Hermione
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When Hermione opened her eyes that morning, the end of her bed was covered with wrapped presents.
She smiled and bent down to open them: the first was wrapped in pretty white wrapping paper, and contained a beginner's sewing kit sent by her mum. The second was from her father, inks in various colours, and the third was from her grandmother, a romance novel set in Edinburgh.
Finally, there was a large envelope sent by Danny. When she opened it, she exclaimed softly. It was a lovely watercolour drawing of the London park where they often spent their afternoons in the summer. With it was a little note:
Happy birthday Hermione,
I hope you like this drawing, and that it gives you a little piece of home. I did it during a session in my art class, where the topic was "draw your favourite place in the world."
Miss you,
Danny.
Hermione hastily hung the drawing above her desk. Lavender and Parvati, who were getting ready for their day at school, came out of the bathroom just then.
"Happy birthday, Hermione!"
"Oh, thank you so much girls."
"Nice drawing. Who's it by?"
"My friend Danny, from home."
Hermione spun around and was surprised to see Lavender standing behind her, a wrapped package in her hands.
"Oh... Lavender, you didn't have to..."
"It's no big deal."
Hermione took it and opened the little box: it was the bottle of strawberry shampoo. With it was a little note, signed by Lavender and Parvati in pretty purple ink.
"Thank you so much girls!"
"We thought you'd like it, because you haven't changed in all this time. Plus, the smell suits you too well."
Hermione put her new presents away, then went down to the Great Hall. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she found Harry and Ron, both sitting on the sofa. They were yawning and looked exhausted. But when they saw her, they both grinned:
"Happy birthday Mione!"
She hugged them both to thank them. Ron, who was much taller, rested his chin on the top of her head.
"Thank you boys! Why are you already awake at this hour?"
"We thought you'd like it if we came and had breakfast with you. We knew you were going to get up far too early..." explained Harry.
"Thank you, that makes me very happy!"
The three of them went down to the Great Hall. When they arrived at the Gryffindors' table, she was surprised to see that Neville, Ginny and the Weasley twins were already seated.
"Happy birthday Hermione!" they all cried out in unison.
"Thank you! But not too loud, please, I don't want the others to hear..."
She sat down, a little embarrassed to be the centre of so much attention. She wanted to help herself to something to eat but was interrupted in her gesture by Ginny, who passed her her present:
"Here, for you!"
Harry, Ron, Neville, Fred and George did the same. Hermione could feel her cheeks flush uncontrollably:
"Oh, thank you so much..."
"Open it!"
Hermione did so in succession. Harry had given her a pretty green mug for her teas in the Library, Ron some stationery, Neville a watch and the twins a gift voucher for their inventions, although they knew full well that Hermione would never buy Nosebleed Nougats or Fainting Fancies.
Ginny, on the other hand, had given her a magic hot water bottle that stayed warm all night, because she knew how cold Hermione could be.
She thanked them all many times and wanted to start her breakfast, but the Weasley twins had taken advantage of her distraction to open her presents to put candles on a croissant, and they refused to extinguish them until Hermione had blown on them.
Embarrassed beyond belief, she finally did, while half the Gryffindors' table sang "Happy Birthday Hermione!" over and over as loudly as they could. By the end, Hermione's cheeks were probably crimson, but she couldn't stop smiling.
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Draco
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"Happy birthday Hermioneeeee..."
"Can't they shut up? They're going to give me a headache before I even start the day." complained Pansy.
Draco, Pansy and Blaise were all sitting at the Slytherin table for breakfast. Theo hadn't arrived yet.
Draco was watching the Gryffindors table discreetly, where Granger was being applauded by her friends. He knew it was his birthday; ever since he'd learned the date, he'd remembered it without knowing why. He tried to make out the presents she'd received, but Pansy was in the way because she was sitting directly opposite him, blocking his view. He thought he saw a white hot water bottle before Theo finally joined them at the table.
