Chapter Four: The SeeD Inauguration Ball

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Final Fantasy VIII no matter how much I wish they were my works. Any additional characters added are mine.

oOoOo

Squall stuffed his hands in his pockets as he slowly made his way through the Dormitory Wing to his room. He took out his key as he reached the door, opening it and walked in, looking around. His roommate was out thankfully so he locked the door, leaning his back against it and closed his eyes. One of the perks about being a SeeD he did like was that he would be getting his own room.

He sighed, reaching up to brush his hair away from his face. He didn't know what it was, but he couldn't stop thinking about the new girl, Hermione. She made him feel strange, but he couldn't pin down what it was. There was just something about her that didn't seem right. There had been no warning she was going to be coming to Garden and typically if there was a VIP or client coming the students were informed to mind their conduct around them. But with Hermione there had been nothing. She just appeared out of nowhere and now she was staying in Garden.

Squall shook his thoughts away, making his way into his room. Hanging up next to his regular clothes was his new tailor-made SeeD uniform. He studied it for a moment before shaking his head and sitting on his bed. He didn't even know why he told Hermione he would see her at the Ball seeing as he had no intention of going.

He stood up, closing the door to his room and pulled off his school uniform, hanging it up next to his normal clothes. He debated going to the Training Centre for a moment to blow off some steam but decided against it. Knowing his luck, he would end up running into Quistis who would demand he attend the Ball, and coming from an Instructor he would feel compelled to. It was less likely she would come looking for him in his room.

Instead, Squall moved to his wardrobe and pulled on a pair of old jogging bottoms. When he closed the door, he caught sight of himself in the floor-length mirror and frowned at his reflection. He couldn't even recall when he decided he was better off being alone but he knew it was because someone he cared about had left him or abandoned him at some point. His past was a blur of images, but it hadn't bothered him in years now, and he didn't even know what prompted him to think about it now. Since coming to Garden, he had always kept to himself and just assumed this was who he was meant to be.

He eyed the scar Seifer had given him, reaching up to touch it. It was no longer painful, but the area around the edges were still tender. Hermione had seemed curious about it when she was looking at him earlier… he had noticed her eyes following the line it left. Growling, he turned away from the mirror, his thoughts turning to her yet again.

Frustrated, Squall paced his room as he sought to comprehend who Hermione was and why she was here. Why is she by Cid's side all the time? Is she someone significant? were the first questions that came to him. So far, the only time he had seen her without Cid there was when she was helping Selphie on the stretcher. That was another thing as well… if she was a client or VIP, why was she on her knees cleaning the wounds of students? She should have been kept away from that and even Cid never made any move to stop her when he arrived on the scene.

That took him to his next question, why is she here? he wondered, pausing in his pacing, and staring at the door to his room. Before the exam she had spoken to Zell, thanking him for taking her to his mother. Zell had found her washed up on the docks in Balamb Town. What happened to her? Where did she come from? he thought, a frown creasing his brow. She had said she wasn't a transfer student so she couldn't have been on a vessel. The nearest town across the water from Balamb was Dollet. Was she caught up in what ensued there?

Squall placed a hand on his hip knowing he would get no answers to these questions unless he asked her directly. That's if she would even tell him anything. It wasn't as if she had to speak to him at all. He still couldn't understand what prompted her to introduce herself to him in the first place. He knew he'd been nothing but cold towards her, like he was with everyone, yet she still came to him. He shook his head; it was beyond him why people did that.

He sighed, walking to his bed and lay down, placing an arm behind his head as he stared at his ceiling. It had been a long time since his mind went into overdrive with thoughts like this. He closed his eyes, intending to sleep so he could block out his thoughts of Hermione.

oOoOo

Some hours later, Squall was jolted awake by the sound of knocking on the main door to his shared dorm room. He sat up, wiping the sleep from his eyes irritably as he sat for a moment, staring at his door. When another knock came, he rolled his eyes assuming it was his roommate Steveo. He had a tendency to forget his key and he frequently woke Squall up late at night apologising sheepishly. He shook his head, relieved again that he would have his own room soon and Steveo would be someone else's problem.

