Time for a Change: Hogsmeade

Time for a Change
Chapter Three
By Lori Finnegan
2006

 

Pansy set her bag of ingredients on the table in the far right corner of the library and waited for Hermione to join her. Apparently, Hermione didn’t think it was important as she did, because she was two minutes late.

 

“I’m sorry I’m so late,” Hermione breathed as she rushed up to the table and set her things on top of it. “It took me a little longer than I thought to collect the saliva of a forest troll. And let me tell you, those things are mean!”

 

“Today was hell,” Pansy chimed in. “I’m so glad we’re done gathering these stupid ingredients. A lot of them were really hard to find, and it was annoying how many people I had to avoid so that they wouldn’t be suspicious of you running around looking for odd things!”

 

“Tell me about it,” Hermione groaned. She plopped down in a set and looked across at Pansy. “You know, I haven’t exactly thought about it until now, but where should we mix the potion? Too many people use the Moaning Mertyl’s bathroom as their secret hideouts or whatever, so we’re going to have to think of another place.”

 

Pansy grabbed her things and grinned at Hermione. “No problem,” she said. “Follow me.”

 

But before they could stand up, Harry Potter stood in front of them, looking back and forth from Hermione to Pansy. His gaze settled on Pansy. “Hermione, what is going on?” he demanded. “You’ve been sneaking around school, kissing Neville, and now you’re hanging out with Pansy Parkinson?”

 

Pansy looked up at him, took one glance at Hermione and then looked back to Harry before standing up and grabbing his arm. She pulled him around the corner and into a small nook, bookshelves surrounding them.

 

“I didn’t want to just come out and say it,” she whispered to Harry, her hand still holding his arm. “But Pansy’s been having some trouble in Potions so we’ve been meeting and studying together.”

 

Harry looked a little flustered. “Why didn’t you just say something, Hermione?” he asked. “It’s not like you haven’t tutored students before!”

 

She leaned closer. “But none of them have been Slytherins, Harry. Don’t you understand? I just didn’t want to make a big deal about it.”

 

“Sure, I understand,” Harry agreed. “But that still doesn’t explain why you wanted that plant from Neville and why you kissed him on the cheek!”

 

“I needed that plant to mix a potion to help Pansy with her potion combination skills. We’re going to work on it tonight, so I didn’t have time to dive down and get it myself. He really helped us out.”

 

“I see,” Harry said, shaking his arm loose of her hold. “Okay, I get it, Hermione. I understand why you didn’t want to say anything. I mean… she’s Malfoy’s best friend and all. But you don’t have to hide things from your friends. We trust you and will support you in your decisions.”

 

Pansy stared at him. So maybe this is what Hermione saw in her dorky friends; unconditional loyalty. It wasn’t something to take lightly. “Thanks, Harry,” she said. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything earlier, but like I said, I didn’t want to make it a big deal when it’s not. It’s just some simple tutoring sessions. That’s it.”

 

“Okay, got it. I’ll leave you two to your studying then,” Harry said, moving to walk away.

 

Pansy grabbed his arm again. “Thanks for understanding, Harry.” And she leaned up to kiss his cheek lightly. When she pulled away, she couldn’t believe that she had actually done it.

 

Harry’s face turned bright red, and he leaned away from her slightly. “Y-yeah,” he stuttered. “No problem.”

 

Pansy stood there as he pulled away from her hold once more and then walked down the aisle towards the exit. Eh, it was just a friendly kiss on the cheek. She gave Draco friendly kisses all the time… Apparently Gryffindor boys weren’t used to being kissed.

 

When she returned to the table, she found Hermione still anxiously sitting at the table waiting for her.

“What did you say to him?” Hermione demanded in a whisper.

 

“Nothing much,” Pansy said, picking up her bag from the floor. “Just that I was tutoring Pansy in Potions. And what do you know, he believed every word I said.” She grinned.

 

“Of course he did!” Hermione said, picking up her bag as well. “He believed you because he trusts me.”

 

“Boy, does he ever,” Pansy’s eyes widened as they began making their way for the exit. “He’s got it bad.”

