On Tuesday, Ron nearly ruined everything.

Just before dinner, Cedric pulled Hermione aside in the hallway next to the hallway leading to the Great Hall for a hushed conversation. He was anxious, upset, and Hermione went with him reluctantly.

"I've been writing to my father," Cedric told her, imploring. "He's admitted his prejudice. He said he's willing to apologize for—for implying—"

"That I'm a Dark witch?" Hermione sighed. "Cedric…"

"If he removes his objections, though," Cedric pleaded, hope shining in his eyes. "If he writes to you and removes his objections, then… will you wear…?"

Hermione bit her lip, anguishing over the courtship, when Ron came running up, eyes bright and out of breath.

"Oi, are you going to take my blood after dinner?" he asked. "I made a bet with Fred and George, and I need the galleons."

Hermione flinched.

Cedric's eyes went wide.

And Harry arrived a moment too late, having hurried after Ron.

"Sorry, Hermione," he panted. "I tried."

"Sorry for what?" Ron asked. He looked at Hermione eagerly. "Anyway, are you?"

But Hermione's eyes were fixed on Cedric.

It was kind of objectively fascinating, to watch Cedric's face. His warm, imploring eyes had begun to reflect polite confusion that was slowly turning to a distinct wariness. His posture shifted from open to more closed off, and for once, he didn't look happy or warm.

Even as she watched Cedric shift into wariness, she could feel herself changing, too. Instead of a feeling of mild irritation and tiredness, her emotions were shifting more into a fiery indignation and defensiveness. She'd unconsciously shifted to have one foot behind her other, presenting Cedric with a smaller target, and she'd folding her arms, closing herself off.

It was telling, Hermione reflected, how both of them seemed to immediately expect an ugly confrontation unconsciously.

"Hermione…?" Cedric said questioningly. "What—"

"Oh, are we having a party in the hallway?"

The familiar Malfoy drawl echoed down the hallway, and Hermione turned to see Draco and Blaise approaching as well. Harry sighed in exasperation.

"Oi!" Ron objected. "We were having a private conversation!"

"Hard to have a private conversation when you broach the topic in front of someone else, Ron!" Hermione objected, her voice shrill.

"Yeah, but it's Diggory," Ron said, shrugging. "I'd trust him over a bunch of Slytherins anyway, right?"

Harry groaned and clapped a hand to his head.

"Ron, this sort of thing…" he said. "The Slytherins… they're a lot less bothered by it than most people…"

Cedric's face was changing again, his eyes fixed on Hermione sharply now.

"Ron," Cedric said, not looking at him. "What's she need your blood for?"

Ron blinked.

"I thought it was 'cause it's 'virgin blood' or whatever," he said, shrugging. "And she said she couldn't use her own, so…" he trailed off, shrugging.

Hermione held her chin up, defiant, as her eyes clashed with the stormy look growing in Cedric's. At the least, Cedric seemed to know what virgin blood was, which was a relief – if Hermione had needed to defend her non-existent sexual history to her sort-of boyfriend… she bit back a snarl at the thought.

"Hermione," Cedric said testily. "What do you need with virgin blood?"

Hermione tossed her head. "I don't see how that's any of your business."

"Hermione!" Cedric looked angry, now, and he was shaking his head. "Here I am, talking my father off his platform of thinking you're a Dark witch, but you—you're—"

"Intending on doing ritual magic?" Hermione cut in, raising her eyebrows. "Yes, yes I am. And it's not Dark."

"Not Dark? Not Dark?" Cedric cried. "Hermione, ritual magic is—"

"Do not presume to tell me what ritual magic 'is' and 'isn't'," Hermione cut in, eyes flashing. "I daresay I have much more experience in it than you."

Ron looked alarmed, like he clearly hadn't expected things to take such a dramatic turn. Harry looked resigned and apologetic. Blaise and Draco were maintaining neutral expressions as they watched the argument, but Hermione caught the flickers and gleams in their eyes, and she expected the Slytherins were enjoying the spectacle.

"What do you mean, you have more experience in it than me?" Cedric demanded. "I know you're smart, Hermione, but I've got two years of schooling on you—"

"And I've been actually performing ritual magic since my first year," Hermione shot back. "And forgive me if I'm being exclusionary here, but I daresay actually doing it trumps your vague knowledge of it any day!"

"Since your first year?" Cedric goggled, his mouth falling open. "You do this regularly?"

"Of course she does," Ron said, shrugging. "That's why they made the coven, innit?"

Hermione groaned. "Ron…"

"You have a coven?" Draco Malfoy cut in in astonishment. He looked almost insulted. "How come I wasn't invited?"

"Because you nearly killed yourself not following my directions the first ritual I did with you," Hermione shot back, and Blaise sniggered from behind.

Draco did his best to look dignified. "Well… well. Then who did you pick?"

"They all wear those rings, yeah?" Ron said again, gesturing. "You haven't noticed?"

Hermione closed her eyes, counting slowly down from ten.

"They have a Notice-Me-Not on them, Ron," Harry said testily. "People generally don't notice them unless we tell them."

"You picked Potter?" Draco looked highly affronted. "You picked Potter over me?"

