Chapter 28
It was back to Hogwarts after a fairly adventurous winter break. Following the events of 'boxing day' Hermione hadn't had time to talk with either Theo or Draco about what she'd overheard Draco's father say in the library. For New Year's, the Malfoy family (including Luna and her parents) had whisked off to the Swiss Alps for a bit of a small vacation in their small private lodge. Honestly, Hermione hadn't asked because she didn't want to know what Draco's family considered 'small'.
Theo, on the other hand, had left with his mother and stepfather to go to Greece where his mother had grown up to visit her family. Both had made sure to write and keep her up to date on the happenings, but Hermione had been a bit short in her replies not having much to contribute.
Well, besides Harry and Pansy's engagement. Which she couldn't even tell them about since Pansy had forbidden Hermione from telling anyone before they'd gotten the official engagement announcement.
Armed with her newly acquired collection of sugar quills, Crookshanks, and the cassette tapes that she'd gotten for Christmas, Hermione was perfectly happy sitting in a compartment by herself as the train began to roll out of the station.
Actually, it was less of a compartment and more of a storage car, which Crooks was loudly protesting.
"Don't talk to me like that, I swear if I have to look at Pansy's ring one more time, I might shove it down her throat and make her choke on it." Hermione replied, shrugging her shoulders as the train rattled down the tracks shaking them about. "If you want you can go find Harry, I'm sure he's with Ron and you can use him as a scratching post."
Crookshanks eyed her wearily and Hermione waved him off, turning back to her Runes books that she'd bought for herself with the bit of money that her father had given her. Silently, her cat left her to read by wandlight. Hopefully he actually would attack Ronald again, and she had faith that he would.
With the music pumping through her headphones and her texts absorbing her interests, Hermione had not a clue how long she'd been sitting in her transfigured beanbag chair. All she wanted to do was get lost in her studies, and it had proven easy enough to do when no one knew where to find her.
A stag patronus, so bright that it was assaulting her eyes made her glare in its direction with annoyance. Sliding the headphones off so she could hear her brother's message, she rolled her eyes when there still wasn't a sound coming from it.
"Well, get on with it, what do you need?" She snapped, her arms crossed over her chest, motioning towards the work she'd been doing as if the fucking thing could understand. "I found a Runes master that has agreed to do lessons via correspondence if I can show that I'm competent in the subject and pass my NEWT when we get back. So please, let's get on with this."
"Pansy is looking for you," her brother's voice said, and Hermione threw her hands up in frustration. "She needs to go over seating charts since she wants to have the wedding on the Summer Solstice of this year. She says it's imperative you come out from whatever bench you're hiding under since you're the maid of honor. Yes, I told her… No, I'm not going to threaten my sister bodily harm! Wait, Pans, stop… Of course, I love you–"
The message ended abruptly, and Hermione waved her wand dismissing the fucking stag.
Pulling out another notebook, Hermione doubled down on her efforts of avoiding the rest of the English wizarding world. If she could get in with this Runes master, who was located in Canada, then she could save herself from the massive commitment that it seemed a couple of Slytherin wizards were trying to force upon her.