Pansy's POV
The library is quiet at nine. Nobody's there, everyone leaves. Me, I come here at nine. It's the only time you can get a book and be in here alone.
I liked people, but I also liked being alone.
I scanned the titles of books for the one I needed. We were writing an essay in Herbology and I needed a book titled "Magical Mediterranean Water-Plants and Their Properties". Neville Longbottom had been reading it in Potions the other day, and I thought it might be useful.
I found the book I was searching for. As I was moving towards Madam Pince's desk to check out my book, I tripped over something and fell down on top of someone.
"Ow." They sucked in their breath.
"Sorry! I tripped over something, and- sorry." I said awkwardly.
We stared at eachother. It was a boy my age. He had jet black hair that had been dyed with streaks of red, green, and blue. His hair covered one eye and his smile was crooked.
"Um, so could you get up now?" He asked me.
"Oh, right." I said. I got up, totally checking him out as he got up.
The guy looked emo, but he was really hot.
"I'm Pansy." I smiled.
"Hunter." He said.
I bent down to the ground and picked something up. "This is what I tripped over."
"A tiny bottle of... lotion." He read the label.
"Wow, that's a first." I said. Me, tripping over something? It wasn't common.
"I know this seems sudden, but do you want to meet me in Hogsmeade tomorrow on the trip?" He asked me. "I really want to know you better."
My smile couldn't have been bigger. "I'd love to!"
"Great, so how about you meet me at the Three Broomsticks? Everybody goes there, so we won't stand out as much." Hunter asked.
"Sure, I'll see you then." I smiled.
"Bye." He left the library, leaving me dazed.
The Hogsmeade trip seemed like ages away. I couldn't sleep at all, I was so excited about meeting Hunter.
I'd never felt this way about a guy before. With every other guy I'd dated, it was just for show. But with Hunter, I was actually nervous.
"What should I wear?" I asked Hermione.
"Hmm, I think you should go with that t-shirt and skinny jeans." Hermione told me.
"Why? Shouldn't I wear this?" I twirled around in my big, fancy red dress.
She smiled. "No, we're going to Hogsmeade. And it's snowing, so it might get messed up."
"You're right." I sighed. "But I don't wanna take off the dress!" I twirled around in it again until Hermione grabbed my shoulders and stopped me.
"Pansy, you need to change. We're leaving in twenty minutes." She reminded me.
I stripped off my clothes and changed, right in front of Hermione. Of course she looked away, but we'd been childhood friends, so neither of us cared about it.
I entered the lavatory and brushed my teeth. Then I brushed my hair and grabbed some gum, to give me fresher breath. I met Hermione in ten minutes.
"Let's go." I said.
We linked arms and walked down to the Great Hall, where everyone was meeting for Hogsmeade. Most students were already there. Oddly enough, I didn't see Harry, Ron, or Blaise. Goyle and Crabbe waved us over, but we ignored them.
Hermione and I hated them, but we never showed it in front of the others.
It would cause rivalries, and we didn't want to split up our friends, so we decided to keep it a secret.
Just like I was keeping Hunter's identity a secret from Hermione.
I didn't want anyone to know, since I don't know what house he's in yet. We'd agreed to meet in the Hog's Head, not walk together. I didn't want to be seen with him unless I was sure that he was "the one".
He had to be. He was the most perfect guy ever, that I'd only met yesterday. But I was still in love with him.
Hermione poked me. "Hey, is that your mystery guy?"
She was pointing directly at Hunter. "No." I lied.
"But he's exactly how you described the guy! And nobody at Hogwarts has hair dye, so he stands out from everyone else." Hermione pointed out.
"Okay, just don't tell anyone. I'm not sure what house he's in yet. You know the boys would hate it if he was Gryffindor." I whispered to her.
She grinned. "Or even worse... a Hufflepuff!"
I smiled. "Haha. Actually Hufflepuff seems like a cool house."
"Anyway, I don't care what house he's in. If you like him, you like him. His blood status and house don't matter to me. If he's good for you, then I'm okay with it." Hermione smiled.
