It was Lavender. She was perched between to bookshelves, staring at her with a calculation finger on her chin.
"I thought you went home for Christmas!" Hermione exclaimed, shocked, and a bit resentful after all those days sngging Ron.
In response, Lavender smiled. Hermione blinked. Since when had Lavender even looked at her these past weeks? Since when had anyone, she realized, besides...him....
"I know about you and Draco," she whispered tantalizingly. Hermione's eyes widened alarming. If someone heard her....
Hermione pulled Lavender into the girl's cubicles. Lavender grinned at her.
"Why are you here?" Hermione cried. "And how do you know! What do you plan on doing?" If word got out about what she and Draco had done in the library, both Harry and Ron would never speak to her in the least. Or they might kill her. Either way was definitely possible.
"Grant me a favor and I'll tell you," Lavender said, her twisted grin widening and stretching over to the tips up her ears.
"What?" pleaded Hermione. Anything to keep the thing she regretted most a secret....
Or did she regret it? Hermione shook her head to clear it. No. She couldn't think this. She was a Mudblood Gryffindor. He was a pure-blooded Slytherin. They naturally hated each other. They could never....
"What is the favor? What do you want me to do?" Hermione asked again.
She expected something horrible. Something disgusting. Lavender had no limits. But what she said was....
"Go public."
Hermione blinked, confused. "What?" she asked.
"Go public with Draco. Be his girlfriend. Then Ron will know he never had a chance with you. He'll be mine forever."
"He and I never...." Hermione began.
"Oh come on," Lavender said impatiently. "He's liked you forever. These last few days he's been owling me stuff he usually doesn't say. I think he wants to end it." Lavender scornfully stared at Hermione, awaiting her answer.
And unbidden, the words she had never thought she would say formed in her mouth, "Okay."