With this thought firmly in his mind, he didn't even bother putting a t-shirt on as he opened his door and stalked to the main door. He unlocked it, opening it. 'I swear, Steveo, you need—' his sentence died in his throat when he took in Hermione standing on the other side of the door. What is she doing here? he thought with a frown.

Hermione, on the other hand, gaped at him like a fish out of water. Her eyes wandered down his exposed midriff, taking in his muscles, flat stomach, and the tattoo of a lion he had down the left side of his abdomen. For a moment she realised it looked oddly like Griever, but when she fathomed she was downright staring at him, she blushed scarlet and turned around. 'I'm so sorry!' she gasped, and Squall could tell she was mortified.

Embarrassed by the situation he now found himself in, Squall didn't even try to conceal his exasperation. 'Can I help you? How did you know this was my room?' he asked, moving back inside the room. He left the door open, expecting her to follow him into the room.

He went into his bedroom and grabbed a black t-shirt, pulling it on before returning to the main common room. He realised she was still standing outside shaking her head, and he rolled his eyes. He walked towards her, grabbing her arm and pulled her into the room before closing the door. He turned to her. 'What do you want?' he asked, crossing his arms over his now-covered chest.

Hermione took a breath, trying to calm her racing heart. 'Cid asked me to come and get you,' she told him, looking everywhere except at him.

Squall's lips twitched, unable to deny her embarrassment was cute. He dismissed that thought vehemently as soon as it crossed his mind. 'So?' he asked, sitting down on the couch, indicating for her to take a seat as well.

Hermione glanced around the room, spotting a chair in front of a desk, and opted to sit there rather than next to Squall on the couch. He raised his eyebrows at her but didn't comment on her choice. It was probably for the best. She sighed. 'For the Ball,' she said plainly, gesturing to his clothes. 'I see you're not ready,' she added, finally able to look at him without burning in humiliation.

Squall sighed, standing up. 'Well, you wasted your time,' he told her, shaking his head as he walked to the door and opened it. 'I'm not going,' he said stubbornly, giving her a meaningful look.

Hermione frowned, standing up and moving to the door. Squall took her in properly now that the initial embarrassment was over, observing that she was dressed for the Ball. She was wearing a beautiful floor-length dark green dress with a slit up the leg. He swallowed roughly, his mouth going dry, as he followed the gap up to where it ceased at the bottom of her hip. He raised his eyes to her face, noting she had put on a little make-up to emphasise her already stunning features. She had left her long brown tresses curled and loose down her back. Squall took a deep breath, looking away from her before she noticed he was staring at her less than innocently.

Hermione turned to him as she reached the door. 'You're really not coming?' she asked, placing a hand on the door above where his was still on the handle. He glanced at her hand fleetingly, before gazing back at her. 'This Ball is to congratulate you and the others for making SeeD. I'm not from here…' she paused, shaking her head before looking back up at him, 'but I imagine it's a big deal to join SeeD,' she said, searching his eyes for something to indicate he cared even a little, but he was impossible to read. His eyes didn't give her much, if anything, to go on.

Squall rolled his eyes, gripping the door handle tighter. Hermione shrugged, about to leave, but he held out his arm to stop her. She glanced at his arm, before looking up at him questioningly. 'Sit down, I'll get ready,' he grumbled, closing the door again.

Hermione nodded, taking a seat on the couch as he walked into his room. After a moment he returned with his SeeD uniform and a towel, not saying anything as he went into the shared bathroom and closed the door. She heard the shower start and she bit her lip. For the next ten minutes, she desperately tried to think of anything other than Squall naked in the shower. After seeing him exposed to his midriff, it wasn't hard to imagine the rest… ahhh no! Stop it! she groaned, leaning her head on the table as her cheeks flushed.

'Something wrong?' Squall asked her from where he had returned from the bathroom fully dressed in his SeeD uniform.

'No,' Hermione replied, too quickly, which Squall picked up on and he raised his eyebrows. Hermione took him in, noting he looked very handsome in his uniform. She swallowed harshly and looked away from him.

Deciding not to comment, Squall walked past her and went into his room to get his boots and threw his t-shirt and jogging bottoms on his bed for the moment. He took his boots out to the common room, using the chair next to Hermione to tie them once he slipped them on.