I teared up. "Thanks, Hermione." I hugged her tightly.
"We should go." Hermione said.
I noticed everyone leaving in groups, so Hermione and I trailed at the back of the group. "So, hows Ron?"
Hermione smirked. "Oh, I think he's a little embarassed about your proposal, Pansy."
"What?" I tilted my head, confused. "What are you talking about?"
Hermione cracked up. She couldn't stop laughing.
"Oh my god, that's so funny, you don't remember." She wiped a tear from her eye.
"Tell me what happened." I demanded.
"Okay, so I came into the common room, and-" She started, but cracked up again.
"Oh my god, I'll hex you to next year if you don't tell me now!" I shouted.
"Okay, so I saw a crowd, and Ron and Harry were being weird, and I found out they were drunk. So then I tried to take Ron to his dorms so he could sleep, because Harry is more stubborn and Ron would be easier. Anyway, you stopped me." Hermione said.
I had a bad feeling about this. Somehow, I had a deep feeling I knew what had happened.
"And, I did what?" I asked.
She cracked a smile. "You said, no, Hermione, you can't take Ron up to bed. We're gettin' married. This is our engagement party!"
I felt my cheeks turn red. I felt like hiding under a rock.
"I.... I proposed to Ron?" I almost shrieked.
Hermione cackled with laughter. "Yes...and then I kissed him." She looked horrified and clamped a hand over her mouth.
"You what?" I screamed.
She covered my mouth.
"Shut up!"
"No, tell me why you kissed Ron!" I demanded.
"Fine, but you have to swear you won't tell." Hermione whispered.
I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Whatever. I promise. Now tell me!"
"Okay... I sort of... have a crush on Ron?" She said quietly.
"What?" I pretended not to hear her. "Talk louder, I can't hear you."
"I said that I have a crush on Ron." She said loudly.
I clamped a hand over her mouth as Ron and Harry turned around. "Did you guys hear something?"
"Hear something?" I said nervously. "Oh, no. Nothing, nothing at all. Probably just you. Or maybe it was a bird. Maybe a werewolf! Who knows what it could've been, but I sure know it wasn't Hermione telling me her crush!"
Hermione glared daggers at me. Lucky for me, Harry and Ron weren't the brightest.
"Um, yeah, we never thought Hermione was telling you a secret. She doesn't have any secrets, she's an open book." Ron said, rolling his eyes.
Harry and Ron turned around, heading back to Blaise, Goyle, and Crabbe.
"Pansy, that was way too obvious!" Hermione hissed. "I swear, if they would've heard what I told you, I'd kill you."
"Gulp." I said nervously.
Hermione smiled, and we walked into Hogsmeade. "So, where are you supposed to meet Hunter?"
"The Three Broomsticks." I told her.
Hermione grimaced. "Alright. I'll make sure the boys don't go near there."
"Wait, you're not... what? You'd do that for me?" I asked, speechless.
Hermione was willing to spend the whole trip with five boys, just so I could go on my date without worrying about the guys catching me.
"I might be going mad, but yes, I will. Because you're my friend, and you've never really dated anyone, so I'm really hoping this works out for you." Hermione smiled.
I was about to thank her, but Hermione dashed away and linked arms with Blaise and Harry.
"Hey Pansy." A deep voice said. I turned around to be met with the face of Hunter.
I blushed, and looked at the ground. "Hi Hunter."
"So, wanna go?" He asked me.
"Yeah. Let's go." I said shyly, brushing a lock of hair behind my ear.
We walked silently to the Three Broomsticks. I hated that we weren't talking. I wanted to talk to him, but I had no idea what to say, and I was super nervous.
A bell rang as we pushed the door open, and we saw the bartender come over. "Can I help you?"
"Table for two please." Hunter said.
She smiled at us, flipping her straight blonde hair behind her shoulder. "Alright, this way."
We followed her for what seemed like ages before we stopped at a table. I sat down across from Hunter.
"What would you like?" She pulled out a notepad and pen.
"Butterbeer please." I smiled at her.
"Uh, Firewhiskey." Hunter ordered.