"Good morning." he said in a pasty voice.
Theo had finally digested the news that Pansy and Draco were sleeping together and hadn't brought up the incident at the beginning of the month, when he'd caught them both in the dormitory. Since then, however, Draco had found that he was noticeably more annoyed and cautious when he hung out with them.
"Hey." they all said in return.
Theo raised his eyebrows at the particularly loud outbursts from the Gryffindors:
"Why are they shouting like that? Weasley's finally cut his hair and everyone's celebrating?" he asked with a sarcastic laugh.
Draco chuckled.
"It's Granger's birthday." grumbled Pansy, who had her back to them and was careful not to turn around to watch them. "Hopefully she'll get a Charm to shorten her buck teeth."
Theo smiled and poured himself a large glass of pumpkin juice. Blaise was reading, as usual, the Daily Prophet, and was immersed in an article about potential corruption between a Quidditch referee and a coach who had allegedly paid him to favour his team.
The meal was silent. As he helped himself to the food, Theo coughed and suddenly Pansy let out a scream of delight, which startled Theo and Draco, who dropped their cutlery onto their plates.
"AH-AH! I TOLD YOU! I WAS RIGHT!" she shouted with a big smile.
She was dancing on the spot, clearly delighted.
"What are you talking about?" asked Draco.
"The cough!"
"Huh?" asked Theo, picking up his fork, stunned.
"Your horoscope for the month!" exclaimed Pansy.
She took a piece of newspaper out of her pocket and read it:
"Health: You're in good shape, except for a 3-day cough from September 18 to 21."
"Pans', I barely had a cough!" protested Theo.
"No, you had a cough, and it's September 19, which means the divination is true, the astrology is true, and you were wrong!"
"You've been waiting for him to cough since yesterday to show us that bit of paper?" asked Blaise, who died laughing when he saw Theo's outraged face.
"Exactly, but I knew it was going to happen, the horoscopes are always right." replied Pansy, proud of herself. "Now all that remains is to see about September 30th... "Perhaps the person you have your eye on will take a step towards you" ... Who is it?"
"Nobody." hissed Theo.
"Of course..." Pansy searched the people around her with her eyes, looking for a girl Theo might be interested in. "Astoria, Daphne's sister?"
Theo grimaced.
"No, absolutely not. Leave me alone."
"We'll see on September 30, when the person you secretly love comes to talk to you..."
"If anyone takes a step towards me on September 30th, it will simply be a coincidence, like all the rubbish predictions you read..."
The argument between Pansy and Theo went on for most of breakfast, but Draco only listened with one ear. He agreed with Theo but didn't have enough motivation to argue against Pansy. So he preferred to watch Granger quietly, whose blush from the birthday songs still hadn't subsided.
Suddenly, a rustle of wings drowned out the noise of conversation in the Great Hall, which was now full of students. Draco glanced up, where hundreds of owls were flying overhead, searching for their destinations.
Ebony landed in front of Draco to bring him his mother's weekly letter, which he unhooked from his paw while the owl nibbled crumbs from his toast. Lucius hadn't sent him anything since the beginning of the year.
Another owl landed opposite them. Since he'd been at Hogwarts, Theo had never received a letter. The only owl to come and see him was the one from the Daily Prophet, which he received every morning.
The one that landed in front of him, however, was nothing like the owls that mail the paper. This one was very tall, majestic, with impeccable plumage and holding a roll of parchment sealed between its beak. Theo, taken aback, took it and the owl flew off without waiting for payment.
"A registered letter?" said Pansy, looking at Theo's parchment. "Who's it from?"
"No idea." replied the dark-haired man, analysing the seal.
He broke it to unroll the letter, which he read in silence. Draco couldn't see the letter from where he was standing, but from Theo's enlarged eyes he knew it wasn't a very pleasant letter to receive. He waited for his best friend to finish reading it.
