Not So Bad After All
by She's a Star
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, who is brilliant. I picked out Sinistra's first name, which was actually the name that JKR apparently had picked out for her in the first place.
Author's Note: This takes place sometime during 5th year - Ron and Hermione have had a few previous romantic encounters. I rambled on in this a bit more than I meant to: I meant to write a cutesy little 1000 or so word fic, and it morphed into 10 pages. But ah well. I had fun with it. I hope you enjoy it. :-)
Dedication: For those who loathe Valentine's Day as much as I do.
*
This was ridiculous.
Hermione Granger couldn't see why February 14th was different from any other day of the year; they still had lessons and homework and a normal schedule. Just because it happened to be Valentine's Day didn't mean that the entirety of Hogwarts school had to go mad over it.
But go mad, they did.
"I can't wait until tomorrow!" declared Parvati Patil fervently, collapsing onto her four-poster with flourish.
"Oh, I know," Lavender Brown agreed, giggling excitedly.
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"I overheard Seamus telling Dean that he got you chocolates on the last Hogsmeade visit," Parvati said, beaming.
Lavender burst into a fit of giggles. "Really? He's so sweet!"
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"I hope that Dean is going to get me something," Parvati continued, sighing in a most wistful manner.
"Oh, I'm sure he is!" Lavender squealed. She lowered her voice to a confidential whisper, ignoring the fact that Hermione was the only person in the room that could possibly overhear and on top of that did not care, and continued, "I overheard him saying he was going to get you a dozen roses." (Insert shriek of delight from Parvati here. Hermione rolled her eyes.) "Of course, Ron Weasley was giving him absolute grief about it."
At this, both girls' eyes flew simultaneously to Hermione, who fixed her own gaze very determinedly on the three hundred and fifty third page of her Arithmancy textbook.
"I can't help but pity any girl who's involved with Ron," Parvati said not-so-subtly, her tone rather haughty. "It's obvious that he completely misses the romance in Valentine's Day."
"Oh, I know," Lavender agreed, nodding fervently. "He's so immature."
Silence.
Hermione could feel their eyes on her.
Oh well. She could handle them. She had been handling them quite effectively since this silly obsession over Ron and herself had come up. Honestly; the one time that Ron finally chose to kiss her had to be in the middle of a very blazing, very public row in the middle of the Gryffindor common room.
He was so aggravating.
And she didn't like him one bit.
Not at all.
...Or at least, that was the facade that she would be firmly maintaining while around her fellow dormitory inhabitants.
"Oh, come on, Hermione!" the pair screeched simultaneously after a half a minute or so of unbearable silence.
"You never tell us anything about him," whined Lavender.
"Yeah! You're no fun at all!" Parvati complained. "You have to be at least a little bit excited about Valentine's Day!"
"Oh, really?" Hermione returned loftily, setting aside her Arithmancy book with reluctance. "Why should I be excited about it in the first place, may I ask?"
Parvati and Lavender exchanged gazes that clearly showed they thought her to possess no knowledge of any importance whatsoever, and Hermione felt vaguely affronted. Honestly. Why did they have to be so stupid all the time?
"We know that you like Ron, Hermione," Parvati said sternly.
Very nonchalantly, Hermione broke eye contact and picked up her textbook again, praying that she wouldn't go red.
This is nothing to be embarrassed about. Don't blush. Just tell them that you don't like him. Simple as that.
"I don't like him," she said, in a voice much meeker and less convincing than she'd been hoping for.
Damn.
...No.
Not damn.
First, he'd turned her into a blushing mini-scarlet woman, and now she'd picked up his vulgar swearing habits.
She honestly didn't know why she put up with Ron Weasley.
"Suuuure," Lavender said impatiently. "Hermione, the denial is completely useless. Why don't you just admit it? I mean, it's completely obvious that you like him."
"Which is why we're sorry for you," Parvati continued, her dark eyes wide with sympathy. "Hermione, I know it's useless for us to tell you this now, but you really should have picked Harry."
