Hello, my freaky darlings. Thank you for the suggestions and kind words. My new fun is twice weekly testing of the staff for COVID. We have our own rapid testing machine. Which is nice, it also means that I have processed 390 specimens in two weeks. As always: I own nothing, and I adore all of you to the moon and back.

Chapter 57

Staging a public break up took prep work and time. It took a multi tiered plan according to Tracy. Pansy, pretending to backslide, began to make comments in their common room to undermine Tracy's confidence in Harry. Snide asides about how friendly he looked with other girls, pointing out how much higher his financial and social standing was compared to hers. "Merlin, I am such a bitch." she complained to Hermione. "And worst of all, I don't actually want him, have no intention of officially dating him, so he's fresh meat on the marriage market. The vultures will be circling in minutes."

"Harry can handle himself. He's going to try to keep from committing to solo dates. His plan is to be a bit of a git. But group dates will protect him from underhanded deeds. He's going to publicly check his food and drinks for potions."

"So, a tease, not a man slag?"

"Pretty much. When's D-Day?" Pansy looked confused. "Muggle expression, it was an invasion that started the push to end their second world war. I mean it as when do things start?"

"Oh, um, probably right before Hogsmeade weekend."

Hermione nodded, "Here's hoping this works."

"Yeah, most of this depends on the acting skills of a Gryffindor."

"Watch it!" Hermione threw a pillow at the other girl.

"What? You all are amazingly brave, but tend to wear your hearts on your sleeves, and show your hands."

Professor McGonagall approved the event list, but suggested changing the Samhain bonfire to a Guy Fawkes Day bonfire. She promised to secure sparklers for the event. Hermione provided Roger with all the information the he would need, since his own house seemed reluctant, or unable to help. This made the Halloween costume party and Masquerade the first events.

In a move that surprised everyone Blaise approached Colin Creevy for help securing Muggle costumes for the younger years. "We voted, we'd rather foot the bill for quality rather than endure the tacky." Pansy remarked with a disdainful sniff. Which was the face saving way of acknowledging not everyone could afford expensive costumes or even a cheap one. "And people can start focusing on Yule Ball formal robes."

Taking a break from her rigorous revision schedule, the mounting tension of the war, and teenage dramas, Hermione settled in front of the fire in the Heads dorm. Teenage boys tripping on the small wall disturbed her. "Shite, this is the dumbest entrance. Who the hell designed these?" complained Ernie Macmillan.

"Godric Gryffindor." Hermione replied without looking up from her book.

"Read that in a book, did you, Granger?" sneered Justin Finch-Fletchley.

"Nope, Gryffindor dorm uses a portrait hole, too. Logic suggests Godric designed and liked them. And it's Malfoy." Irritation bled into her voice.

"Come on guys, leave Hermione alone." Roger cajoled.

"Yeah, have to promote inter house unity." taunted Ernie.

"Or perhaps, it's just good manners as guests?" suggested Hermione. "Could you be less distributive, please? I'm trying to read. Thank you." She returned her attention to her book.

"Now, who's being rude, Granger?" Justin retorted. "And bossy."

She snapped her book shut and stood. "Still you." She gestured twice and two blue jets of light raced towards Ernie and Justin. They froze, held in place by Hermione's immobulus spell.

"Was that wordless and wand less?" Roger asked in an awed voice.

"That is neither nor there." Her eyes flashed angrily. "I warned you. You got a pass at Roger's house because we were all guests. But these are just as much my rooms as they are Roger's. And I will not be insulted in my dorm. Next time there will be no warning, there will only be hexes." She waved her hand releasing them. Snape would be so annoyed with her, she could not break herself of the habit of gesturing somehow when she cast. She picked up her book and turned to Roger, "I apologize for losing my temper, but I doubt this will be the last time." She climbed the stairs to her room, glaring down at them as she went into her room. She remained in her sanctuary until hunger forced her to emerge.

The Great Hall buzzed with excitement. She looked curiously at Sally-Anne as she sat down. "Tracy Davis broke up with Harry. No one really understands why, it was kind of disjointed."

Hermione frowned, looking around, "Does anyone know where he is?"

"He and Neville headed for Black Lake."

She nodded, "I wonder if Tracy is okay."

"She disappeared, probably to her dorm. That's where I would go."