Hermione watched him, noticing how his wet hair fell into his eyes and… oh dear, Merlin, stop thinking like that! she shouted at herself, feeling her cheeks burning again as a chuckle echoed in her mind. Griever! This is not the time! she shouted at her constant companion, mortified that she'd allowed him to hear where her thoughts were going, but he just laughed harder at that.

Squall straightened up, looking down at Hermione. 'Well, let's go then,' he said, moving to the door and opening it.

Hermione blinked. 'We're going together?' she asked slowly, and she could tell the question was idiotic when Squall just stared at her blankly.

'You came to get me, remember?' Squall said plainly, shaking his head as she followed him out the door. He locked it behind them, turning to walk down the hall with her in tow trying to keep up with his strides. 'Let's get this over with,' he whispered, and Hermione frowned at how against socialising he seemed to be.

oOoOo

Hermione entered the Ballroom with Squall, looking around in awe. The room was a large beautifully decorated two-story room with a glass dome ceiling and a stone balcony. She looked up at the dome ceiling, able to see the stars so clearly twinkling against the inky night sky. Waltzing music was playing and couples were dancing in the large open area in the middle of the room. Across one wall was a buffet table with all manner of dishes. She wasn't entirely sure she would be trying them anytime soon, though there were a few things she recognised such as burgers and hotdogs. Though the hotdogs were almost gone, and she wondered if they were popular.

She scanned the room again, thinking the setting was rather romantic.

Turning around, Hermione thought Squall would still be with her, but he'd disappeared. She sighed, not letting it get to her. She shouldn't have been surprised that he would find a quiet place to hide as soon as they arrived. Instead, she resolved to enjoy herself and took a glass of champagne from a waitress as she walked past. She looked around for Cid so she could tell him that Squall was here… somewhere.

Leaning against a pillar on the opposite side of the room was Squall. His eyes followed Hermione as she wandered through the crowds of people searching for someone, and for a moment he wondered if he should have mentioned he was going to hide in a dark corner and wait this out. He despised crowds and gatherings like this, and he was not good at mingling.

He should have known he wouldn't be able to hide in his room, although he was again struck with how odd it was that Hermione was the one to come and get him. Why would the Headmaster send her and not one of the Instructors? She's not a student or anything to do with Garden… he trailed off in his thoughts. Everything about Hermione was a mystery. It was none of his business, he knew that, but she was a complex puzzle he wanted to figure out. At this thought, he crushed his desire to know everything about her as soon as it surfaced.

Squall lost sight of her, and he sighed, reaching out to grab a glass of champagne from a waitress as she walked past him. He took a sip as he scanned the crowd again, spying Seifer with a young dark-haired girl in a white dress clinging onto his arm. He raised his eyebrows when Seifer gave her the most tender look he had ever seen him give anyone – which was no one until now – and kissed her cheek before leaving. Shaking his head, he went back to scanning the crowds, noticing other people he recognised and hoped they wouldn't see him.

After some time, and on his second glass of champagne, Squall grumbled inwardly when he saw Zell heading in his direction. He took a large gulp of his champagne, deciding to just ignore the blonde.

'Yo!' Zell called to him, moving to stand in front of him and blocking his view of the rest of the room. 'S'up, Squall?' he greeted cheerfully, watching him take another sip of his drink. 'Heh-heh, I guess we're both SeeD's now, huh?' he said, starting to sound a little nervous as he tried to make small-talk. 'Put it there, man,' he said, extending his hand to Squall.

Squall glanced at Zell's hand and then back to him, raising his eyebrows. Ignoring the gesture, he finished off his champagne and placed the empty glass on a table before grabbing another.

Zell withdrew his hand with a nervous chuckle. 'Hah, even as a SeeD, you're still the same,' he said, shaking his head. 'Well, that's typical of you,' he added with a smile, receiving a nonchalant shrug from Squall to show he hadn't completely ignored him. 'Well, see ya!' he said, waving and running off.

Squall watched him go and shook his head. He didn't have anything against Zell, but his disposition was too much for him to deal with at the best of times. He had so much energy and was so loud. A total contrast to Squall who felt like their personalities just clashed horribly.

