Chapter 13: Problems, Papers and Annoyance.
Harry found himself in the Headmaster's office a few days after the Ball. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Dumbledore had approached Harry to warn him about Mia's behaviour towards Draco Malfoy and it had concerned him that Mia was allying herself with Draco behind Harry's back.
"Headmaster," Harry cut in, interrupting Dumbledore's theory of Mia and Draco's meeting with an irritated look. "Whatever Mia was doing with Malfoy, I'm pretty sure that she has a good explanation for it. You don't have the right to make assumptions about her. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going back to my common room." Harry got up from his seat and moved over to the door to leave.
"She is betraying you, Harry," Dumbledore told him as Harry left the office, closing the door firmly behind him.
***********
Mia was laughing like mad as she clutched onto the arm of her chair so she wouldn't fall off it. Tears were running down her face as she tried to breathe, but kept erupting into more laughter.
Harry and Hermione were sitting on the couch, watching her with amused expressions. Harry had came back from Dumbledore's office and told them why Dumbledore had wanted to see him, causing Mia's current difficulty.
"I know everyone says he is wise and all that, but he really is pretty dense," Hermione stated to Harry while Mia slipped out of her seat and landed on the floor, still laughing.
"If she keeps this up, she'll burst her gut," Harry muttered while shaking his head.
"What did you expect?" Hermione asked. "Every time Dumbledore tries to convince you that Mia is betraying you it always backfires on him."
"And she loves it!" Harry exclaimed, waving his hand over at his sister.
Mia soon managed to calm herself down enough to get re-settled into her seat only to wince when a sore spot sent pain straight through her body.
"Oh man, I think I pulled a muscle," Mia moaned as she rubbed her stomach before shaking her head. "I knew that he was going to make a fool out of himself, but I didn't think it would be this bad!"
"How do you mean?" Hermione asked curiously, wondering what aspect Mia was talking about, and Mia grinned.
"When Draco and I spotted Snape and Karkaroff going out - I saw Dumbledore looking between Draco and me and I knew that he had spotted us talking - all I had to do was wait to see if he would make a fool out of himself," Mia explained and Harry rolled his eyes in amusement.
"And you didn't bother warning me, thanks," Harry remarked, sarcastically but got a shrug from Mia.
"Sorry - I couldn't give anything away. I didn't know if he would approach you or just leave it alone so I couldn't risk him finding out that I had caught on to him at the ball," Mia explained and Harry nodded in understanding.
Hermione let out a soft yawn before she looked at her watch.
"We'd better get off to bed. I'm tired, and we have to get up early tomorrow," Hermione reminded them, getting nods of agreement from them both.
Ron had already gone to bed an hour ago because he had had a tiring day. Harry gave Hermione a soft goodnight kiss before kissing Mia's forehead and headed into the room that he shared with the other boys while Mia and Hermione made their way up to their rooms.
Once they had gotten ready, Hermione sat cross-legged on her bed, facing Mia. Questions burned in her mind.
Mia looked at her curiously as she too sat cross-legged on the bed.
"So - what is going on with you?" Hermione asked and Mia sighed.
"Cedric's jealous," Mia informed Hermione, who arched an eyebrow at her.
"How do you mean?" Hermione asked and Mia sighed again.
"He wasn't happy with me dancing with Hunter at the ball and he made it very clear," Mia informed Hermione with an angry undertone.
"What us going on with you and Hunter?" Hermione asked and Mia shrugged as she picked at the covers.
"We just danced and talked Hermione, nothing more," Mia told her and Hermione nodded.
"But you want it to be more," Hermione guessed, causing Mia to look at Hermione with a shocked look on her face before she nodded softly.
"Yeah," Mia admitted. "But I can't be with him - not now. Everything is just clashing with each other at the moment and my emotions are all over the place. The last thing I need is boyfriend." Hermione felt her heart go heavy at Mia's statement before she shifted in closer to Mia and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing Mia into a hug.
"You can't do this to yourself - if you want to be with Hunter, then you should," Hermione told her but Mia shook her head stubbornly.
"No!" Mia looked at Hermione with a wild look in her eyes. "I can't! I can't do that to him - no, I can wait till everything is over before I even think about starting a relationship."