When he looked up, and before he could explain anything, Pansy almost snatched it out of his hands to read it too, oblivious to the possibility that it might invade his privacy.
Like Theo, the further she read, the more shocked she seemed. At the end, she looked at him with an air of pity:
"Oh, Theo... I'm so sorry..."
"What?" asked Draco and Blaise at the same time.
Pansy handed them the letter, which Blaise grabbed to read, and Draco did the same over his shoulder:
Dear Theodore,
I regret to inform you that you have been officially disowned by the Nott family. You have decided to disgrace the respectable values of your bloodline and not fulfil your duty as a Pureblood heir, despite my many warnings.
I hereby inform you that your name will be removed from the family tree of the sacred Twenty-Eight, and that you will no longer appear in any Pureblood family register. You are also ousted from the Nott inheritance, and cut off from the riches due to you: no more access to the coffers of Gringotts, to Nott Manor, or to any other residence the family owns.
For my part, I no longer consider you my son.
Farewell.
Theodore Nott Sr.
Draco felt a lump form in his throat as he read the calligraphy of Theo's father. When he raised his head, Theo was not looking at them, but trying to put on a brave face:
"I expected it, it was only a matter of time."
"You're not too..." asked Pansy, but she was cut off by a wave of Theo's hand.
"No, I'm fine. I'd rather that than have to be attached to this family I hate. I never wanted to see my father again in any case, so, that's fine with me."
Still, Draco could see that the letter had troubled him. He kept coming back to it with his eyes, swallowing hard. Fortunately, Blaise immediately put a hand on his shoulder:
"You don't need him to live. Your place is my Manor now, and you can help yourself to my safe at Gringotts, I have more than enough for both of us."
"Same here." Draco said quietly. "And my mother said you could come to the house whenever you wanted."
"Thank you. You don't know how that helps me."
Blaise and Theo patted both his shoulders simultaneously and Pansy gave him a sad little smile. They ate in silence, each of them digesting the news that had come so suddenly and unexpectedly. Then Theo whispered mockingly:
"On 19 September, your father will officially disown you from his family, making him an orphan. You didn't see that in your horoscope, did you, Pansy?"
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Hermione
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October was exactly the same as September: Hermione spent as much time as possible in the Library looking after the S.P.E.W., Harry and Ron didn't study at all, and Neville still didn't understand Potions. The only two differences were that Hermione was spending more time with Ginny than in previous years, and Draco Malfoy was still studying in the Library.
Hermione had to admit that she had developed a strange habit of late of sneaking up on Malfoy. He was sitting a few tables away from Hermione, and she couldn't help but look up from time to time to see what he was doing. Sometimes he was working, sometimes he was reading a book, and sometimes he was talking to Theodore Nott or Blaise Zabini.
In any case, he came practically every day, which was extremely unusual. No one else spent as much time in the Library as she did.
A number of questions were therefore distracting her from her work: why was he studying more than before? Did he want to beat her in class? Or had he been told off by his parents?
She had also noticed that he was talking to Pansy Parkinson again. She wondered if they had made up over the summer, if they spent time together outside Hogwarts. He seemed very close to Nott and Zabini too, but she couldn't really understand the bond between the four of them.
So her curiosity often got the better of her, and she began to observe the Slytherin much more than before. Sometimes he would turn his head slightly towards her in the Library, which would bring her back to reality, and she would go back to writing or reading.
On October 30th, Hermione came down at 6pm with Ron and Harry to welcome the new students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. The French pupils arrived after several minutes waiting, in a beautiful pastel blue flying carriage. Hermione looked at all the students getting out of the carriage as intently as they looked at the huge Hogwarts castle. Having spent a lot of time in France on holiday with her parents, she was sure they were French, and their very pronounced accents confirmed it.
Then the Durmstrang students arrived, with just as grand an entrance as those from Beauxbatons. They emerged from the bubbling surface of the Black Lake in a huge boat, all dressed in thick furs.