He looked back over at the blonde, noting he had bumped into Selphie. They appeared to be having a really awkward conversation and Zell looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. After a moment, Zell waved to her and bounded off quickly, leaving Selphie shaking her head as she watched him go.

Selphie turned, spotting Squall, and he groaned inwardly again as she practically skipped over to him. 'Squall! Hi!' she greeted with a grin.

Resolving to ignore her as well like he tried to with Zell, he glanced over her shoulder to see Hermione was walking towards them. Why can't people just leave me alone? he wondered, wishing he could disappear so no one would see him.

Hermione reached them, smiling at Squall and then Selphie. 'Hello,' she said, taking a sip of her champagne.

'Heya!' Selphie greeted her cheerfully, before looking back at Squall. 'I'm recruiting members for the Garden Festival Committee,' she explained, receiving a raised eyebrow from Squall at this. 'Do you want to join, Squall?' she asked him, and he stared at her blankly wondering if she was joking. 'You can help out whenever you have the time,' she added quickly, giving him puppy eyes. 'Please?' she asked, clasping her hands in front of her as if she was praying.

The Garden Festival was a social event and Squall was rather stunned Selphie would even consider inviting him. It was a universally known fact about Squall that he just didn't deal with people, and especially not voluntarily. He was about to say as much when Hermione asked, 'What's this Garden Festival, Selphie?' and looked at Selphie with genuine interest as the bubbly girl turned towards her excitedly.

'So, it's a concert and I need four people who can play instruments and some others to help set it up,' Selphie explained, placing a hand on her hip. 'No one seems interested though,' she said softly, her enthusiasm sobering as a frown creased her brow. 'I have the scores prepared, but finding a band and committee helpers is harder than writing it was!' she told them, shaking her head.

Squall watched the exchange in mild amusement before realising he still needed to decline Selphie's offer. He never got a chance to though as he became absorbed by the radiant smile Hermione gave Selphie and, for a second, he wished he was on the receiving end of that. What the heck? Where did that come from? he cursed inwardly at his traitorous thoughts.

'Well, I can't play an instrument, but I could help you out with organising it?' Hermione offered, snapping Squall out of his thoughts as he processed what she said. He glanced at Selphie, watching her eyes light up.

'Oh wow, really!?' Selphie asked, bouncing on her feet excitedly. 'Thank you so much! You're the best!' she exclaimed, fist-bumping the air and Hermione chuckled.

'I'll help too,' Squall said without thinking and before he could stop himself, and both girls turned to stare at him. What are you doing!? he screamed at himself internally, not knowing what possessed him to say it and it was too late to back out now.

Selphie, on the other hand, looked like Christmas had come early. 'Wow! Squall, thanks! Whoo-hoo!' she said, beaming at him. 'I know we'll be busy with a lot of SeeD stuff, but let's work hard on the Garden Festival, too!' she said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She spotted a group of people over Hermione's shoulder and her eyes widened in glee. 'I have to go! Bye! Thanks again!' she called back to them, running off towards the group of people before Hermione and Squall could change their minds. And probably on her way to recruit the people she had seen.

Hermione shook her head in amusement, before turning back to Squall and smiling at him. 'Interesting,' she whispered, tilting her head at him.

'What is?' Squall asked with a frown, taking a drink of his champagne. He eyed the half-empty glass and realised he should probably stop soon if he wanted to make it back to his room without having to crawl there. He didn't drink often, generally only on occasions like this where he was forced to attend an event, and he was already aware he was tipsy.

Hermione's smile widened. 'It just doesn't seem like your scene,' she replied, shaking her head. 'You're full of surprises,' she added, taking a sip of her champagne.

Squall shrugged, downing the rest of his champagne, and adding it to the other two empty glasses on the table. 'Well, this party isn't my scene either, but I'm still here,' he pointed out, grabbing his fourth glass of champagne from the waitress as she passed them. So much for stopping, he thought, looking back at Hermione who glanced at the three empty glasses to the one in his hand with raised eyebrows, but she didn't comment.

Hermione grinned, taking a sip of her drink. 'Only because I dragged you here,' she said, tilting her head at him.

'Yeah,' Squall muttered, peering at his drink for a moment contemplating if he had had enough before taking a sip.