 

“What did you say?” Hermione followed her out. “He’s got what bad?” she wanted to know.

 

Pansy looked back at her and grinned. “Never mind.”

___________________________________________________________________

 

It wasn’t long before Hermione and Pansy made it down to the dungeons, but to Hermione’s surprise, the passed the Slytherin dormitories and went several doors down the hallway to where Hermione had never stepped foot before.

 

“This is a place that Draco and I discovered,” Pansy explained as she pushed open a door on the right and the two of them went through the threshold. “No one else knows about besides us.”

 

“Oh?” Hermione said, looking around. “And who’s to say not just anyone can open this door and search around for stuff?”

 

Pansy turned and smiled at her. “Because this isn’t the room. We were hanging out here sometime during our third year, and Draco was leaning against the wall… well, turns out, there’s a secret passageway behind this room, and he just happened to be leaning against the entrance. I don’t know who made this room, but whoever it is doesn’t use it anymore. Draco and I are the only ones who ever come here. Trust me.”

 

Pansy walked over to the wall on the left side of the room and pushed against a spot on the wall. Quickly, she stepped back, and Hermione watched in awe as the wall flipped up towards the ceiling and then slipped back out of view to reveal a long cement pathway sloping slightly down.

 

Hermione shivered, wondering where it would lead them.

 

“It doesn’t go all that far,” Pansy said as if reading her thoughts of apprehension. “Come on, let’s go.” She grabbed Hermione’s wrist and dragged her into the dark passage way. When they were securely inside, she gave the door above them a tap with her wand, and it slid back over the entrance.

 

“Lumos,” she said, and the tip of her wand lit their path.

 

Hermione reached for her wand and lit hers as well. Together, the two of them walked down the slope which slowly curved to the right, and led to an old, dusty wooden door. It was unlocked, and Pansy opened it easily as it creaked.

 

Inside, there was a small room, furnished with an old pink sofa, a small desk, and two oil lamps; one sitting on the desk, and the other on a small table next to the sofa. Hermione wasn’t too impressed with Pansy’s and Draco’s ‘hideout,’ but it was the best idea at the moment.

 

“This’ll do,” she said, setting her bag on the desk and taking out her ingredients. “Why don’t you light the oil lamps so we can have a bit more light. I’ll get the ingredients in order.”

 

“Okay,” Pansy agreed and lit the lamps with the tip of her wand. “Here,” she said, handing Hermione her bag. “Everything’s inside.”

 

Hermione looked at her, and their gaze met. “Let’s get started then, right?”

 

Pansy nodded, suddenly feeling a little nervous. “Right,” she agreed.

______________________________________________________________________

At nine o’clock that night, Harry arrived back at the Gryffindor Common Room after a quick walk around the lake. He had acted as though he bought Hermione’s story about the study sessions, and in all honesty, it seemed completely logical. But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was Hermione herself. It was her body language, and the way she said things… something was definitely off.

 

He brushed past several Gryffindors excitedly chatting about tomorrow’s Hogsmeade trip and went straight to his dormitory. He wanted to talk to Ron and get a second opinion before he jumped to conclusions.

 

Luckily, Ron was alone in their room quietly reading Harry’s Quiddich magazine when Harry entered the room.

 

“What’s up, Harry?” he said, not even looking up from the magazine.

 

“There’s something I want to talk to you about,” Harry said as he sat down on top of Ron’s trunk at the end of the bed. “It’s about Hermione.”

 

Ron pushed the magazine aside and sat up to face Harry. “What about her? Is this about what Neville was talking about earlier?”

 

“Not entirely, but yes,” Harry told him, leaning his shoulder against the bedpost. “Something is going on, Ron… something she’s not telling us.”

 

“Harry,” Ron sighed. “How many times are you gonna bring this up? Hermione isn’t acting strange, I saw her myself! So what if she kissed Neville on the cheek. Is it completely weird for a girl to kiss a boy’s cheek because she’s grateful to him?”

 

“No,” Harry agreed. “It’s not completely weird. But you know what? Just earlier, in the library, she kissed my cheek, too.”

