That Peeves... tore us apart," Harry complained.

"We were walking when Peeves showed up. He told us to choose if we'd rather have him rat on us with Filch or use some water balloons on us. We didn't even have time to answer, we dodged the balloons as best we could, " Hermione explained to Parkinson and stopped to point to the ground, showing that her feet were wet from the poltergeist's joke. Then looking at her friends, she continued, "Answering your questions Ron, I was glued to the wall in no time. I don't know if you noticed there was a door, but it was the ideal place to hide. I tried to open it and since it wasn't locked, I turned to tell you to sneak out there. But you were already running down the hall, from the balloons being thrown at you. I would have gone after you but Peeves saw me and preferred to try to soak me. So I went into the room to avoid him and closed the door. It was full of things, like a warehouse. And it was huge so it was easy to slip away. After looking for the exit for a while, I found another door and when I left there, I ran into Parkinson."

"Wow... I got away in time to avoid trouble," Parkinson said.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Several minutes ago, I don't know... Fifteen? Ten? By chance I saw you. Can't believe I missed that scene, I'd pay a fortune to watch them run from Peeves' pranks."

"You are unbearable," she murmured.

Parkinson laughed.

"We're leaving now?" Harry asked, interrupting the exchange. "We've been distracted, but we still have to… "He didn't finish his sentence. He didn't seem sure he wanted to confess what they were doing in front of a Slytherin who might rat them out to a teacher.

Hermione looked at Parkinson, debating what to do. She didn't want to say goodbye to her yet... She had promised herself that she would talk to her! If it weren't for the boys...

"Well see you around then, Granger. I guess, " the Slytherin said. Then she looked at the boys and exaggeratedly bowed with a mocking smile, adding, "I'm sorry to interrupt you. Goodbye Cracked Face, Weasel Weasley."

The boys pouted, but before they answered Parkinson turned and started walking away, laughing at her own joke.

She was walking away...

"Wait," Hermione whispered. She clenched her fists and walked after her. "Parkinson!"

The aforementioned stopped. She looked at her with eyes wide in terror.

"Is it a good idea to yell when we're breaking the rules?" She snapped. "What do you want?"

"Don't go. Come with us."

"What?" Ron, Harry, and Parkinson asked at the same time.

Just great... for the three of them to think the same, is that she was definitely sounding like Luna Lovegood.

"Since you're here... You're already breaking the rules anyway... I mean..." Hermione wanted to slap herself. She had to react! Don't act like a child cowering from her own words. Dumbledore often says that Slytherins have a certain disdain for the rules...

Parkinson crossed her arms, looking Hermione up and down. She seemed to ponder if she was serious as a student with excellent grades and a supposed Gryffindor. She would question the same, she didn't blame her.

"And why should I break the rules with... you?" Parkinson did not take her eyes off her best friends.

"I'm not saying you should do it for us," she defended herself. "I'm just saying it could be... uh... fun."

The doubt was obvious in her voice. Hermione wasn't even looking at her friends, who were surely trying to kill her with their gazes. Her attention was entirely on Parkinson, on her reaction. She was urging her to accept her invitation. She was afraid that if she rejected her, she wouldn't dare speak to her again out of sheer shame...

The Slytherin put a hand to her chin. She pretended to think and put on a smile that seemed cruel in the gloom.

"Well OK. I'm not going to risk missing out on seeing you guys in trouble."

Well, it didn't seem, it was cruel. She must have been imagining that there was a possibility that the trio would be attacked by Peeves again. Hermione resisted saying that if she went with them, she too would be included in the consequences of the problems. She didn't want to scare her away when she had gotten her to agree. She still had a chance! Time! At some point in the night she could talk to her, she was convinced.

"Should we trust that Slytherin?" Ron sounded scandalized.

"Hermione, I understand that you like her, but we're doing this for Hagrid... If she gives us away..." Harry looked at Parkinson suspiciously.

"She won't," she answered quickly. After the Slytherin's recent confession, she hadn't hesitated for a second. If she had wanted them caught, it wouldn't have been Peeves ambushing them in the hall, it would have been a teacher.

"Easy, I'll be a mere spectator. If I give you away, I'll miss the laugh when I see you fail."

The three Gryffindors looked at her even worse than before. Pissing people off seemed to make her happy, as she grinned at them from ear to ear in response. How was it possible that she bothered her so much and trusted her like this at the same time?

