Disclaimer to JK Rowling, and Shakespeare
Chapter Nine: Let Them Lie
My whole life long I learned to love.
This hour my utmost art I prove
And speak my passion-heaven or hell?
Robert Browning from One Way of Love
"Where were we?"
Hermione raised her hand eagerly, and the Professor turned to her with a bright smile.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Act two, Scene one… at the line: 'The Moor! I know his trumpet.'"
Lacie, who was next to her, was listening in rapt attention and hastily flicked through her copy to the correct part of the book. Draco, on the other hand, snorted at Hermione and deliberately caught her gaze to roll his eyes at her. Professor Burbage strolled around the classroom with her copy of Othello, and ignoring Draco, Hermione watched as the Professor turned to the page in question before scanning for a moment and looking up at the class.
"Mister Malfoy…"
"Let me guess," Draco drawled, "You want me to read the role of Iago? Why is it that I am always chosen to read aloud during these classes?"
"Mister Malfoy, whilst the homework you produce is acceptable, your in-class participation is appalling. Seeing as you refuse to answer questions, the only way for you to have an adequate amount of participation in this class is by selecting you to read aloud. Is that clear?"
Hermione snickered as Draco glowered at the professor.
"But as you object to the role of Iago, today you shall recite Othello's lines."
"Oh, how you spoil me," Draco muttered, just about loud enough for the class to hear. Lacie nudged Draco's bandaged arm and her brother flinched. His glower moved from their Muggle Studies professor to his twin. It was yet another Muggle Studies lesson where Draco did his best to antagonise their Professor or his sister. He disliked every aspect of Muggle Studies and seemed to dislike Professor Burbage down to her Muggle attire. Their Professor never wore robes whilst teaching, preferring unrestricted comfortable clothing and it seemed to offend Draco every lesson. Hermione didn't know why he cared so much, it wasn't as if her knee-length boots and lack of a pointy hat made her less of a professor.
"Mister Entwhistle, you shall read for Iago and Mister Boot, can you read the lines for Cassio? Mister Macmillan, would you like to read the part of Roderigo?"
The boys nodded fervently and Kevin Entwhistle leafed through his copy of the play so they could prepare for their parts. The professor strolled around the class before asking, "And who would like the role of Desdemona?"
Every girl earnestly put their hand up, even Lacie was on the edge of her seat to try and convince the professor for the role. Draco used his free hand to try and swat Lacie's out of the air. Lacie frowned at her brother.
"What?" Hermione heard her friend hiss.
"You cannot read the role of Desdemona; you are my sister."
"What difference does that make?"
"I am reading Othello's lines, and I would rather not profess my undying love towards my sister," Draco snapped.
Lacie sighed before lowering her hand as students in their class snickered. Hermione looked behind and saw girls contemplate what Draco had said before lowering their hands too. Hermione noted with a small glee that it seemed that Draco wasn't as desirable as he sometimes made out to be. Hermione also thought about what Draco said, as much as he was her friend, the idea of him reciting lines of adoration in her direction was also rather undesirable. She, too, also lowered her hand but not before Professor Burbage had selected her to read the part of Desdemona. She groaned and this earned her a glare from Draco. Professor Burbage took her seat behind her large oak desk, before gesturing the five to stand at the front.
The Muggle Studies classroom was by far the more interesting classroom that Hogwarts had to offer. It was a cross between a theatre and a museum. The Professor's desk was next to a raised area where Professor Burbage would encourage her students to perform the lines of the play they were studying to recreate authenticity. However, authenticity was not always achieved as Draco resented being chosen to stand at the front of the classroom once a week to recite lines, and monotonously did so to the chagrin of their professor. The rest of the classroom had shelves full of muggle inventions and appliances that Professor Burbage would pull out for their other lessons to explain and discuss its history and uses. Hermione hated the show-and-tell classes as there wasn't much that the Professor could tell her about how and why Muggles used a lamp. Whilst it was interesting from a wizard's perspective ("But, Professor, if they have gas-lights and candles, why do they need lamps too?"), it was also incredibly mundane. Hermione always looked forward to studying Muggle literature in comparison to debating the merits of a bicycle. Even though Shakespeare was a Wizarding bard, his profound effect on Muggles was worth studying even with Draco butchering the lines he was given.
