Hermione snuggled closer to Draco as the bitter wind whipped around them as they headed down to Hogsmeade. The couple and their friends had debated whether or not to make the trip down to the village in such cold weather, but with no firm plans over what to do if they'd stayed at the castle, they'd decided to make the trip regardless of the weather. However, Hermione was now seriously doubting their decision as it was far colder than she'd thought, and since they'd been visiting the village since third year, it wasn't as if they would be doing something new.
"Maybe we should have stayed at the castle," Draco muttered in her ear. "We could have spent the day huddled up in bed."
"Don't tempt me, I could easily turn around and go back to school," Hermione replied.
"If that's what you want to do, just say the word and we can go back," Draco offered.
"Maybe if you'd suggested it ten minutes earlier, but we're almost at the village now," Hermione said with a shrug. "We'll just have to brave the cold a bit longer."
"I think the first think we should do is call into The Three Broomsticks and warm ourselves up with some hot chocolate," Draco suggested.
Hermione normally wasn't one for drinking sweet things like hot chocolate before lunch, but given how cold it was right at the moment, it sounded like the perfect idea. In fact, everyone else agreed with Draco and the moment they arrived in the village, they headed straight for the welcoming pub and commandeered a table right beside the roaring fire.
"Ooh, that's nice," Daphne remarked as she pulled her gloves off and wiggled her fingers in front of the hot flames.
"I didn't realise it was so bitter," Hermione said, joining her friend in warming her fingers by the fire.
"Apparently snow is on the way," Blaise said as he and Theo returned from the bar, where they'd been placing their orders.
"It's going to be quite bad apparently," Theo added. "It could last for several weeks."
"As long as it waits until we're back at the castle," Draco said. "Then it can snow all it wants."
When the hot chocolates arrived, the teenagers warmed their hands on the mugs and their insides with the sweet chocolate drink. As they discussed where else they wanted to go, they ordered second drinks and lingered so long that it was late morning by the time they reluctantly wrapped back up to brave the elements. In fact those people who preferred an early lunch had already begun to arrive, and they knew that within an hour the pub would be bursting to the seams with hungry Hogwarts students.
Hoping that the time meant the shops would be quieter, meaning they could finish quicker and return to Hogwarts, the Slytherins made their way towards the front entrance. Just as they reached the front door, it swung open and Hermione had to step backwards to avoid being hit in the face. Automatically moving to the side to allow the people outside to enter the pub, Hermione was stunned when the familiar faces of Harry and Ron stepped into the warmth, followed by Dean and Seamus.
"What on earth are you two doing here?" Draco demanded, finding his voice before Hermione.
"It's a free country," Harry retorted sharply.
"Just," Ron muttered, glaring at Hermione. "You can't stop us being here. We can visit Hogsmeade if we wish."
"No-one said you couldn't," Hermione replied, shrugging off the shock at seeing the two wizards who had once classed her as their friend.
"Well then, leave us the hell alone," Harry snapped.
"Now that's not very friendly, Harry," Hermione teased with a smirk. "Anyone would think you didn't like me."
"What gave it away?" Harry muttered sarcastically.
"We both know how you feel about me, Harry," Hermione purred silkily, moving forward so her lips almost brushed Harry's ear. "Hate is only part of what you feel. The rest is much naughtier."
Hermione smirked as Harry shivered slightly, and giving him a knowing smile, she wished the Gryffindors a good afternoon and headed out of the pub with her head held high. She knew her friends were following her, and she didn't even have to look at them to know they were all staring at her with identical looks of shock. After all, she'd just blatantly flirted with Harry, and he'd visibly reacted to it.
"What the hell was that?" Draco finally hissed in a low voice, grabbing hold of Hermione's arm and bringing her to a halt.
"What?" Hermione asked innocently, removing her arm from Draco's loose grip.
"You know what," he shot back. "Flirting with Potter. I honestly thought you were going to kiss him."
"It did cross my mind," Hermione admitted with a chuckle. "As for the flirting, I was just stirring the pot. Did you see the disgusted look on Ron's face? I'm guessing he isn't aware that Harry lusts after me."
"Potter lusts after you?" Draco questioned with a growl, looking as though he wanted to tear Harry's head from his shoulders.