 

Ron frowned at him, “Well, next time I see her, she better be kissing my cheek because I’m starting to feel left out!”

 

“This isn’t funny, Ron,” Harry scolded. “Something is going on. I can just feel it.”

 

“You and your instinctive feelings, Harry,” Ron rolled his eyes. “Can’t you just admit that maybe Hermione’s just busy with her school work? Like usual?”

 

“I know she’s busy with homework,” Harry admitted. “But that’s not it, it’s something else.” He stood up and walked back to his own bed, flopping down on his back and looking up at the ceiling. He could still feel Hermione’s burning lips on his warm cheek… and he shook his head, trying to get the feeling to go away.

 

“You’re reading too far into things,” Ron assured him. “It’s not like she has some secret boyfriend or something.”

 

Harry flinched when Ron mentioned the possibility of Hermione having a boyfriend. That wasn’t it, was it? He turned over onto his side, facing away from Ron, and stared at the door. What in the hell was going on…?

_____________________________________________________________________

Pansy wiped her brow and leaned back against the pink sofa. “We’ve done it…” she breathed. “And it’s only ten o’clock.”

 

Hermione stared down into the purple slime and wrinkled her nose. “This won’t be very tasty, I imagine,” she said. “But, oh well. Hand me the cover, and we’ll store this here while we wait for it to brew.”

 

“Got it.” Pansy grabbed thecontainer from the cushion beside herself and stretched out her arm so that Hermione could reach it.

 

“And it’s sealed!” Hermione exclaimed, holding up the small cauldron. “We’ll just… stash it under the sofa in the time being,” she decided as she bent down and slid it underneath the dust flap. It fit perfectly.

 

“Finally, that’s over,” Pansy said, relieved that that they were done. “I’m gonna turn in.”

 

“Me, too,” Hermione said. “The Hogsmeade trip is tomorrow, and Draco is dying to go.”

 

Pansy rolled her eyes, leaning back against the couch. “Tell me about it. For some reason, he looks forward to it every time we go.”

 

"Hmm." Hermione gathered her things and pushed the door open. "Maybe I'll find out tomorrow," she pondered. "Will you put out the lights?"

 

Pansy pointed her wand at each lantern, and they went out in a wisp of smoke. Wands lit, she and Hermione walked down the long passageway and then parted when they reached the normal dungeon hallways. Pansy couldn't help thinking about how long the next two weeks would be.
_____________________________________________________________________

The next morning, Pansy was showered and dressed by eight o’clock, and wandered into the Gryffindor Common Room to see when everyone was leaving for Hogsmeade. She knew she was going to have to hang out with Harry and Ron that entire day and wasn’t only regretting it because of the obvious, but the strange encounter with Harry from yesterday was still bothering her.

 

Not only did she have to pretend to be Hermione, but she now had to pretend to be Hermione who had to ditch Harry Potter and still remain friends with him. It wasn’t going to be easy.

 

“Hey, Hermione!” several Gryffindors called from the other end of the room, and she walked over to meet them.

 

“You all packed for Hogsmeade?” Ron grinned at her. “I’m all set!” He held out two mittens attached by a string. “Mum got carried away, I guess.” Each red mitten had a huge yellow ‘R’ on it.

 

“Sure, I think I’m ready,” Pansy told him. She had carelessly stuffed a pair of mittens, a hat, and Hermione’s trusty Gryffindor scarf into Hermione’s purple backpack and rushed down to the common room. However, she had spent a little time upping Hermione’s appearance. She even dotted on a little eye shadow and lip gloss. She was getting sick of Hermione’s plain look and wanted to spice it up a bit. Not that she was planning on attracting any drooling Gryffindor boys or anything… “Great mittens, by the way,” she told Ron.

 

“Thanks,” Ron said, jumping up from the spot on the hearth of the fireplace. “Well, now that Hermione’s here, let’s head down. Alright?”

 

A few other boys and girls around them stood up as well, and followed Ron out of the common room. Pansy was about to follow when she saw a still figure sitting on a chair on her left. “Harry?” she said, “Aren’t you coming?”