"Mia…" Hermione started but Mia shook her head.
"I'll be fine - I can deal with not having a boyfriend," she sighed before shaking her head. "I'm not even sure if I can deal with having a boyfriend right now." Hermione laughed softly at this.
"Let's go to sleep - maybe it'll seem more clear in the morning," Hermione suggested and Mia nodded as they both slipped under the covers of their beds. Hermione switched the light off and closed her eyes.
"Hermione," Mia whispered and heard Hermione's shift of her head in Mia's direction. "The necklace I got for Christmas changed colour - it went a light pink. A girl later told me that it was a true love necklace and that it would change colour whenever I was in the presence of my true love," Mia explained and Hermione frowned.
"Who did it changed colour with?" Hermione asked.
"Hunter," Mia whispered and Hermione felt her eyes widen softly at the confession while Mia just stared out of the window at the full moon.
***************
Harry made his way into the Great Hall the next morning, eager to start the day. Hermione was sitting at her usual spot at the table, alternating between reading and eating. Harry couldn't stop the soft smile that crossed his face as he moved closer to the table and sat down next to her and kissed her cheek.
Hermione let out a soft sigh as she turned around and smiled at Harry.
"Morning," Hermione greeted and Harry moved in and kissed her softly on the lips, saying good morning as well before he pulled away and filled up his plate. Hermione turned back to the paper and resumed her reading.
"Anything interesting today?" Harry asked and Hermione sighed angrily as she turned the paper towards Harry so he could see the front page headline. His jaw dropped in shock at what he saw. "What the hell?"
Harry took the paper from her and looked at it more closely. "Dumbledore's Big Mistake" screamed at him and he read how Hagrid had revealed that he was a half giant - his mother being a full blooded giant and his father a human.
"How the hell did she hear about this?" Harry hissed to Hermione. "We never saw her there."
"I know - it's making me wonder if she is getting onto the grounds in some other way," Hermione whispered back as the students' voices started getting louder as they too read the paper. Many were shooting looks over at Harry and Hermione. "Oh, poor Hagrid - I hope he doesn't find out about this."
"I want to know how the hell she found out - she isn't allowed on Hogwarts grounds anymore after the problems she created when she spread those lies about us," Harry reminded her.
"What's going on?" Mia asked as she made her way next to Harry and Hermione only to find that everyone was looking at her. "Am I dressed wrong or did I not do my hair properly?" she looked down at her clothing and found that she was dressed normally in her skirt and shirt with a tie. She felt her hair and found that it was up in its clasp.
"Hagrid's a half giant," Hermione informed her as Mia sat down and Mia nodded.
"I kinda guess that after we first met him - he is a little large," Mia told them as she filled her plate. Harry snorted as he lifted the paper and showed the headline, shocking Mia.
Mia took the paper from his hands and brought it closer to her. When she caught the reporter's name she frowned.
"How did she find out about this?" Mia demanded. "I hardly think Hagrid is going to go out and tell her!"
"We think she somehow snuck into the grounds but we didn't see her," Hermione admitted and Mia sighed. She cupped her cheek with her hand, leaning her elbow on the table as she placed the paper down and shook her head softly.
The students hadn't stopped looking towards them while whispering to each other. Mia knew that they would be expecting her to lose her temper, but she couldn't gather up the energy for it - everything had been taking a lot out of her lately and she found herself limited to just wishing that Rita would drop dead somewhere.
"Ha! I knew that there was something wrong with Hagrid!" an annoying female voice - one that had the potential to ruin Mia's day- spoke up. Mia sighed as she pushed her plate away and placed her head on her arms that were crossed in front of her.
"Shut up Pansy," a male voice snapped, causing Mia to snap her head up and look towards the speaker along with the other students. She was shocked that the voice had came from Hunter. "Just because you don't like Hagrid, doesn't mean that the rest of us don't."
"Wolfe…" Pansy was about to snap back but backed down when she saw a hard glint in Hunter's eyes.