Hermione walked to the front of the classroom, and watched as Draco shuffled to the front, his copy of Othello propped in his uninjured hand and a sullen look on his face. When he reached the front of the class, Professor Burbage forced a smile before saying, "Mister Entwhistle, from the line that Miss Granger gave me."
Kevin looked at his book before saying, "The Moor! I know his trumpet."
"'Tis truly so," Terry responded.
"Let's meet him and receive him," Hermione recited. She carried on doing so, even as Draco sighed through his lines.
"It gives me wonder great as my content…" Draco said before going red amongst the snickers in the class. He shot a glare at their classmates, which did little to sober them. Hermione felt her cheeks heat up as she scanned Draco's lines. He cleared his throat before saying, "To see you here before me. O my soul's joy!"
He carried on reading aloud the lines, and Hermione was blushing furiously as she followed him with, "But that our loves and comforts should increase…"
The entire Muggle Studies third-year class was chuckling as she spoke, and Draco returned the adulations with equal unenthusiastic fervour before pausing and looking over at Professor Burbage and saying, "I do not have to kiss her do I?"
Hermione almost buried her head in her book as a girl near the back of the classroom cackled with delight. It was clear why they found it amusing. Mr 'You-will-be-next-Mudbloods' was not only forced to take the Muggle Studies class at the behest of his mother but also had to read aloud his love for the girl he had only months prior established that the world would be better without. Draco's reluctance to cooperate in general in these classes also added to the humour, as did Professor Burbage's exasperation.
"Would it provide you with any educational value to kiss Miss Granger?"
Draco didn't answer, and instead carried on reading the lines as quickly as he could. Kevin, on the other hand, seemed to relish Draco's discomfort and read aloud as dramatically and slowly as he could. When it was back to Draco, he spoke at breakneck speed, pausing for breath only when he desperately needed to. He stopped and glowered at the Professor before walking back to his desk.
"Mister Malfoy, where are you going?"
Draco waved his book insolently before saying, "It says exeunt Othello, I am exeunting, Professor."
He sat down and threw his book onto the table before slouching into his chair. Lacie scowled at her brother and prodded his arm with her copy of Othello, and Draco straightened up. Seeing that Draco had left, and the line also indicated that the character of Desdemona was also to leave, Hermione glanced at her Muggle Studies professor and Terry before leaving the raised area. After the class had died down, Kevin and Ernie carried on reading to the class.
Lacie turned to Hermione as Kevin spoke, "I do not understand why he stays in this class, seeing as he clearly detests it."
"Whisper louder, Lacerta, I simply cannot hear you," Draco whispered curtly, leaning towards her.
Lacie looked over at Draco, "Oh, I meant for you to hear, you can simply just not turn up or bother, but do you come and make it unenjoyable for everyone else in your misery."
"I cannot fail this class, I have to maintain a decent average to stay on the Quidditch team, as well as placate Mother."
"Mother would not have forced you to take this class if you had not been so pig-headed and said what you had said about Hermione."
"You two, some people want to learn in this class," Hermione hissed, and they quietened but didn't stop glowering at each other. They stayed like that for the rest of the lesson, and doing anything to aggravate the other until Professor Burbage had had enough and dismissed them both early. Draco did not need telling twice, and waved his wand to pack his bag for him before rushing out of the door. Lacie protested, but the Professor simply packed her bag for her, and had charmed it to urge her out of the classroom. After the class quietened at the disruption, Hermione was finally able to concentrate on the lesson.
The peace didn't last long though, as Professor Burbage kept Hermione behind to inform her that she was to sit in between the Malfoy twins, as the Muggle Studies professor thought that it would be more conducive to Draco's enthusiasm for the class.