"I didn't notice until just before Christmas," Hermione admitted. "But I caught him looking at me. He denied it, but we both know the truth. He hates my guts, but he also wants me."
"To be fair, Weasley probably lusts after you as well," Blaise interjected. "I doubt there's a male at Hogwarts who doesn't."
"Zabini," Draco growled menacingly, glaring at his best friend.
"Face it Draco, your girlfriend is hot," Blaise laughed, not at all bothered by Draco's glare. "You can't blame Potter for noticing that."
"I guess not," Draco admitted with a sigh. "But I don't like it."
"It's not like I'm going to run off with him," Hermione chuckled. "I was just stirring the pot. Now Harry will have to explain his reaction to Ron."
"And you think it will cause trouble between them?" Daphne asked.
"I don't know, but it was just fun to mess with them," Hermione said with a shrug. "Besides, they had Dean and Seamus with them, so I was always going to play nice."
"I wonder what they were doing with them," Theo mused as the group began to move again. "What do you think that little meeting was about?"
"Probably Potter and Weasley drumming up support to fight Hermione and her father," Draco predicated. "We did say they weren't going to slip away quietly."
"Do you think they'll get anywhere with Finnigan and Thomas?" Daphne asked.
"I don't know," Hermione replied honestly. "The fact they've both returned to school gives me hope they're not interested in fighting, but you can never be too sure. I suppose Harry and Ron could convince them tonight alongside them. We'll just have to wait and see what happens."
Determined not to worry about what Harry and Ron were up to, Hermione focused on her friends and as they toured the shops they wished to visit she focused on Draco and assuring him that her flirtation with Harry was just to mess with his head. By the time they headed back up to Hogwarts, their encounter with Harry and Ron was forgotten and Draco was content that he was the only wizard Hermione had eyes for.
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Following Bill and Charlie's advice, Harry and Ron had received a list of the Hogsmeade dates from Dean and Seamus. While Bill and Charlie were working out the perfect day to implement the plan they were working on for Draco, Harry and Ron had arranged to use the first visit to go up and see their friends. As it had been suggested, they were hoping that speaking to Dean and Seamus in person would secure their support.
Both Harry and Ron were fairly nervous about the meeting as the previous term things had gotten pretty tense between themselves and Dean and Seamus. However, the boys seemed happy to see them and everything was going swimmingly until they'd decided to head to the pub for an early lunch.
What no-one had expected was for them to run into Hermione and her gang of Slytherins. And Harry certainly hadn't expected her to flirt with him and virtually announce to everyone that he lusted after her. Unfortunately, that was exactly what she did, and despite himself he reacted to having her so close to him, whispering seductively in his ear.
"What was that?" Ron hissed accusingly once the foursome were sat down.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, wondering if he could downplay the incident with Hermione.
"You practically coming in your pants at the sight of Hermione," Ron spat disgustedly. "Don't tell me you fancy her, Harry."
"I do not fancy her," Harry insisted. "I hate her. But you can't help but notice her these days, you can't deny that, Ron."
"He's got you there, Ron," Dean remarked with a chuckle. "You'd have to be blind not to notice Hermione now."
"Okay, so she's not exactly hard on the eyes," Ron conceded. "But she's bad to the bone, you know that Harry. Hot she may be, but evil runs through her veins."
"I know that, and I hate that she has that effect on me," Harry muttered. "But before Christmas she noticed something in the way I looked at her, and after today I would say she was going to try and use it against me. But it won't work. I may respond physically to her, but I hate her. I want her gone, Ron, just like you do."
"I suppose you can't help it that she's manipulating your lustful urges," Ron eventually conceded with a sigh. To be honest if Hermione had whispered in his ear the way she had with Harry, he wasn't sure he wouldn't have reacted the same way as his friend had done. As evil as she was, there was something so very alluring and sexual about Hermione these days, and it seemed as though she knew exactly how to use it to gain the upper hand.
"Let's just forget about Hermione for the moment," Harry suggested. He knew they would need to raise the topic with Dean and Seamus if they wanted them to fight with them, but he suspected they needed to ease into things if they wanted to gain their support. "Let's order some food and Dean and Seamus can fill us in about life at Hogwarts."