"If you value your life, you will keep that big fat mouth of yours shut. Just because you are a pureblood doesn't make you better than the rest of us," Hunter informed her as he stood up. "Just dumb enough that you willingly bow down to Voldemort." With that, Hunter left the Great Hall with everyone watching him in a stunned silence.
Soon, the silence was broken by the hushed whispers of the females, excited over how Hunter had cut Pansy down so quickly and how hot that it had been.
Mia looked toward Hermione and saw that Hermione had raised an eyebrow in her direction before Mia shook her head.
"I'm gonna go to the library - I need to get a book for one of my lessons," Mia told them as she grabbed a stack of toast and wrapped it in a napkin before grabbing a red apple and walked out of the Great Hall.
Harry and Hermione turned to face each other before they turned back to their food though similar thoughts were running around in their heads.
***********
Mia made her way into the library. She waved to Madam Pince before she headed towards the index file and flicked through it. When she found the card that contained the details of the book that she needed, she went over to the back of the library where the book should be shelved.
Once Mia had reached the bookcase, she noticed that the book was at the top shelf, lying on its side. Frustration ran through her when she realised that she had to stand on her tiptoes just to hopefully reach the book as it was forbidden to use a chair to reach them.
She stretched up and tried to move her hand about until she could feel the edge of the book and strained to slip her fingers over the edge.
While she was doing this, her mind had wandered to Cedric and Hunter before a soft frown covered her face. She couldn't believe that Cedric was jealous that she had danced with Hunter and it bothered her to no end that Cedric felt he had the right. They weren't dating - they flirted, yes, but how did that regress into dating? And that Cedric had the right to think that she shouldn't dance with anyone but him?
Her thoughts went over to Hunter and she couldn't help the soft confused smile that crossed her face before she sighed.
Hermione was right - she really did want to date Hunter, but she couldn't. Not with the danger right over the horizon. She knew that Harry's participation was a complete setup and she needed to find out who had done it and why.
Oh, she knew that Voldemort was the main reason, but what could they possible gain by using Harry in the tasks? Hunter's face swarmed across in her memory as she stretched even higher only to feel the book slipping away from her.
Frowning, Mia strained even harder to reach the book as she thought about Hunter. She didn't understand why her body was determined to be close to him. She dreamt of kissing him nearly every night and it was driving her up the wall - surely her body knew that she didn't have time to deal with a boyfriend and keep her brother safe at the time!
Girls may be able to multi-task but not that much! Mia sighed. Hunter was constantly on her mind and she hated her body rebelling against her and a dream appeared in her mind.
Mia was resting her back against the bookcase as she read a book that was in her hands only for someone to take the book away, startling her. She looked up and saw Hunter standing in front of her with that serious look in his eyes that always made her breathless. A mischievous smirk crossed his face and he leaned down and kissed her softly.
Mia couldn't help the soft moan that escaped her as Hunter slipped his hands onto her hips and pulled her close to him before slipping them around to her back.
Mia's hands slipped up his arms, feeling the muscles under his clothes before they wrapped themselves around his neck, holding on tight as he pressed her against the bookcase.
There was a small thud and a now empty space where her hand was searching, snapping Mia out of her day dreams. She heard a pained groan and a muffled curse.
Mia looked around the bookcase only to arch an eyebrow when she saw Hunter rubbing his head with one hand. The other hand was holding the book that she was trying to reach and understanding dawned on her.
Hunter looked and spied her at the end of the bookcase and his eyes narrowed.
"I assume you are the reason why this book decided to drop on my head?" Hunter asked dryly and Mia grinned.
"Yeah - sorry about that. It was a little too high up for me," Mia admitted as she rounded the bookcase and moved closer to him. She took the book from his extended hand before wincing. "Will you be okay or do you need to see the nurse?"
A look of panic crossed his face at the mention of the nurse and he shook his head.
"Nah - I'll be fine," Hunter assured her and Mia nodded before she reached up and lightly pressed her index finger on the bruise and watched as Hunter winced before moving away from her.
"Right - you'll be fine," Mia repeated, sarcastically before rolling her eyes and she took his elbow. "Come on - I'll take you to the nurse, you might have a concussion or something serious."
Mia led Hunter over to the checkout counter and checked out her book before she led Hunter out of the library altogether.