Lavender nodded. "Definitely."
"Picked....Harry?" Hermione repeated blankly.
"To be the one you liked, duh," Parvati said, rolling her eyes. "Harry's sweet. But Ron's just...not boyfriend material."
"He's so immature," contributed Lavender helpfully.
"You have to realize, Hermione," Parvati said very solemnly, "That if you're going to pick a guy like Ron Weasley to be your boyfriend-"
"Ron is not my boyfriend!" she cut in hotly.
Parvati ignored her. "-Then you have to accept that he's not going to do stuff that nice boyfriends do."
"Forget about the flowers," Lavender said sadly. "The candy. The teddy bears."
"The Valentine's Day cards," added Parvati tragically.
All right.
This was simply too much.
Hermione snorted, and the two of them looked at her with utmost disapproval.
"You're not taking this seriously," Lavender accused.
"I'm sorry," Hermione said acidly. "I wasn't aware that it was a serious situation. I'm sure that tomorrow means the world to the two of you, but I really can't see the appeal. Quite frankly, I don't care if Ron does a single romantic thing tomorrow. It's just a day, and as a matter of fact, I'd much rather he didn't do anything for this silly holiday! I. Don't. Care."
She slammed her Arithmancy book with flourish, and both Parvati and Lavender jumped in surprise.
With a little, self-satisfied smile, she said, "Now, I'd rather you didn't discuss it with me anymore, all right? I have homework to do."
(...Yes, it was next week's homework, but she liked to be ahead of things. So sue her.)
Parvati clicked her tongue in an incredibly annoying manner, and Lavender sighed a bit.
"You're going to regret saying that, Hermione," Lavender told her grimly.
Parvati nodded in agreement. "Trust us. We're experts."
*
The next morning, Hermione met Harry and Ron in the common room as usual, and they made their way down to breakfast (Hermione pointedly ignoring Parvati and Lavender's sympathetic glances in her direction all the while).
"Hermione?" Harry asked as they neared the Great Hall.
"Hmm?"
"Why do Parvati and Lavender keep...looking at you?"
"Oh," Hermione said, scoffing, "It's their foolish obsession with Valentine's Day. They're absolutely convinced that..."
She was suddenly painfully aware of Ron's presence, and she fell silent as a blush rose to her cheeks.
She really detested blushing.
"Convinced that what?" Harry asked; Hermione thought that she detected a hint of deviousness in his tone.
"Nothing," she said pointedly.
"Ruddy stupid holiday, anyway," Ron said, swinging open the door and holding it as Hermione crossed the threshold. "It always turns Ginny mental. She gets all giggly; blushing all the time and writing bloody stupid nursery rhymes."
Hermione noticed with a bit of satisfaction that Harry had gone a bit red himself at this.
"I mean, 'his eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad'," Ron continued, apparently oblivious as he punched Harry's shoulder lightly. "That was painful."
"It wasn't that bad," Harry protested weakly.
Ron studied him incredulously as they sat down at the far corner of the Gryffindor table. "Wasn't that bad?" he repeated in disbelief. "Harry, have you gone-"
Hermione cut him off with a swift elbow to his side, and he immediately let out a strangled cry of pain.
"Dammit, Hermione!" he yelped. "What was that bloody for?"
"Don't swear, Ron," she replied evenly.
He scowled at her, mumbling to himself as he filled his plate with pancakes and bacon.
The three of them ate in silence for a moment until they were disrupted by a delighted shriek from the other end of the table. Hermione looked up to see Lavender throwing her arms around Seamus, one hand clutching a heart-shaped box of chocolates. Seamus grinned, rather sheepishly, as she pecked him on the cheek.
"Bloody ridiculous," Ron mumbled, scoffing. "He's lost his mind...honestly..."
Hermione felt a twinge of something that felt dangerously like annoyance strike her for a moment, but she ignored it and sipped her pumpkin juice.