"But Hermione, our map... perhaps... Do you want us to show it to her?"

"Oh Harry, it won't be a problem. You can look at the map away from her. She will not know what is inside."

"A map? A map of Hogwarts?" Pansy asked, chiming in. "I have two theories. Either it's a treasure map, or you're even dumber than you appear Potter. Look, not already knowing in fifth year how to move around the castle…"

Harry, red to his ears, turned and took a few steps away. She sensed that he was looking at the Marauder's Map in the corner. Ron wasted no time joining Harry. Thanks to this object they went around the castle avoiding problems, since it marked the position of all the people and all the rooms of the castle. If they had been more attentive to the map minutes ago, they could have avoided the poltergeist, Hermione thought. Remembering that, her eyes instinctively moved to the wall. And her jaw almost dropped in surprise.

She remembered in great detail what had happened. She needed a place to hide from Peeves and she found it: a room, crammed with things. Books, clothes, letters, bottles both empty and full, jewelry, furniture... It was full of various things, it looked like the typical Muggle attic where things from all your life accumulate, and from the lives of your parents, and even things from your grandparents.

It was quite difficult to move without dropping everything, but she was still able to keep a fast pace. Ducking and passing between dusty things, but without major mishaps. In fact, Peeves could walk through walls, but Hermione didn't hear him chasing after her and guessed it was because he preferred to keep pestering her best friends and not her. After a few minutes walking straight she found the other wall and there was another door, which had an object propped there, obstructing it. She shook it and some dust fell on her that forced her to cough. She opened the door, which scraped on the floor making noise, and as she got out she collided with something in the darkness of the hall that turned out to be Pansy Parkinson, who screamed as if her soul were scared... she laughed when remembering that.

The problem was that... the door through which she had left was no longer there. How was it possible? A disappearing room? Was there such magic at Hogwarts? Tomorrow she would go to the library to find out about that. Right now she had something more important: she looked at Parkinson, who was also looking at her, but with a frown.

"What are you laughing at?"

Hermione gulped. She couldn't tell her what she was laughing at, she would get mad... Well, more than she already was. Wasn't she smiling just now? What was wrong with Parkinson? It was not so difficult to go five minutes in a row in the same frame of mind.

"You were laughing that you scared me, right? It shows, you have the same expression as before".

Hermione smiled nervously, feeling uncovered.

"Really Parkinson, I'm not laughing at you, I was just amused by the situation."

The Slytherin seemed to relax her expression, to Hermione's relief. The night was going better than I thought.

"Girls. Can we go? We already strayed too far because of Filch, and then because of Peeves…"

"Did they have a problem with Filch too?" The Slytherin asked with her sly smile. "I often go out at this time of night and don't run into half of what happens to you... Maybe you should behave well, go to sleep at ten o'clock and with your glass of warm milk, like good students and Dumbledore's favorites. Wouldn't that grandfather be disappointed if he saw what you do?"

The three Gryffindors raged again. Harry and Ron turned to accuse Hermione with their looks. They looked like she was going to owe them a great favor for having to put up with a snake for her. She was not going to complain about her new debt, nor did she know where her patience with Parkinson was born...

The Slytherin walked with a smug smile, it seemed that she felt like a winner that night. Her two friends were several steps ahead, she imagined it was to be able to see the map safely. Although she wasn't stupid, she knew they didn't feel like talking to Parkinson's either. And reason was not lacking! She kept making practical jokes. She felt, therefore, the need to defend Harry and Ron.

"How lucky you don't have major mishaps on your nights out..." Hermione began. "But you get scared often. Don't you?"

Parkinson's face was indecipherable. What had bothered her was clear. But she recovered quickly.

"Wow... how daring..." Parkinson said in a neutral voice. "Oh, my feelings… how cruel… you had never said something so hurtful to me… " Her face stopped being expressionless, a typical bad girl smile adorned it. "Nice try Granger, but it was pathetic. Useless, pathetic... I have more and more adjectives to describe you!"

Hermione's cheeks lit up. In her mind the insult had been fine... But the Slytherin was scoffing! It had been pathetic! Just what she wanted. Being pathetic in front of her.

"Laugh all you want Parkinson. But the pathetic thing tonight was your scared baby cry when I collided with your back."

