Chapter 126. Pansy’s Meddling

Days passed and before she knew it, Friday had rolled around. Hermione sat together with Chiara, Luna, Harry, Ron, and Ginny. The normal group all together, sitting at the end of Hufflepuff’s table. Chiara and Hermione had slowly gotten closer to one another, both still too embarrassed to hold hands easily visible to others in the halls. But when they both felt comfortable, both happily intertwined their hands with one another, like now under the table.

Hermione, after taking a glance towards the end of the Great Hall to the Slytherin table, held back a scornful glare at the sight of Lucas, Parkinson, and Malfoy. It was mostly Lucas and Pansy she held so much contempt for. Both lying and playing one another, yet being the talk of much of the school for their ‘perfect pairing’. Hermione couldn’t go a single class without a whisper of both their names being muttered between students, spreading their close affinity with one another.

It was just this morning that Luna explained another night she had spent with Lucas, and his heated passion of domination. Hermione could picture it all, the image of Lucas shirtless added in her own imagination of Luna’s explanation of his actions. “Hermione? Are you okay? You’re looking a little flushed.” Harry asked, snapping Hermione from her thoughts, as well as the choker she was subconsciously playing with. She groaned with slight pain the elastic caused on the rebound, making everyone wince. “I’m fine… The food was just a bit hot…” Hermione quickly lied in a mutter, wiping the previous image from her mind.

“Okay, now that I noticed. Why do you even wear that thing? It looks uncomfortable.” Ron asked, pointing at his own neck with a slight frown at the mere idea of having a device similar to Hermione’s placed there. Hermione glanced back up to meet everyone’s gazes centered around her. “I thought it looked nice.” She answered, before taking in another bite of food, her already slightly red face warming more at the reason she liked the feeling the choker gave her.

Ron just rolled his eyes, elbowing Harry to get his attention. “I’ll never understand fashion.” Harry couldn’t help but scoff in agreement, nodding along as he took another bite of his dinner. While they went on to discuss Quidditch, casually avoiding talking about the incident that left a scar on the wizarding world, Ginny and Luna were talking about magical beasts. With only Chiara left to talk to, Hermione tightened her grip on Chiara’s hand to get her attention. Chiara hid a small yelp, awkwardly looking towards Hermione with the corner of her vision. Hermione patted her hand, before going back to eat, allowing Chiara to ease up some more, still shy at every turn.

Hermione couldn’t help but smile when just thinking of Chiara, their relationship was slower, but honest with one another compared to Lucas and Pansy. ‘Maybe they’ll break up…’ A sudden thought entered her mind with excitement, one she quickly abolished. Hermione knew she shouldn’t have those kinds of thoughts, but the idea planted in her mind by Chiara and Luna was stuck like a splinter in the back of her mind.

Hemione’s eyes slowly checked to her left, witnessing Chiara’s gray eyes shimmer ever so slightly when she looked far off in the same direction Hermione had just moments prior. Each night, the full moon grew closer, a chain in the recesses of both their minds crumbling away. It was clear that Lucas was having a much more difficult time handling his first time in ‘heat’ than Chiara. ‘But what will happen during the next full moon at the end of this month?’ Hermione thought, erotic images once again staining her mind before she inadvertently snapped her choker again.

Since the others were busy with their conversations they didn’t notice, but Chiara did, glancing towards Hermione in confusion before understanding and shy solidarity filled her expression. Hermione sighed at Chiara, smiling at the predictive actions Chiara always did; her caring nature always worried for everyone above herself. Unable to stop herself, Hermione gave a small peck to Chiara’s cheek, watching with glee at Chiara’s scarlet face and stupid grin unable to be contained.

***

Pansy, while talking with Lucas about the Herbivicus charm, subtly scanned the Great Hall with her eyes. Over the past few days, the rumors had spread just as she intended, and all the girls vying for Lucas’ attention had their expression hollowed from just the sight of the two. However, in doing so, a feeling in the back of her mind struck her with unease. There was one girl who fought with Pansy right to her face about wanting ‘what was best’ for Lucas.