It was as the line advanced towards the castle gates that Ron noticed someone inside:
"It's Krum! Harry, it's Krum! I don't believe it! It's Viktor Krum!" he exclaimed as he made his way up the stairs.
"For heaven's sake, Ron, he's just a Quidditch player." said Hermione, exasperated.
All the way to the Great Hall, Harry, Ron and Hermione passed fans, desperate to get an autograph from Krum. Hermione couldn't see him in the crowd of students, but when she sat down at the Gryffindors' table, she could see him across the room as he sat down at the Slytherin table.
He was tall and rather imposing. His head was shaved and he seemed to be avoiding the gaze of all the students who were staring at him in amazement, as if he was embarrassed by all the attention he was receiving. Yet he must have been used to it. He took off his thick fur, and underneath he wore a blood-red robe, just like the other Durmstrang students.
The food arrived on the four tables and Hermione winced at the sheer quantity of different dishes. The poor house elves must have worked themselves to exhaustion. She glared at Dumbledore, but he was deep in conversation with Karakoff, the headmaster of Durmstrang, and took no notice of her.
She helped herself mainly to the French dishes, the food she liked best. During dinner, a Beauxbatons student approached their table:
"Excuse me, are you waiting for ze bouillabaisse?"
She was very beautiful, blonde with straight hair that fell gracefully to her waist, and big clear blue eyes. She looked at Ron, but he had turned scarlet and stammered out intelligible sounds.
"Yeah, have it." offered Harry.
"You 'ave finished wiz it?"
"Yeah." Ron replied without taking his eyes off the girl. "Yeah, it was excellent."
"She's a Veela!" exclaimed Ron.
"Of course she isn't!" said Hermione. "I don't see anyone else gaping at her like an idiot!"
She poked her piece of beef violently, irritated. She didn't really know why, but Ron's reaction had given her a little prick in the heart. Jealousy. She'd never felt that before, let alone because of Ron.
The desserts arrived and Hermione noticed that Ron kept looking towards the Ravenclaw table, where the pretty blonde girl was sitting. He wasn't discreet at all, it was as if he was hypnotised by her. Every time he glanced at the table opposite, Hermione felt that painful sting. By the end of the meal, she was in a very bad mood.
To avoid looking at Ron, she concentrated instead on the Slytherin table. Krum was eating quietly, a few seats away from Draco Malfoy who was talking in a low voice with Blaise Zabini.
If Malfoy seemed happy to be close to the Quidditch player, it was nothing compared to Zabini. Hermione had never seen him with any expression on his face other than indifference, so it contrasted greatly with his current face, which was completely overexcited. He didn't even dare turn to Krum and exchanged words in a low voice with Malfoy, stamping his feet. Theodore Nott, on the other hand, was completely indifferent to Krum's presence and preferred to talk to Pansy Parkinson opposite him.
As Dumbledore explained the workings of the Goblet of Fire and the selection of the next day's champions, Ginny turned slightly towards Hermione. Despite the few seats separating them, she could see her worried face perfectly well. Ginny was extremely observant. Hermione simply shrugged and continued to listen to Dumbledore's speech.
On the way to Gryffindors Tower, Fred and George were already expounding their theories on how to get round Dumbledore's Age Limit, which prevented students under 17 from registering their names. Hermione was deeply upset. She didn't say a word to Ron, and when they went into the Common Room and Harry and Ron announced that they were going to bed, she didn't say "good night".
No sooner had they left than Ginny settled down next to Hermione on the sofa she was occupying.
"What's the matter, Mione?" she asked.
Hermione gave her a silent gesture that she couldn't talk about it now, pointing to Fred, George, Seamus and Dean who were next to them. Ginny understood and didn't ask for any more details.
She watched as Hermione pulled out her wand to let out an "accio cups!" and two mugs, the one Harry had given her for her birthday and the one from her room arrived in her hand. She served two teas, one of which she handed to Ginny, and they talked about everything for the rest of the evening.