"Don't forget me," Blaise chimed in, mischief in his eye. He held up his hand, coven ring glinting. "She picked me over you, too."

Draco shot Blaise a venomous look. "I'll deal with you later."

"A coven." Cedric was still standing there, looking stunned. Hermione could see flickers of emotion cross his face, but he looked remarkably well-masked, for someone who was usually fairly expressive. "You're in a coven. One with actual coven rings."

Hermione stood still and looked back at him, her weight on her back leg and her arms folded. Cedric shook his head, incredulous.

"I thought you were special, you know?" he told her. "A girl who took her studies seriously, who was good at magic…" He snorted. "No wonder you're good at magic. I had wondered how you pulled off that wandless magic trick at the party."

"I pulled that off with power and skill," Hermione snarled. "Being in a coven had nothing to do with it."

"Didn't it?" Cedric asked plainly. "Covens – sure, they can do all kinds of magic, Hermione, but the witches in them, they're mostly—"

"Don't say it," Blaise warned.

"—Dark."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "That's a vast overstatement—"

"How dare you!"

Hermione whirled around at the loud exclamation, alarmed, to see Draco being held back by Blaise. His eyes were sharp and furious, and he had his wand out. He was actively struggling against Blaise, who was holding onto his robes.

Cedric looked startled and alarmed too.

"Malfoy…?" Cedric said, questioningly. "What—"

"You take that back," Draco snarled. "You take it back right now."

"Take what back?" Cedric wanted to know. "I only said—"

"You implied that you thought Hermione was a Dark witch," Draco said, his tone venomous. "Didn't you?"

Hermione was astonished. Given the Malfoy family's recent history, she wouldn't have thought accusations of being Dark being thrown around would phase him. If anything, he should be used to hearing them, shouldn't he?

Or was that why he was overreacting so much? Because he heard them so often, and he'd become defensive and sensitive to such accusations over time? Or was it not the 'Dark' implication he was reacting to, but the implied insult toward her he objected to so vehemently? Either answer would have surprised Hermione, who watched the scene with incredulous eyes.

Draco was still sneering. Cedric raised one eyebrow coolly.

"She's in a coven," he said, as if that explained everything. "She's doing a ritual that requires blood. And she's done enough rituals with blood that she can't even use her own."

"Rituals that use blood are common and are not inherently Dark," Hermione said tiredly. "The summer after my first year, I did one with my muggle parents to help protect their house, Cedric."

Harry looked startled. "Wait, muggles can—"

"Are you saying you don't think she's a Dark witch?" Draco shot back. "Or that you do, and you're too much of a coward to come right out and say it?"

Cedric looked severely annoyed. "None of this has anything to do with you—"

"On the contrary," Draco snarled, "it has very much to do with me, thank you."

"It doesn't," Cedric snapped. "Hermione is very ambitious, and I'm sure she got into this coven business without realizing the implications of it all within the wizarding world. She's smart, though, and I'm sure once we talk it out, she'll realize she made a mistake, and we'll resolve it. None of which involves you."

Hermione recoiled.

"'Once we talk it out'?" she repeated, insulted. "What kind of—"

"Hermione is New Blood," Draco said viciously. "What on earth makes you think she isn't doing exactly as she's damn well supposed to?"

"What are you talking about?" Cedric said incredulously. "What does her blood have to do with—"

"She has access to raw magic," Draco cut in, eyes narrowed to slits. "She's prophesized to change the world, you realize?"

"Not all prophecies come true," Cedric scoffed. "You're drastically—"

"Do you think Hermione is a Dark witch or not?" Draco demanded. "As she is, right now. Not after you have whatever imaginary conversation you think you're having with her."

Cedric glanced at her sideways. Hermione stood there coolly, arms folded.

"I don't think Hermione's a bad person," Cedric said slowly. "I just think she might have gotten in over her head…"

Hermione rolled her eyes, disgusted, but Draco was already responding – his wand swept through the air, conjuring something in a flare of blue sparks, and a moment later, a disc about the size of a drink coaster, along with a white rose, fell to the ground between the two boys.

"I demand satisfaction," Draco snarled, eyes flashing.

Cedric's eyes went wide, and Hermione gasped. She had no idea what the disc or the rose was about, but she knew enough to recognize those weighty words.

Even in the muggle world, 'I demand satisfaction' was said to demand a duel.

The disc must be the proverbial gauntlet, then – more elegant than taking your wand holster off and throwing it at your opponent, she supposed. And more dramatic than just challenging someone to a duel directly, with words; it wasn't like Draco Malfoy would ever not take the most dramatic option available.

Cedric stared at the disc and rose on the ground for a long moment. He glared at Malfoy, sighing heavily in exasperation and annoyance before he waved his own wand through the air, his eyes slitted at Draco. A moment later, another disc clattered to the ground.

"Then you shall have it, sir," he ground out, teeth gritted.

Draco looked immensely smug over this, while Cedric looked seriously frustrated and mad. With a glance at Blaise, Hermione went over and picked up the rose and the two discs from the ground.

"I'll just hold onto these for now, shall I?" she sighed.