Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine.
A/N: Well, here is the fifth chapter! I actually thought I won't be able to post this today. Whatever, some of my tests is done; some are still coming up. My hard work paid-off! I was able to have an awesome grade for geometry, which is the vilest, most loathsome subject that was ever discovered or invented or whatever by someone in the whole wide world.
Haha, anyway, I want to dedicate this chapter to whenallelsefail, my awesome Beta-Reader! Everyone, let us all give her a round of applause *clap* *clap*! Without her, my grammar might still be slightly intolerable.
So, here it is. Enjoy!
Chapter Five: Sweet Bribery
A week had already passed and Hermione was thankful she was still alive and disguised. Last week hadn't really been that eventful, except for the extreme animosity she got from the other Gryffindors. Apparently, they still hadn't forgiven her, thinking she was the reason why twenty points were deducted from their House and Ron landed himself his first detention.
Now, she knew how a Slytherin felt whenever he or she crossed a scornful Gryffindor. The difference was that the latter were less aggressive and less insulting. They contented themselves by glaring at her from afar. The problem was, almost all of the Gryffindors were glaring at her when the teacher was not looking at all. It was enough for her to be bothered in classes. Thank goodness she was Hermione Granger in disguise. If not, she would have run wildly to the infirmary, demanding for a Calming Draught.
Another thing that happened in her first week was Draco Malfoy's obvious animosity to her. That, she could take. She even gladly returned it back with equal fervor. Every time her eyes landed on him, she would remember those scornful words he uttered to her and her anger would spark once again.
Lastly was Theodore Nott. Unfortunately for her, he reverted back to his old bastard-y self. She could see from afar a sweet and adorable 'Teddy' mingling with some of his Slytherin friends, but once he saw her, his sweetness would completely disappear from his face. Instead, a dark scowl would settle on his handsome face.
"Theo has a weird attitude," Blaise once told her when he noticed her changed demeanor as Teddy directed a glare towards the brunette's direction. "He's sweet and adorable to the people he likes, even forcing them to call him 'Teddy'. But then, he will be his bastard self when he's around people he loathes."
That did nothing to raise her spirits. Even if he did not have the position Draco Malfoy had, Teddy was still vital for her mission. Since it was highly dangerous, Hermione needed to have as many friends as possible. Teddy proved to be useful to her, despite his immaturity. She had watched him in some classes and he seemed more advanced than her other classmates. She needed someone with magical ability like Teddy's.
"You all right?" Harry asked, noticing her silence.
Once again, they were in the Room of Requirement. They had an agreement of meeting each other during the weekends (excluding the times when they urgently needed each other). And ever since Harry arrived, Hermione had been silent.
His question was ignored and he frowned. She was still deep in thought, her eyes staring into nothingness. "Hermione?" he asked, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
She snapped out of her stupor and looked at Harry, sheepish. "Sorry," she said, rubbing her right eye. "I'm just… thinking of Teddy."
"Theodore Nott?" he asked in surprise, his frown deepening. "What did he do? Was he being a bastard to you like Malfoy?"
Hermione sighed, shaking her head. "He's completely different from Malfoy," she answered, scowling at the ferret's name. She ran a hand through her hair. "You know how I feel about people disliking me, Harry, right? Well, except for Voldemort and his minions."
Harry nodded, absentmindedly rubbing the brunette's arm. Hermione had always been uncomfortable every time she knew that some people disliked her. The fact that she had cried in the girls' loo when she heard an eleven-year-old Harry and Ron saying not-so-kind things about her was proof enough.
"Have you tried to apologize?" he offered.
She groaned. "He might call me a nuisance, too," she spat. Apparently, those words uttered by Malfoy still made her bitter.
"Try," Harry urged. "He might forgive you. You said it yourself; he's completely different from Malfoy."