Her eyes darted to the shabby haired girl off into the distance. Hermione’s eyes matched with Pansy’s for a moment before Pansy turned away, unable to showcase any darkened emotions while Lucas continued to ponder aloud his thoughts of uses the Herbivicus charm may have. “There was one… Just a second.” He muttered, flipping the pages of his herbology book in search of a magical plant he skimmed during his own time.

Pansy couldn’t help but smirk at his studious attitude, even in a subject he wasn’t good at. She knew Lucas was much more interested in magical creatures, but he was more than willing to study Herbology just to have stimulating conversations with Pansy on her more passionate pathway; a gesture she happily returned in kind. ‘He doesn’t do that for anyone else, just me.’ It was true that he had gotten annoyingly close with that group of girls from all other Houses. He had hidden it well from everyone else, but Pansy knew.

She was trying to keep herself calm, but knowing that Hermione held feelings regarding her man filled her unease. Pansy had been getting closer with him in public to keep others at bay, but Hermione was never one to give up. “Pansy?” Her name was suddenly called by Lucas, and she snapped her head up towards him, quickly wiping away the inadvertent scowl she was mentally directing towards Hermione. “Yes Lucas?” She asked with a chirp, just having him call her name was enough to raise her spirits.

He looked down at her, a smile growing from just the sight of Pansy’s. “I guess we both have gotten lost in Herbology. We should probably finish our food before it gets cold. Wouldn’t want to be hungry after curfew.” He chuckled with a blushing face, quickly looking back down at his plate, attempting to play off his bout of affection to her. Pansy giggled, rubbing his arm gently for a moment before agreeing with him and focusing on her own meal with a smile.

As she began cutting her steak, her mind replayed her last complaint of Hermione, the girl that couldn’t leave well enough alone. A girl that hated almost anything wizard society that differed from the muggle society she presumably grew up in. Pansy’s smile slowly grew dastardly with a simple idea that could pull Hermione’s focus from Lucas, or even better, ruin the friendship he allowed for.

After dinner, Pansy mentioned she wanted to write to her parents, and suggested Lucas see Abarrane alone. Going to her room she quickly removed from her trunk a special envelope and brought it to her desk. She pushed aside her books and half finished articles of homework due much later in the month, instead focusing on thumbing her stack of ready parchments before taking the blank one on top. She took her quill and almost dipped it into the vial of ink on her desk, but paused at the last moment.

Carefully transferring the vial of ink to her left, she mirrored the action with her quill, placing into her left hand before dunking the tip into the black liquid. Her writing looked hideous, almost illegible, but each letter of crude cursive was just enough to purvey the message. After an excruciating amount of time for what seemed like only a few letters, Pansy sighed in relief that it was over. Carefully folding the parchment into thirds, she slipped it inside the special envelope. She then closed it, and took a bit of hot wax from the candle alight above her and let it drop onto the crest of the envelope, holding back the instinct to use her family's seal to stamp on the wax.

With a growing smirk she turned the envelope over, and scribbled Hermione’s name poorly on the paper. “I’ll give you something to latch onto…” She muttered, looking over every angle of the enclosed message for any signs that may lead back to her. Finding none, she hurriedly waltzed from the Slytherin house and went under the stairs towards the Great Hall, close to where the painting of Merlin hung.

***

Hermione, almost finished with her meal, glanced at her friends to see they were of much the same. All aside from her and Chiara were only talking with their empty plates, gone from the table. Hermione smiled as all her friends were enjoying each other’s company. However, the sudden sound of a bird singing caught her attention, and she followed the calming tone upwards to the starry night sky indoors. A small yellow and pink song bird chirped as it descended down directly in front of Hermione, gathering quite the amount of surprised attention.

“That’s a love-note that is!” Ron whispered as loudly as could still be defined by the term, Harry glancing at him in confusion while the rest of Hermione’s friends and even plenty of classmates from across the hall looked onward with intrigue. The small bird cooed before bowing, his wings collapsing like origami to showcase itself as a letter. “It’s a complicated spell that turns a letter into a love-bird. It’s quite hard, so you don’t see them much… I wonder who it’s from?” Ron muttered, his eyes quickly focusing back towards Hermione, his gaze almost burning a hole through her.