By the time Fred and George, the last students in the Common Room, said goodnight to Hermione and Ginny, their teas were finished. Hermione looked absently at the fire in the fireplace.
"It made you angry, didn't it? Ron's reaction to that girl from Beauxbatons?" Ginny finally asked.
What was the point of trying to hide something from Ginny? She already knew everything. Hermione rubbed her eyelids:
"Yes, a little. And I don't even know why, it's driving me crazy."
"Don't you think you feel something for him?" the redhead asked gently.
Hermione thought for a few seconds as she watched the flames lick the red bricks of the fireplace. She had always had a different connection with Ron than she had with Harry.
Harry was like her brother, she'd always seen him that way and she was sure that this precious bond would never change. Ron was different. He stimulated her more, she felt more exposed, more open to the idea that there could be something more than friendship between them. Yet she'd never really noticed it until last summer.
"I don't know." Hermione admitted. "I don't know if I'm really attracted to him, or if I'm just flattered by what you told me over the summer."
"He fancies you, Hermione, that's obvious!"
"Maybe, but I don't know if I feel the same way he does... If that's even the case. The way he reacted tonight with the blonde..."
"He's just an idiot." cut in Ginny with a grin. "Wait a bit, and you'll see."
Hermione nodded silently, her mind buzzing with thoughts. Ginny set the cup down on the small coffee table:
"Thanks for the tea, Mione. I'm off to bed."
"Alright, goodnight!"
Ginny smiled at her and made her way to her dormitory. Once her footsteps had stopped echoing and the door to her dormitory slammed somewhere a little higher, Hermione was alone in the Common Room. The flames crackling in front of her were the only source of noise. She poured herself another cup of tea and lay back on the sofa, thoughtful.
Ron... In first year, she'd never thought she'd ever feel anything for him. Yet he had been in her thoughts a lot lately. And the fact that she was jealous proved that he had a special place, didn't it?
She pondered her thoughts for a long time. It was very rare for her to be alone, she was usually one of the first to go to bed. But she stayed there for a very long time, because her mind kept her awake. Then, when the flames had dimmed considerably and her eyelids were closing on their own, Hermione put down her cup and went up to her dormitory.
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Draco
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On Halloween, everyone was talking about the candidates who had put their names in the Goblet of Fire. When Draco, Blaise, Theo, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle went to breakfast, Goyle informed them:
"Warrington put his name down early this morning."
Draco watched as the Slytherin sat a little further away with a big smile on his face. Warrington played in the Slytherin Quidditch team, but Draco had never spoken too much to him.
"He's strong, he could be good for the tournament." Draco said by way of comment.
"Who else has signed up?" asked Theo.
"Angelina Johnson, Gryffindor, and Cedric Diggory, Hufflepuff."
Diggory was no longer sitting at his table. Draco liked him, and thought he had a good champion's build. His only flaw was his House.
"I'm sure I could have won." muttered Blaise.
Everyone looked at him in surprise:
"Huh?"
"I could have won." Blaise repeated in a determined tone. "If I'd been over seventeen, I'd have entered. I'm sure I would have been selected."
"How can you be so sure?" asked Pansy without hiding her mocking tone.
"I'm charismatic, cunning and athletic." replied Blaise quickly.
"And modest." added Theo.
"You don't even know what the Tournament is about!" laughed Pansy.
"So what? I'm telling you I'd have won." insisted Blaise.
"In that case, you can say that about anyone!" said Pansy as she turned to look around the Great Hall. "The Weasley twins, that bloke over there in Ravenclaw... Crabbe and Goyle."
The two of them puffed out their chests proudly at hearing their names.
"Crabbe and Goyle?" repeated Blaise with a chuckle. "I said cunning and charismatic."
Those concerned immediately deflated. Blaise didn't seem at all embarrassed to have said that in front of them.
"I like Diggory." intervened Draco, who was sipping his coffee. "I hope it's him who gets caught tonight."
