So, chapter 9!

Sorry for vanishing! Real life turned eventful all of a sudden! (And by eventful, I mean that I met a man, fell in love, and now I have no idea what I'm doing, because the whole thing took me by surprise!)

Thing is, I planned on rewriting major parts of the next few chapters, because I'm not entirely happy with them, but life is getting in the way :p I'll figure it out though!

Anyway, here's chapter 9 - a chapter that isn't really needed for the story at all, but I'm posting it nevertheless!

-o-

Chapter 9 - What are You? Five?

Hermione woke up the next morning to commotion in the hallway outside her bedroom.

Now what, she thought as she got out of bed. I can't go outside like this, was her next thought, realising her hair was probably on Brave-princess-level, and her black pyjama pants with pink and violet owls was rather…ridiculous. It was slightly too big for her as well, and hung rather low on her hips, resulting in a slight display of belly. Her t shirt – black, with the print Ask me about my T-REX – did nothing to help either. They would probably ask, and she would be forced to show them the pull-the-shirt-over-her-head-to-display-T-rex. She had a spaghetti top underneath, though. Oh, screw it, she thought as she heard a bang from the hallway.

"What," she said as she pushed open the door. "Seriously, just what."

In the hallway, she found Blackwall, Dorian, Trevelyan, and Solas. Solas was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the wall, apparently watching in amusement.

But then, he saw Hermione.

I regret everything, she thought as Solas' eyes widened, and his eyes flickered as he looked her up and down. Why didn't I just fix the hair, if nothing else?

It was too late now, however, so Hermione just sighed as she walked over to the people causing the commotion.

Dorian was standing with his back against the wall, and Blackwall was standing in front of him, looking quite annoyed.

"Why is Blackwall wearing nothing but a towel?" Hermione asked as she stopped next to them. "And what exactly is going on?"

She got no response, and decided to turn to Solas instead. "What exactly is so important that they find it worthy of interrupting my beauty sleep? As one can see, it was interrupted before it was finished."

He came over and stopped next to her, looking at her in a way that made her want to run and hide. I regret absolutely everything, she thought as Solas gazed at her hair for a moment before meeting her eyes again. Please stop looking at me in that way.

"Why in the world would you need beauty sleep, Da'fen?" Solas asked, catching Hermione completely off-guard. Before she could figure out what to say, the moment was over, and Solas nodded at Blackwall and Dorian as if nothing had happened. "Dorian, apparently, had an urge to get a glimpse of Blackwall's bare behind. Twice, as I understand. Blackwall, in return, had an urge to explain to Dorian - and in detail at that - how he is, in fact, interested in women, not men."

"Dorian used magic to levitate Blackwall's towel," Trevelyan added, rolling her eyes.

Hermione just stared at the two men for a moment. "Seriously? Seriously?" She stepped closer to the two men, poking Blackwall's arm. "Stop being homophobic."

There was a slight pause before Trevelyan raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Hermione looked at the Inquisitor. "Homophobic. Homo – also known as gay – and phobic – phobia. It's somewhat self-explanatory," she said before focusing on Blackwall again. He was actually looking at her now. "Listen up. Why in the world do you feel the need to tell Dorian you aren't gay? He already knows. He is not trying to convert you. He's just trying to get a glimpse of that nicely shaped bottom of yours. It's not the end of the world."

"Exactly," Dorian began, but quickly shut up when Hermione focused on him.

Pointing a finger at the sassy Tevinter, she narrowed her eyes. "And you," she said, poking his chest, "don't be a prat. You already knew this was something that only you would find funny, and it's not all right. Would you have done the same to me?" She shook her head. "Let me rephrase. If someone had done the same to me, or to Evelyn, and we had reacted with embarrassment, would you have accepted it if they continued?"

Dorian's eyes widened. "No," he said, sighing. "I would not. Looking at it that way..." Dorian looked at Blackwall. "Shit, I do owe you an apology, don't I? Well, I apologise. Genuinely so, even. It will not happen again."

Blackwall seemed rather caught off-guard by the turn of events, and ended up with a somewhat perplexed expression. "Well, I guess I - apology accepted."

Hermione turned to Blackwall again. "And you," she said, pointing her finger at him, "you owe Dorian an apology as well."

"But, he was the one who started-"

"Merlin's knickers, honestly, Blackwall. He started it? What are you, five? Even if he started it, that does not give you the right to act as you did. Dorian is gay, so what? What exactly is it you are afraid of? That he will sneak into your bed in the middle of the night? That he will try to convert you? Dorian knows very well how that can't be done. If it could, he would probably be married to some perfectly bred, fragile flower of a Tevinter lady, and would not be here, helping us save the world. Has he ever done anything – other than levitating your towel twice – inappropriate towards you? Has he done anything to deserve the way you just treated him? Next you'll be calling elves knife-ears." Blackwall was about to object, but Hermione shook her head. "Yes, it's very different in a way. But it's the same concept, Blackwall. Being gay is not a choice. Being an elf is not a choice. How about Sera? You get along swimmingly with her, don't you? She's gay."

"That's different."

Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose before looking at him. "You do realise how stupid that comment was? No. No, it's not different at all. Which means the problem lies with you, not with Dorian. Yes, he levitated your towel, something that was not okay. But think about it. Has he ever done anything like that before? No? Indeed. I suspect the reason for why he did it was in some part because of that behind of yours, but for the most part? The first time Dorian – and all of you – saw a flannel towel was last night. New things are interesting, aren't they? Combine that with a slight faulty impulse control – what do you get? Levitating towels. Also, because Dorian thinks he is hilarious. Now, get over it. If it makes you feel better, I happen to know that you aren't even Dorian's type. Thus, he is not going around ogling you. Apologise."

Blackwall stared at Hermione for a long moment, but then he sighed as he turned to Dorian. "I apologise."

"Apology accepted."

Hermione nodded as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Good. Now, Blackwall, stop being so bloody homophobic, and Dorian; think before you act. If you would not approve of this happening to me, then just don't." Sighing, she continued. "And now, I am going to take a long shower, because I woke up approximately five minutes ago, and this was not how I planned on starting my day."

Before anyone could respond, Hermione spun on her heel and walked back to her room before anyone could protest, or ask her about her T-Rex.

-o-

While showering, Hermione contemplated the event that had just happened. Would they all be annoyed with her now? Had she overstepped?

Oh, screw it,she thought. It's too late to change now anyway.

-o-

She emerged from her bedroom a while later, and found Solas out in the hallway, apparently waiting for her.

"You would be the Alpha in your pack," he said, raising an eyebrow.

Hermione gave him a perplexed look. "What? Why?"

"You have two Omegas downstairs. Their tails would be between their legs - had they had tails."

Hermione chuckled. "I'll say. So they aren't mad at me?"

Solas shook his head. "No. Apologetic, perhaps. But not mad."

Hermione laughed. "I'm glad. Not that they are walking around with their tails between their legs, but that they aren't mad at me."

"They did deserve it."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "The whole thing was ridiculous."

"Indeed. And I do believe that is why there are two grown men walking around with sheepish looks."

Hermione shook her head before giving Solas an amused smile. "This will probably result in them being awkwardly polite to each other for a while."

Solas chuckled. "Indeed."

"Anyway," Hermione said as she gave Solas another smile, "are we about to leave?"

He nodded. "We are."

"All right," Hermione said as she followed Solas down the stairs.