Hermione was starting to hate Marcus Flint. Her hair was frizzing out of the confines she had placed them in and the sweat on her face was not helping at all.
"I'm going to kill him," she groaned through the sit ups they were doing in the trees.
"No you won't," James said. "I'm going to get him first."
Hermione stopped for a second to catch her breath. "Who even agreed to this?"
"We all did," Draco said. He was sitting on top of his branch, looking like he'd hardly been upside down. Not a hair was out of place.
"You. Can't. Be. Done. Already," Hermione gasped.
"Oh I hate you," James said. "Not as much as Flint, but you're up there."
"Shhh."
Hermione and James flipped onto their branches just in time to see Snape and Quirrel walking below. They were clearly up to something clandestine. Unfortunately it was too hard to hear them.
They walked away before James nearly fell out of the tree. He caught himself. All three of them climbed down to the ground, mostly for safety.
"What was that about?" Draco asked the other two.
"I don't know. But I've got a bad feeling about it," Hermione answered. She wrapped her arms around herself.
Draco put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. "We could always ask."
"Are we sure that's a good idea?" James asked. "He's not exactly always pleased when people ask questions."
Draco smiled. "He's definitely not happy when people ask stupid questions. But if we put together what we know, what we suspect, and are clear about why we're asking, we should be fine."
"Not if Flint kills us first," Hermione said. "Come on James. I think you and I still have a few reps."
Draco smirked as the other two climbed back into the tree to resume their exercises.
"If we don't beat Ravenclaw I'm going to scream," Hermione said. "Flint's killing my ability to stay awake in class and it had better be worth it."
Draco and James looked at each other and mentally shrugged. Neither of them were having a hard time staying awake. Getting up in the morning was sometimes a bit of a different story, but they were managing just fine.
Come to think of it, Hermione hadn't fallen asleep either. She seemed more awake and capable than half of their classmates. In spite of the extra workouts Flint was putting on them.
"You haven't been falling asleep," James said.
"And you've still got the highest marks in charms and herbology. I'm higher in potions," Draco added.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Only because Snape likes you."
"He likes you too," Draco said.
"Just because he puts up with me does not mean he likes me."
Hermione had a point. Just because someone tolerated another didn't mean that they liked them. But Snape did seem to like her. At least more than most of the other students. Especially the Gryffindors.
"He tolerates Vince and Greg. He likes you," Draco said.
A/N: oh my goodness. I'm trying to get back to writing this story but it's been a while. Probably for all of you too. Sorry. I've had two babies and trust me when I say that it does not make it easy to get back to your hobbies. I'm trying to carve out a few minutes here and there. So this is going to be slow going. Again, sorry.