Hermione moved over to stand next to Squall, leaning against the pillar. He cast her a side-glance for a moment, realising that their arms were now touching. Unsure if she noticed this, Squall shifted a little so there was more room for her to stand there comfortably. She glanced at him in surprise but didn't comment on it.

The two stood in companionable silence for a few minutes, sipping their drinks as they looked out at the couples dancing. A guy came over to them, smiling at Hermione, but he shot Squall a nervous glance. 'Care to dance?' he asked, looking back at Hermione, and holding out his hand to her.

Surprised, Hermione smiled at the handsome young man, and accepted his hand. 'Sure,' she replied, glancing at Squall. His face was stoic, not giving away anything but she thought she caught a flicker of something in his eyes for a moment. She turned to him. 'Can you hold this for me?' she asked, holding her drink out to him and he took it without a word.

As Squall watched Hermione moving across the dance floor, laughing with the young man, he felt something shift in him. It was an uncomfortable emotion that he couldn't place, and he hated it. Annoyed at this, he made to leave, placing Hermione's glass on the table as he passed it.

He walked through the crowds, coming to the edge of the room where the windows met the glass roof making it look like a dome. He paused, looking out at the full moon and the twinkling sea of stars. He caught sight of a shooting star, following it's progression until it faded into nothing. Frowning, he turned to continue his escape and saw the dark-haired girl who was with Seifer earlier. She turned her gaze on him, a smile lighting up her face, and she raised her index finger. Squall frowned, not knowing what she meant by that, and tilted his head at her. She lowered her hand, walking over to him.

She stopped in front of him, peering up at him with brown eyes. Dull in comparison, he thought before he could stop it from forming and inwardly cursed himself.

'You're the best-looking guy here,' the girl said casually, giving him a smile. Squall raised his eyebrows, taken aback by how forward she was. He disliked her immediately. 'Dance with me?' she asked him, placing her hands on her hips.

Squall looked away from her, showing his disinterest, and took a sip of his champagne as he started planning his escape from her. Nearby, Zell was talking to the other guy, Nida, who had also become a SeeD alongside them.

Apparently unaffected by his lack of interest in her, she tried again. 'Let me guess… you'll only dance with someone you like?' she asked, watching him take another drink while still not acknowledging that she was even talking to him. It was starting to irritate her a bit now, and he could tell. He fought off the twitch he could feel appearing on his lips in amusement.

Damn straight, Squall thought, his eyes moving back out to the dance floor where he saw Hermione dancing with a different guy now. As she twirled in his arms, Squall was astonished to find she was gazing at him with an expression he couldn't place. He noticed her eyes flitting from him to the girl with him and he wondered why.

The girl sighed. 'Okay then,' she muttered, placing her hand in front of Squall's face and he pulled back a bit, frowning at her. 'Look into my eyes…' she said, her voice and tone slowed down. She twirled her hand in front of Squall's eyes like she was trying to hypnotise him. 'You're-going-to-like me... you're-going-to-like-me...' she whispered, before pulling her hand away. 'Did it work?' she asked, tilting her head at him.

Squall couldn't help chuckling at this girl. There were plenty of other guys here who would be willing to dance with her, but she had to choose the one who wanted desperately to leave so he could return to his room and sort out his chaotic thoughts. The irony wasn't lost on him, and he found it rather funny.

On that note, Squall glanced back over to where he had seen Zell earlier and was, for once, thankful that he was looking in his direction. He signalled for him to come over to them with a tilt of his head. Zell jogged over to them with a frown. 'What's up?' he asked, glancing from Squall to the girl questioningly.

Squall looked back at the girl. 'It didn't work, if you must know, but good attempt,' he said, watching as her mouth fell open in shock. He guessed she'd never been rejected before. Squall placed a hand on Zell's shoulder and moved slightly behind him. 'This is Zell, he'll dance with you,' he said, giving him a light shove towards the girl.

Zell turned to him, giving him a look which screamed: "what the heck are you doing!?" but Squall just shrugged, watching as the girl recovered from the initial rejection and grabbed Zell's hand, dragging him onto the dance floor. Squall couldn't help laughing at the look on the blonde's face.