Hermione left the class feeling dejected, and reached for her neck. Her finger dipped under the collar of her blouse. The corridor was milling with people, but she soon found a quiet broom closet for hide in. She thought carefully about where she had been the previous hour before decided that it was safe to turn the hourglass back once. She felt her body move, as she recounted the past hour in flashes but in reverse. She watched herself move back into her seat in Muggle Studies and raise her arm again. She moved out of the classroom, and was in a corridor leading to the Muggle Studies classroom. She ducked into the crowd of people moving the opposite way, just as her past self walked to Muggle Studies with Lacie. She checked her watch, and hissed. She ran across Hogwarts, feeling her side ache as she strained and she flew up the stairs towards the Divination classroom.
Harry and Ron looked at her curiously as she sat down.
"Why are you so late?" Ron asked, as he poured her a cup of tea.
"Am I?" Hermione said, feigning ignorance. "I must have lost track of time."
As Trelawney lamented over Harry's oncoming demise, it provided perfect cover not to explain herself further to Ron. He would never know how accurate her statement had been. It hadn't even been two months yet, and she was starting to lose her mind over this time-turning business.
x-x-x-x-x
Draco was stuck in an intense staring competition across the Great Hall with Lacie. In the past, Draco would have been afraid to cross her and drove himself insane over anticipating what she may plan against him. However, they were at Hogwarts, and Draco knew that she would not dare so much lift a finger against him whilst they were in these walls. Also, Draco was not afraid of his sister anymore. He knew how to better his sister, if the occasion ever called for it.
He knew that this was fermenting since their disastrous clash in Muggle Studies yesterday. After being sent away from the class, Lacie had stalked him down several corridors, yelling that he was scuppering her chances of doing well in the class. He knew that she could not stand how he seemed to grasp Muggle inventions and ideas quicker than her and made it known to the few in the corridor that were lingering. If he hated the class, why did he not simply do just the bare minimum, why did he have to best her?
You have a Muggleborn friend, Draco had snapped, maybe you should ask her how it works.
Of course, Lacie had been stubborn and had flounced away leaving Draco to walk towards his next class.
So when he sat down for breakfast the next morning, he had caught her glare from across the Great Hall, it was an action that Draco happily returned. They had been glaring at each other for ten minutes, and it seemed that people knew better than to distract the Malfoy twins from a brewing feud. That is, except for Theo. Theo nudged Draco on his uninjured arm several times before reaching over and punching him squarely on his bandaged one. Draco jumped up with a yelp as pain shot up his arm. They were still putting those disgusting potions on his arm, and although the injury had mostly healed by now, the potions had a nasty side effect of hurting more than usual.
Draco tore his gaze away from Lacie to narrow his eyes at Theo.
"What?"
"I heard the most delicious rumour last night," the other boy said through a toothy grin.
Draco sighed, before stabbing at his oats with a spoon, "I have no interest in rumours and scandals, Theo. I thought you knew that."
"Not even ones involving you?"
"Well, if it is a rumour involving me, and I have yet to hear about it, I am guessing it must be true," Draco replied, sarcasm dripping from every word.
"That is most disappointing," Theo said as he slathered marmalade over a piece of toast. "I thought you knew better than to kiss Granger in front of a Muggle Studies class during a dramatic reading of Othello."
"WHAT?"
Draco's bellow must have travelled across the hall, because even curious Gryffindors had turned to face him. Draco wanted to drown in his breakfast, and it was not even ten o'clock yet. He especially wanted to since Lavender Brown was eagerly listening and she was easily the biggest gossip in their year. Theo snickered in between bites of his toast. Draco hoped that he would choke on it for basking in his misery.
"So is it true?" Daphne leaned over and asked, Draco suspected after being goaded by Pansy to do so. It was not like Daphne to pry in his private affairs, but he also knew that Pansy was extremely persuasive.
"Of course not." Draco replied quickly and turned back to Theo, "Why would anyone think that I would kiss Granger in front of an entire class?"
"Maybe they thought you were possessed by the same insanity that made you take Muggle Studies," Theo supplied unhelpfully.