"I'll be fine!" Hunter protested. "It's just a small bump!" Mia scoffed with disbelief.
"Hunter - this book weighs a ton," Mia motioned toward the book and Hunter could see that it was a volume and grimaced. "It did more than a small bump and you need to get it check out!"
"But…" Hunter started but was cut off when Mia shot him a warning glare and stayed quiet, knowing that she could fully well knock him out and drag him to the hospital wing if that what it took.
They reached the hospital wing, Mia pushed the door opened and ushered Hunter through before closing the door behind her and they moved closer to the nurse's office when Madam Pomfrey stuck her head out of the doorway to see who had entered her domain.
"Mia? Hunter?" Madam Pomfrey asked, curious to why the two of them were here.
"A book dropped on Hunter's head - I pressed lightly on the bump and it's sore - Hunter is protesting that he is fine," Mia explained and Madam Pomfrey nodded as she took Hunter by the arm.
"How did that happen?" Madam Pomfrey asked, curious to what had caused the book to drop on Hunter's head.
"I accidentally pushed a book over the edge of the bookcase and it fell on top of his head," Mia explained as she followed Madam Pomfrey and Hunter as Madam Pomfrey led him over to an empty bed before sighing as Hunter sat down.
"How on earth did you manage that?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she looked down at the younger girl only to arch an eyebrow when she saw Mia blush softly.
It was a little high up for me to reach and I was kinda distracted," Mia explained and Madam Pomfrey nodded in agreement before she turned back to Hunter.
Madam Pomfrey checked his head, pressing the bump at all different angles before she checked his eyes to make sure that the pupils were responding correctly before she headed into her office to get some medicine.
"You and Madam Pomfrey know each other very well," Mia noticed and Hunter grinned.
"She is my teacher in a subject - she is the only one who can teach me the subject at the moment," Hunter explained and Mia nodded, understanding that Hunter didn't want to talk about it any further. "Beside - I could say the same about you two."
Mia smiled softly as she brought her legs up and sat on the bed crossed legged before she looked toward the door that Madam Pomfrey had gone through.
"She's been my rock last year," Mia explained and she noticed Hunter's curious expression. "My dad was on the run last year because everyone was still convinced that he was a murderer - I was pretty stressed out and Madam Pomfrey helped out when I was stressed."
"At least he has been cleared now," Hunter told her. "I bet it's a relief." Mia let out a soft laugh.
"Yeah, it is," Mia told him as she looked at him for a short moment before she cleared her throat and looked away before she got up from the bed. "Any way - you're okay, right? I can leave now."
"Mia…" Hunter started but Mia just interrupted him with a fake bright smile.
"I'm sorry for attacking you with the book but I really have got to go - I'll see you around," Mia told him before she walked away from him.
Hunter sighed softly to himself as he watched her walk away before looking out of the window. He missed that Mia had looked back at him with a soft look on her face before she left the hospital wing completely.
***************
Harry and Hermione were down at the lake so that Hermione could get in some practice of elemental magic. Harry was setting the towels on the ground as he spoke to Hermione.
"Are you ready?" Harry asked as he turned around only to arch an eyebrow. "Hermione - you need to be fully submersed in the water." Hermione raised her eyebrows as she stared at him.
"Are you kidding me?" Hermione asked from where she was knee deep in the water before shivering. "This water is freezing!"
"You need to learn how to warm the water around you," Harry reminded her but got a glare in return. He made up his mind and slipped off his shoes and socks before rolling up his trousers and stepped into the water, wading over next to Hermione. "You can do it."
"Oh, fine," she muttered as she moved closer to the shore and stripped her clothes off, leaving her in the two piece bathing suit that she usually wore and moved back over to where Harry was standing.
Harry pulled off his shirt and threw it over to the shore before he nodded to Hermione and they both moved deeper into the water.
When the water reached their shoulders they turned to face each other.
"Okay - you'd want to concentrate on the water surrounding you, feeling it warm up around you," Harry told her. Hermione nodded as she closed her eyes and concentrated.
Soon the water started to heat up and it bubbled softly, much to Harry's pride and Hermione's happiness of her achievement.
