selcouth // h. granger

◤sillage◢

sill·age /sēˈäZH/
noun
in which a perfume's fragrance lingers in the air

☠︎~~~☠︎

Apparently, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had spotted Draco Malfoy wandering on his own into Borgin and Burkes and talked to Borgin rather rudely before heading out of the shop. And now, Harry had an odd obsession with figuring out what he was up to.

"Maybe he was just being the creepy old bloke he is," Ron suggested for the tenth time while going down the stairs for dinner one night, Elara being in front of them, consequently, easy to eavesdrop.

Harry scoffed for the eleventh time, "I know Malfoy. He's up to something. Did he seem okay to you? He definitely had bags under his eyes."

Ron shrugged, skipping the last two steps on the stairs and jumping down. "I don't know, mate. I wasn't exactly paying attention to his demeanor or facial features..."

While Harry was fixated over Elara's cousin, Elara herself was extremely submerged in preparing Hermione's birthday gift and was determined to make sure she did not forget Hermione's birthday this year. After all, it was a big one; her seventeenth.

Hermione had since not brought up the talk they had on the stairs that one night and had continued going on with how it was before. The hugs, hand-holding, and more remained, and Elara couldn't ask for more.

(Though she wanted to, but Hermione asked for time, and she planned on respecting that.)

It was like they said: they both didn't want things to change, so it didn't. They both just knew a bit more about each other but didn't let it affect anything.

Despite all of this happening, August went on, soon bringing the return to Hogwarts for its students. Elara either spent her time playing Quidditch or working on Hermione's gift, so much to the point that Hermione was getting suspicious about her constantly hiding what she was working on. She just needed to keep it a secret until September nineteenth...

"Is it bad I don't want to go back to school?" asked Elara on the day of the full moon that also happened to be six days before they returned to Hogwarts. She was lying on Hermione while Hermione whispered her favorite poems to her and talking about random things. "I've gotten used to no homework."

She's learned not to lash out or snap at Hermione during full moons, mainly because Hermione was the only one who could make her feel better and since Hermione didn't press her on why things got like this every month that much anymore. Again, the least Elara could do as a thank you was at least try not to be bitchy on days and nights such as these.

"I'd say it's understandable," Hermione replied, scanning a page in her book before turning it. "I'm rather excited to go back, though. N.E.W.T. classes seem exciting and much more interesting than the years before."

"Of course, you would say that," chuckled Elara, receiving a slight glare from Hermione, so she sat up and pulled her legs in to fold them, now facing her. "It's just going to be more work."

"But more interesting material..." Hermione countered once more, her voice fading as the remark went on as she fell back into reading one of her poems. Elara loved it when Hermione did that; then again, she loved anything Hermione did. But she just found that simple action, of how Hermione focused in on reading so much that everything else drowned out, even her own voice, just so enticing.

For a few minutes, Elara stared at her, her feeling of awe for the girl opposite her increasing, while Hermione continued to read. She's just so perfect, thought Elara, not a single flaw in sight. Well, except for-