The Confectionary Chronicles || HP/SPN

Lollies and Loki- CH39

Even if she wouldn't admit it, Hermione was actually slightly grateful Loki had managed to talk her down, in the end, from the six A-Levels she'd originally wanted to take, to the more standard four. She'd been sad to not sign up for Politics or Ancient History, but she did have to admit that English Language & Literature, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Law were all keeping her busy enough. Her unusual array of subjects had earned Hermione a raised eyebrow from her Aunt Iona (mostly, she suspected, due to the conspicuous absence of Biology from the line-up, as would be expected for a student looking to go into Medicine as the Doctors Granger had made clear they were expecting of their genius daughter), but Hermione currently wasn't actually looking to go on to university, so she didn't need to pick her courses based on the A-Level requirements of a future university course. Instead, she chose the ones that interested her most.

(...sometimes she thought Loki's hedonistic tendencies had influenced her more than she'd like to admit)

She'd still managed to take the time out of her intensely busy schedule to read the small stack of books Professor McGonagall had sent her– 'Gamp's Guide to the British Wizengamot', 'TheGreatest Wizarding Events of History', 'The Pureblood Book of Decorum; the Care of the Person, Manners, Etiquette, and Ceremonials in Pureblood Society' (there had actually been a note pinned to the front of that one to disregard all comments about 'mudbloods', which the Professor had explained was a nasty and largely outdated slur), 'The British System of Magical Governance', and 'International Laws of Magical Beings, Beasts and Spirits, As Defined By The International Confederation of Wizards'.

The book of decorum was filled with bigotry, prejudice, and slurs, but in an impressively classy style– other than the odd mention of 'mudblood', the discrimination in the book was more implied then actually stated, and required a keen eye, sharp mind and discerning ability to read behind the lines to identify. If the author, an Earl by the name of Pollux Black, wasn't such a racist, misogynistic prick (and also dead for over a hundred and fifty years– apparently Pureblood society was fairly stagnant when it came to advancing with the times), Hermione almost thought she might have gotten along with the bloke– he had a vicious, biting wit edged with a hint of cruelty which she'd learned to appreciate after spending so much time exposed to Loki and his family, as well as an impressive skill in 'saying' one thing while actually meaning something else entirely.

Along with her extracurricular reading, Hermione put in a sincere effort to make time for her cousins and her aunt and uncle. Even when her schedule was so flat-out she'd basically planned her days down to the individual minutes, she made sure she was never too busy for her family– she had her priorities sorted (and yes, that was a jab at Helen and Richard– her passive aggressiveness towards them seemed to have increased tenfold since they'd sent her to Fraserburgh. She didn't quite understand it, she'd admitted to Dr. Mia, because she actually preferred Fraserburgh and her aunt and uncle over them and staying in London, but somehow... somehow it still hurt).

She also took the time to continue writing back to Fleur, as the French witch continued to send letters. The part-Veela's owl was clever enough to always wait until she was alone before delivering the letters, as well as lingering to wait for a reply. School had improved for Fleur, but she wrote about knowing better then to let her guard down, because that's when she'd get the metaphorical knife to the ribs. They'd debated the merits of pre-emptive strikes together, but ultimately decided that Fleur should endeavour to keep the moral high ground in the whole situation. Hermione had still sent along a new list of prank spells as well as fine-tuning for their the plans for an effective whisper campaign against a professor who'd started been a bit too handsy with Fleur since the new school year had begun.

Hermione was continuing with her appointments with Doctor Mia too, of course, and Loki had never failed to show up to take her to the appointments, every single week. If she was feeling up to it afterwards he'd then take her somewhere so they could spend some time together before returning her back to Fraserburgh, making sure to turn back time when he did so, that way none of her relatives realised she'd ever been missing.