 

“Oh,” Harry said, the glazed look in his eyes lifting when he realized she was talking to him. “Yeah, I was just thinking. I guess I got distracted.”

 

Pansy was trying to act like Hermione, but it wasn’t easy. The real Pansy would have slapped him across the head and told him to get his ass out of dreamland. But Hermione… Hermione would smile, grab Harry’s sleeve and tell him to hurry up or they’d be late. So that’s what she did.

 

“Stop daydreaming,” she rolled her eyes at him. “And come on. You’re going to make everyone late.”

 

Harry slowly rose from his chair as if he were still contemplating some sort of decision.

 

She reached out and clutched his sleeve, pulling him towards the door. “Fine, fine,” he muttered as she pulled him through the threshold and out into the hallways. Together, they walked quickly to catch up to everyone else.

______________________________________________________________________

 

Hermione and Draco stood on Hogwarts West lawn and waited for the professors to come out and lead the way to Hogsmeade. Hermione pulled her scarf tighter around her neck and buttoned up her black jacket. It was already starting to get chilly even though there were still some leaves on the trees.

 

“Hey, Draco,” Crabbe said from behind them. “What are the plans for today? Got anything up your sleeve for Potter and his lousy friends?”

 

Hermione blinked. For some reason she had suddenly forgotten how Draco and his dumb friends always picked on them during Hogsmeade trips. She turned to face Crabbe before Draco had a chance to reply. “Don’t you think we’re getting a little too old to throw snowballs at people?” she said, narrowing her eyes at him. “I mean, seriously, it’s a bit immature.”

 

Crabbe and Goyle were staring at her as though they had never seen her before. “Snowballs are not immature,” he said. “I don’t know where you got that from.”

 

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back around. “Whatever,” she muttered, and started walking towards the crowd that was beginning to form on the front walk. She was halfway there when she felt a hand on her arm.

 

“Since when do you think picking on Potter is immature?” he hissed into her ear. “Isn’t this your favorite part about Hogsmeade?”

 

“No,” she said, frowning. She was mostly upset that she was in this conversation, but she was also upset at herself for falling out of character around the people she was going to spend the main part of her next two weeks with. “I mean, it was,” she lied. “But I think we’re a little too grown up for bullying. Don’t you think?”

 

“I suppose, but…” Draco looked semi-thoughtful. “Some things just never get old, I guess.”

Hermione pulled away from him. She just couldn’t let go. “Whatever,” she said, picking up her pace and blending into the crowd. If Draco truly cared for Pansy he would come and find her anyway.

 

In the middle of the crowd, she bumped into Pansy and Harry, who were rushing to catch up with the other Gryffindors. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, backing away. Seeing the look on Harry’s face, so lost and confused… exactly how she felt at the moment, she suddenly felt like crying. She wished she could be back with Harry and Ron again instead of having to constantly spend time with Draco and his mean friends. Before either of them could react, Hermione turned around and moved against the crowd, desperate to get out before full blown claustrophobia hit her, and she really did start crying.

 

But the second she escaped the thick crowd, she ran right into another person, hard. Two arms caught her before she could hit the ground. She stood up on her own two feet and went to push him away, but then realized that she had ran right back into Draco. He had both of her wrists in his hands and didn’t look like he’d be letting go anytime soon.

 

“What is going on?” he demanded as he held her in place. “Why did you run away from us, and… are you crying?”

 

Hermione looked back at the crowd of students who were now a little distance away. “I… I don’t know,” she said, and it really wasn’t a lie. “Just let go of me. I want to go back to my room.”

 

“Why?” he asked. “What happened in the last minute that made you so upset?”

 

She struggled against him until he let her go. “I just…” she said, but couldn’t go on. She couldn’t tell him she missed being a Gryffindor. She couldn’t tell him that she thought he and his friends were assholes, and she couldn’t imagine spending one week with them, much less two. “I really don’t want to talk about this right now,” she admitted. “I’m sorry if I’m acting strange… I’m just a bit emotional lately. That’s all.”

 

Draco’s face suddenly turned red, and he turned away from her slightly. “Is this about the… female stuff… you were talking about yesterday?”