Hermione's eyes snapped open with happiness and excitement as she looked at her boyfriend.
"I did it!" Hermione exclaimed and Harry grinned in happiness as well, happy to see that his girlfriend was making progress and that she was happy.
Harry couldn't help the physical pull towards her that ran through his body as he watched her. Her hair was wet and slicked down, and her brown eyes were shining with happiness and excitement as she slowly bounced in the water. Water drops slid down her face before they reached her lips, wetting them and making them look even more irresistible than usual.
Harry moved in and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck as they both floated in the water.
One of Hermione's hands slipped into his dark hair while the other one slid down his back as the kiss deepened. Harry's hands slipped into her curly locks while his other hand slipped down to her butt, holding her close to him as she opened her mouth under his.
The two of them were so involved in each other that they didn't notice the water surrounding them starting to glow a light pink and that someone was watching them from behind the tree that sat close to the lake.
"I have to go," Harry mumbled through their kisses a while later, but Hermione just let out a soft whine in the back of her throat that had Harry wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him. He shook his head and once again tried to pull away. "I really have to go."
"Why?" Hermione moaned. "Don't you want to stay here with me?" she asked with a pout, one that had Harry sucking her bottom lip into his mouth before he groaned.
"I really want to stay here with you but I have another one of those stupid meetings to go to because I'm one of the champions," Harry reminded her and she let out a soft sigh as she pulled away from Harry.
"Oh, go on then - I don't want anyone to get angry at you and to take up more of our time," she told him and he nodded before he leaned in and kissed her briefly once more. He swam over to the shore, grabbed his towel and dried himself off. After he cast a drying charm on his jeans he pulled on his shirt and shoes on before blowing a kiss towards Hermione.
Hermione smiled and blew him a kiss back before he hurried off to the castle. She sighed to herself and floated on her back. She hated the champions meetings.
Hermione climbed out of the water after swimming a few laps. She made her way over to the tree where she had left her towel and clothes. She had picked up the towel to dry off when she heard someone walking toward her.
"Hermione," a thick male voice called out and Hermione turned to see Viktor making his way over to her. She stifled an angry sigh as she wrapped the towel around her body - making sure that Viktor wasn't going to see any parts of her that only she, Mia and Harry were allowed to see.
"Viktor," Hermione greeted.
"How are you doing?" Viktor asked.
"Fine - what do you want?" Hermione asked; getting annoyed with Viktor's stalking act.
"I just want you to know that I find you very beautiful," Viktor told her as he moved closer. He reached out to touch her cheek but Hermione took a step back.
"Thank you but that's not very appropriate," Hermione informed him coldly.
"What is going on with you and Harry?" Viktor asked and Hermione's eyes hardened.
"He's my boyfriend - not that it has anything to do with you," Hermione informed him but Viktor grabbed her arm and was about to pull her closer to him when she snapped.
Hermione twisted her arm and planted her bare foot into his stomach, sending him flying backwards. He tripped over the ground and fell onto his butt.
"Don't you ever touch me again. And don't come near me again because if you do, I will put you in the hospital and you'll be eating through a straw for the rest of your life!" Hermione hissed at him before she grabbed her clothes and shoes and stormed off, leaving Viktor lying on the ground.
Hermione was storming through the castle when a hand came down on her arm and she spun around with her fist flying towards her attacker only for it to be caught in quick hands.
Startled, Hermione looked and saw that Draco was holding her fist in his hand as he looked between her and her hand with a slight hint of fear.
"Note to self, do not touch you when you are pissed off," Draco stated and Hermione gave a small sigh.
"Sorry Draco - I didn't know it was you. I was just acting on instinct," Hermione explained and Draco nodded. He waited a beat and Hermione sighed before she glared at Draco. "You can't tell Harry."
Draco arched an eyebrow at that, instantly knowing that something had really set Hermione off and that if Harry ever found out about it, it was going to mean torture for the person who had set Hermione off.
"Okay - but don't blame me if Harry finds out and starts hunting us both down because you made me promise!" Draco told her and Hermione let out a soft laugh before she ran a hand through her hair.