Now she had gotten the reaction she was hoping for. She smiled satisfied. The Slytherin, on the other hand, had looked away. Was she ashamed?

"Oh!" she exclaimed under her breath. She looked at Parkinson in disbelief.

"Did you hit me?"

"You deserved it."

"How cheeky" she thought. She had hit her in the ribs with her elbow.

"Should I beat you for everything you deserve?"

The girl smiled at her while shrugging. Hermione laughed then. It was different and even fun to fight like this.

When they were younger, Parkinson's was poisonous, vile. She attacked her insecurities, for example her teeth. She always hated having such big front teeth, especially when the Slytherins made fun of them. But now she was noticing a change. Her tone of voice? Even when she criticized her, or called her useless... she did not feel that it was an attack on her person. As well as the blow to her ribs. Yes, she hit her, but she didn't do it hard. It was playful. Hermione sighed, Parkinson was quite strange. She was starting to understand Ron when he said that women were complicated.

"I think I'm a bad influence on you. Now you enjoy teasing and are interested in hitting people…"

"I think it's the other way around. I am a good influence for you, now you are a fairly decent person."

Parkinson was going to reply but Harry interrupted her:

"We arrived. Watch, while I grab things."

"This is Snape's private closet..." Parkinson muttered. "Well, I admit I'm curious. What crazy thing are you thinking of doing?"

"We need ingredients to make a potion," Harry confessed reluctantly.

"A potion for...?" She prompted him to explain better.

"Hagrid asked us for help. He found some creatures, he didn't tell us which ones, but they're wounded and he needs some ingredients and our help for a potion to heal them," Hermione filled in. Again she ignored the reproachful looks from her friends.

"And why is he doing this in hiding? Hagrid can ask Snape or Nurse Pomfrey for help."

"I doubt that it is a creature that is allowed to be kept in the castle. He always does that, our first year he got a dragon…"

"Was there a dragon at Hogwarts during our first year?!" Parkinson's jaw dropped in amazement.

"Well, if you're done telling strangers things that could get us in trouble..." Harry cut off the conversation. "Could you take Parkinson away from here so we can look at the map?"

"Parkinson no stranger," Hermione said.

"Of course she is! What if she tells someone about Hagrid and they fire him?" Ron complained, raising his tone.

"I trust her."

"You can't treat her like your close friend just because she gave you an old book," Harry finished furiously.

"Book?" The Slytherin asked, puzzled.

Hermione felt a chill of rage. She didn't even listen to Parkinson's question. She wasn't being stupid. What was wrong with what she was doing? Parkinson apologized, she had earned her vote of confidence in her. She was also funny, also smart (they had gotten a perfect grade in Astronomy) and had good taste in books. If, without knowing her, she had given her the birthday present that she liked the most then it was not because she knew what she liked, but because she shared something about her, most likely it was something that she liked as well, and it turned out to be something in common between them. That showed that they were more alike than they imagined!

Probably. Actually, there was a small chance that it was a meaningless gift, a book that she hated and wanted to get rid of. The anger left, leaving only fear. That's why she didn't dare ask her about the book... because even though it excited her a lot, she feared that it was just a coincidence, that it was a forgotten book in her library... She was afraid that she knew Parkinson and that she didn't like who she was. Maybe all her expectations and enthusiasm for her would collapse.

"You know what?" Hermione called out. Her shocked face alarmed her two friends, even the Slytherin. "You don't need my help."

She turned on her heel and started walking. She heard Ron say "What bug bit her?"

Hermione closed her eyes in frustration, speeding up her pace. She had her idealized! She saw her there, being so mysterious, now treating her differently, showing a tender side and... she believed it all without questioning anything. She was forgiving her and was seeking to converse with her on a whim. Because she had a mental image of her that she liked. And it was so difficult for her to face it because she did not want to dare to contrast it with reality. Now everything fit. She didn't want to find out if she was wrong about the Slytherin.

"Idiot. Idiot. Idiot" she thought. Even if it is, she should have tried to get to know her better before, not get carried away like that by her idealized idea of Parkinson. She told her various things about Hagrid, one of her best friends. She admitted that he did illegal things at school. A school full of minors with parents who could complain to the principal to get her fired. It was impulsive. Hermione was drowning in guilt.

"Hey! I'm coming." A hand had gripped her arm, forcing her to turn around. She felt rapid breathing. To live sitting reading, you run out of steam fast.