"And besides," he continued, wrapping an arm around Hermione's shoulders, "you're still Hermione Granger. You know how people immediately soften every time you apologize to them, yeah?" Harry smiled, reminiscing the times when an extremely guilty Hermione reluctantly go to their room and apologize to him and Ron about things she had done.
Hermione made a face before leaning her head against his shoulders. "Boys are so… so… mind-boggling!" she announced. She was not able to see her best friend raised an eyebrow. "I feel like I'm solving a really, really difficult Arithmancy test."
"But you're Hermione Granger," he pointed out. "You can solve anything."
"Oh, let me rephrase that," she snarled. "Boys are like solving a really, really difficult Arithmancy test with wrong terms. No matter what you do, it is still impossible to solve!"
"Unless, you tell the teacher something's wrong with the given items," Harry butted in, smirking.
"Honestly," she proclaimed in exasperation. "I will never understand boys."
"And I will never understand girls," he retorted back. "Now, can we stop talking about the ridiculousness of the opposite sex? I am interested to hear how your first week went."
"Well, last week was…"
"Thinking about Nott again?" Blaise asked, inviting himself to sit beside Hermione in the Slytherin table.
The brunette, surprised with his sudden arrival, looked at him in astonishment. "Blaise!" was her exclamation, which he returned with one of his warm smiles. Hermione sent him a reluctant one before glancing back at her lunch, still untouched. "How'd you know?"
At the corner of her eyes, she saw him shrug. "Well, one: you've been staring at him all the time. Do you know that?" Upon seeing her horrified expression, he laughed. "And second: you've been thinking about him ever since that incident in our room, Austen."
She grew sheepish, rubbing her neck in embarrassment. "It's just that," she started, "I'm uncomfortable when someone's mad at me."
"A pacifist, eh?" he asked, shaking his head. "Seriously, Hermes, don't be bothered by Theo's immature antics. It's annoying sometimes, you know."
"You're only saying that because you've never angered him before," Hermione pointed out.
To her surprise, Blaise released a hearty laugh. "Oh, I did. Countless times already," he assured her, taking a bite of his kidney pie. "He often has temper tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants. Like a child. What should I do? It's amusing to see him all worked up."
Hermione frowned. "Then, how do you deal with it? You told me yourself Teddy changes into a jerk to people who angered him."
"Simple. Bribery," he said with a nonchalant shrug. "Bribe him like a mother bribes her upset child. Give him sweets and such. Nott always had a soft spot for sweets. Merlin, I actually think he has a separate stomach to hold all of them."
"That's it?"
"That's what?"
"That's how you apologize to Teddy?" A look of disbelief crossed Hermione's face. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Because you weren't asking," he stated matter-of-factly.
Hermione sighed and smiled despite herself.
Upon seeing the smile on her face, Blaise raised an eyebrow. "You know, I just find it weird you're getting so worked up because of Teddy's anger. Guys normally… brush it off. Our egos are normally too big to ask forgiveness to others, right?"
'Shoot,' she thought, freezing on her chair. Blaise was right. Most men were too prideful to admit that they were at fault. Look at Ron, for instance. She had to always apologize to him first, even if he was the one who started the fight.
Blaise had been looking at her strangely, probably expecting a reply to his question. Hermione tried to calm her nerves as she shot him a small smile. "A pacifist, remember?" she replied, gesturing to herself. "I make peace. Not war."
"Honestly," he said, shaking his head in amusement.
Hermione chuckled, and for the first time, ate her lunch. "Hey, Blaise?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks," she said, this time showing a real smile. "I feel much better." She absentmindedly arranged the food on her plate from biggest to smallest. "I feel embarrassed for always bothering you. Merlin, I just started here at Hogwarts and I've already managed to land myself into a lot of troubles."
Shrugging, "no problem" was his only reply.
"Eh, but I want to ask one more favor from you," she continued slowly. "If you'll agree."
Blaise raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Go on."
"Uh… do you have any supply of sweets?" she said and to her surprise, Blaise laughed. "What? It's just that I'm not really fond of them. And so, I never pack some before going back to school."