"Viktor made a move on me," she admitted and Draco winced. Forget torturing, Harry was going to be leaving bodies.
"What did he do?" Draco asked, protectiveness automatically coming into action. Hermione had become like a sister to him and he wasn't going to stand by and allow some idiot place his hands on her.
"He started out telling me that he found me attractive but got a bit pissy when I told him that Harry and I are dating and that it had nothing to do with him," Hermione admitted as she ran a hand over the arm that Viktor had grabbed.
Draco looked down at the movement only to pale slightly when he saw bruises forming. Hermione followed his gaze down only to see the bruises herself and she sighed.
"I think Harry will catch on, don't you?" Draco asked and Hermione agreed.
"I don't want Harry to know - he is already under enough stress as it is... he doesn't need to worry about some idiot having a hard time with the word 'no'," Hermione told him but Draco wasn't convinced.
"Hermione - you're not acting normally. You're gonna give yourself away to Harry the moment you see him," Draco stated gently. Hermione sighed as she pulled her hand away from her arm and nodded softly.
"I know, but I want him to be calm when I tell him - not to go after Viktor with his wand in his hand," Hermione explained but Draco was doubtful.
"I won't tell him but if I was you, I would," Draco told her. "If Viktor keeps coming up to you, Harry will want to know what he is doing - he's already frustrated that Viktor won't stop staring at you."
Hermione gave a frustrated grunt of understanding before she nodded softly.
"I know - but I need to deal with my emotions first. I feel like just hitting something and that isn't good at the moment," Hermione told him and Draco nodded.
"You head on to the common room. I gotta send some letters. A few leads came up and I need to make sure that they are leads rather than dead ends," Draco told her and Hermione nodded her understanding. She continued walking while Draco made his way to the owlery.
Hermione stopped a few minutes later and looked over her shoulder when she thought she felt someone following her only to see that the hallway was empty. She frowned softly before she turned around and walked on to the common room.
Viktor looked round the hallway from where he was hiding against the wall and watched Hermione continue her walk. He frowned darkly and made his way over to Durmstrang guest area, thinking hard.
*********
Harry was frustrated with everything. It turned out that the meeting had been changed and he had wasted all that time for nothing when he could have been with Hermione.
Harry stopped in his tracks when he saw Hermione sitting on the couch staring into the fire apparently lost in her thoughts. He could sense that something had changed since he had left her at the lake and he wondered what had happened.
As he moved closer to the couch he noticed that Hermione hadn't noticed him sitting next to her. With a troubled frown he gently shook her out of her thoughts and alerted her to his presence.
"Hermione?" Harry asked and she looked at him. "Are you okay?" Harry asked and Hermione sighed before shaking her head.
"Not right now but I will tell you later, I promise. I just want to unwind and forget the world exists right now," Hermione told him. Harry nodded as he lifted his arm in invitation. Hermione smiled softly and shifted closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and brought her legs up to curl on his lap. She closed her eyes as Harry brought his arm around her shoulders to hold her close and took comfort in his presence.
She concentrated on Harry's breathing and allowed the world to fade away so that Harry was the only thing her awareness acknowledged. She fell asleep on his shoulder, breathing in the scent that was Harry.
Harry leaned over and pressed a kiss to Hermione's hair when he realised that she had fallen asleep and smiled softly to himself. He shifted so that he was lying on the couch with Hermione curled into his side with her back to the couch. As he shifted, one of Hermione's hands slid across his stomach and up his chest until it covered his heart, where her fingers curled into his shirt, holding onto him.
Harry closed his eyes as he allowed reality to fall away and a sense of contentment to blanket him as he too drifted away into sleep.
Mia came in a few hours later and stopped when she saw the two on the couch and smiled softly to herself. She slipped a blanket over the two of them and removed Harry's glasses before she made her way up to her room so she could get a well deserved rest herself.
***********
The next day, Hermione and Ron were in the pub in Hogsmeade drinking their butterbeer. They were waiting for Mia to come back from the bar and for Harry to meet up with them after he had finished his necessary shopping.
"So - what has been going on with you?" Ron asked. He had noticed that Hermione had been acting a little differently since she had come back yesterday. He also knew of Harry's concerns about it because Harry had confessed it to him early this morning.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked as she turned dazed eyes toward Ron, who snorted softly in return.
