A/N: Chapter Twenty-Seven!

The next morning, everyone in our group apart from myself and Daphne went out to Blackcomb Peak to test the slopes. It appeared she was as athletically challenged as myself, which only made me like her more. Together, we walked and talked and strolled around the village, and I explained to her things like television and mobile phones — as everyone around us had either their eyes glued to a television screen at various restaurants or their fingers typing away, immersed in text conversations.

It was fun, revisiting my old life as a Muggle.

"So, tell me…" Daphne prompted, having ordered us hot cocoa at a cafe across the entrance to the mountain. It was a quaint place with a brilliant view and very, very comfortable seating — most probably to cushion the arses of all the amateur skiers and snowboarders. "Are you seeing anyone?"

I giggled, having expected this question to arise from either Daphne or Ginny. It had been a long time since I engaged in girl talk — and I needed it.

"Not at the moment," I told her. " — but there is someone I like."

She clapped her hands together, suppressing her own giggles, and leaned forward. "Who is it? Do I know him? Wait — don't tell me! Let me guess…" Just like that, the blonde slipped into deep, deep thought, allowing her facial muscles to relax as she sifted through possibilities, until landing on one. "Oh my gosh. Is it — Is it Blaise?"

"What— ?" I blurted, taken aback. "No, no, no. I mean, he's cute but no."

Daphne sighed with relief. "Thank goodness, because I think Astoria is interested in him, and she doesn't deal well with competition."

This surprising me, seeing as Blaise was an ex-boyfriend of Daphne's. "Hold on…didn't you…"

"I did," she nodded, somewhat nostalgic. "…but it was a long time ago and we…erm…we didn't sleep together or anything…which eliminates the weirdness."

I nodded right along with her. "Fine by me, as long as Astoria stays away from No — erm —" Foot in mouth. Foot in mouth.

Daphne gaped at me. "I knew it!" she whisper-shouted at me, as our sever dropped by with our hot cocoa and a strange, lingering smile in my direction. I ignored it and turned back to the gorgeous blonde, terrified and then amused as she rejoiced in silent glee. "You would make the most adorable children. I can picture them now — beautiful chestnut hair from you and deep, dramatic blue eyes from him. Please, you have to let me plan your wedding. I'm very, very thorough and have excellent taste in — "

I laughed. "Slow down, slow down…"

"Am I talking too fast?" she asked, as though this were common. "Hold on. Let me just write a few things down and —"

"He's not interested in me."

Daphne paused. "What?"

I leaned forward, knowing our conversation was loud enough for the entire cafe to eavesdrop. I had just about enough of random strangers knowing the details of my personal life. "Nott wants to be friends. That's all. He told me so about two months ago."

"No…" she all but pouted. "…that can't be. I, along with everyone else, can see the way he looks at you. I've known for years that he's been interesting in you. He told me himself shortly before Christmas. What could possibly have changed between then and now?"

"Well…" I started to say, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind my ear. "Things got a little heated between us the night before his father's funeral."

Daphne gaped even wider. "You slept together?"

"Not quite."

"So then what happened?"

I thought for a moment, debating whether or not it was wise to tell her. It's not that I didn't trust her, because I did. It's that I didn't want to make the situation any more real than it already was — and telling someone made it concrete. But keeping the details of what happened was beginning to wear me down. I had to vent.

"We kissed…heavily…outside…in the courtyard…on a fountain…after three bottles of fire whiskey too many…" I explained, recalling the bits and pieces I had either been told or remembered. "…but I don't remember much after that…only that the signs he'd been giving me leading up to that moment were swept under the rug…forgotten."

Daphne weighed the information. "Draco was there, wasn't he?"

I nodded. "He was."

"Maybe Draco asked Nott to step aside, so he could pursue you. Merlin knows he's been pining for you since Christmas."

"I considered that, but Nott isn't exactly fond of the way Draco has treated me. I — I can't see him stepping aside for a man whose approach he doesn't condone."

