Hermione's POV:

Feet tucked under her as gracefully as could be managed on my twin sized bed, Ginny giggled beside me as I recounted the previous night's exploits in a certain secret room. Despite my many omissions and great effort to use language as delicate as possible, my firey haired friend was laughing up a storm at the little I'd told her.

Several calming breaths later, she mustered enough strength of will to wheeze out another question, "B+ huh? Think he'll let you have a retake?!" which promptly sent her into another fit of giggles.

Putting the most annoyed expression I could muster on my face (which wasn't very annoyed), I huffed at Ginny. "C'mon, much as I'd enjoy you poking fun at me for the rest of the night, we have to go eat. Harry and Ron are waiting for us."

Still laughing, she lifted herself off my bed and toed on her shoes. Wiping away a few last tears of mirth, Ginny threw her arm around me and guided me out the door. "In all honesty Mione, you have no idea how much I needed that, today of all days. I haven't had a chance to tell you, but I'm scared that Harry is-"

"Ginny!" From the bottom of the stairwell, a boisterous voice I couldn't place jokingly called out. "Hurry up, or so help me, I'll eat my foot!"

Ginny gasped with surprise, then dashed down the stairs ahead of me. Skipping the last couple steps, she leaped into the arms of a well-built man with a shock of silver hair and bright blue eyes, causing a wide smile to spread across Ron's face, making their connection evident. His hair wasn't silver like an old man's however but silver like moonbeams glinting off steel, an effect that had surely taken magic to produce.

Ginny grinned as they hugged, an activity that only made the man's impressive yet lean physique even more pronounced. "Vince! I missed you!" Harry shot the pair a look, eyeing the silver-haired man in a way I might have thought was lustful if it weren't for who Vince was hugging.

He chuckled and set her down, breaking the embrace. "Missed you too, Gin," he replied in a distinctly American accent. "You're the little kit to my aged cat."

Vince then stepped forward, extending a hand that I shook firmly. "Hermione, I presume. I'm Vince Reynolds."

"Pleased to meet you. What are you doing at Hogwarts, and with the Weasleys no less?"

"I'm an old friend of Charlie Weasley's, which hopefully explains my connection to these dorks." Vince gestured behind him to Ron and Ginny, who were apparently accustomed enough to his antics to smile good-naturedly at his remarks. "I'm visiting to interview for the defense position next year and hanging with these dweebs to see if I'll have anything to report to Molly about all the trouble they get into."

Ginny snorted, ruffling his hair. "More like see if you can make any trouble to blame on us."

The corner of Vince's mouth twitched as his eyes sparkled with mischief, but he spoke in a somber tone. "I would never."

This time Ron joined in with Ginny's raucous laughter, happier than I'd seen him in a while. Harry slapped a hand on Vince's shoulder, trying to look comfortable when he was clearly out of his element. "While I have a feeling you could give Peeves a run for his money, I don't think you'll be managing any mischief on an empty stomach, so we'd best head down to the Great Hall."

Ginny frowned at Harry, but I thought nothing of it since it seemed that's all she'd been doing lately. I made a mental note to ask her about whatever she was saying on the stairs later, but for now, I simply held her hand as we walked to the great hall. Vince was just behind us since he lagged behind to give Ron a hug and say something I probably misheard as "did you miss this tickle?"

While we walked, I was careful to keep on the other side of the group as Ron. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't lost sleep over that kiss, and how easily I convinced myself not to tell Draco. Before I could get into my head any further though, I caught sight of a pair of grey eyes and my thoughts ceased for a heartbeat were that was all I could see.

Draco's POV:

"Hey, Blaise?"

Barely managing to tear himself away from what was seemingly his new favorite pass time, eye fucking Dani Snot, Blaise muttered a halfhearted "Hmm?"

"Who's that guy sitting with the Golden Prats?"

"Oh!" That sure got his attention, seeing as his eyes widened and he turned to me with a conspiratorial grin. "That's Vince Reynolds. He's interviewing for the Defense Position after what happened to Professor Winchester, and he's supposedly a close Weasley family friend. But that's the boring stuff. Rumour has it that he's here for revenge on Charlie Weasleys after a terrible breakup, revenge in the form of *ahem* slipping the sausage to all of Charlie's siblings."

"Sure, Blaise," I scoffed.

"No really! I heard he already shagged Percy and Fred—sorry, George."

"If you say so," I said rolling my eyes.

Blaise huffed but persisted. "My sources say that he's including Potter in the siblings list due to how close he is with the Weasleys. I think they may have shagged already, and I'd give my right arm for that sex tape. Wait no, I'm right-handed, that would defeat the purpose. But I'd give my left for sure."

I groaned. "Thanks for the info, Blaise. I really needed to know that."

He grinned. "No problem."

"Hey boys. What's all the fuss about?" Pansy said, squishing herself between Blaise and me.

Great.

"Just Blaise fantasizing about that silver-haired guy."

Pansy forced out a falsetto giggle "Oh please Blaise. He doesn't hold a candle to our very own Draco Malfoy." Blaise scoffed but she blundered on. "Speaking of which, Draco, you and I haven't had fun in a while. Busy tonight?"

My eyes instinctively flitted to Hermione, but I looked away quickly, fearful that Pansy was smart enough to decipher the implications. "As a matter of fact, yes. Now if you'll please excuse me, I have to attend to those plans in question at this very moment." With that, I stalked away quickly, careful to keep my gaze far from Hermione. Once I was out of sight, looked back to check if Pansy had figured out what my "plans" were—and saw her glaring at Hermione.

*****

A grin tugging at my lips, I tiptoed past a classroom from which various erotic sounds were emanating. Probably that Reynolds guy crossing Potter off his list, I thought sarcastically, knowing full well that the chances of Blaise's rumors having any foundation in reality was next to zero, if not in the negatives. On an impulse, I leaned closer to the door and whisper-yelled "Use protection you two! #RubberUpForDraco!" The noises stopped and I dashed away, cackling under my breath.

The rest of my trek to the meeting room was uninterrupted until I reached the library. There, I found and all-too-smug Weasel waiting for me.

"Evening, Draco."

I clenched my jaw. "I have places to be Weasel, let's make this quick. Now, do I have to kick your ass or just threaten it?"

He smiled grimly. "No need to trouble yourself with either. I'm just here to tell you something."

"Spit it out then."

"Just remember, ferret face. She'll never love you like she loves me."

Before I could reply, he tapped himself on the head with his wand, muttered a Disillusionment Charm and vanished.

"Loved. Past fucking tense Weasel," I growled under my breath, previous glee long forgotten, and marched into the secret room. There I found Hermione perched on an armchair and leafing through a book on Arithmancy.

"Math. That's hot," I said sarcastically.

Hermione looked up, a smile lighting up her face. "Au contraire. Brainy is the new sexy." She bit her lip and fluttered her lashes, then said in a sultry voice, "9x-7i>3(3x-7u)" She then glanced at the fourth wall. "Solve that, it's interesting."

I grinned, then faked a high, needy moan. "Damn, that is sexy, you're right."

Hermione laughed and gave me a quick kiss. "The sooner you learn that that's the norm, the better." Another kiss followed, this one slower and more intimate. The joking air dissipated as she pulled away slowly, though still in my arms. "So what's the plan for tonight?"

My eyes drank in the sight of Hermione in my arms, laughter in her eyes, and I suddenly felt the desperate need to escape this room and all its pretenses. "Let's sneak out," I blurted, and her eyes went wide, "just you and me."

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Has anyone watched the new shadowhunters program? The first episode was amazing <3

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