"You've been acting funny since yesterday and Harry is worried about you," Ron told her and Hermione let out a soft sigh.
"It's complicated. I need to tell Harry first before I tell anyone else - I just need to sort out my own feelings first," Hermione explained and Ron nodded his understanding.
"Okay - but make sure you do it quick. Harry has been getting on my nerves with all the pacing he's been doing," Ron informed her and Hermione gave him a distracted soft smile only for it to tighten quickly when she heard a familiar female voice.
Spinning around in her chair, Hermione's eyes sought out the voice's owner and her eyes hardened when she located her. Hermione got out of her chair and was marching over to the person so fast that Ron had to blink twice before he realised that she was gone.
"Hermione?" Ron questioned before he finished off his butterbeer and hurried over to catch up, but bumped into her when she came to a sudden halt.
"Well, well, well - look what the cat dragged in," Hermione remarked in a scathing voice - startling Ron with its venomous intensity. Never in his life has he ever heard Hermione speak in a tone like that.
Rita Skeeter looked up from her notepad and her lips curled into a sneer when she noticed who was talking to her.
"Hermione Granger - the same little girl who is playing around with Harry Potter's heart," Rita stated and Hermione snorted.
"Please - like Harry and I were going to fall for that rubbish," Hermione informed her. "And I'd thank you to stop spreading lies about our friends."
"And just who do you think you are to tell me what to do?" Rita asked as she stood up, eyeing Hermione up and down. "You are nothing but a muggleborn who doesn't belong in this world."
"Someone who can make your life hell if you don't stop spreading lies about our friends and family," Hermione informed her, not backing down at all.
"You don't want to mess with me little girly - I could tell you things that will make your hair curl," Rita eyed Hermione's hair with distaste. "Not that it needs it."
"More like I could tell tales about you that would curl anyone's hair, you spineless bug," Hermione retorted back with anger flashing in her eyes.
"Don't threaten me... you have no idea who you are messing with," Rita promised her but Hermione's voice lowered an octave as she moved closer to Rita.
"No - you don't have any idea who you are messing with," Hermione promised her, her eyes darkening. "We don't care what lies you sprout about us because we know the truth. But when you pick on a dear friend of ours - you better watch your back."
"Hermione," Ron called out as he placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder to bring her back only yank his hand away from her when he felt the coldness seeping through his hand. Understanding hit him hard and fast. Hermione was turning herself cold and in the process, everyone near her was turning into an ice block. "Bloody hell," he muttered under his breath as he hurried out of the pub and looked around for the one person who would be able to handle her.
"HARRY!" Ron shouted; startling the customers who were walking along the street. Harry popped his head out of a doorway and looked around for who had called his name but stopped once his eyes landed on Ron.
"Ron?" Harry asked curiously and Ron made 'come here' motions.
"It's Hermione - she's losing it!" Harry hurried out of the shop and made his way over to the pub and saw that his breath was visible due to Hermione's iciness toward Rita.
"Hermione!" Harry called out as he made his way over to her. Once he was behind her he placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned in so that his mouth was placed near her ear. "Come on baby, we'll get her later," Harry whispered softly. He watched as Hermione's eyes closed slightly and he kissed her cheek.
The room gradually grew warmer and everyone's breath began to go back to normal. Hermione leaned into Harry's body as he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close.
"Everything is fine, I'm here," Harry promised her before he turned dark eyes on Rita and raised his voice for her to hear. "And if I were you, I'd stop spreading lies about everyone - karma has a big way of biting people on the ass." Rita scowled at Harry as he turned Hermione in his arms. "Watch your back from now on." With that, he walked out with Hermione tucked in his arms, leaving everyone watching them walk away.
"Hey," a bubbly female voice startled them and they all spun around to see Mia standing where Hermione used to be and she raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."
"Where the heck have you been?" Ron demanded and Mia frowned softly as she motioned toward the bar.
"I got caught up talking to someone, why?" Mia asked and Ron rolled his eyes.