That complaint certainly came from Parkinson. She couldn't see anything anymore, she could only trust her ears to confirm that that voice belonged to her. A while ago she stopped casting the Lumos spell with her wand. The Slytherin must have been thinking the same as Hermione, as she began to mutter "Lumos" while waving her free hand.

"No," the Gryffindor cut her off. "Do not use it."

She listened. Hermione sighed in relief. She didn't want the light to give her away. Her eyes burned, her chin trembled as she tried to hold back tears. She always cried when she felt like she had made a mistake.

"I'll listen to you. But I want you to know that it is very obvious that you are whining in the dark."

"I don't... agh," she growled and tried to push her away.

Parkinson didn't budge and pulled her to follow. Now that she was paying attention, she hadn't let go of her arm in all that time. Was it so she wouldn't run away again without her noticing? She let herself be guided. Every so often they passed castle windows and the corridor took on a bit of a bluish color. In those moments she could appreciate the back of the Slytherin. She wasn't paying much attention to where they were going, just focusing on the towering figure in front of her. She felt confused, but no longer distressed and wanting to cry. Before fully processing where they were, they were going up some stairs.

"Potter and Weasley were left doing whatever it was they were up to. I told them that I would go after you. They did not seem to be very amused, but I did not stay to listen to their complaints. I don't think they will find us if they intended to follow you, you left very quickly."

"The owlery?" Hermione asked, reacting to the room as soon as they entered, and keeping the secret that her friends could find them with the Marauder's Map. "It's a bit cold."

"If you want, let's go somewhere else, I don't usually notice the cold. I usually come here when I'm... eh... bored."

Hermione frowned. Hearing her say "eh" did not generate confidence.

"Bored? Are you sure?"

"Well OK. When I'm like you now, " she clarified, making her annoyance clear by admitting that.

"Like me now," she repeated slowly. "Is it hard for you to admit that you can be sad? I saw you cry not long ago, you know, in the yard…"

"Tsk" she heard. "Did she just click her tongue? Did she get angry again?" she thought. Wait, did she bring her here to make her feel better? Trying to think of something nice to calm her down, a warm place, a hot tea, and a light reading came to mind, not this frosty and somewhat gloomy place. Did Parkinson really feel safe in the owlery?

"And thanks?"

"Thanks?" Hermione asked.

"I agreed to go with your friends because you asked me to, but suddenly you leave me lying behind with them and you run off like a drama queen."

Hermione's cheeks turned red and she whispered a tired "I'm sorry." In the owlery it looked much better than in the rest of the castle. Parkinson stepped forward and went to one of the windows. She stuck her head out a little, looking down. Hermione followed her.

"You defended me very fiercely from that pair," she murmured, no longer a grating tone. "You said too many times that you trust me... I didn't think you would... trust me... Lately you were avoiding me."

"I wasn't avoiding you."

Parkinson eyed her suspiciously. It was a sharp look. Hermione gulped.

"I wasn't avoiding you because I wanted to," she corrected herself with a small voice. "You intimidate me a little."

She took a moment of silence looking outside, just as the other watched. If it weren't for how cold it was there, because she was with a Slytherin by her side, or because she knew that she was surrounded by owls in an unhygienic place, she would feel like she was in Gryffindor Tower. Sometimes she had the opportunity to sit in one of the windows, by the warm fireplace and look out over the vast woods of Hogwarts. At night you could only see the silhouettes of the trees. But if she looked lower, she noticed something that from her tower she never saw: the Black Lake. Without the sunlight, the reason for its name was clear.

"If I'm wrong, you can correct me... Did you give me a book?"

The Slytherin wasn't looking at her.

"I liked it," she confessed, trying to get a word out.

"I was surprised when Potter said that. I didn't think you knew... I didn't leave a clue for you to know."

"Why didn't you leave a note?"

"It was weird. We are not even friends."

"Well... I was very happy with the gift." Hermione crossed her arms, this place was freezing. That her feet got soaked from the water balloons Peeves threw at her didn't help. "I read the book several times."

"Seriously?" Parkinson looked dumbfounded.

The Gryffindor smiled shyly at her and nodded. Then she looked straight ahead, she didn't want to see her face when she asked that big question that was eating at her and making her cower: "Did you read it or did you just give me something at random?"

