Always and Forever

Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Hermione POV

Homework was filling up almost every second of Hermione's day. She was grateful for evenings in the quite library with Harry. She wished that Ron would study more but he was a bit preoccupied with his new relationship with Lavender, which quickly began and accelerated after their kiss in the common room. Hermione didn't think it was appropriate for her to chide him about his study habits whenever he was with Lavender.

Today, she did need to warn her friend about a conversation she overheard that pertained his safety. "You need to be careful. I went into the girls' bathroom just before I came in here and there were about a dozen girls in there, including that Romilda Vane, trying to decide how to slip you a love potion. They all want you to ask them to go to Slughorn's Christmas party. I helped Fred and George work on that love potion so I know for a fact they will work."

"You're a prefect, why didn't you take them away?"

"They didn't have them on them otherwise I would have. They were just planning. You are really popular among the ladies because you're the Chosen One." She said the last part with her hands in the air acting like it was a big deal.

"But I am the Chosen One." Harry smiled and glanced up as Romilda gave him a wave.

Hermione took his beat-up copy of Advanced Potions off of the oak table and smacked him against the head. "Knock that off."

"Right... sorry. I deserved that. Well anyways, I'm not going to invite anyone to the Slug Club party." Harry went back to working on writing his essay.

"Well, still, just be careful on what you drink." She thought grimly of all the different ways the girls were coming up with. "Some of the girls were coming up with really sneaky ideas before they realized I was in the bathroom."

"How is Romilda even having access to one of their products? I thought Filch had banned all of them?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

Hermione blushed. "George came up with a brilliant way to disguise them of course. It's making my life more difficult as a Prefect of course. They're disguising them as perfumes and cough potions in their Owl Order service."

He laughed. "I just still find it funny that you ended up with one of the twins."

She frowned. "Is it really that weird? George and I?" Hermione did not talk about her relationship very often with others, but she saw Harry as a brother she never had. His opinion meant a lot to her.

The messy-haired teen shook his head. "No... no... It's not like that. I think it's funny that your own boyfriend is driving you mad with enforcing rules even when he's not at Hogwarts anymore."

She smiled softly and thought about how secretly it made her think of George every time she had to confiscate a Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes product and how she wished they would never stop selling them to students.

The librarian appeared suddenly and informed them that the library was closed. The two returned to the Gryffindor common room with their halfway completed work. Romilda Vane was next to the portrait opening and she jumped up when she saw the Gryffindor seeker. "Harry! Would you fancy a gilly water?"

"No thanks!" Harry said quickly, he looked at the water as if it would explode in the girl's hand.

Hermione gave him a knowing look. Romilda looked defeated temporarily before smiling at him. "Well... here take some Chocolate Cauldrons, they've got fire whisky in them. My gran sent them to me, but I don't like them."