"Hermione lost her temper in a big way - she started freezing the room out!" Ron explained and Mia raised her eyebrows, impressed. Ron shook his head in mock annoyance.
Harry came to a stop just outside the village and turned to face his girlfriend as she continued to stare out at the scenery before frowning softly.
"Hermione? What's wrong?" Harry asked in a concerned voice. Hermione sighed and looked up at him.
"After you left me at the lake after our swimming lesson, Viktor came up to me," Hermione told him and Harry's eyes darkened. He had seen how Viktor had been looking at Hermione and so far Hermione had been dealing with it. But it was clear now that Viktor probably needed a... harder... message.
"What did he do?" Harry asked keeping his voice calm even though fires coursed through his body, demanding to be let out. Harry wasn't a jealous person by nature because he trusted Hermione and knew that she wouldn't cheat on him. But he didn't like it when people hurt her.
"He was furious that you were my boyfriend and he grabbed my arm. I kicked him away from me and I warned him to leave me alone," Hermione told him before shaking her head. "Harry…I get the feeling that someone is following me but every time I look around, I don't see anyone. And Viktor keeps staring at me more and more."
Harry gathered Hermione into his arms, holding her close.
"It'll be okay - I'll talk to him, I promise," Harry told her and Hermione nodded as she rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Harry rested his head on top of hers as his green eyes lit up with fire behind them.
**************
Later that night, Harry, Hermione, Mia and Ron found themselves in the common room. Harry was in deep thought over what Hermione had told him earlier when a male voice interrupted his brooding.
"Er guys," they turned to see Seamus standing behind them, fidgeting slightly.
"Seamus? What's wrong?" Mia asked as she moved closer to him, concerned.
"There is a rumour going around that Hagrid is not going to come back to teach his classes because of the story in the paper," Seamus explained.
"What?" Mia and Hermione demanded at the same time. Seamus nodded.
"You heard me - apparently Dumbledore has been getting letters from parents that he shouldn't be letting a half giant teach us," Seamus finished off with a bitter tone. He couldn't believe that people were more than willing to turn their back on others just because a reporter has spread exaggerated lies about people.
"What?" Ron demanded before he shook his head. "Come on, let's go and see if we can knock some sense into Hagrid." Ron trailed off when he found that the girls were already out of the common room, leaving Harry and Ron chasing after them.
As they moved closer to Hagrid's hut and they could see the light was on, indicating that Hagrid was still up.
"Rubeus Hagrid!" Mia shouted as she and Hermione banged their hands on the door. "Open this damn door before Hermione and I blast it off its hinges - and we will do it!" she promised.
"If you think we're going to believe that Rita Skeeter bitch, then you are mistaken!" Hermione shouted. "We don't care if you are a half giant or not! You're still our friend!"
Mia and Hermione almost fell through the doorway when the door opened unexpectedly. It was only due to the quick reflexes of the boys grabbing them that they remained upright.
They looked up to see Professor Dumbledore standing there. "Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione squeaked slightly and Dumbledore gave them a smile before stepping back and revealed Hagrid sitting at the table.
"Hagrid!" they all shouted as the four of them made their way into the hut and surrounded him.
"You see Hagrid, not everyone cares that you're a half giant," Dumbledore stated.
"And if you don't come back to class, we're going on a strike," Mia informed Hagrid, who gave her a smile.
"You really are just like your mother," Hagrid told her and Mia grinned.
"Good," Mia told him but turned back to the original conversation. "Are you coming back to work tomorrow or do I have to come down here tomorrow morning and drag you out of your house?"
"I'll be there," Hagrid told her and Mia nodded, satisfied.
"Good," Mia told them and there was a small beeping sound, causing Hermione to look at her watch and grimace.
"We better get back up to school - it's nearly curfew time," Hermione told them and they nodded and said their goodbyes to Hagrid. They made their way out of the hut and up to the castle.
"Interesting kids," Dumbledore noted and Hagrid nodded as he continued to watch the kids.
"Yes, they are amazing," Hagrid stated, causing Dumbledore to look at him carefully before he looked back to where they were making their way back to the castle once more.
TBC
Don't worry - Harry WILL have his talk with Viktor VERY soon!