She said it. She had dared. But Parkinson said nothing. The silence passed painfully slowly for Hermione. She didn't dare turn around or insist on the answer. If she didn't answer, it must be that she had guessed correctly, she had only given her something unimportant, most likely it was a book that bored her or...

"I read it."

A tingle was born from the bottom of her stomach. Did she hear right? It must have been a dream. It couldn't be true. A joke maybe?

"And I also read it several times," the Slytherin confessed.

The warm emotion, that sweet hope, forced her to smile. She was really happy.

"I didn't think you liked reading!" Hermione screeched, very excited. Her feelings had overflowed. "I mean, none of my friends read for fun. Well, sometimes they do read but it's rare that they do... oh. I don't know if you read much. Maybe this is one of the few books that doesn't bore you to read? It's okay if you don't like reading as much as I do, as long as you like this one it's already great. It's not a…"

"Granger," she stopped her. She smiled her classic sideways smile. "There is something called air. You may not know it, but humans usually breathe it in between sentences so oxygen gets to the brain and there isn't a short circuit up there."

Hermione rolled her eyes, muttering that she was an idiot. Parkinson leaned against the wall and when she felt comfortable, she replied:

"My family had a publishing house. Doesn't it seem logical to you that they have been up to my ears in books? So yes, I like to read."

"It's just that I never saw you go to the library much and in classes…"

"I don't like reading class stuff for fun. Almost nobody likes it! And like I said, until recently, I had a publishing house. Why go to a library full of used books when they can give me new copies of whatever I want?"

"It's... a good point."

"Besides reading all the time and everywhere you kill your reputation. I know you are not interested in that, but I am, so I preferred to read alone."

"Did you come to read here?"

Parkinson looked at her in surprise. That was a clear yes. She raised her eyebrows, silently asking how she knew.

"I figured. You said it's a place you usually come to… and most of us avoid this tower, unless you need an owl, " she explained. The other nodded, muttering "It's true." "I never thought you would like to spend time in a place that is so…"

"Dirty? Unpleasant? Full of pesky animals?"

Hermione nodded and said:

"You are not selling me very well on the place that is so comfortable for you to read and come and cry…"

"I don't cry," she complained, and when she saw Hermione going to reply, she added, "Don't you dare say I do cry or I'll throw you out the window."

Hermione laughed, raising her hands in a gesture of peace. She glanced around her, smiled to herself as she recognized an owl. It was the one from her birthday breakfast! With his eyes so large he was impossible to mistake. It was the one Parkinson had used, no doubt. She walked there and reached out to try to greet it, but the Slytherin grabbed her wrist and pulled her down. Just in time to avoid the quick peck of the bird.

"Granger, this is Mr. Pest."

"I didn't think it was going to..."

"When I first tried to pet it, it bit my finger."

"He seems to hate people. He hurt Ron on my birthday, but I thought it was because he is bad with animals, they all attack him."

Parkinson began to play with the animal. She seemed to want to annoy it: she would bring her finger closer and when the owl made a pretense of biting her, she would move her hand away.

"How did you get him to listen to you?" He doesn't seem like a very reliable owl and you still had him hand me the book.

"In my heart I expected him to peck you and ruin your birthday."

Hermione frowned.

"Don't lie."

Parkinson chuckled and then, picking up the conversation again, said:

"Do I intimidate you yet?" Hermione was a bit taken aback by the question, so she clarified, "You said you weren't avoiding me because you wanted to."

"You don't intimidate me. Not in that way. It's a bit embarrassing to admit but... when I saw you cry that day on the patio I felt like it wasn't okay to just ignore you. Ever since I ran into you on the train, I kept seeing how everyone treated you horrible and I started to think that you didn't deserve that. " She looked at Parkinson's face, and her tone of voice changed to a more serious one. "I decided to give you a chance, see if you deserved it, so to speak. And when I did, I discovered too many things that I never imagined about you and that I liked. You're still a bore, yes," the Slytherin smiled at that point in the monologue, "but it was so striking to discover that you were more than a bore... I think... that excited me. When I finished reading 'Everything is White' I wanted to run to find you and tell you everything I thought about the story. But what if you hadn't read it? If talking to you about this book, how entertaining it was with you was not what I expected? Or if just one of these days I find out that you don't like me and this was all just a joke from you Slytherins…"

"You're a pretty cowardly Gryffindor."