"The only reason I am taking that Merlin be damned class, is because my mother threatened to send me home to England if I did not understand the importance of magical and non-magical cooperation," Draco explained hotly.
"Language," Theo said in a singsong voice. Draco firmly ignored him.
"Was this the holiday in France that Granger was also invited to?" Tracey Davis asked as she placed her teacup back onto the table, her pinky pointed out underneath the cup's handle.
"What does this have to do with you?" Draco snapped across at her. The girl smirked at him.
"I am merely curious," the girl said with a smirk, "No need to get hot under the collar, Draco."
Draco glowered at her. Tracey went back to sipping her tea. With her other arm she nudged another girl, Cornelia Runcorn and they both exchanged a smile. They then was on the receiving end of a glare from Pansy.
"Did you kiss her on that holiday, then, do as the French do?" Theo pressed, and when Draco turned to face him, he noticed that Theo's smile growing wider and wider.
"When did my non-existent relationship with Granger become so fascinating?"
"Since your relationship with Pansy became non-existent," Blaise said before grinning into his morning coffee. Soon most of the Slytherin third-years, with the exception of Pansy, Vince and Greg were asking him questions relating to Granger and Draco was slowly becoming more and more irritated. He ignored it for the most part, but then Theo seemed to know how to prod him to irritate him.
It came to a head and all the knives within a five-foot radius lifted from the table and as Draco slammed the Slytherin table, the knives stabbed sharply into the wood. Several Ravenclaws turned around to glower at Draco, as their knives were now perpendicular to their table as well.
Draco ignored them.
"I have not kissed Hermione, and nor do I wish to. I would rather get attacked by a Hippogriff again than actually kiss her, for Salazar's sake, is that understood?"
Most people were in awe from Draco's magical outburst to say anything, and Draco savoured the silence. He knew it would not last, so he stormed off and decided to wait out the remaining time before people went to Hogsmeade in the safety of his own dormitory. Even Theo knew better than to follow him, because one arm injured or not, Draco could still send his bony arse flying. As Draco left, his ears pricked up as he heard the shrill voice of Pansy Parkinson.
"Did someone put a Confundus Charm on me, or did I hear him just call her Hermione?"
Draco froze for a fraction of a moment, before stumbling over his own feet in his eagerness to start walking again. He hoped that Theo had not seen him, because his best friend was unusually perceptive and would most definitely call him out for it. Draco turned towards the Dungeons, and saw Hermione walk down the stairs into the Entrance Hall. She was busy chatting to Weasley, and dressed ready to go to Hogsmeade. Draco felt his cheeks redden at the sight of her, and he carried on walking, hoping that she had not seen him or even heard the ridiculous rumour going around.
x-x-x-x-x
As Lacie still had her ballet lesson before she went to Hogsmeade, she breakfasted earlier than Hermione and Ron. Whilst she was able to ignore Harry's sulky face as she ate her breakfast, she could not avoid her brother. She had spent her breakfast time glaring at her brother, a competition of will that only stopped when Theo practically punched Draco on his injured arm. It was not long before he had heard her brother screech from across the Great Hall, and caused the cutlery to rebel around him. What it was that was troubling her brother, she could not wait to find out later.
Fortunately for her, Lavender was sitting across from her. The girl had ignored her whilst she was staring at her brother, not willing to disrupt the tension between Draco and her but now that Lacie was otherwise distracted the girl had spoken up.
"What?" Lacie said, almost choking on her cereal. She swallowed the last bite of her breakfast before wiping her mouth.
"Is it true? You take Muggle Studies too, don't you?" Lavender pressed.
"Why would my brother kiss my best friend?" Lacie asked. As much as Lacie had always envisioned the perfect faerytale ending for her best friend and brother, the notion was actually quite sickening. She watched as her brother stormed out of the Great Hall.
"I heard that Professor Burbage insisted," Parvati whispered to a nodding Cheryl, "It was because his in-class participation was so bad that he had to do it."