"Sure, sure," he said, giving her a charming smile. "You're really interesting, Hermes Austen. I do want to know more about you."
"Thanks." She grinned. "I want to know more about you, too, Blaise Zabini."
Blaise told her Teddy usually hung out by the Great Lake during break times. It turned out he was right because as soon as she caught sight of the Hogwarts Lake, the Slytherin was there, sitting on a big rock with a contented smile on his face.
She distinctly remembered the time when she went to the Quidditch Pitch to apologize to Malfoy. He was wearing the same look on his face.
'Stop thinking about him, Hermione Granger,' she reprimanded herself as she shook her head vigorously. 'Teddy and Malfoy are completely different from each other.'
She slipped her hand inside the pocket of her trousers, fingering the sweets that Blaise and Harry had given her. Her bespectacled friend had discovered about this peace-making endeavor and generously gave her some of his supply of sweets he had bought in Diagon Alley before going back to school.
Hermione was soon comforted by the sweets. She was not really fond of them; her parents, being dentists, had been strict about eating sugary food. She just got used to not eating them. But if they were able to help her right now, she swore she would never scorn them anymore.
She was nearing Teddy and from this angle, she was able to clearly see him.
Teddy was handsome, that was a fact. Having black hair and sparkling blue eyes attracted a lot of girls at Hogwarts. His carefree demeanor also made the people around him at ease… well, those whom Teddy liked could beat ease with him.
It confused her to see these two different sides of Theodore Nott in a span of a week. Frankly, she wished he would be the adorable Teddy whenever she was around. He reminded her of her favorite cousin, Andy, who was as easy-going as Teddy. And knowing someone in school had the same attitude as her cousin's was a relief.
It reminded her of home.
'Home,' she thought, releasing a soft sigh. 'I miss home.'
With these thoughts in her mind, Hermione's determination flared. Her hesitant steps turned into sure, determined ones, and before she knew it, she was just a few feet away from the Slytherin.
He still seemed oblivious to her presence, and so, she cleared her throat to catch his attention. Thankfully, it did the job, because his head swiveled around and his blue eyes landed on her. His eyes then narrowed and a dark scowl marred his handsome face.
'I expected that,' she thought. But deep inside, she still wished he'd stop looking at her like that.
"What do you want?" was his annoyed question, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Look, I'm here to apo—"
"I don't want to hear it," he interrupted, covering his ears with his hands. "Don't waste your time, Austen."
Hermione frowned. "I'm trying to apologize," she shot back. Her frown deepened as Teddy hummed a soft tune under his breath, blocking Hermione's voice.
'How rude!' she fumed, now understanding why Blaise told her that Teddy's immaturity was annoying sometimes.
"I'm sorry!" she hollered. The tune he was humming only got louder and Hermione, desperate, retrieved as many sweets from her pocket as possible. "Look, I brought sweets."
To her glee, he stopped his incessant humming, his eyes trained intently on the offered sweets. He slowly removed his hands from his ears, placing them back on his lap.
It was amusing for Hermione to see him entranced by the candies on her hand. But for some strange reason, she found his reaction very…endearing. Even if he was a seventh year already, he still acted like a child.
"For me?" was his feeble question.
"Yes," Hermione answered, nodding. If it was possible, Teddy's eyes grew sparkly. "I'm sorry. I told you I do not drink. I didn't mean to puke all over Malfoy, Theo. It's just that—"
"Teddy."
"—I was so intoxicated… What?"
She was so surprised when he flashed his adorable grin. "Call me 'Teddy'!" he exclaimed enthusiastically, grabbing all the sweets from Hermione's hand. He started to open one Chocolate Frog and ate it, his smile growing as he chewed the delectable candy.
A smile gradually formed on Hermione's face. "You're not mad anymore?" she asked, hopeful.
Teddy shook his head, opening yet another Chocolate Frog. "Nope," he said, eyes now on the brunette. "Thanks for the sweets, Hermes!"