"Can't argue that," she agreed, deep in thought. "Maybe he's still in the process of mourning his father, and just needs some time to heal."

"Definitely. He needs space. I completely understand and respect that. I just — I wish he would stop acting as though nothing happened, you know?"

Daphne flashed me a look of definite support. "You should talk to him. I'm sure he would love to be honest, but he's always been more of an observant person. If he feels any hesitation whatsoever, he stays right where he is."

"I noticed."

"Just pull him aside when everyone is back from the mountain, and I'll distract the others."

For a moment, I simply looked at her, overwhelmed and amazed. "You are far too kind to be Slytherin."

She laughed, blowing the steam from her hot cocoa before taking a sip. "Fun fact: the Sorting Hat couldn't decide between Slytherin or Hufflepuff. It was only when I intervened, that he went with the former."

"That…doesn't surprise me at all," I decided, smiling, thinking. "Please don't take offence to this, but how can two sisters be so drastically different?"

Daphne returned my smile, as though she expected this. "I take no offence. There comes a time when all my friends ask me that same question — and the answer is that Astoria isn't half as hard as she lets on. Deep down, she's as much of a softy as I am."

"How deep are we talking?"

She paused. "Pretty deep."

Together, we chuckled at this and finished our hot cocoa, before proceeding back to the cabin, where the others would meet us in less than an hour's time for lunch; after which time Nott, Harry and Ginny would hit the slopes again, whilst Daphne, Blaise, myself and Astoria had plans to hit up the spa.

It was a beautiful day, really, and the surprises kept coming.

"Hermione…" Daphne started, sitting with me in the lounge, waiting until the Brazilian guests left before approaching the subject she had been thinking about for the past thirty minutes. "I have something that might help you remember what happened the night before the funeral…"

I faced her, setting down my tattered book, with a quizzical look. "I'm listening…"

From there, Daphne led me up the stairs, into her room with Ronald. It was larger than my room with Astoria and had an empty bottle of champagne sitting on one of the side tables. I flushed a little, bearing witness to something that proved the pair of them had most likely slept together the previous night.

"Here," she said, handing me an empty vial. "Cry into it."

"What?"

"There's a pensieve somewhere in the attic. Think of what you remember from the night in question, cry into that vial, and sneak up there when everyone's is asleep. It's sure to work."

My face screwed. "But…don't you need a clear recollection of something to use a pensieve?"

"Not with that vial," she explained, gesturing to the empty container. "It's special. I usually reserve it for patients of amnesia at St. Mungo's, but I'm willing to make an exception here — for a friend."

I couldn't help but smile. "Brace yourself, because I may kiss you right now."

Daphne giggled. " — and I may like it."

To this, my smile turned into a full on fit of laughter, linking arms with her as we left the bedroom and proceeded downstairs.

Few Hours Later

For dinner, the boys cooked and the girls lounged, knocking back some white wine and chatting about the plans we had for the following day. It was turning out to be quite an enjoyable holiday, so much that I almost forgot there was something I had to do. I slumped into the sofa, beside Ginny, and joined in with hers and Astoria's discussion about a designer from Milan. Of course, I had no idea about this person but I needed cover from the looks Nott was shooting me from the kitchen.

It appeared he noticed my change in attitude, the fact that I was smiling and having a good time, instead of being mopey and depressed.

Daphne exchanged a quick look with me, sharing the same thoughts.

About ten minutes later, dinner was ready and we were ushered to the dining table. It was a long rectangular table, with Daphne and Ronald seated at the ends, whilst the rest of us sat in the middle. Harry and Ginny were across from one another, as were Blaise and Astoria, leaving myself and Nott to fill in the leftover spaces.

For the most part, our seating arrangements proved simple. It seemed Nott shared that awkward, nervous feeling I had in my stomach, and avoided looking at me at all costs. It was only when Harry cracked open another bottle of wine and refilled everyone's glasses — apart from Ginny's — that my estranged roommate met eyes with me.