The waitress stared at him. "Aren't you a little young for Firewhiskey?"
Hunter slid ten Galleons across the table. "Not by much."
The waitress looked around to make sure anyone wasn't looking, then took the Galleons. "One Firewhiskey and one Butterbeer."
I high fived Hunter. "Nice!"
He grinned. "Thanks. It doesn't take much to get Firewhiskey, just a few extra Galleons."
I smiled at him. "So, what house are you in?"
"What's your house?" He asked me.
"I asked first." I told him.
"Ladies first." He smirked.
"Fine. Slytherin." I mumbled.
"You're in Slytherin?" He sounded shocked.
I looked at the floor. "You can leave if you want. I get it, nobody likes Slytherins."
Hunter grabbed my hand, and smiled at me. "Hey, I'm not like that. Your house doesn't matter to me. I just hope mine doesn't matter to you..."
"Why? What's your house?" I asked him.
"I'm a Hufflepuff." He told me.
"Okay." I shrugged it off. "Whatever, it doesn't matter to me either."
"But it will matter to everyone else." He sighed.
We sat in silence for a few moments. It was broken when our drinks arrived.
"Here's your Butterbeer, and your Firewhiskey. Enjoy." The waitress put down our drinks and left.
"Finally." I took a sip of my Butterbeer. "Mm, so good."
Hunter downed his Firewhiskey in a matter of seconds. "Whoa. How'd you do that?"
"Um, I drank it. No magic." He smiled.
"Seriously? I've never seen anyone down a drink in seconds." I said, amazed.
"Well, now you have." He said.
I took another sip of my drink. "So, what's your favorite lesson?"
"Probably Charms, you?" He replied.
"Definitely Potions. Not because Snape favors us, but because I actually like Potions. It's more interesting than Herbology." I told him.
"What isn't better than Herbology?" He asked.
"Good point."
Then came the silence again as I finished my drink. Hunter was watching me. It caused my cheeks to turn crimson. I quickly finished my drink and put five Galleons on the table. "Wanna go to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes? It's just down the road."
"Sure, let's go." He said. We left the restaurant. As we walked down the road, Hunter held my hand. I felt faint, because this was one of the best days of my life.
We entered the joke shop, and came face to face with Fred and George Weasley. They ignored us and walked away, not that I expected anything else. The Weasley's and Parkinson's have always been rivals, and it wasn't going to change now.
Hunter and I looked around at all the things in the shop. I was really interested in the Pygmy Puffs, they were adorable. Hunter bought some Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. I was pulling out some Galleons and Sickles when Hunter stopped me. "You bought my drink, I'll pay this time."
"No, you don't have to-" I began.
"It's okay," He cut me off. "I want to."
I gave him a genuine smile. Then we walked out of the shop hand in hand, my new Pygmy Puff riding on my shoulder.
Hermione's POV
"Guys, wait!" I ran to catch up with the guys. I linked arms with Harry and Blaise. "Where are you going?"
"We're going to get Blaise a new cauldron for Potions, and then we're heading to the Three Broomsticks. I could really use some Butterbeer." Harry told me.
"Mind if I tag along?" I asked them.
"I thought you were going with Pansy." Blaise said, confused.
"Yeah, me too. But she's going to hang out with Maisie and Flora. I don't get along with Maisie well." I said. "So can I please hang out with you guys?"
They pretended to think about it. "Okay, sure." Ron broke the silence.
I hugged him. "Yay, thank you." Ron and I both turned scarlet and broke apart.
Harry looked like he was about to crack up. "Okay, so let's go get the cauldron then."
We walked into the shop, and were back out with a cauldron in minutes. I noticed that Pansy and Hunter were going into the Three Broomsticks. I had to stop the boys.
"Hey, boys!" I shouted over the wind. "Why don't we go to Honeydukes? We could all use something sweet."
The boys all seemed to like that idea, so we headed over there. But I hoped Pansy and Hunter would get out of the Three Broomsticks soon. I didn't think I would be able to distract the boys again without raising suspicion.