Hermione, who was still on the dance floor, observed this exchange and couldn't help the smile that touched her lips at the genuine expression of delight on Squall's face. After her dance, she made her way over to him, noting that there was still a gleam in his eyes. 'So, having fun?' she asked, looking at the ghost of a smile which was still on his lips.

'I am now,' Squall answered, nodding towards the girl who was dragging Zell about the dance floor. He reached out for a fresh glass of champagne as a waitress walked past, handing it to Hermione seeing as he had discarded hers on a table when he was trying to leave earlier.

Hermione was stunned at the gesture, having forgotten about her previous drink whilst dancing, and smiled at him. She looked back out onto the dance floor. 'He really doesn't want to dance, does he?' she said with a laugh, shaking her head at the poor guy.

Squall brushed his hair away from his face. 'Yeah, maybe that was a bit harsh of me,' he muttered, taking a sip of his champagne.

Hermione took a step closer to him, which wasn't lost on him, but he didn't move away either. 'Why didn't you dance with her?' she asked him softly, and Squall looked at her in alarm. 'I guess that's why she came over to you?' she said quickly, looking away from him to the dance floor.

Squall took a sip of his champagne. 'I… can't dance,' he told her, looking away from her to the floor.

Hermione raised her eyebrows. 'It's just a bit of fun,' she said, shaking her head. 'I don't know the dances, but I still tried, and it was fun,' she reiterated, taking a sip of her drink as she wondered why she was even trying to sway him.

'I noticed,' Squall whispered before he could stop himself. He mentally kicked himself as he took a drink and looked back out at the dance floor.

Hermione frowned at him, wondering what he meant by that, but she chose not to comment. Instead, she turned fully towards him. 'Would you dance with me?' she asked shyly, gazing up at him.

Squall, who had just taken a drink, choked slightly, and gaped at her in bewilderment. 'You want to dance with me?' he asked in disbelief, raising his eyebrows.

Hermione, suddenly unsure of herself, crossed her arms. 'It's just a bit of fun,' she muttered, looking away from him as her cheeks reddened. 'If you don't want to, I won't force you to,' she added with a sigh, before turning to walk away from him feeling a bit dejected.

Squall reached out and took her hand before he could stop himself, and she turned back to him in surprise. 'Not a word if I mess up,' he muttered, and she nodded, still unable to believe he was going to dance with her.

Squall led Hermione onto the dance floor and turned towards her. Hesitating for a second, he placed his hand on her waist while she rested a hand on his shoulder. He took hold of her free hand and took a deep breath before leading the dance. As they moved about the dance floor, Hermione quickly grasped that Squall had been lying when he said he couldn't dance. His movement was fluid and refined, and she found herself matching him without having to try too hard even though she didn't know the dance.

After a few minutes, Hermione raised her eyebrows at him. 'I thought you couldn't dance,' she stated, trying not to stand on his feet.

'I lied,' Squall replied with a shrug, and Hermione was stunned to see a smile appear at the corner of his mouth. He looked so different in that moment, like any other ordinary guy and she couldn't help smiling back at him.

Squall spun Hermione away from him, before pulling her back as the routine ended. He gazed down at her, so close he could smell her raspberry and cinnamon shampoo. Her eyes widened slightly, and she suddenly felt nervous at their proximity. Fireworks exploded overhead, diverting their attention to the glass dome. She gazed back at him as the light from the fireworks reflected in his sapphire eyes and she used this distraction to pull away from him. Squall frowned at her as she smiled up at him. 'Thank you for the dance,' she whispered shyly, clasping her hands in front of her. 'It was enlightening,' she told him before walking away.

Squall watched her go, suddenly feeling uncertain of himself with the absence of her hand in his and her other on his shoulder. He had felt confident during his dance with her, but now he wasn't sure what he felt. Why did I agree to dance with her? he asked himself as he walked off the dance floor. He caught sight of the girl from before and she waved at him. Guess there's no hard feelings… he trailed off in that thought. It wasn't like he cared if there was. He couldn't help the smile that crept onto his lips as he was reminded of the look on Zell's face…

oOoOo

Some hours later after the Ball had ended, Hermione wandered down the corridor in the Dormitory Wing towards her room. She couldn't keep the grin from her face as she thought about how wonderful the night had been. It was the most content she had felt since arriving in this world. She still wanted to go home to her own world and missed her friends, family, and Hogwarts dreadfully, but being around so many people who were lovely and helpful had made her feel more relaxed about everything. She was resigned to whatever fate had in store for her.