"Were you there?" Lacie asked, "That is not what happened. For your information, Draco did not kiss Hermione, and he has never… well…"
The other three Gryffindor girls huddled together and inched closer to Lacie. Thankfully, Hermione and Ron were walking down towards them, and they were dressed ready to go to Hogsmeade.
"Where's Harry?" Lacie asked quickly, as she finished her water. Parvati, Lavender and Cheryl looked at Hermione and Ron with all-knowing smirks on their faces.
"Sulking," Hermione replied as she sat down. Ron rolled his eyes before joining her.
"No, he's just having a lie-in because he doesn't have to be up early to go to Hogsmeade with the rest of us," Ron explained, standing up for his absentee friend.
"On that note…" Lacie said, rushing to stand up, "I have to get to ballet. I will meet you in the Entrance Hall later."
"Oh," Hermione said as she looked shiftily towards Ron, who was determinedly looking away, "I wanted to get to Hogsmeade quite early, so we could meet you and Cedric later in the village."
Lacie nodded before turning to walk away.
"But Lacie, you were just about to tell us about that time your brother kissed Hermione!" Lavender complained.
Hermione looked affronted for a moment at Lacie before turning to Lavender and saying quite coolly, "I'm afraid it's not too scandalous, he kissed me goodnight on the cheek two summers ago." Hermione turned to Lacie and narrowed her eyes, "You're one to talk, you kissed…"
Lacie threw her hand over Hermione's mouth and her friend wriggled under her. The girls glared at each other before collapsing into giggles. Lacie rolled her eyes before waving goodbye to the rest of the Gryffindors. People had huddled around Hermione now, trying to tease the information out of her but it would be to no avail. Lacie trusted Hermione, and despite Lacie's big mouth, Hermione would never tell.
Miss Belle-Faire was not impressed that Lacie was two minutes late, and gave her a rigorous workout, after which, Lacie felt almost too exhausted to even go to Hogsmeade. She should have owled her ballet teacher for the morning off as well, but she knew that she would only regret it the week after. Not wanting to keep Cedric waiting, she ran up to Gryffindor Tower and changed out of her leotard and skirt. Noting that the weather outside was taking a turn for the worse, she pulled on some woolly tights and her thickest robe before walking to the Entrance Hall to meet Cedric.
"Hey Lace," she heard someone call as she made her way to the Portrait Hole. She saw Harry rush towards her, as he attempted to ditch Colin Creevey. It seemed that the Gryffindor second-year still thought that Harry was the centre of his Wizarding world. Harry grabbed her arm and pushed them both out of the Common Room. Lacie's face reddened and pulled her arm out of Harry's grasp as soon as she could. She gulped. The last time that she had been alone with him was after that Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, and all Lacie wanted to do was run away.
I would keep contact with Mr Potter at a minimum, her mother's voice drifted through her mind.
"Off to Hogsmeade?" Harry asked, oblivious to the tension that was in the air.
"Yes, I think Cedric is waiting for me in the Entrance Hall," Lacie answered as they walked down the magical staircase.
"How long have you known Cedric?"
"Only this term, he is my piano tutor."
"What's he like as a Quidditch player?"
Lacie stopped in her tracks, "Harry, I know Wood has been training you harder this year, but giving you homework on other players is ridiculous."
"No, it's just something Malfoy -…"
Lacie raised her hand and stopped Harry. "Do not let my brother get into your head, he is just trying to throw you off your game with him next week."
They had finally reached the Entrance Hall and Lacie saw Cedric chatting to a group of fourth and fifth-years who were standing by the large doors to the grounds. Harry bade her goodbye before disappearing somewhere, and Lacie felt her stomach drop. As much as she did want to go to Hogsmeade and keep her distance from Harry, she could not help but feel slightly sorry for him. He was the only third-year not going to Hogsmeade, and aside from Colin Creevey and Ginny Weasley, he had no other company.
Lacie glided across the Entrance Hall, and as she joined Cedric and his company, she realised that the group consisted of children whose parents were on the Hogwarts Board of Governors. Being the child of an ex-Governor, Lacie had great reticence to join them, furthermore, as two of them were the vicious people who started rumours about her the previous year, she had no intention of going to Hogsmeade with them. She was about to turn around and run all the way back to the Common Room when Cedric caught sight of her and waved.