It was all right. She truly didn't care. Valentine's Day was utterly stupid, and she would be downright humiliated if Ron presented her with a bunch of lurid-colored gifts in front of the entire school, including Professor Snape. (Whose face, she noticed, had contorted into a rather ugly sneer.)
Nope. She was glad that he was just treating her like he always had. Glad that he completely ignored the fact that he'd kissed her two weeks before and had, only last Friday, gone for an evening stroll with her around the grounds holding her hand, kissing her on the cheek before they returned inside.
She did not care.
Not in the least.
Nope.
"Hello, Harry."
Hermione looked over to see that Ginny had approached them, smiling shyly.
"Hey, Ginny," Harry replied with a nervous half-smile. Hermione couldn't help but smile a bit as he ran his hand anxiously through his messy hair, making it even more disheveled.
It fell quiet again for a moment as Harry and Ginny exchanged shy smiles.
"Where're you going?" Harry finally asked.
"Back to Gryffindor Tower," Ginny replied. "I forgot my Transfiguration book."
"I'll go with you," Harry said, standing up at once.
Ginny's cheeks flushed a bit. "All right."
The pair left the Great Hall, talking quietly to one another. Hermione heard Ginny giggle softly before they disappeared from sight completely.
"They're really sweet," she said absently.
"Uuuugggghhh," Ron replied in a tone of utmost disgust. "What are you talking about? I don't know how he can like my sister, for God's bloody sake."
Hermione ignored the fact that his last statement had been rather sacrilegious, and instead replied, a bit curtly, "Harry can like Ginny if he wants to, Ron. She's not just your sister, you know."
Ron nodded reluctantly. "I guess. But...this whole stupid holiday." He shoved a forkful of pancakes into his mouth and continued talking through the food. Hermione cringed. "It'so pawfetic." He swallowed and took a swig of juice. "It's disgusting, how Seamus and Dean are acting. Completely giving up all their dignity so they have an excuse to snog their girlfriends."
Hermione felt anger welling up inside her, and had a feeling that attempting to muster it wouldn't work. After all, why should she be forced to pretend to be completely unaffected when he was acting so insensitively?
"Lemme tell you Hermione," he continued, stuffing a slice of bacon into his mouth and chewing loudly while he spoke. "I'm glad you don't get so caught up in this stupid stuff. I don't have to act like a bloody moron and waste all my money on pink teddy bears for you."
All right. This was enough.
"So I suppose you don't think I'm worth all that, do you?" she questioned furiously. "You don't want to subject yourself to one day of the year where you're actually nice to me???"
"What?" he asked blankly. "Hermione, I thought-"
"That's perfectly all right, though, Ron!" she continued shrilly, her voice growing louder with each word. "I mean, it's obvious where I stand! Somewhere in between your money and bacon! Thanks, Ron, I'm really flattered!"
The table had gone quite silent by now, and the majority of the Great Hall inhabitants were watching with wide eyes. Had Hermione not been too angry to care, she would have seen Lavender and Parvati exchange a knowing look. She may have also noticed Professor Snape sweeping away from the staff table and toward them; he had a sixth sense that apparently informed him when situations would explode amongst Gryffindors that would require much point-reduction.
"Hermione, don't tell me you've gone mental over this stupid excuse for a holiday like everyone else!" Ron snapped back. "I thought I could at least count on you not to lose your head over this."
"Why shouldn't I, Ron Weasley?" she demanded ferociously. "I'm completely entitled to enjoying Valentine's Day! I'm a girl, aren't I? Or perhaps you've forgotten that little fact again!"
"Listen, Hermione!" he shouted back, his ears flaming as he stood up to face her. "Just because I kissed you once or twice doesn't mean that I'm suddenly going to turn into your stupid, pathetic bloody boyfriend!"
The comment caught her off-guard. She hadn't expected anything he said to sting - she was too angry to take offense from his replies. Or so she'd thought.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, she felt as though a needle had pierced her heart; she felt strangely dizzy for a moment, and tears stung in the corners of her eyes.