Once food was ordered and they had drinks, Harry and Ron listened and asked questions as Dean and Seamus filled them in on their first few weeks of school. Aside from the change to Dark Arts, it seemed as though everything else was the virtually the same as when Harry and Ron had been at school.
"I guess the biggest difference is in the dorms," Seamus said. "It is so strange there just being the two of us in there."
"Yeah, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss you guys and your snoring," Dean said with a laugh.
"It must be strange," Harry conceded. "Have you heard from Neville?"
"Yeah, we keep in touch," Seamus replied with a nod. "He was telling us about his home schooling. He's wanting to do something with his interest in Herbology, so he's determined to get the best grades he can. Although apparently his gran is a bit of a slave driver, and he says he does more work now then when he was at school."
"What about you two?" Dean asked. "How are you enjoying home schooling?"
"We're not doing any," Harry admitted. "We were refused permission to be home schooled."
"How can you be refused permission?" Seamus questioned with a frown. "No-one can stop you learning from home."
"No, but the exams are set by Hogwarts and you either have to be in school or be registered for home schooling in order to sit them," Harry explained. "So we could do our school work, but it would be for no reason as we wouldn't have a chance to sit our exams and earn our N.E.W.T.S."
"That sucks," Dean said sympathetically. "But why were you refused home schooling and Neville was allowed it?"
"We don't know, we were just told we don't have a valid reason for not returning to Hogwarts," Harry answered with a shrug.
"We think Hermione may have played a part in it," Ron added. "She always was friendly with Neville. She's likely whispered in her father's ear and convinced him to give Neville what he wants."
"And you think she's done the opposite with you two?" Seamus questioned, easily able to read between Ron's words.
"She's hardly going to make life easy for us," Harry said. "She hates us."
"I'm not so sure she does," Dean argued. "Yes, you are natural enemies due to who her father is, and there is no denying she used you until the truth about her came out. But I don't believe she hates you. I think if she hated you, she would have done something about it long before now."
"You mean like turning our friends against us like she did last year," Ron sneered.
"You two did that all by yourselves," Seamus said firmly. "I'm still not sure what exactly happened, but you chose to lash out at the people closest to you. You showed what you truly thought of us."
"We're sorry about that," Harry said quickly, jumping in before Ron could say something scathing.
"And we've forgiven you," Dean replied softly. "But we won't fight with you."
"How do you know we were going to mention fighting?" Ron asked, rather shocked by Dean's blunt statement.
"As we said, we're in touch with Neville," Seamus remarked with a shrug. "He told us about your plans to form an army. He said you'd tried to recruit him and he'd refused."
"He also said that since then he hadn't heard anything from you," Dean added, sounding mildly accusing.
"We've been busy," Ron muttered defensively. "In case it escaped your notice, our world has been taken over by dark wizards."
"Yet nothing has really changed," Seamus pointed out. "It would be different if there was an outright war. But really, it's just as though there's been a change in the wizard who is Minister. I know he's got a history and he's capable of darkness, but it seems as though he's content with the power he's got now."
"If you believe that then you're stupider than you look," Ron snorted. "This peace won't last. He's lulling people into a false sense of security. Once you're all meek and doing what he wants, he'll strike and destroy you all."
"Why would he need to destroy anyone if they're doing as he wants?" Dean questioned. "He may not be the people's choice as Minister, but he hasn't shown himself to be the dictator we've always feared. So right at this moment, I say we have more to lose fighting than we do by doing as he wants. I'm sorry, but at this moment in time, we won't be joining you and we won't be fighting."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Harry said with a sigh, recognising that they were going to get nowhere with Dean and Seamus. "I just hope you don't live to regret your inaction."
"And I hope you two don't live to regret your actions," Dean countered softly.
Knowing there was nothing more to be said, Harry and Ron said their goodbyes and left their old friends to enjoy the rest of their Hogsmeade visit. It was time for them to return to Grimmauld Place to break the news that they were alone. The meagre forces of The Order would have to be enough to take on The Dark Lord, his daughter and their Death Eaters. And if it wasn't, then at least they would die fighting the good fight and doing the right thing, which was more than most people could say.