Hermione spun around in her seat, astonished by the lack of tact from her two friends. She swatted at Draco, who was standing behind her seat, and Ginny, knowing she was next, deftly took a step back from Heather's spot. "Don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop?" she hissed venomously. Neither Ginny now Draco seemed to hear her though.
"So, are you Zach's secret girlfriend?" asked Ginny, her eyes bright and mischievous.
"And answer the question already; were you the one kissing with him?" Draco drawled.
Heather had turned bright red, and opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, as if she knew what she wanted to say, but couldn't get it out.
"Stop it already, you two." Hermione scolded them. "Let her have a moment. This isn't an interrogation."
"Says you." Draco muttered, grinning.
Ginny came over to Heather's other side and leaned on the table in front of her. "Look. We just wanted to know if you and Zach have more than a 'teacher-student' relationship. He's our friend, and we just want to know why he's keeping this a secret from us."
Heather seemed to finally have found her voice again. "He asked me out after the waltzing class last Friday. I had strayed from my friends to take a quick bathroom break, and when I came back out, he was there, waiting for me. He asked me if we could talk privately, so we went to a deserted corridor, and then it just sort of happened. Please don't be angry with him; I'm sure he would have told you guys in due time. Maybe he was just planning the best way to deliver the news."
Draco snorted. "It's been a week, for Merlin's sake. Don't worry, though. He'll get his just rewards soon enough."
"So that's why he took so long 'using the bathroom' after the waltzing class." said Ginny thoughtfully. "And here I thought it was because he has a-"
"There's Zacharias." said Hermione weakly, interrupting whatever new insult Ginny had prepared to throw at their friend.
Zacharias came strolling into the Great Hall yawning, and still seemed to be partly asleep. It wasn't until he was halfway across the room that he looked up at his usual table, and then all the blood drained from his face as he stopped dead in his tracks.
Smirking, Draco extended one finger and motioned for him to come right up. Zacharias took a look at the blushing Heather, and swallowed. His cowardliness was telling him to make a run for it, while his love for her told him to man up for once. After a moment, Zacharias marched up slowly to his impending doom.
He stopped right in front of Hermione and Heather's table, squeaked a timid "Good morning," and tried to avoid the leers of Draco and Ginny. Hermione attempted to smile supportively, but Zacharias looked at Heather only.
"So, Zach." Ginny started, walking over to her usual spot and sitting down. "Hermione and Draco just met Heather this morning. I would've introduced her sooner, but somehow, we have no classes together this year. I almost even forgot that I briefly made her acquaintance in our second year. Remember Herbology that year? The day before the holiday break?"
Zacharias grimaced, while a smile began to tug at the ends of Heather's lips. Whatever the memory was, it seemed worth asking about later, and Hermione made a mental note in her head to try and find out sometime later.
"Anyways, Zach. Hermione and I happened to stumble across you two, ah, displaying affection in a classroom last night. Combined with Lady Montecino's words on Sunday, we began to wonder if you were possibly keeping a secret from us." Draco feigned hurt and concern, but Hermione internally rolled her eyes at his blunt approach.
"But we know you'd never keep a secret from us, Zach, since we are friends after all, aren't we?" Ginny asked slyly.
"Erm." Zacharias seemed unable to speak past monosyllable words. "Yes?"
"So… why were you guys kissing?"
Zacharias studied his shoes for a moment and then sucked in a deep breath. "Because we're dating?"
"My, my! When did this happen?" asked Draco with mock surprise.
"Um… lately?" Zacharias mumbled, glancing at his girlfriend for help. However, in the presence of the three famous people, she couldn't do much. At long last, after Ginny contemplated his response, she said, "Breakfast won't last forever. Why don't you take Heather back to her table, and we can continue this little discussion later? Perhaps at the waltzing class tonight?"
Zacharias started, and then hurriedly grabbed Heather's hand and pulled her away as fast as possible. As the trio watched the couple walk to Hufflepuff's table, Hermione sighed happily. She was happy that Zacharias had found someone that could tolerate his strange character even more so than they could. On the other hand, his evasiveness meant more trouble for him later, and she shuddered inwardly after thinking of Draco and Ginny teasing him nonstop the whole day. Why of all days does this have to happen during a Friday? she thought, imagining Draco and Ginny pushing Heather and Zacharias together at every moment. Thank Merlin Heather doesn't have any classes with us. I wonder who would be annoyed to death first: her, Zacharias, or me.