It was one, maybe two seconds, but it felt like a lifetime.

I held his gaze an extra moment, aware that he had that same deep, uninhibited look about him, the one I remembered from the broom closet and the night we fell asleep on the sofa together.

But it disappeared the second Daphne stood from the table to hand out dessert. We were having a wizarding dessert that resembled apple pie, only it tasted as though it were made of sugary clouds from the brightest, most beautiful part of heaven. I failed my diet, again, and had an extra piece, aware that Astoria was snickering at me from across the table. It was no matter to me. A small part of me knew I would have been happy with a thin, model figure like hers, but I knew deep down that I was much, much happier with delicious dessert in front of me.

Following that, the group retreated to the lounge and engaged in some innocent — and not so innocent — card games. One of them, I remembered from our teenaged years, as Seamus Finnegan had once convinced me into joining him and some of the other boys after a rather enjoyable visit to Hogsmeade in Fifth Year. It was a truth or dare game, but instead of spinning a bottle to determine the next victim, there was a deck of cards that was split between the group, and one-by-one we went around in a circle, completing whatever dare or speaking whatever truth that we had in our topmost card.

Daphne went first, and flipped her card.

"Kiss the nearest male to your left," she read out loud, wheeling a look around the circle, only to realize Ron was the person she had to kiss.

Blaise scoffed at this, teasingly. "Shenanigans! I demand a redraw."

"Hear, hear!" Ginny furthered.

Some others agreed, all light-hearted, but we were all silenced the moment Daphne crawled to Ron and wrapped both hands around him neck, before biting his bottom lip between her teeth and pulling him in for a passionate kiss. For a moment, he, along with the rest of us, was too shocked to do or say anything, but that moment soon passed, as he reciprocated and rubbed her sides, dragging her shirt up a little.

I watched with morbid curiosity, strangely turned on.

"Okay, okay…" Astoria interjected, pulling them apart. "Let's not conceive a child in the middle of the lounge, yeah?"

Daphne giggled, returning to her place in the circle; though not before tossing her blushing boyfriend a suggestive wink.

Next up was the person to her right, who happened to be Harry. I could tell he had never played this game before and would rather have dunked his head in a barrel of ice cold water than be forced into PDA — but Ginny insisted that he take part.

"Er — tell the group about the time you lost your vir —" His cheeks blanched, and he set the card down. "No chance. I'm not doing that."

Ginny placed her hand on his from across the circle. "Come on. It's fine. It was a long time ago and we're all adults, right everyone?"

"Yeah, mate. It's really not a big deal," Blaise offered. "How about we go around the circle and tell our stories?"

"How about we don't?" Ron and Nott fired back, in unison, looking to one another and then at me.

I cleared my throat, suddenly overwhelmed with dryness, and drowned the tension with some more white wine. It was then, that Ginny leaned closer to her husband and whispered something in his ear, something that made his cheeks turn a deep shade of crimson, before he nodded his head and decided.

"Okay, erm…" Harry rubbed the back of his head, undoubtedly struggling to remember the details. "It was…It was in sixth year. I…erm…I was in Hogsmeade with Ron and Hermione…and then I found Luna by the carriages and…we were alone…and…on the way back…one thing led to another…and…"

"Wait a minute —" Astoria broke through. "You fucked Looney Lovegood?"

The Chosen One side-eyed her, visibly uncomfortable. "Her name is Luna and yes, we slept together that one time."

I immediately looked to Ginny, having no memory of this story or that Harry and Luna had anything going on — but it seemed the redhead had no qualms with the words that had come from her husband's mouth. In fact, she looked rather casual about the ordeal, as though she had known for quite some time.

"Right," Daphne furthered, gesturing for the game to continue. "Blaise, your go."

Without the slightest trace of nervousness, the young man flipped the first card in his stack and grimaced. "Truth card? This is bollocks. Let me draw again…"

Daphne tossed him a scornful look. "Blaise."