 

“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe.”

 

“Okay,” he muttered, looking back at her. “I promise I won’t bring it up again if you promise to come to Hogsmeade with me. And I promise I won’t make fun of Potter and Weasley and their dumb friends the entire day. Would that make you happy?”

 

She found herself smiling at him. “Yes, it would, actually.”

______________________________________________________________________

“Hey, Hermione,” Harry said as they walked along with the crowd. “Did Pansy Parkinson seem a little… off to you?”

 

“No…” Pansy said slowly, glancing back over her shoulder to make sure Hermione was okay. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see her through the crowd. “She seemed perfectly Pansy-like to me.”

 

“I don’t know what it was, but I got the feeling that something was wrong.”

 

Pansy rolled her eyes, making sure he wouldn’t see her. What the hell was it with Harry and his intuitions?

_________________________________________________________________________

 

When the group arrived at Hogsmeade, everyone went their separate ways. The only instruction, with the exception of good behavior, of course, was to meet back in front of the main gate at exactly five o’clock that afternoon, and they would all go back to the Great Hall for dinner with the rest of the school.

 

Ron Weasley looked down at his watch. It was just after nine, and that gave them almost eight whole hours to wander around Hogsmeade, drink butterbeer, and just generally have a great time.

 

He caught up to Harry and Hermione, squeezed between them and put his arms around their shoulders. “So what’ll it be first?” he asked, grinning back and forth from Harry to Hermione. “I say we should go to the three broomsticks for breakfast. What do you say?”

 

“Sure,” Harry said, but he did not grin back.

 

“What’s up with you, mate?” Ron wanted to know. He dropped his arms from his friends’ shoulders and looked over at Harry as he walked.

 

“Nothing,” Harry replied.

 

Ron looked over at Hermione and shrugged. “Okay…” he said, and together the three of them wandered into the Three Broomsticks and sat down at a table near the bar.

 

“Three butterbeer, over here!” Ron called, grinning to the waitress.

 

She winked at him, “Coming right up!”

 

After the waitress left, Ron looked over at Harry and Hermione and waited for one of them to say something, but they didn’t. Hermione was looking around the room as if she was looking for someone else, and Harry was staring at the clock on the wall. The three of them sat at the table in silence for so long that it was starting make Ron mad. He tapped his fingers on the table.

 

“Are you two gonna sit there and stare at the walls all day, or are we gonna have some fun?” he demanded.

 

Harry looked at him, annoyed, and Hermione gave him a smile and a shrug.

 

“Well, say something!” Ron insisted.

 

“I don’t know what to say!” Hermione said. “What is it we usually talk about!?”

 

“You should know,” Ron frowned at her. “Who are you looking for, anyway? Are you sure you don’t have some boyfriend we don’t know about?”

 

“Are you serious?” Hermione’s frown matched his own. “Why would I have a boyfriend?”

 

Ron stared at her. “Well, why wouldn’t you have a boyfriend?” he challenged.

 

“Oh, please,” Hermione rolled her eyes. “If I had to choose someone from this school, I might as give up completely.”

 

“You mean…” Ron said. “That out of everyone at Hogwarts, you wouldn’t date any of them?”

 

Hermione looked away. “Forget I said anything.”

 

Ron leaned back in his seat and folded his arms over his chest. “No one!?” he wanted to know. “Not one single guy here, is that right?”

 

“She said she wouldn’t date anyone,” Harry said, finally speaking up. “Why would she say it if it weren’t true?”

 

“I just didn’t think that she wouldn’t go for anyone here. I mean… there are plenty of…” He stopped himself before he said something he would regret. “Whatever. Let’s talk about something else.”

 

Harry groaned, and Hermione tapped her fingers against the table.

 

“Where is that butterbeer?” she sighed.

____________________________________________________________________

Hermione was annoyed that Crabbe and Goyle would not leave Draco alone. They kept making stupid jokes as they walked behind him, trying to get his attention and make him laugh. She suddenly realized how annoying it would be to be Draco.

 

The thing was, though, that he didn’t entirely seem to mind it. Sometimes he even smirked at them, as though he thought some of their bad jokes were slightly funny.