Draco took over Heather's vacated seat and helped himself to sausage. "Today's going to be fun." he said happily, scraping Hermione's leftovers onto his own plate. For some reason, he liked to do that, eating the remains of her meal. Hermione didn't quite understand why, but thought it was cute all the same, and replied cheekily, "Sure, for you and Ginny. Poor Zacharias." Little gestures of affection like that always made her mood improve, no matter what.
"It builds character." Ginny grinned as Zacharias slowly made his way back. He sat down quietly at his seat, looking at anywhere but Draco and Ginny. Again, Hermione tried to make her sympathy known, but it was overlooked a second time.
Surprisingly, Draco and Ginny kept quiet throughout breakfast. It was during class that the onslaught began. Hermione was left to ponder just how vicious her two friends could be when it was finally lunchtime. Zacharias seemed to be on the verge of his breaking point, and Ginny and Draco looked immensely smug. But after Zacharias saw an encouraging look from Heather during lunch, his resolve strengthened and he kept his head held high throughout the afternoon classes.
Ginny and Draco, however, seemed to accept the challenge with glee. Hermione secretly wondered if they were verbal sadists by dinnertime. True, Zacharias had had it coming for him when he kept a secret this big, but Hermione didn't think he deserved that much.
However, during the waltzing class, Ginny was happily bossing the second and third years around and left Zacharias alone to talk to Heather, who seemed amused at his tales of misfortune and suffering from Draco and Ginny that day, but consoled him nevertheless. Draco, for his part, was too busy spinning Hermione around the Great Hall to the heavenly music of the harp to spare a thought for Zacharias. Men are funny creatures. Hermione decided.
On Saturday, it was a Hogsmeade day for all students. Although Zacharias was reluctant, at Ginny's urging, Heather was invited to come with the four to visit and then have lunch together at "The Bloody Mary." She accepted happily, thrilled to be able to have some "girl time" with Hermione and Ginny, and Zacharias's spirits were uplifted when Draco told him that he and Ginny were done tormenting him, as Friday had been enough to last him a solid half-year.
They enjoyed a lovely morning, for the air was crisp with a light breeze, but the sun was out and shining as well, casting a warm glow over the little town of Hogsmeade. However, the fuss over Trevor Birch and his parents was still blossoming there, and Hermione was annoyed to see him strutting around the village as if he owned the place and signing autographs for people as if it was a painful and challenging task.
Draco was even more irritated. "Bloody git." he muttered as they left "The Bloody Mary" having finally finished lunch although the place was crowded and loud since Trevor conveniently chose to have lunch at the same time and place as them.
"At least you don't have to have a meeting with him tomorrow." Ginny replied glumly. Hermione felt bad for her. Initially, poking fun at Zacharias had amused her to no end, but now that she had backed off, she seemed oddly lonely. While Hermione and Draco walked hand and hand on one side of the street, so did Heather and Zacharias, leaving Ginny right in the middle. Hermione hadn't thought of how much Ginny missed Harry, which was obviously more than how much she let on, and resolved to ask Lady Montecino what she thought would cheer Ginny up.
After returning to Hogwarts, Zacharias excused himself and Heather to go to the library to work, as Heather's homework was different from theirs since she was not in any NEWT classes, and he had to tutor her as well as get his own homework done, so it was easier for them to work alone. Hermione had insisted Ginny stay with her and Draco, as they worked wonderfully as a group, but Ginny smirked, saying that Draco needed some alone time with his girlfriend, and that she was welcome to work with Rolf and Luna at any time. They would probably go visit Hagrid, too, as well as Buckbeak. At that, Draco soured a little, and Hermione let Ginny go, not wanting Draco to be forced to relive his past.
Hence, Hermione and Draco spent the afternoon completing essays, mastering spells, and memorizing properties. The homework was seemingly exponentially increasing, and Hermione knew that they had to get serious starting next week. Fun time's over. she thought miserably.