Chapter 50: Chapter 49: Platonic Relationships!
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"You know it's really bizarre when you say stuff like that," Harry says.
"Hey, what can I say? I'm brutally honest and open with my feelings. I call it a gift of truth."
"Well people don't throw around the 'L' word lightly around here," Hermione says in a tight voice. "Especially not for – as you say – platonic relationships."
"Oh they don't do it where I come from, either. I just do it to freak you guys out a bit. Besides, when it comes to romantic relationships, it doesn't matter how many times you've just thrown the word around...when you feel it, it still punches you in the chest, makes it hard to breathe, makes you dizzy..." I trail off into silence.
"How would you know that?" Hermione asks in a small voice.
"Somebody told me that, once," I lied. I think she sees through it, but she doesn't call me on it this time. "Anyway, I need to be more Slytherin about it. Hermione, do you have two sheets of parchment and a quill handy?"
She digs in her bag for a surprisingly short amount of time before wordlessly handing them over. Along the top of one sheet I write a quick message.
Walk with me? - Lerner
I hand Hermione the empty one and ask her to pass it to Daphne. She taps a Hufflepuff, who shrugs and hands it across the table, and so on until it reaches the intended target.
Daphne flips it over and looks back at me with narrowed eyes. A small trickle of magic later, I give her a nod.
"Impressive switching spell, William," Hermione says grudgingly.
I grin. "Easier than enchanting both of them, I figure."
The Slytherin girl doesn't notice at first, so I tap the paper with my other hand and give her another nod. Her head jerks back slightly in surprise when she looks down.
After she turns to someone sitting next to her and gestures in my direction, I see her digging out a quill and scratching out a quick reply. She pulls out her wand and the parchment with the note returns to me.
Under my chicken scratch, written in impeccably neat script despite her apparent haste, is an equally short message.
Ask me tomorrow. - D
I smile, and as I look up I see Hermione shift uncomfortably so I hand her the note. "Operation Reptilian Redemption is a go."
"You know, I liked Operation Snake Charmer better," Harry says.
"Shut up, Harry," Hermione says grumpily.
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At breakfast the next day, Daphne makes no attempt to make eye contact with me. I'm annoyed at myself for being a little offended by that, but I ignore it and continue eating.
I hope to visit Professors Babbling and Vector about the runic wards I'm planning, but that's when Hermione gasps and the whispers and finger-pointing from other tables starts up.
"What's wrong, Hermione?"
"That!" she says, moving the Saturday edition of the Daily Prophet in front of Harry and jabbing her finger at it. "That's what's wrong!"
Harry takes a minute and flushes red. "I told you that bloody Skeeter woman was writing much more than what I was saying," he growls, then passes the paper to me.
Ah yes, the first of many Prophet articles that portray Harry in a less-than-flattering light. I delicately fold up the paper and set it back down in front of Hermione. "Well, at least it wasn't completely fabricated."
"What are you talking about?" Harry asks incredulously. "She made me look like a...like a..."
"Yeah, there is that," I say, opening my hands in a placating gesture, "but the part about Hermione was accurate." I smile and lean in to whisper the rest. "You do love each other and she is a stunningly pretty Muggleborn who is one of the top students at the school."
Hermione turns beet red and looks down at the table. "You know, if it wasn't you saying that, then I know it would be teasing and I'd have to hex you."
"See? It's a good thing I've been throwing around the 'L' word, since now the article doesn't seem so bad. Between that and being the first one to point out your allure, I'm scooping the Prophet left and right."
"Will you stop already?" Hermione pleads. "We're already embarrassed enough and now a bunch of people are looking at us."
"Let's get started on our run and then go see Hagrid," Harry suggests quickly, and he and Hermione practically leap away from the table.
Neville stands and looks pointedly at Luna, and the two of them leave as well.
I sigh and stand up to follow for moral support, postponing my plans to start on Harry's Christmas gift.
"Bit of a third wheel, aren't you?" one of the twins asks with a wide grin before I walk past them.
"Yeah, I don't think they'll appreciate you walking in on their morning snogging session," the other one says.
I consider making an entirely inappropriate suggestion regarding three-ways, but I'm sure whatever I say will be overheard, and Hermione might actually kill me if I do that. "Well I do have to keep them out of trouble now that the secret's out," I say instead.
The three of us share a laugh at that. "Decent prank by the Prophet," one says loudly.
"Not up to our standards of course..."
"But that's well-played, pretending to go along with it even when it's obviously a pile of rubbish."
"I'll pass on your compliments," I say, giving them a wave. They were talking in the usual Weasley voice, so I know a good portion of the student body heard that exchange.
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