 

Hermione, on the other hand, was about to tell them to get lost and quit being so annoying. Unfortunately, in her position, she could not do that. The last time she spoke her mind, she had almost let her identity slip.

 

“Where are we going?” she asked Draco when Crabbe and Goyle started talking amongst themselves.

 

Draco shrugged. “I’m not sure.” He leaned closer to her. “Actually, I’m testing something out. I want to see how long they’ll follow me before they get hungry and leave us the hell alone.”

 

Hermione didn’t know what was scarier; Crabbe and Goyle with a tremendous appetite or more alone time with Draco. But she couldn’t help but laugh at him because as it turned out, even Slytherins got sick of themselves.

 

“I’ll put my bet on the next ten minutes,” Hermione said.

 

“Oh, yeah?” Draco feigned determination. “It’ll be less than five minutes for sure.”

 

Goyle shoved his shoulder. “What are you two talking about up there?” he wanted to know.

 

“Yeah,” Crabbe agreed. “And when are we eating? I’m starving over here!”

 

Hermione burst out in laughter, and Draco tried to hold his in. He was actually pretty good at it. “Well,” he said, holding his arm out towards the shops. “What’s stopping you?”

 

Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other and seeing it was mutual, they both waved their farewells and ran off in the directions of the multiple candy stores that lined the main street of the town.

 

Draco grabbed the sleeve of Hermione’s coat and pulled her forward. “C’mon, Pans,” he said in a low tone. “I want to show you something.”

 

“Er, okay,” Hermione agreed. Well, it wasn’t as though she had much of a choice. All she could do was to follow Draco Malfoy wherever it was he was going to take her.

 

They walked past two blocks of houses in the surrounding neighborhood until they came to a small patch of threes at the end of one of the blocks. All of the leaves had already fallen from the trees and they were anything but hidden when they stepped underneath the trees.

 

“Where are we going?” Hermione wanted to know as he pulled her along, now by the hand.

“You’ll see,” Draco said. “We’re almost there.”

 

Hermione feared that he was leading her into some secret hideout that his father had set up for him and his mean friends; some place that had a shrine of Lord Voldemort or something.

 

“This is where I go sometimes to think things through,” he said as they approached the beginning of a small hill. As they neared, Hermione realized that in the wall of the rocks, there was a small entrance, sort of like a cave. He put his arm out and blocked the branches so that she could walk ahead of him. “Go inside.”

 

Hermione hesitated. “Are you sure it’s safe in there?”

 

He smiled at her. It was that same smirk that always seemed plastered on his face... but this time she wasn’t threatened by him. It was funny how after you started getting to know someone the expressions on their faces became so much clearer. “Why would I bring you here if I thought it was going to cave in on us?”

 

Hermione would have immediately suspected that he had some sort of wicked plan up his sleeve, but Pansy would trust him completely. His actual concern about her, well, about Pansy, was something that Hermione hadn’t ever noticed before. “Okay,” she said. After all, she was Pansy, and Pansy was someone who Draco cared for.

 

She ducked and slipped inside of the opening. Draco stepped in right after she did, and lit his wand to illuminate the area. Hermione’s eyes widened, and she tried not to gasp as the light bounced off of the stalactites from the ceiling. The cavern was like a little domed hideaway that no one would suspect was there until they saw it with their own eyes.

 

“Wow,” she breathed. “This is one impressive hideout.”

 

“It’s not really a hideout,” Draco corrected. “No one knows it’s here besides me… and now you… as far as I know, anyway. Sometimes I come here to study when things get a little too crazy at school.”

 

Hermione couldn’t help but wonder when the Slytherin common room ever was crazy. So far every time she had been in there it had been almost completely deserted. They seemed to really keep to themselves most of the time. “It’s nice here,” she said. “And very quiet.”

 

“I come here a lot in the winter, too,” he said, walking to the back of the cavern and then turning around, his footsteps echoing throughout the room. “All I have to do is use a quick warming charm, and I don’t get cold.”