But she wasn't going to cry in front of him.
No; she wouldn't even dream of giving him the satisfaction. If he thought she was entirely unimportant, then that was completely all right with her. She didn't even like him, anyway. She thought he was rude and mean and immature and conceited and unbearable, and she didn't like him one bit.
And yet thinking these things didn't stop the fact that her vision had blurred, and tears would no doubt be spilling down her cheeks dangerously soon.
And so Hermione Granger did the only thing that she possibly could do:
She lifted the pitcher of pumpkin juice from the table and hurled it at him with all her might.
But strangely, even the sight of a completely shocked Ron dripping with pumpkin juice didn't make her feel the least bit better.
"Y...you....you're bloody insane!" he sputtered, staring at her in horror.
All right.
Maybe a little bit better.
"Weasley! Granger!"
...And the 'better' had officially, not to mention completely, disappeared.
Hermione cringed as Professor Snape stepped forward, a cruel smirk twisting his lips.
"Much as we all love to witness your little....lovers' quarrels, Miss Granger, and I assure you, we do, mercilessly hurling a pitcher of pumpkin juice at a fellow student simply isn't acceptable." Snape shook his head at her in feigned disapproval, dark eyes sparkling maliciously. "Tsk, tsk, Miss Granger. This sort of abominable behavior certainly isn't that expected of school Prefects. I'm afraid that I'll have to take twenty points from Gryffindor, and both you and Mr. Weasley will attend detention this evening at seven o'clock." A rather wicked smile played around the corners of his mouth. "Happy Valentine's Day."
And with that, he turned and swept out of the Great Hall in true overgrown-bat fashion, leaving Ron and Hermione to stare blankly after him.
After a moment of stunned silence, the large room once again filled with casual chatter, and Hermione timidly looked over at Ron.
"That was great of you, really," he said sarcastically. "Way to say 'I love you' on Valentine's Day."
She fixed him with a glare. "Believe me, Ron, that wasn't the message I was going for."
He scowled back at her, wringing the pumpkin juice from the sleeves of his robes. "I noticed."
*
The rest of the day passed treacherously slowly, and what with Ron refusing to speak to her and Parvati and Lavender shooting her 'I told you so' looks throughout all of their lessons, Hermione was in a downright nasty mood by the time seven o'clock rolled around. She stood up from the sofa where she'd been talking with Harry and Ginny - or rather, watching them flirt shyly with one another - and left Gryffindor Tower scowling. Though she wasn't about to admit it, Ron was right - his younger sister and best friend could get rather annoying after awhile.
Or perhaps she was a bit biased, as she currently loathed February the 14th with every fiber of her being.
...Nah.
Sighing, she made her way down to the dungeons, the temperature steadily decreasing as she drew closer to Snape's classroom. Vaguely, she wondered what sort of torture he'd force them through that evening, though nothing, she decided, was as torturous as being stuck with Ron in the middle of one of their rows.
But honestly! He was so disgustingly insensitive. Hermione wasn't quite sure if he realized how badly he'd hurt her feelings, and found herself hoping that he hadn't. Because if he would say something like that to her, fully aware of how cruel it was, then...
She sighed as she reached the dungeon, and discovered that Ron was already standing at the door, staring through a rather narrow crack in it.
"What are you doing?" she demanded snappishly as she approached him.
He jumped, then turned with a finger to his lips and a glare on his face. "Shhh," he instructed irritably.
She rolled her eyes, but obeyed.
"So," a familiar female voice that she couldn't place questioned from inside, "What did you get me for Valentine's Day?"
"Please, Auriga, don't even joke of such things."
"Who's joking, Sev?"
"You know I hate that detestable little nickname."
"Thus the basis of its appeal."
"Clever."
Hermione leaned over a bit, curious now as to who Snape was talking to.
"It's Sinistra," Ron whispered, as though reading her mind. He moved aside a bit and beckoned for Hermione to stand closer. She peeked curiously through the crack to see the petite Astronomy teacher perched nonchalantly on Snape's desk. He was sitting at it, glaring up at her.