" Me, I want it to be Angelina." announced Pansy.
She received several astonished looks.
"What? I'm not saying I'm a big fan of her House." she defended herself. "I'm just saying it would be nice if it was a girl."
"Wanna bet?" offered Blaise.
"Okay." said Pansy without hesitation. "10 Galleons it'll be on Angelina."
"I'll put 10 Galleons on Diggory." said Blaise.
"Same." said Draco.
"So are we!" said Crabbe and Goyle.
"You still haven't paid me back your Transfiguration homework." cut in Theo. "You'll bet once it's done."
"What about you, Theo? Will you bet?" offered Blaise.
"I'd like it to be Johnson too, but I'm not going to put money on it." said Theo, taking the newspaper. "I haven't got that much as it is..."
"You can have mine." said Blaise.
"That would defeat the whole point a bit." Theo replied with a smile. "Besides, I wouldn't mind it being Diggory either."
"Me neither." said Pansy in a low voice with a small smile.
"You're just saying that because he's handsome." retorted Theo.
"Yeah, I am." she said. "So is Warrington."
"You just like tall guys."
"Yeah, but I hate brown-haired guys who read thirty books a day, anyway." Pansy replied with a smile.
Theo's one faded:
"Hey! You don't have to be mean!"
"So." cut in Blaise. "Two for Diggory, and one for Johnson. 10 Galleons. We'll see tonight."
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During the feast, Draco was so excited to find out what the Goblet of Fire had chosen that he ate quickly, eager to know. The other students in the Great Hall had done the same, too impatient to find out who the Hogwarts champion was. When, at last, the plates disappeared, Dumbledore stood up and all eyes fell on the Goblet of Fire, from which the blue flames were still coming out.
"There we are." said Dumbledore. "It won't be long before the Goblet of Fire makes its decision. I think we'll have to wait another minute. When the names of the champions are announced, I will ask the lucky ones to come all the way here and gather in the next room where they will receive their first instructions."
He extinguished the candles in the ceiling, plunging the Hall into a tremulous atmosphere of expectation. Draco could hear Blaise muttering through his teeth, "Diggory, Krum, Diggory, Krum..."
After a minute, the blue flames suddenly turned a dark red, and there was a loud noise. It was as if all the students were holding their breaths. The flames flared in the air and a crumpled, blackened piece of parchment flew up. Dumbledore caught it on the fly, read it and said in a deep voice:
"The champion of Durmstrang will be... Viktor Krum!"
Although this was very predictable, it didn't stop Draco and Blaise from howling with joy. They applauded the champion, who rose slowly to his feet, climbed onto the platform and disappeared behind the door of the room indicated by Dumbledore. Then there was silence again. The flames turned red again and expelled another piece of parchment:
"The Champion of Beauxbatons will be... Fleur Delacour!"
A girl with long blonde hair rose from the Ravenclaw table with a victorious smile. She walked around the teachers' table to join Krum. Draco noticed with surprise that Granger was glowering at her, a look she usually reserved for Draco or Pansy.
Silence returned and everyone waited for the Hogwarts champion. Blaise had crossed his fingers on his thighs and Pansy was staring intently at the red flames of the Cup. The last parchment flew out and Dumbledore caught it and smiled:
"The Hogwarts Champion will be... Cedric Diggory!"
The Hufflepuff table erupted in cheers and applause. As Diggory walked towards the champions' door, it was impossible to make himself heard over the din from the Hufflepuff table. When he disappeared from view, Draco could finally hear Blaise:
"We won! You owe us 10 Galleons each, Pansy!" he gloated.
For once, Pansy wasn't a bad player. She accepted her fate with an amused nod.
They began to discuss the choice of champions, when suddenly the noise of conversation died away. Draco looked up to see, to his amazement, that the flames in the Cup had turned red again. A parchment came out and Dumbledore, indifferent to the murmurs that had risen in the Great Hall, grabbed it and read it silently. He looked astonished and waited a few seconds, then announced in a loud voice:
"Harry Potter."