Hermione felt like hitting her. Was it really time for another one of her jokes?

"I'm not hatching an evil plan to make fun of you," she clarified. "I only gave you the book because I wanted to. Besides, I never thought you would find out that I gave you the book …"

"I remembered you took it with you one day."

"Are you paying that much attention to me, Granger?" She tried to bite her. "Surely you were the one who was looking at me all this time in class and the hallways."

"I..." Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "I couldn't find the time to talk to you."

"One moment. Was it really you? Oh Merlin, I had no idea who was staring at me all this time, and it was you! The cowardly Gryffindor who did not dare to face me..." she sighed, and ended by saying, maliciously: "I already knew youI had a crush on me."

Hermione rolled her eyes and pursed her lips in annoyance. Parkinson soon broke down with laughter. She wiped a tear from her eyes, from so much that she laughed, and tried to calm it:

"Just kidding, Hermione."

"Did you just call me... Hermione?"

"What?" She said, in a reproachful tone. She looked at the owl in a childish attempt to feign disinterest. "You just made a speech about how much you are dying to talk to me. I guess that includes trying to be my friend."

"You gave me a book. You must be quite interested in me too."

"Whatever," she murmured. The Slytherin toyed with the ring on her finger and said, "Speaking of friends… What Potter and Weasley said, I won't. I'm not giving away your giant friend."

"Thanks."

"You guys are too crazy for me."

"Well, you didn't stop making fun of them all night..."

"Oh please, they were harmless comments. They're crybabies." Hermione shook her head, taking it for granted. "What you did wasn't even something that serious. I don't see the need for so much panic and secrecy."

"What did you think we were doing?"

"I don't know... Cut Mrs. Norris's hair, go draw mustaches for the students in the infirmary, have a threesome in the bathrooms..."

"What? You're unpleasant," Hermione said incredulously and laughed. "I think you have too much imagination…"

"Also paint a message in the hallways that says 'A Thousand Points to Gryffindor' signed by Dumbledore. Go wash Snape's hair…"

Hermione couldn't take it anymore, she laughed out loud. Pansy kept talking:

"Snape urgently needs to get his hair washed. It is too greasy. You surely would have become his favorite Gryffindors if you did him that favor." At her idea, she joined Hermione's giggles.

"If you told these jokes, Harry and Ron would like you better."

"Why would I want to be friends with those two?"

"You want to be my friend. Why not them too?"

"Better dead than friend of a Weasley."

"So you're not giving Ginny anything as a gift? I almost forgot to mention it, but ever since she learned that you gave me a book she insists that you will give her something for her birthday as well."

"Great, just what was missing," Pansy complained. Hermione laughed even more. "I'd rather ignore all of them. I just want to be your friend."

The Gryffindor was about to answer her with a smile from ear to ear, but the other spoke first:

"I don't mean I just want to be your friend." Her pale cheeks had taken on quite a bit of color. At that moment Hermione noticed that there was more light in the room, they had spent the whole night walking around the castle and chatting and it was already beginning to dawn. "I mean, I mean I want to talk to you. Not them. It's not that I'm dying for your friendship. You are not a big deal."

Hermione couldn't be irritated by that. It was fun to see her nervous.

"We have to go back to our common rooms," she saved her. The Slytherin was quite embarrassed and the more she talked, the more entangled she became. "It is already daylight."

Pansy looked out, noticing now that the sky was beginning to turn blue. Both girls walked towards the exit, the Slytherin a few steps ahead. "Goodbye Mr. Pest" she heard her say.

When Pansy opened the door, a transparent face was inches from her nose. A strange screech came from deep in her throat and she took a few steps back. She had a face worth framing. Hermione began to shake, holding back her laughter, she put her hands to her mouth trying to choke them back. The ghost wasted no time in moving and going elsewhere, not even one bit interested in the situation it had caused. "I was just pacing." Pansy, her face disheveled and dead with shame, growled, "Not. One. Word." Hermione couldn't take it anymore and laughed again. "Shh!" the Slytherin challenged her.

"I hate you and because of your giggles the teachers are going to discover us."

The two girls left the owlery and went straight to their respective common rooms. Fortunately for both, they were not discovered. Hermione went to bed a few hours before breakfast time, thinking that she had had a great Halloween night: shenanigans with her friends, scares, ghosts, mysterious rooms, cobwebs... and a snake a little sweeter than usual.