"I'll try to check on them both later then." Sally-Anne smiled sadly and handed her a platter of sandwiches.

Once she finished eating, Hermione made her way out of the castle. Further down the path, two recognizable figures approached on their way back from the lake. She selected a bench along the path, and sat down to wait.

"Hey, Hermione." Neville greeted her Harry flopped down on the bench next to her. "I'll see you guys later. See if you can get him to eat, yeah?" Hermione held up an apple and a napkin wrapped sandwich. "Well, mate, I leave you in her prepared hands." Harry nodded listlessly.

He rested his head on top of hers. "This sucks. I know it's fake, but just the idea of it hurts."

Hermione patted his leg, "I know. What reason did she give?"

"She didn't. We made it seem like it was the continuation of previous fights."

"Very sneaky."

"My girlfriend is a Slytherin."

"So, you're going to sneak around?"

"Yeah, we plan on having at least one date night a week. And we have our journals."

"Let me know what nights, so I can make sure you don't have rounds."

"You don't have to abuse your power for me."

"Why not? Roger's friends have him do it for them all the time."

Over the next week, Harry sent longing looks towards Tracy, who pointedly ignored him. Day eight marked what other witches deemed an appropriate mourning period. Starting at breakfast the vultures began circling. When Harry opened the Great Hall doors for Hermione and Fay, Cho Chang surged forward to slip in front of him, giving him a saucy wink. Harry paused, blinking in surprise. He felt sure Chang wanted to give the illusion Harry had held the door for her voluntarily.

In class girls jostled to try and sit next to Harry, causing the Gryffindors to become aggressive with seating arrangements. Two people always flanked him as he entered the room, promptly selecting the seats next to him. Or two people went in and saved him a seat between them. Flitwick awarded Seamus fifty points for his quick shield charm when a Hufflepuff tried to hex him.

Hermione commiserated with Tracy in the Heads dorm. "They are always all over him, trying to paw at him and winking at him. It's disgusting."

"It really is." Hermione huffed. "I had to remind him he has to relax a little and start letting them flirt with him, otherwise this was all for nothing."

Tracy sighed, her shoulders slumping, "I know. I just hate this."

"So does he."

"That doesn't really make me feel better. Pansy promised to make it up to us, but won't say how."

"The less people who know her plan the less chance it has to be exposed."

"That's true."

The morning the costumes arrived Pansy sidled up to Harry in the hall while they waited to enter the Potions classroom. "I picked the perfect costume for Halloween." She straightened his tie. "Aphrodite, the goddess of love. You'll have to find me, I'll be the scantily clad Greek goddess with conjured blonde curls." She sashayed away, leaving behind a stunned Harry. She looked over her shoulder for her parting shot, "Or maybe I'll find you." Later that afternoon Pansy slipped Hermione a note.

Tell Potter I'm switching with Tracy.

Hermione chuckled at the audacity of Pansy's plan. After ensuring everyone heard her costume plans, she would give Tracy her costume, letting the two enjoy one last public event. And any spies would report back Pansy spent the evening enchanting Harry. Hermione happily passed along the message.

A few days later Hermione perused the racks of masquerade costumes, trying to decide on one. She flipped through the selections. She glanced towards the clock as she turned the corner, where she promptly ran into someone. "Oh, my apologies." She steadied the smaller girl by grasping her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, too." She tucked her straight black hair behind her ear. "Hard to see around the corners."

"Isn't it?" She smiled, "Kind of overwhelming, don't you think?"

"Yeah." The other girl answered quietly.

"Which ones do you like?"

The younger girl shrugged, "None of them look small enough to fit me."

"Oh, that's not a problem, a simple charm and we resize it." Hermione frowned when her face fell further. "What? What's wrong?"

"I don't know the spell yet, I'm only in fourth year."

"You'll notice I did say we. Let's find you the perfect outfit, shall we?" She turned back to the racks. She found a teal colored dress decorated with peacock feathers. "What do you think? The colors will look amazing with your hair."

"Why are you helping me?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You don't even know me."

"Well, I'm Hermione Granger. What's your name?"

"Marigold Freeman."

"Nice to meet you. Now, we know each other." She held back up the dress, "So, what do you think of the peacock here?" The gold mask formed the bird's beak.

"I think I like it."