Lacie you are a Gryffindor, and a Malfoy. We do not run from our fears, has your training not taught you anything?
She smiled brightly and strode confidently to the group. Cedric smiled kindly at her, something that could not be said about the rest of the group.
"Morning," he greeted before asking, "Good ballet lesson?"
"Not all of my tutors are so accommodating," Lacie said with a forced smile. She looked over at the rest of the group.
"Oh, where are my manners?" Cedric asked himself with a small laugh, before introducing Lacie to the rest of his group, "You know Cyn and Lizzie, the other two are Morgs and Ed. This is Lacie."
"We know," a tall dark-haired boy said, as he looked down at her with an upturned lip. "Her father was a Governor."
"And her family is perpetually taking up inches in the Prophet," the other boy sniffed he turned to his female companions. "Is Winnie not coming?"
Hutton shook her head, "I guess not. He was saying that Snape had set an awful NEWT essay that he needed the weekend to focus on. I suggest we move on, be seeing you Ced."
The foursome moved on and left Cedric and Lacie standing in the Entrance Hall. As people passed them on their way out to the carriages that would take them to Hogsmeade, Lacie noticed that people's eyebrows were far up people's foreheads.
He seemed to notice her hesitation as he asked, "Are your friends coming?"
"Oh," Lacie said, forgetting that Hermione and Ron had already gone on ahead. "They said that they will meet us at the village."
"In that case, shall we?"
Lacie nodded and walked after him. Like her, Cedric was dressed in a thick robe but he still shivered as the biting weather hit him. He climbed into one of the empty carriages and helped Lacie into it. After a moment, it went on its way to the village. As the carriage began to gain pace, Cedric pulled up the lapels of his robe to cover his ears. The boy gazed at the landscape as the sound of soft, invisible hooves clicked on the gravelled path.
"How do you know that lot?"
Cedric tore his gaze away from the landscape, and looked at her with a smile. "Ministry parties, I'm surprised you haven't been to one yet. They are quite boring, which is why most of us just band together and endure it together."
Lacie chuckled gently as she raised an eyebrow, "I was always too young, and nobody wants a Malfoy at their party anymore."
"I doubt that, I have met your mother."
"I suppose, Narcissa Malfoy never fails to disappoint," Lacie commented quietly.
Yes, well, Ministry parties are always so dull. I don't think you would have benefitted from ever attending."
Lacie did not reply. The wind was picking up, and Lacie wished she had worn a hat or at least tied her hair up. Her face was being whipped as her hair flew about. She had to keep tucking bits behind her ear, before it loosened to fly and hit her in the face again. Cedric noticed her discomfort and smiled.
"Have you any thoughts about where you want to visit yet?"
"I thought you were the tour guide," Lacie replied, trying to keep the hair out of her mouth. Cedric laughed at her, and Lacie frowned at him for it. Instead of staying anything, he pulled at a loose thread in his robe before snapping it off. He transfigured it into a long, grey ribbon with ease before passing it to Lacie. She took it and thanked him before tying her hair up.
"I think today we should wander around a little, and if you see anything you wish to go into, we'll go in and have a browse," Cedric suggested. "And if we get hungry, we could always stop by the Three Broomsticks for lunch, and some Butterbeer to warm us up. That also works for when we see your friends too."
"I would like that, although, I would prefer warm cider to Butterbeer, Butterbeer has always been too sweet for me."
"And cider is too alcoholic," Cedric chastised with a grin, "You would be banned from ever going to Hogsmeade if you returned to Hogwarts drunk."
"Did you not know, rule-breaking is -…" Lacie began as they crossed the gates of Hogwarts and she started to hear the screaming. She covered her ears at once, and began shaking profusely. Cedric lunged for her, his face filling with concern before he froze as well. Lacie fell to the floor of the carriage as they trotted away, but she could only hear her screams as she shook in Cedric's arms. She squeezed her eyes shut, as she shook and with a start she realised that she was not the one shaking. Cedric was the one shaking her.