"Now, Auriga, much as I love your company, please remove yourself from my presence. Granger and Weasley are due down her any moment to serve their detention."
"Ah," Sinistra smiled. "They're quite a couple, don't you think?"
"They sicken me," Snape replied bitterly. "They're so painfully obvious, and too pigheaded to admit anything. It's infuriating."
"My, my, my," Sinistra replied rather coquettishly. "Doesn't that sound familiar."
"No," Snape said at once.
"You're incredibly annoying," she informed him, draping her arms around the potions master's shoulders. Hermione heard a smothered sound of disgust escape Ron's lips. She rather couldn't blame him.
"Auriga, am I the only one who heard myself tell you, quite clearly, to leave?"
"Oh, no, darling," Sinistra replied, voice teasing. "I simply know that's your own twisted way of saying 'I love you. Be mine forever'."
"If that's what you think, my dear, you're sadly mistaken."
An abrupt silence fell upon them, and Hermione had to shove her fist into her mouth to stop from bursting into laughter. This was no doubt the most awkward thing she'd witnessed in quite sometime.
"You just called me 'my dear'," Sinistra pointed out triumphantly.
"That, Auriga, is called sarcasm. In case you hadn't noticed, I use it quite often."
"That wasn't sarcasm," Sinistra protested. "You're madly in love with me, Sev. Admit it."
"That's nonsense. Now, leave before those two abominable Gryffindors get here."
"It was stupid of you to give them detention, you know, love."
"Oh, yes, Auriga." There was the sarcasm. "That situation certainly proved my blatant favoring of the Slytherin House. Most behavior of that caliber is tolerated around here, after all."
"Sev, it's Valentine's Day. You shouldn't force the poor kids to come sort rat spleens or whatever grotesque punishment you have in store for them. Let them be together; it's obvious there's a spark there, and you're attempting to kill it."
Hermione felt her cheeks go crimson, and was suddenly very aware of the fact that her arm was brushing against Ron's. She found herself wishing that she could just leave, but found herself rooted to the spot, in some sick twist of Fate.
"Besides," Sinistra continued, rather slyly, "I know why you're doing this."
"Oh, really?"
"Yup," Sinistra said, pausing for a moment before proclaiming, "You're still bitter about that time I threw the coffee mug at you back in 1991."
A beat.
"That is ridiculous."
"Oh, no it isn't. You're still absolutely livid about it, and you weren't about to have it happen again without seeing some proper punishment. You're...good God, Snape, you're sticking up for Ron Weasley."
"I am doing no such thing."
"Oh, but you are!" Sinistra cackled delightedly. "Oh, darling, I knew there was some good in you somewhere!"
"There is no such thing."
"Sure there is. You're repeating yourself; you always repeat yourself when you lie," she said. "And now you're giving them detention, and you get to spend the whole time reflecting on the brave, selfless thing you've done!" She paused, then added, very evilly indeed, "Why, Sev...you're acting so...Gryffindor."
"I won't tolerate this anymore," Snape spat, standing up from his desk abruptly and pushing Sinistra away from him.
"Quick," Ron muttered, grabbing Hermione's arm and pulling her away from the door. "Now, act like we just got here. Slimy bastard will kill us otherwise."
Hermione nodded, choosing not to reprimand him over his choice of foul language, and followed Ron as he approached the door casually. Sure enough, Snape burst out, looking positively livid.
"Granger!" he snapped. "Weasley! You're late."
"I'm sorry, Professor," Hermione replied at once, attempting to ignore the fact that the single most hated individual at Hogwarts was apparently involved in a secret love affair with the Astronomy teacher so she wouldn't burst into laughter.
However, quite inconveniently, Sinistra chose that moment to walk out of the classroom, a wry smile on her face. Hermione bit her lip to keep from dissolving into mirth, and she heard Ron give a short laugh next to her that he quickly disguised as a cough.