Harry bought a ton of chocolate frogs, and Ron bought some Cockroach Clusters. Blaise didn't buy anything, claiming to be "sick of Honeydukes sweets". Goyle and Crabbe stole some sweets from first years.
"Vincent, Gregory!" I scolded them. "Don't steal sweets from first years! Not everyone has Galleons to spare!" I grabbed the sweets from the two and handed them back to the terrified first years.
They smiled nervously at me. "Thanks, Miss Granger."
"Get out of here." I spat at them.
They squealed and ran away. I chuckled. Scaring first years was too easy.
"Hermione," Harry noted. "You're giving them nightmares."
"Whatever. They should be scared of me, I'm a sixth year Slytherin." I glared at them again, and then walked off hand in hand with Harry.
"Do you think Pansy would like Jelly Slugs? Or should I get her Drooble's Best Blowing Gum?" I heard Blaise ask Goyle.
"I don't know, get her a chocolate frog." Gregory said stupidly.
"If you paid attention, you would've heard one of the thousand times that she's told us she hates chocolate." Blaise rolled his eyes. "Hermione, which should I get her?"
"Get her the Jelly Slug." I told him.
He smiled. "Thanks Hermione."
We all paid for our sweets and left the shop. I was chewing Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Harry had an acid pop, and Blaise was eating a Cauldron Cake. Gregory and Vincent didn't get anything.
"Now let's go to The Three Broomsticks." Blaise said.
"I could use a Butterbeer." Harry and Ron agreed.
We all started moving towards the Three Broomsticks. I hoped Pansy and Hunter were out of there by now. But just in case they weren't, I had to think of something else to do. "Guys! Let's go to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes!"
"What's that?" Ron asked me.
"Did I hear the name Weasley?" Blaise frowned.
"Yeah, it's owned by the twins. It's a really cool joke shop, can we go?" I asked them hopefully.
Harry sighed. "Honestly Hermione, you're avoiding Butterbeer like it's the plague."
"Please?" I looked at them with puppy dog eyes.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Fine, we can go."
We all turned around and trudged to the shop through the snow. The wind nipped at my ears and nose, which were bright red. When we entered the shop, I was amazed.
I thought that Fred and George were alright, but I never knew they could build something so amazing. The shelves were stocked with all of their joke products, and there were Decoy Detonators trying to walk off of the shelves. I saw love potions in a corner.
"Hey, I'll be right back." I told everyone. "I'm just going to look at... something."
I disappeared into the crowd before they could reply, and headed over to the WonderWitch products. "Hello, Hermione!"
"Oh, hi George." I smiled at him.
Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't be friends because of our houses. But since Ron is friends with us, we go to the Burrow all the time, so we're friends with the Weasley's. Except Blaise, he doesn't trust or like any of them, besides Ron.
I picked up a bottle that read Love Potion. "Do these actually work?" I asked skeptically.
George grinned. "Of course. So, who's the lucky guy?"
Well I couldn't exactly tell him it was Ron. "Um.... a Slytherin."
"You're lying." He looked at me. "Which only leaves one person...."
I held my breath, waiting for him to guess Ron.
"Me!" George grinned.
I breathed out a sigh of relief. "Go ahead and tell yourself that, if it makes you happy."
"No, seriously." George's face became straight. "Who is it?"
"I'm not telling." I told him.
"Alright, well it's not a Slytherin. So it has to be one of my brothers, since we're the only non-Slytherins you talk to. Fred?" George guessed.
I shook my head. "No. What makes you think it's one of your brothers? And don't you have work to do?"
"Like I said, it's not a Slytherin, and you hate everyone else in the school. And nope, Fred and Verity can handle the work for now. Until I get you to tell me. Percy. Bill. Charlie?"
"No, no, and no." I smiled. "So, how much is this?"
I followed him to the registar. "Let me check. Ten Galleons."
I dug out the money and handed it to him. "So, I guess I'll see you again soon, George."
"Wait!" He yelled. "Is it Ron?"
For some reason, the whole store went quiet. Everyone was staring at me.
"Who said my name?" Ron asked.
"Um, no." I blushed.
