A/N Thanks for the follows, favs, and reviews! Next chapter should be longer.

Chapter 3

I chew nervously at my non-existent nails. The Great Hall is bustling with activity but I don't see Granger anywhere, and with what happened last night I have to know what she is thinking. Does she know it was me? No. How could she? There were at least five other students in the vicinity at the time and I seriously doubt she has pegged me for a lady-lover, let alone one with a gift for mind control. No. No, she can't know.

Just as I give up my search I spot her entering the hall with her two boy-toys in tow. It's immediately apparent she told them. Potter's eyes are darting about, face serious, and I can tell he is looking for anyone suspicious. Weaslette is even worse. He looks like he just swallowed a slug, again, and his shoulders are hunched forward in a macho stance that screams "Stay away from my woman!". Really, I don't understand why she picked that ginger git; he is so transparent. My dog Liza is harder to read and she has a grand total of three thoughts: food, sleep, and play.

I do my best to keep my head down or towards Daphne, who is rattling on about the sexy new Quidditch player with the big biceps. I could care less and she knows it. The sad part is, she's my closest friend right now and I hate her. She hates me too. Our relationship is a series of one-sided conversations in which one of us pretends to give a shit about the other. If anybody is watching they would think us the best of chums, but it's just a well choreographed dance of lies. We need each other to make it work and for now, it's the best either of us has got so we don't complain. Not aloud anyway.

After breakfast I head to my first class of the day, which thankfully does not include Granger or her bodyguards. I have a chance to relax for a moment before the real work begins. Damage control is always such a bitch. It won't be the first time mind reading has gotten me into trouble. Once I made the foolish choice to enter my mother's mind, a terrifying place. I was shown the image of her recent adultery. Very traumatic. No one knew about it but me, and so when she casually mentioned her visit to the city for some shopping my grunt of disbelief was a red flag to her. That was a real mess to clean up.

I have the feeling this will be worse. Granger is like a dog with a bone when she sets her mind to something. I've seen it year after year in class. She won't let this drop until she has discovered and punished the culprit to her satisfaction. It's going to be tough but I will say this, at least I'm no longer wallowing in self-pity. That was becoming a bore.

After spending all day avoiding or ignoring Granger I make my way to the library. I don't want to but it's become habit and to not do so would be suspicious. I sit in my usual spot and begin to work on some overdue course work. It's a little later than normal when Granger walks in slowly, cautiously. She's studying the room's occupants, taking a mental count of the presences and absences like roll call. Present!

I try my best to ignore her but my muscles freeze up as I see her black shoes stepping my way. Oh, shite. She can't have figured it out already! I keep my eyes on the book in front of me as she takes a seat on the opposite side of my table. Reluctantly, I look up to meet her gaze with as much indifferent annoyance as possible.

"Uh? Need something?" I ask.

She hesitates for a moment. The dark eyes are studying my expression, waiting for the slightest flicker of guilt. "I was just going to ask you if you had decided yet."

"Decided? Decided what?"

"If you want forgiveness. If you want to talk." Her voice is flat.

"Oh," I try to maintain composure under her unwavering stare, "Yeah I have given it some thought." But I hadn't. I'm fumbling for words and as they come I surprise myself yet again. "I'd like to take you up on your offer. For both that is."

"Really?" Her eyes widen slightly. "Well that's good then. If you want we can meet up tonight. Have a little chat."

I don't need to read her mind to know that this is some kind of set up. What does she have up her sleeve? "Yeah that's fine. Middle courtyard at eight?"

"By the tree." She says succinctly as she gets up.

I nod dumbly, watching her walk away, wondering what the hell I just agreed to. How is this getting so out of control so fast? I need to regain the upper hand. But how? It only takes me a couple seconds to come to the same solution I have since second year: legilimency.

Granger has already made her exit, wanting to get away from whomever mentally violated her I'm sure. Is that what that was? A violation? Probably, but what does it matter; it's not like I care about her feelings or anything. She's just a fun distraction from my gloomy life, nothing more. She's beneath me. She's a mudblood. She's beneath me...

And so on and so forth...

What am I going to wear tonight?

It is getting near to eight and I'm nervous. My stupid hands won't stop trembling. They don't understand there's no reason for me to be scared because I've taken a few precautions. First, I am getting there a half an hour early to scope the place out for any traps. Second, I plan to enter her thoughts quickly before I meet with her to see if she has tricks up her sleeve. Third, I've dressed as nondescript as I could to keep myself looking bored. And lastly, I've brushed up on my immobulus charm in case things go south and I need to make a quick escape.

As I walk along the outer edge of the courtyard I see she is already there. Damn it! She has arrived half an hour early as well. That damn, bloody know-it-all. And it appears she is also on the lookout for anything suspicious. Her eyebrows are pinched in concentration, her back is against the wall, and one hand is hidden under her beige cardigan. Like it isn't totally obvious she's fondling her wand under there.

She thinks me dumb…well everyone does. That's fine. That's how I want it. I learned from Mother, who never had to work a day in her life because she gets others to take care of her by acting stupid. If people think you inept it always gives you the edge. The element of surprise. Granger is book-smart but I'm street-smart, and to be blunt, being book-smart won't get her nearly as far as she thinks. She'd probably do better using that pretty face and perfectly toned body.

She's already caught sight of me so it's too late to enter her thoughts. I will just need to be careful. Let her do most of the talking. Yes, that's good. I don't want to give anything away.

"Hey," I say. I yawn.

"Hey," she says. Then she pulls her hand into view. No wand in it. There is an awkward silence while we try and figure out what to say, who gets to say it, and with what tone.

I start, because I hate dead air. "So...let's go sit by the tree."

She nods and we take a seat at the base of the tree. There aren't many students around at this time of night and I'm grateful. She probably is too. Last thing we need it to be distracted by hecklers. We're going toe-to-toe in a battle of the wits. I can sense her sizing me up, looking for my weaknesses and strengths.

This should be fun.