"Go slip it on and I'll make the alterations." Marigold grabbed the dress and hurried to the changing area. She skipped back holding up the dress. Hermione flicked her wand, shrinking the dress. "You look amazing, Marigold!" She pointed her towards the mirror. "Take a look."

"Thank you, Hermione, it's perfect." She preened.

"You're welcome." Hermione laughed at her antics.

"Now, you need one."

"Want to help me look?"

"Yes!" squealed Marigold. "You found me the perfect costume and fixed it like a fairy godmother, you should be a fairy. I think there's one in the back." She caught Hermione's hand and dragged her across the room.

The sapphire hued silk halter top shimmered in the sunlight coming through the windows. The tulle over skirt flared out in petal shaped panels in various shades of blue. The delicate crystalline wings sparkled like jewels. "Wow." Hermione took the dress down. "Just wow."

"Try it on." clapped Marigold, "Try it on."

A few alterations later, she emerged from behind the screen. "You were right. I should be a fairy." She put on the glittery domino mask. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful."

"That settles it. This is the one."

Marigold bounced on her toes, clapping her hands in glee. "Yay!"

Halloween evening Theo arranged to meet Hermione in her dorm. They would meet Harry in front of the library before heading down to the masquerade. Both had chosen plain black formal dress robes and colored masks, blue for Theo and purple for Harry. After seeing Roger dressed the same, only with a yellow mask, she expected to see most of the older males dressed similarly.

Slytherin house decorated the Great Hall for the younger students' costume party. They chose the largest courtyard for the masquerade. Carved pumpkins glowed along the half walls enclosing the space. Someone enchanted the gargoyles at the corners of the square fountain, their eyes glowed red and their stone wings opened and closed. Like in the Great Hall, candles floated overhead illuminating the space. "You guys did an amazing job, Theo." she whispered in awed tones.

He kissed the back of her hand. "Thank you, sweet. We wanted to set the bar high for these events."

"Mission accomplished, mate." Harry clapped him on the back. "I'm going to go set myself up in a corner and wait for the onslaught."

Theo chuckled, "Try to not think about it like an attack, mate. You're supposed to be enjoying yourself playing the field."

"Sure, sure." Harry collected something to drink and leaned against the far wall. Sure enough, once the witches realized which masked wizard he was they flocked to him. He smiled politely, and made some small talk, until a curly blonde haired witch in Grecian robes approached. With a seductive smile, she took his hand and dragged him onto the dance floor, annoying the other girls to no end. Hermione giggled at the sight. When Theo gave her a questioning look, she shook her head in the negative.

"Come on, sweet, tell me."

"Nope, some secrets need to be kept quiet. But, we can join them on the dance floor."

"As you wish."

"I love you, too."

Theo gathered her into his arms and began leading her around the floor. "I thought I might trip you up with that quote."

"You're going to have to try harder, and maybe not use a movie I showed you."

"I'll stump you someday."

"I'm sure you will, it just won't be with The Princess Bride."

After a few songs, Draco cut in and stole his sister for a dance. "Do you think Fay would want to come to our New Year's ball?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "That's two months away."

"So?"

"So, are you suggesting you're serious enough to be thinking two months away? That in two months you want to introduce her to our parents and assorted family members?"

"Yeah."

"In two months you're going to be ready to introduce her to Faustine Malfoy?"

"A hundred years isn't long enough to be ready for that, but sometimes you just have to jump."

Hermione nodded sagely. "That's true. I feel her out, if you want me to?"

"Yes, please." Once that matter was settled, Draco relinquished her back to Theo for the rest of the evening. The gossip flying around the courtyard confirmed Pansy's plan worked. Harry easily flirted back with Tracy, whom everyone believed to be Pansy.

As the evening grew to a close, Theo pulled Hermione into one of the corners. "We should say good night here, sweet. I need to help with clean up, and you need to get Potter out of here before they screw up and they forget she's faking being Pansy."

"Did you know?"

"I've suspected, you just confirmed it." She swatted him. He laughed and captured her lips with his. Hermione smiled against his lips as butterflies danced in stomach, she eagerly opened her mouth in response to his probing tongue. A moan escaped her as her toes tingled.

Sensing they both needed air, Theo pulled back. She pecked his nose, "I love you."

"I know."

Chuckling, she stepped out of his embrace. "Nice try, Solo."

"You know you liked it, princess."