"Are you alright?"
Lacie looked up at him, her sight was glazed by tears. She blinked, and tears streamed down her cheeks. She sniffed before wiping her cheeks with the sleeve of her overcoat. Cedric pulled out a handkerchief, and handed it to her.
"Too sweet or not, Lacie, we are going to have a Butterbeer as soon as we get to Hogsmeade."
Lacie nodded, and agreed to his plan without complaint. She looked back, and saw the Dementors stationed at the gate of Hogwarts, and the ripple of shudders that occurred when students passed them in their carriages. She really hated how they only seemed to shudder, and even Cedric did not seem too affected by them. They seemed to affect her more than anyone else – except for Harry – and she hated it. She hated how they made her feel, and how she felt so weak.
Most of all, she hated reliving that memory, over and over again. She hated that it haunted her dreams, and that she had to cast a silencing charm to stop her dormitory from waking up in the middle of the night. She regarded Cedric for a moment, and realised that she was really glad it was him that was there, and not her friends.
x-x-x-x-x
Hermione didn't know how long Ron intended to spend in Honeydukes, but it was cutting into the time she could spend in Tomes and Scrolls and she wasn't enjoying that fact. She agreed, however, to buying a bag of sweets for Harry. It was the day before Halloween after all, and despite there being a feast the next night, it was a nice gesture for the friend that had to stay behind. She kept peering out of the window to see if Lacie had arrived in the village yet. She didn't really want to go to Hogsmeade early, but Ron had insisted. He didn't want to wait around for Lacie to finish her ballet lesson, nor did he want to spend time with Cedric Diggory, a boy they barely even knew. As much as Hermione didn't want to leave Lacie alone with Cedric, she didn't really want to go around Hogsmeade with the Hufflepuff either. She wanted to discover it on her own.
After Ron had attempted to eat his way through Honeydukes, they made a brief trip to Tome and Scrolls before heading towards Zonko's where they found Fred and George inspecting the merchandise and chatting quietly amongst themselves. Ron also bought some Dungbombs for Harry, much to Hermione's chagrin.
Hermione knew that wizarding villages were rare, and she had expected it to be different but it was no different from any other village. There was a post office, although, instead of postmen there were hundreds of owls. There was a hairdressing salon, where Hermione snickered as Pansy directed a flustered young wizard on how to style her hair to her taste. Hermione wondered how much more the hairdresser would take before hexing her hair into the shape of a bat.
After they had visited everywhere that looked remotely interesting, they went to the Three Broomsticks. Ron was surprised to find out that Hermione had never drank Butterbeer and was adamant that he bought a pint for her. Hermione insisted on paying but it fell on deaf ears. Finally, Hermione relented and went to look for seats in the packed pub. She just about secured them a seat when Ron had returned with two tankards of the foaming drinks. He gave one to Hermione, and watched as she raised it to her mouth.
A warm buttery flavour filled her mouth as she drank the warm liquid. Her eyes widened at how sweet it was, and as her parents had been dentists, they would have frowned at this sort of beverage. Hermione was lucky to even have a soft drink at home, with all that acid and sugar that eroded teeth away. She took another sip, which turned into a gulp, of the warming drink before lowering her tankard.
"Good, isn't it?" Ron asked before draining some from his own tankard.
Hermione nodded, not knowing what to say. "Thanks."
"You've got a little," Ron said, reaching over with the sleeve of his weathered winter robes. He brushed the sleeve across her mouth and wiped the foam from her upper lip. Hermione's cheeks went pink at the rather intimate gesture, but Ron seemed to take it in his stride and carried on slurping his beverage.
"Vince, Greg, is that not just the sweetest?"
Hermione's head snapped up as she looked at the source of the drawl. Draco was flanked by his burly bodyguards, his arm still in that ridiculous sling as he awkwardly navigated across the bustling pub towards Hermione. She looked around him and saw that Nott and Zabini were at the bar, probably ordering drinks for the rest of them as Draco sought a seat.