She shivered as she walked, feeling a cool breeze against her bare arms as she crossed them. Her thoughts turned to Squall, as they had so often since she first came across him. He seemed so different during the Ball and had been good company considering he never wanted to go in the first place. She couldn't believe it had only been a few days since she met him, and she was still reeling from their dance. She hadn't been expecting him to agree to it.

Hermione smiled, genuinely believing she had misjudged him. Maybe there's hope for him yet, she thought, rubbing her arms to try and warm them.

As she reached the first set of dorm rooms, Hermione heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Squall walking with his head down and his hands stuffed in his pockets. He was frowning and Hermione could tell he was irritated by something. 'Hey,' she said softly, and he looked up at her.

He stopped, not saying anything but he did nod to her in greeting. He crossed his arms, gazing out the nearby window. He moved over to it, leaning on the windowsill with a scowl on his face.

Hermione didn't want to pry, but she found herself moving over to him. 'Something wrong?' she asked him, not expecting him to open up to her, but it was worth a try.

Squall sighed, pushing off the windowsill and turning towards her. 'No, just had an annoying conversation with Instructor Trepe,' he muttered with a shrug.

It was then Hermione realised he was no longer wearing his SeeD uniform, but he was in casual clothes. He was wearing a black leather bomber jacket with a fur trim collar, a v-neck white shirt, black trousers with three interconnecting red studded belts, and black boots and gloves. She thought he looked like he was part of some biker gang in that outfit, but she had to admit he looked good. Her eyes were drawn to a silver chain holding a lion pendant. She wanted to ask him about it but decided against it while he was in his current mood. She was lucky she got as much out of him tonight as she had already.

Squall continued walking down the corridor and Hermione fell into step next to him. On the way to their rooms, they heard someone running behind them and turned to see Zell. He stopped next to them. 'Finally!' he breathed, trying to catch his breath. 'There you are, Squall!' he said, nodding at Hermione in greeting before looking back at Squall.

Squall frowned. 'Do you need something?' he asked, trying to keep his irritation in check.

'Where the hell were you? I've been lookin' all over the place,' Zell asked him, shaking his head. 'No matter,' he added with a sigh.

Squall rolled his eyes. 'Why?' he asked, crossing his arms.

Zell reached into his pocket as he answered, 'We've got our own rooms now because we're members of SeeD. The Headmaster asked me to find you so I could give you your key,' he replied, holding the key out to him. 'Your stuff was moved across earlier in the night,' he added as Squall took the key from him.

Squall nodded. 'All right, thanks,' he muttered, wondering what he would need to do with his old key. He figured he would just give it back to the Headmaster or an Instructor.

'Right, I'm off to bed myself! Goodnight, guys!' Zell said, waving at them as he jogged down the corridor ahead of them.

Squall watched him go before looking down at his new key which had "98" engraved in the keyring. Hermione didn't comment but continued walking with him down the corridor. When they arrived at the door to Squall's room, he unlocked it and glanced inside for a moment.

Conscious that Hermione was still there, he turned back to look at her curiously. She took a few steps back, leaning against her own door as she gazed at him and held up a key. 'Hey, neighbour,' she whispered with a chuckle.

Squall swallowed harshly, before looking away into his own room, his hand tightening on the door handle. It was the same layout as Hermione's room, except on the opposite side of the corridor. 'I… should get some sleep…' he trailed off as he gazed back at her.

Hermione nodded and turned to unlock her door. 'Sure,' she said, moving into her room and gazing back at him. 'Goodnight, Squall,' she whispered, smiling at him.

Squall's breath caught in his throat again at the way she said his name, almost like a caress. He wanted to ask her so many questions in that moment but held his tongue. 'Goodnight,' was all he managed to say before moving into his room and closing his door. He leaned his head against his door, shutting his eyes as he took a deep breath to calm his erratic emotions. He had no idea what was happening to him, but whatever it was he despised it.

Unknown to Squall, Hermione was leaning her head against her door, thinking similar thoughts.