 

“Oh,” Hermione mumbled, still looking up at the stalactites. “I’m glad you showed me,” she said. “It helps me creep further into the mind of Draco Malfoy.” She looked away from the ceiling and back at him, trying to match his famous smirk.

 

He grinned back at her. “As if you ever could.”

____________________________________________________________________

Pansy and Ron had left Harry sitting in the Three Broomsticks so that he could talk with Professor Lupin about the latest things happening in the wizarding world, while they had gone back out into the chilly weather. Pansy wrapped Hermione’s ugly Gryffindor scarf around her neck and reluctantly fell into footstep besides Ron. Hogsmeade with the Gryffindors was absolutely boring.

 

She and Ron had nothing in common.

 

“So, Hermione…” Ron said in a strangely serious voice that made Pansy turn her head to look right at him. “Something’s up with Harry, and I wanted to have a little chat with you about it.”

 

“Oh?” Pansy said, struck by this sudden news. She wasn’t sure she would even be able to give him any insight into the situation considering… well, considering she wasn’t actually Hermione. “What is it?”

 

Ron led her around the corner to a bench that was situated in front Dervish and Banges, a shop that repaired magical items. They both sat down, and Pansy put her mittens on to keep her fingers warm in the breeze.

 

“Lately he’s just been acting weird,” he said, leaning close to her so that no one passing by would hear their conversation.

 

“How so?” Pansy inquired.

 

“It isn’t really simple,” Ron mused. “But he’s come to me several times saying that there’s something going on with you that he can’t put his finger on. Well,” he said, leaning back. “If you ask me, he’s going nuts. I asked him what about you was different, and he couldn’t even mention one thing. How nuts is that, Hermione?”

 

Pansy stared at him, almost afraid to answer the question. But she had to say something. “Pretty nuts,” she agreed, thanking the cold weather for keeping her complexion rosy. If had not been for the cold, her face would have been as white as a ghost’s. “But now that you mention it,” she played along. “He has been acting a little weird around me.”

 

This seemed to interest Ron, because his eyes widened, and he leaned forward slightly. “Oh, really?” he breathed.

 

“Yeah…” Pansy confirmed. “Usually he isn’t quite so nosy about what I’m doing and where I’m going,” she said, hoping she was right in assuming this about Harry and Hermione’s friendship. “But lately he’s asking me why I’m here, and why I’m there… what I’m doing, and why… you know, those kinds of things.”

 

“Yeah…” Ron nodded. “I’ve noticed that. He’s suddenly so interested in you.”

 

It was silent for a moment and the two of them stared at the leaves blowing past their shoes.

 

“You don’t think,” Ron said, turning towards her. “That he’s… you know… got a thing for you. Do you?”

 

This was not the most attractive situation that Pansy would have liked to have been in. “I wouldn’t think so,” she lied, sounding shocked, even though she was sure that Ron was exactly right and was surprised that he had actually come to the right conclusion almost on his own.

 

“I don’t know,” Ron muttered, and when Pansy looked at him, she could practically see the wheels turning in his mind. “It’s all adding up. Maybe he thinks you really do have some sort of crush, and you’re drifting away from him or something. That would explain why he’s suddenly on your case about everything. He’s trying to find out the dirt and then figure out how to keep you!”

 

Pansy doubted that Ron’s soap opera twist was what was going through Harry’s mind. “I don’t think so,” she replied honestly. “Me and Harry? I mean come on. He must realize that the thought is absolutely ridiculous. I mean… we’re just friends!”

 

Ron shoved his freckled finger in Pansy’s face. “There’s a thin line between love and friendship,” he told her. “Perhaps he’s crossed it.”

 

Pansy tried her best not to groan. “This is crazy,” she said. “There’s no way anything like that is true. Harry’s just in… some sort of funk. That’s all. He’ll come out of it eventually. Just like he always does.”

 

Ron looked thoughtful. “I’ll have to talk to him about it later. If he says anything to you, pretend we never had this conversation. Okay?”

 

“I promise,” Pansy said, trying to sound supportive. She just wished this dreadful trip was over, and she could take a nap. Pretending to be Hermione and living her life was completely draining.