George grinned triumphantly. "I knew it. By the way, it won't work on him."
"Why not?" I asked.
"He's so in love with you already it won't make a difference." George replied.
"Bye George." I said, turning away.
I knew I didn't have to worry about him telling anyone. He might tell Fred, but I knew only us three would know.
But George was wrong. Ron was not in love with me.
"Hermione, what were you talking to George about?" Harry asked me when I reached them again.
"Oh nothing. He was trying to guess something stupid." I said truthfully.
"Like who you're using that love potion on?" Harry grinned.
I blushed and smacked him. "Harry! You followed me, didn't you?"
"Yep. And I heard every word." He grinned. "You like-"
I clamped my hand over his mouth. "Shut it Harry, before I kill you."
He stopped trying to talk, and I removed my hand. That's when I caught a glimpse of Pansy and Hunter on the path back to Hogwarts.
"Guys, wanna go to the Three Broomsticks before we leave?" I asked them.
They all agreed, so we moved away from Pansy to go get some Butterbeer. I swear, Pansy owes me. We all sat at a table and ordered.
"Alright, everyone wants Butterbeers?" We all nodded. "Alright, six Butterbeers coming up."
The waitress left us all to talk. "So, Hermione, what's Pansy really doing?" Blaise asked me.
"I told you, she's with Maisie and Flora." I lied.
"Well, Maisie and Flora are over there, but Pansy isn't with them." Blaise said.
"Then she's probably in the bathroom." I said unconvincingly.
"Hermione, we aren't stupid. Tell us what she's doing." Ron said.
"Fine. She's with Ginny and Adele." I lied again.
"Nope, because if she was, she would've told us, not kept it a secret. Come on, Hermione, tell us!" Harry pleaded.
"I told you, she's with Ginny and Adele. That's really what she's doing." I told them.
They looked at me for a long time. "Fine, I believe you." Ron and Blaise said.
Harry still looked skeptical, but dropped it. Then I winced as two familiar faces came up to our table.
"Hermione, have you seen Pansy?" Ginny asked me.
"Yeah, we've been looking for her all day." Adele added.
I dropped my head into my hands and moaned. Great. It was getting harder and harder to lie to my friends.
"Hermione, where is she?" Everyone demanded.
"She made me swear not to tell!" I said. "You would all hate her if you knew, okay? So drop it."
Everyone shut up. Then, I swear, like three seconds later, Ron asked, "Why would we all hate her?"
"Because, you just would. Now shut up." I said menacingly.
Our drinks arrived and Ginny disappeared. "Ron, we need to talk."
"Now?" He whined. "I just got my Butterbeer!"
"Yes, now!" She hissed.
Ron got out of his chair, and they both went into a corner. "Dang, it's private." Blaise said.
Harry grinned mischeivously. "Lucky for us, I bought extendable ears."
"No." I said automatically. "It's private, just let them talk."
"But what if she's asking him on a date?" Harry asked innocently. He stared at me for a long time, until I gave in. "Fine."
Blaise looked surprised, and then he smirked. "Oh. So you like Ron now."
"Shut it, Blaise." I snapped. "Just be quiet so we can hear."
We all leaned in to listen. "Just do it, Adele. Don't be a wimp."
I watched her punch him. "Ow!" He said.
"No, I'm being sensible. What's the point in telling him? He clearly doesn't like me. But I think you should tell um, you know." Adele said.
I sighed. Too bad she didn't say the girl's name.
"No way. She likes Harry." Ron said.
"Ooh, goodie! I have a secret admirer!" Harry said, delighted.
I rolled my eyes.
"Ron, are you blind? She doesn't like Harry!" Adele said.
Harry's smile faded. "Aw."
"Yes she does." Ron said.
Harry perked up again.
"No, she likes you! You're a git if you can't see that! You should just ask her out already!" Adele urged him. "I'm positive she likes you."
"And how are you so sure?" He asked.
"Because I'm a girl, and I can tell when a girl likes a guy, and Hermione likes you!" Adele said.
Harry, Blaise, and I were speechless. What? Adele knew?