"Now, get in here and-"
Sinistra cleared her throat pointedly, and all three gazes fell upon her.
"Professor Snape was just about to tell you that your detentions have been canceled," Sinistra cut in, smiling rather wickedly. "He overreacted earlier, as he often does, and decided that you two don't deserve to spend Valentine's Day sorting potions ingredients." Snape's glare had turned all-out lethal, and Sinistra added, "Besides, he wants to spend the evening with me, you know. There's roses, wine, a candlelit dinner for two set up in there already. He's really a hopeless romantic, once you get to know him."
The vein in Snape's temple was throbbing with flourish, and he clenched and unclenched his fists madly.
"All right," Ron said, his voice oddly strangled due to the laughter he was no doubt struggling to hold back. "G'night, then."
"Good night, Ron, Hermione," Sinistra said gently before lacing her arm through Snape's and steering him back into the dungeon. The door closed behind them with a soft 'click', and Ron and Hermione stared at one another in utter disbelief. A heavy silence hung in the air.
"Er...well," Hermione said weakly as they began to walk.
This apparently set Ron off. He burst into laughter that bounced and echoed through the dark corridor around them.
"That was the scariest bloody thing I've ever seen in my entire life," Ron said, gasping for air. "I can't believe it! Valentine's Day even turns Snape into a sap!" He took a few more deep breaths, apparently striving to compose himself. "Good God. This bloody holiday's turned everyone insane."
And she suddenly remembered that she was, in fact, mad at him.
"Right," she agreed tersely.
Ron seemed to realize that what he'd said had struck a nerve, and he looked at her tentatively. "Er...Hermione. I'm sorry about earlier. I really am."
She looked at him skeptically.
"I just...Hermione, I thought you didn't care about that stuff."
"I don't," she replied shortly.
This answer apparently wasn't enough for him, as he still looked at her expectantly.
"Well...not really," she elaborated. "I just...Ron, you made it pretty clear how you feel about me."
He froze.
"What?"
"Well, just the way you were going on," she said uncomfortably; she wished they were still walking. It gave her a bit of a distraction. "I...you don't think of me as...er..."
Well, this was fabulous.
"Hermione," he said weakly, "I'm...er...let's see, how did Harry put it? Oh, yeah; pathetically smitten with you."
She felt a blush rise to her cheeks again, only this time, it was rather nice.
"Really?" she asked softly.
He nodded. "Hermione, I...I like you. A lot. But...you don't seem like you want all that stuff. And I don't want to seem like I'm trying too hard, with the flowers and the candy and all of that. I just...want your company. I thought...maybe you'd feel the same way."
All right. Her heart was officially melting.
But he'd been mean to her, the logical side of her brain kept protesting. Horribly mean! She had no reason to forgive him!
...Except that he looked so adorable, with that hopeful half-smile, half-anxiety driven frown on his face, staring at her with those rich chocolate brown eyes.
"I do," she said weakly.
He grinned a bit, looking utterly relieved. "Well...er...good. 'Cause so do I."
"You said that already," she reminded him, giggling a little.
"Yeah," he said sheepishly. "I did, didn't I?"
She nodded, taking a few steps toward him. A bit shyly, she slung her arms over his shoulders and smiled up at him. He grinned back, leaning down a bit. She closed her eyes.
Perhaps Valentine's Day wasn't so bad, after all.
FIN
A/N2: Yikes. Went off on a bit of a Snape/Sinistra tangent there. That was entirely unintentional. I'm just...obsessed with that ship.
And this fic was also far longer than I'd planned.
Ah well.
Hope you liked it.
Happy V-Day, all. :-)
(Even though I do happen to loathe it. Hope it's nice for you, anyway. Yup.)
And for those of you who would like to know more about the great Snape/Sinistra coffe mug incident, just check out my fic Lamentations of a Starry-Eyed Twit, and its companion, Gedia Kacela's Diaries of a Dungeon-Dwelling Moron. Not to shamelessly self-promote, or anything. ;-)
Good bye, then!