"Fine, fine…" he surrendered, looking to the card he had drawn. "Who in the room do you find the most attractive?"

Astoria perked up at this, running a hand through her long, wavy black hair, overly confident in herself as usual. It was like watching a mating call gone wrong.

Blaise glanced up, and then straightened his collar, oozing sex appeal. "Me."

I couldn't help but laugh, joined by Nott, after which time we looked to one another and then away, in opposite directions.

"There must be a mistake," Daphne frowned, moving towards Blaise and snatching the card from his hands, before scanning it. "Well, I suppose naming yourself is a valid answer."

His confident, sexy smile deepened, and from there, the game carried on.

In keeping with the same direction, the next person up was Ginny. She flipped her card, which turned out to be a dare, and was forced to kiss the nearest female to her right — Astoria. I noticed every man in the room, apart from Ron, leaning forward, practically drooling at what was about to happen.

Ginny moved across the circle on all fours, whilst Astoria readied herself, vamping it up for the men, only to understand the redhead's telepathic signals and meet her nose to nose, hovering for a moment, holding everyone's attention, and completing the dare with nothing but a light peck.

"Oh, come on…" Blaise grimaced. "That's just cruel — cruel and unusual."

"I second that," Harry added, to which he received a surprised look from his wife, shrugging in response.

Astoria leaned on one arm and arched her back, pumping her chest out just enough to catch Blaise's attention. "Just wait till it's my turn."

Thankfully, it wouldn't be her turn for another minute or so, seeing as Nott was the next person to draw a card. For some reason, I turned away from him, pretending to be fascinated by one of the paintings on the far wall, doing my absolute best not pay the slightest bit of attention to what was written on his card.

"Sing a song by the band or solo artist of your choosing," he read, receiving a mix of positive and neutral reactions from the others.

Blaise was pleased, as he tried tooth and nail to convince his best mate to get up on the stage that night at the pub and sing as we had done — but Nott was insistent on the fact that he had a terrible voice and wouldn't want to torture the audience for no reason.

This time, there was no option. The dare was written, plain and clear.

"What are you going to sing?" Ginny asked him.

Nott mumbled something in response, but his voice was too faint for me to hear and I couldn't read his lips, seeing as my head was still turned. It was about twelve seconds after this, when I heard a guitar strumming in the background, playing a familiar, warm tune that I recognized from prefect duties in sixth year.

His eyes closed.

Good times for a change

See, the luck I've had

Can make a good man

Turn bad

It was after the first verse, that I looked to him, noticing everyone else had fallen silent for the first time since the game started. In his hands, he held an acoustic guitar, having borrowed the instrument from Blaise, as the music enthusiast never went anywhere without it.

So please, please, please

Let me, let me, let me

Let me get what I want

This time…

I knew, without a second of thought, that this was a Smiths song. It made perfect sense, seeing as Morrissey was his favourite musician and The Smiths, his favourite band. Even the song choice made sense, as it was short in comparison to the normal ones; perfect for someone with stage fright.

But maybe it wasn't the length that caused him to choose this particular song.

Maybe, just maybe it was something else.

Five Minutes Later

Following Nott's dare, the group decided on a short loo break, during which time both Ginny and Daphne cornered me in the corridor and demanded to know the significance of the song my roommate had performed. I laughed, literally trapped, with my back pressed against the wall, amused but also a little scared.

"Come on…" Ginny reasoned, giving me a knowing look. "He sang that song with so much heart. There's no chance in hell he wasn't directing it at you."

Daphne nodded in agreement, though less forward. "If his eyes weren't closed, I'm sure he would have had them on you."

I held my hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine…I may have introduced him to that song when we were patrol partners, but it's been years since then. I doubt he even remembers."

Both girls shared a look, in total disagreement with the latter end of my statement, before we moved back to the sofa and continued the game.

A/N: I wonder what'll happen next!

Cheers

xo.