Hermione chuckled in disbelief. It was amazing to witness his sudden change of attitude in a span of a few minutes.
Clenching her right hand, she then offered it to Teddy. He stopped eating for a while, looking instead at her fisted hand curiously. "Friends?" she asked, carefully watching the Slytherin.
Without any hesitation, Teddy gave her a fist bump and suddenly wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulder. "Best friends," he corrected, leading her back to Hogwarts. "Come on, let's go back. I'm starving! I hope they're going to serve my favorite food today. Ah, being a seventh year is really tiresome, don't you think, Hermes? I just wish we're still first years and not worry about NEWTs. Seriously, the teachers are pressuring us to do our best when…"
Hermione found herself smiling up at Teddy. 'That went well,' she happily thought.
"Is something wrong, Draco?" Teddy asked in concern. "You have this… strange look on your face. Have you eaten something rotten?" He invited himself to eat the chicken from Draco's plate, and concluded, "Nothing's wrong with your food."
"Theodore, leave him alone," Blaise said, shaking his head. He rolled his eyes at the glaring Draco and gave a comforting smile to a frowning Hermione.
It was a relief for him when Teddy and Hermione came to the Great Hall together, with the former insisting that she ate with them. Blaise silently admitted that he missed Teddy's boisterous voice and Draco's changed attitude. Now that Hermione and Teddy were getting along again, his plea was heard. But seeing Draco's dark aura was disheartening.
"What is he doing here, Nott?" the blond spat. Hermione, defiant, returned back his glare.
"Ah, come on, Draco. He's not that bad," Teddy said in her defense. The brunette averted her eyes away from Malfoy to give Teddy a grateful smile.
Draco, on the other hand, released a tired sigh. "Let me guess," he started, "he bribed you with sweets, didn't he?"
Teddy gave him a sheepish smile whilst rubbing the back of his neck. "I can't help it, mate," he retorted back. "They were irresistible!"
"Ah, seriously," he said, shaking his head. He glared once again at Hermione and was secretly amused at her equally dark glare. "Oi, nuisance!"
Hermione's glare darkened even more.
"Just stay away from me and everything will be all right," Draco continued.
Hermione scoffed and crossed her arms. "Gladly!" she spat back, her stubbornness resurfacing.
"Now, now," Blaise said, raising both of his hands. "Can we at least eat peacefully?"
The four Slytherins continued to talk with some constant bickering from Hermione and Draco, awed comments from Teddy, and exhausted replies from Blaise.
In the midst of their strange conversation, Hermione's eyes landed on the Gryffindor table and caught Harry's eyes. His emerald orbs were showing some concern and Hermione gave him a reassuring smile. Aiming his usual boyish smile at her, he went back to his conversation with Ron, Ginny, and the other Gryffindors.
She sighed, missing the good, old times. She wistfully guessed they were once again talking about Quidditch, and despite her longing, she smiled.
'At least they are moving on,' she thought, her eyes landing back on her three new acquaintances (well, if she could call Malfoy that), lips smiling softly.
At least, she had the three of them.
A/N: That's it for now. I'm not really fond of this chapter but whatever. I still love Teddy. Trust me, some of you, if not all, will love him more as the story progressed. He's like the little, adorable brother I've always wanted. I have a little brother but don't ask me how he acts *glares at the little imp*.
Anyway, I'll be watching HP7 this weekend already! WOOT! After waiting for a long, looooooooong time, I'll finally be able to watch it.
I'll stop here now. I'm not supposed to be up this late. I still have homeworks I haven't accomplished (namely, a Geometry assignment). 'Til next Thursday then!
With love,
2booklover4
P.S. BY THE WAY, thanks to all of your awesome reviews. I'm tempted to answer each and every one of them but I cannot. My mother will reprimand me if she discovers I'm still up and about. I'll try to answer some in the next chapter, okay?