"No, Hermione definitely doesn't like me." Ron said.
Oh my god! Ron likes me! I had to go find Ginny.
"Um, I'll be right back." I told Blaise and Harry.
Harry smirked. "Going to find Ginny?"
"Yep." I said, and dashed off. I found her sitting at a table alone. "Ginny!"
"What's wrong? What happened?" She asked me.
"Oh my god, Ron likes me!" I nearly screamed. Thank god everyone was out of earshot.
"No way!" She screamed, and hugged me. "That's so awesome! Congrats, 'Mione."
"Okay, I have to go back and tell Pansy now, since I promised her I would when something happened. Can you tell Harry that I left?" I asked her.
She nodded. "Sure. See ya later, 'Mione."
I ran out the door, and practically flew back to school. I arrived there in only ten minutes, which is half the time it usually takes.
I opened the door to our common room. "Pansy!" I screamed her name.
"What?" She came out of her dorm. She looked alarmed. "What happened?"
"Ron likes me!" I screamed.
She screamed, and then I screamed, and then we both screamed. "Oh my god, how do you know?" She asked me.
"Ron and Adele were talking in the Three Broomsticks, and Harry bought Extendable Ears from Fred and George's joke shop. So we were listening, and Adele was telling him to ask me out!" I squealed.
"Yes!" Pansy jumped up and down with me. "Okay, celebration! We're throwing a party tonight!"
"This is going to be so much fun!" I shouted, excited. "Oh my god, I forgot to ask: How was your date?"
"I thought you'd never ask!" Pansy squealed. "It was so much fun! We went to the Three Broomsticks and got Butterbeer, and we talked a lot, and then we went to Fred and George's joke shop and Hunter bought me a Pygmy Puff!"
She showed me the tiny purple animal on her shoulder. "Aww, it's so cute! What did you name it?" I asked her.
"Her name is Nancy." Pansy said proudly.
"I wish I still had Crookshanks." I sighed.
"What happened to Crookshanks? I haven't seen him since third year!" Pansy asked.
"Oh, the last day of term, he snuck out of the cage I put him in, and he ran away somewhere near the Hogsmeade station." I told her sadly. "He was a good cat."
Harry, Ron, Blaise, Goyle, and Crabbe came into the common room at this point. "We're back!" Harry said unecessarily.
"Duh." Pansy rolled her eyes.
"So, we're having a party tonight." I said happily.
"And you didn't invite us?" Harry pretended to be hurt. "I'm sorry, we can no longer be friends."
I laughed. "Do you want to come?"
He rushed back over. "Yes, of course!"
"Okay, well me and Hermione have to talk, so bye." Pansy grabbed my wrist and practically dragged me up to our dorm.
"Okay, so tell me everything. Every single detail." I ordered.
"Alright. So we decided to meet at the Three Broomsticks, but while we were walking there, neither of us were talking. I was too nervous that I would say the wrong thing. But after we ordered, we started talking, and I had a lot of fun." Pansy started.
"What did you talk about?" I asked her.
"We talked about how he can drink Firewhiskey ridiculously fast, lessons, houses... that kind of thing." Pansy said.
"What house is he in?" I asked her.
"Hufflepuff." Pansy replied in a low voice.
I nodded. "Okay. So then what?"
"So we started talking about lessons while I was finishing my Butterbeer. Then we left the Three Broomsticks and went into Fred and George's shop. Hunter bought himself some Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, and then he bought Nancy for me." Pansy tickled the animal on her shoulder.
"And that's it? You left after that?" I asked her.
"Yeah." Pansy said.
"What's this?" I noticed there was a spot on the wall that looked different.
Pansy looked. "Oh, people think that it was Slytheirn's safe or something, but it got sealed away."
"Has anyone actually opened it?" I asked her.
She shook her head. "No, not even Dumbledore, or Voldemort himself."
I pulled a knife out of my pocket. "Then let's open it." I used my knife to cut around the edges, and then used my wand to remove the wood. "Pansy, come look at this!"
"What is it?" She asked me.
"It's a tunnel." I said.