There was a shockwave. Blaise, who had risen slightly from the bench during the announcement, fell back abruptly into his seat. Pansy's mouth dropped open in shock, and Theo muttered:
"Is this a joke?"
Draco turned to the Gryffindors' table. Potter looked as shocked as the others, as if frozen in shock. Granger stared at him in dismay, clearly at a loss for words for once.
"Harry Potter!" shouted Dumbledore again. "Harry, come here, please!"
Granger pushed him back and whispered something in his ear, and Potter was forced to walk. Pansy turned to the Slytherins:
"How did he do it?"
"No idea, maybe a powerful charm of..." began Blaise.
"Potter was raised by Muggles, he's incapable of doing anything." snapped Draco.
His voice was tinged with anger, but he did nothing to correct it.
"He looks surprised." commented Theo, who was watching Potter as he joined the other champions through the back door.
When the door closed, the murmurs of the Hall turned into a hubbub. The benches where the students had been sitting to eat creaked on the floor as everyone got up and left, talking about what had just happened. Draco remained seated, as did his friends, Granger and Weasley. The latter was now talking to Weasley at full speed, she was in shock.
"Perfect Potter, always getting what he wants." Draco muttered. "Always the centre of attention."
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Hermione
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When Hermione came down from the dormitory the next day, only Ron was waiting for her. It was very early, so she hadn't expected to see him at all, let alone on a Sunday.
"Ron?" she called from the stairs.
He turned towards her and she was surprised to see the features of his face. Usually he always had a smile. But this time, he was cold and angry, and didn't even say hello when she reached him.
"What's the matter with you?" she asked, alarmed. "Where's Harry?"
"Never mind. Let's go and eat."
He pulled her by the arm to go out through the portrait. Hermione followed him, stunned. It was only when they came down the stairs that she dared to ask him:
"Ron, can you tell me what's going on, please? You're scaring me."
"Don't you think it's weird..." he began, obviously holding back from getting angry. "That Harry said something about 'coming and dropping his name during the night so no one would see'?"
Hermione didn't take his hint at all.
"What?"
"I mean, he sounded like he'd already thought of it. Coming in at night, with an invisibility cloak, and his Marauder's map maybe, without telling anyone? Oh no, not that!" he roared.
The stairs had just shaken and moved to connect with another corridor, taking them even further from their destination. Ron seemed to be on edge. He grabbed Hermione to prevent her from staggering because of the movement of the stairs. She finally understood the reason for his anger:
"Ron, don't tell me you honestly think Harry could have put his name in the Cup?"
"That's what happened yesterday, isn't it?" he said angrily. "Harry Potter, always the one to watch, the one to admire, and he didn't even think to warn us first!"
"Ron!" exclaimed Hermione. "How can you say that? We're talking about Harry! He's clearly been set up, did you see his face when his name came up? Someone tried to smuggle him into the tournament to kill him!"
But Ron wasn't listening to a word Hermione was saying, too busy brooding. At last they reached the bottom of the stairs and Ron then started walking so fast that Hermione had to trot beside him to keep up:
"Is that why he didn't come?" she asked. "Did you two have a fight?!"
Ron's face was closed and his lips formed a thin line. He didn't answer, which was quite explicit. He sat down on the Gryffindors' benches and didn't say another word.
She'd never thought she'd be in the middle of an argument between Harry and Ron, who'd been best friends for as long as she could remember. They'd never been at war with each other, this was so new that Hermione had no idea what to say to Ron to comfort him. She was sure Harry hadn't put his name in the Cup, but she understood Ron's anger that he was, once again, in the shadow of his famous best friend.
Hermione nibbled a piece of toast without appetite. She thought of Harry, who must be deeply unhappy, so she spread some toast with jam, Harry's favourite breakfast, and wrapped it in a paper napkin. When she stood up, Ron asked dismissively:
"And where are you off to?"