"Good night, Theo." She took a step backwards towards Harry.

"Good night, sweet."

"Have fun cleaning up."

"We will."

Hermione swiftly broke up Harry and Tracy, "Time to go, lover boy."

"In a minute, Mione." Harry said, still looking at Tracy.

"Nope, now, before you blow her cover. Some of the smart students are putting two and two together."

Harry sighed, "You're right." In a louder voice, "Good night, Pansy. Thank you for a lovely evening."

"You're welcome, Harry." cooed the fake Pansy. "Do I get a good night kiss?"

"Um, I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Next time perhaps?"

"We'll see." He waved farewell as Hermione subtly pulled him across the courtyard. "Thanks, Mione."

"You're welcome."

"You're a really good friend."

"I know."

"No, really, you've been the best friend to me, even when I wasn't to you."

"I just matured faster than you, you proved yourself when it mattered." She squeezed his hand. "Now, let's get out of here before someone tries to rope us into clean up."

Harry began walking faster, "Agreed."

Even the purebloods adored the sparklers for Guy Fawkes Day once the muggleborns showed them how to properly utilize them. The lawn in front of the castle glowed red, green, and blue as students waved them about. Professor Dumbledore twinkled at everyone, and declared the night a huge success, thanking Hufflepuff House for all its hard work.

The Saturday after Harry and Hermione compared notes in the Heads dorm. "I think I'm getting the hang of being a playboy. Sirius has given me some pointers."

"He'd know." she snorted.

"I've managed to avoid any dates. Happily, right now all the girls want to be asked."

"And once they get desperate enough to do the asking, Theo and I, or Draco and Fay are willing to join you on a double."

"Yeah, thanks for that. But what do we do when they complain about that."

"Ask her to play catch."

"The game where you throw a ball back and forth?"

"The very one."

"And that deters her how?"

Hermione held up one hand, a crochet ball size sphere of fiendfyre. "Most girls don't like playing with fire."

"You do."

"Yeah, but we've established I'm not normal."

Harry looked at her curiously, "Do you really think we could play catch with that?"

"I do, actually." Harry leapt to his feet and ran across the room. "Catch." She gently lobbed the fireball at him. The longer they tossed the ball the faster and harder they threw.

"Hey, Hermione, whoa!" Roger came through the portrait hole. Harry reached out and stopped the ball midair. "What the hell?"

"Sorry, Roger. We were just playing catch, I guess it was getting out of hand." She smiled sheepishly, then gestured and dissipated the ball.

"Remus is going to get onto you about the gestures." Harry taunted.

"Yeah, well, at least I can cast wandlessly and wordlessly." she retorted.

"You were playing catch with fire." Roger stated.

"Um, yeah. Sorry, we won't do it again here." Hermione promised.

"It just started out because we wanted to see if we could, and once we had, we got lost in the moment. Sorry."

Roger continued to stare at them. "Uh, well, okay then. I'm, uh, going to go now. Please don't burn down the castle."

"We're done now." Hermione promised. "In fact, we're heading to the library now, anyway." She collected her bag from the couch. "Come on, Harry, those books aren't going to read themselves."

Thanks to a note from Snape, Hermione browsed the restricted section in search of their remaining questions about horcruxes. In an ancient handwritten tome she found evidence of the first living horcrux. "This seems like a really bad idea. If something kills your horcrux it is destroyed."

"So, Nagini was one?"

"I think so," Hermione paused, "and so were you."

"What?" he exclaimed, cringing at his loud voice.

"Think back to before fifth year, you had constant headaches, your scar was deeper, and you were prone to mood swings, usually to anger. And Riddle's presence caused you pain. All of that changed after you were shocked and had to be given CPR. I think you died, Harry. And that destroyed the horcrux. Just like killing the snake, destroyed that one."

"That would mean we destroyed four, have a fifth waiting for us to find the others, and two left to find."

"Correct. Now, we just have to find the last two." She sighed, "Easier said than done."

"We need to focus on next week's event. Gryffindor has the speed dating thing."

"Please, I put Lavender and Pavarti in charge, that thing is already planned to the nth degree. The generals are just awaiting my orders to attack."

"It isn't war, Hermione."

"Isn't it? The Slytherins pulled off two perfect events. We need to do as well, or better."

"It isn't a competition, Hermione."

"You keep telling yourself that, Harry."