"I apologise; did I just interrupt a date?" Draco asked mockingly, and seemed to urge his friends to snigger at them. Hermione's already flushed cheeks went slightly redder. "Was the weasel about to snog the mutt? You should refrain, I do not think that the ogres have a strong enough stomach for it."
"What did you just call her?" Ron stood up, anger was written across his face.
"Ron," Hermione stood up as well, and put her hand on Ron's arm and said in an even voice. "He's not worth it. We should go."
"No, we're not going to let this prick -…"
"I would rather not be in the vicinity of people of his calibre," Hermione muttered, loud enough for Draco to hear.
"My calibre? I can assure you that the filth in here is not me, Granger," Draco hissed.
"If you suggest for a moment that it's me, Malfoy, I know of ways that your mother can make your life more miserable than it already is. After all, and your mother and I seem to get on so well," Hermione said in a voice so quiet that she was sure in the hubbub of the pub, that Draco was sure to be the only one who had heard her.
"Are you threatening me?" he asked through gritted teeth.
Hermione ignored his question, instead patted his injured arm and said quite loudly, "I would be careful Malfoy, I think there's a Hippogriff in the corner and you wouldn't want Daddy to come to the rescue for your mistakes, again."
Hermione stormed off, and she knew it was a low blow to drag his father into their tiff but Draco had annoyed her. He could have just ignored her in the Three Broomsticks, but instead he had decided to goad her and ruin a relatively nice moment. To suggest that she had some sort of romantic inclination towards Ron was just outrageous. She didn't know why Draco had suddenly decided to be so foul towards her. She powerwalked through the village to calm herself down and thought back of anything that she had done in the past few days that would explain his behaviour.
"Hermione!"
Someone pulled her arm back, and Hermione turned to find herself facing Lacie. Next to her was a good-looking boy that was introducing himself to a perturbed Ron. Hermione chuckled as she realised why Lacie had gone to her first piano lesson with the desire to quit that very day, but had then decided to carry on every week. To say that Cedric was handsome was a bit of an understatement. Lacie glowered at Hermione, seemingly reading her thoughts.
"Is everything alright?" Lacie asked.
"Perfect… er, are you having a good time?" Hermione asked with a mischievous smile.
"I suppose, Ced is quite the competent guide," Lacie said, and her companion snorted as he looked at his feet. Lacie laughed. Hermione's gaze darted between the pair of them, wondering if there was something going on between them.
"I know I said that we would meet up, but I think I've exhausted all I have to see, and I might go back to Hogwarts," Hermione said.
"Oh," Lacie replied, looking crestfallen. "Do you mind if I stay?"
"Of course not, er… see you later," Hermione said, and Ron seemed to share her feelings and expressed that he also wanted to return to the castle, having had his fill of walking around Hogsmeade and shopping to his heart's content. She waved goodbye to her friend, and watched as Lacie walked away with Cedric and listening intently to whatever he was saying.
"Since when were those two close?" Ron asked as walked up to her.
Hermione shrugged, Lacie had always affirmed that Cedric was merely a friend and so, her responsibility as a best friend was to trust her. It seemed odd though, firstly Narcissa Malfoy was insistent on her taking piano lessons with the Hufflepuff and now he was to act as Lacie's tour guide? What was Lacie's mother planning exactly? Hermione turned away from the couple, who were attracting stares from other Hogwarts students.
Only time will tell, I guess.
A/N: Sorry for the two week wait, again. I think as my workload builds up again it would be easier for me to update every two weeks, as it would be more manageable for me to write and edit alongside all the things I do in my daily life. Churning out a new chapter every week is harder than it seems when real life gets in the way.
I, personally, love the idea of studying Muggle literature in conjunction with Muggle daily life and studying the Bard makes for some interesting conversation points. I chose Othello (ref. Interlude I), because it was something I studied when I did my A-Levels and was something other than Romeo and Juliet.
As always, happy reading.
CSxo.