"The Library." she lied. "To do some work on the S.P.E.W."
He nodded, although she could see he wasn't fooled. She went out and up the seven flights of stairs. When she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, it slid open before she could say the password and Harry stepped out. He was so sad it broke Hermione's heart. She handed him his jam toast:
"I brought you these..." she said. "Do you want to go for a walk with me?"
Harry's eyes crinkled slightly in relief behind his round glasses.
"Good idea."
They went downstairs to go outside. Hermione only had a jumper on so she shivered slightly as she reached the banks of the Black Lake, but she ignored it and ate a piece of toast as Harry told her all about what had happened in the room next to the Great Hall. He insisted several times that he had no idea his name would come out of the Cup, although she didn't question that part of the story at all.
He seemed as angry as Ron, which didn't help at all. He was too focused on the fact that he didn't want to talk to her anymore to worry about the real danger: he was going to be in the Tournament. Hermione's stomach churned just thinking about it. She'd read terrible things about the tasks, Harry was going to risk his life...
She advised him to send a letter to Sirius and tell him all about it, and they went to the owlery.
When Ron was upset, he couldn't really keep anything to himself so he preferred to just blurt it out without thinking about what he was saying or how it might hurt. Harry was the opposite. He kept everything to himself and didn't open up about how he felt, yet Hermione could see how troubled he was.
"Hermione, I'm going for a broom ride to take my mind off things." he said with a deep exasperated sigh. "See you later?"
"Are you going to have lunch, at least?" she asked as he walked away.
"No. I don't want everyone looking at me like I'm a... I'll see you tonight."
And off he went down the stairs to the owlery. Hermione didn't know what else to do. She hoped that Sirius would have an adequate response to the situation and that he would be able to reason with Harry, because he was the only person who could. She took a parchment from her bag and wrote a long letter to her parents telling them what had just happened, which she sent with one of the school owls.
Hermione had no desire to see Ron, so she decided to carry out her lie and go to the Library. That was what she had planned to do all day anyway, before Harry's name was announced. So she left the owlery and headed for the Library, her bag full of research on house elves.
But when she arrived, she was not at the end of her surprises. Krum was sitting at one of the Library tables, reading a book with his eyebrows furrowed, obviously very concentrated. When she came in, he glanced quickly at her and gave her a small smile, to which she responded with some surprise. She then saw to her horror that two girls were sitting at her usual table. They had nothing in front of them, not even an unfortunate piece of parchment. They were just giggling and pointing at Krum, who was taking care to ignore them.
Hermione raised her eyebrows. She knew that Krum was a famous Quidditch player, Ron had told her enough, but she hadn't realised that fame attracted girls so much. If he wasn't famous for Quidditch, he would have gone completely unnoticed, because he looked like every other boy in Durmstrang. She showed her displeasure by clicking her tongue as she walked past his table and looked for another one.
She then realised that the library was full, and that all the tables were occupied by girls who were looking at Krum and laughing. She wandered between the shelves in the hope of finding a free seat.
At last she found one, which she had never noticed because it was completely at the back, hidden from view. It was round and small, and could only seat two people at most, but Hermione sat down on it straight away. No one could disturb her from there.
She wanted to take out her S.P.E.W. scrolls but realised that she didn't have the motivation to work on them right now. She kept thinking about Harry and the Triwizard Tournament, she wouldn't be able to concentrate.
So instead, she picked up the novel her grandmother had sent her for her birthday and opened it to the first page. She was instantly immersed in her reading and was able to enjoy the lines in front of her without being disturbed by her thoughts.
The story was very interesting and she devoured the pages eagerly. Suddenly, she heard the other chair at her table creak, and she looked up impatiently, ready to tell the person sitting with her not to disturb her, when the words caught in her throat.
Draco Malfoy had just sat down in the chair opposite her quietly, as if it were something he did every day.