The Allure of Darkness

Amends

Great Hall [December 16th]

"Who does she think she is?"

Hermione Granger glanced up from the heavy tome that had earned a permanent spot in front of her whenever she took her breakfast. Her eyebrows knit together in annoyance as she couldn't believe someone had dared to disturb her reading. Preemptively, she took a large bite out of her apple in order to push down the biting response she was itching to blurt out.

"Look at her, just throwing herself at him! Tossing that blonde hair all over the place!"

Hermione turned around to look where her roommate, Padma Patil, was pointing and she suppressed the urge to groan. Not this again.

A small smile tugged at her lips as watched the Slytherin table and her eyes automatically fell on him scowling at a joke Blaise had clearly made at his expense. He chose that exact moment to glance up directly at her and Hermione quickly averted her gaze, her cheeks flushing a soft shade of pink.

"She's always draped across him like some ridiculously posh curtain," Padma continued to complain, savagely poking her eggs with her fork. "Honestly, how do the professors not see that indecent scene she's creating?"

Hermione rolled her eyes as she turned back to see the blonde Padma was actually referring to, Daphne Greengrass. She suspected the way Hadrian Riddle had covered his hand over hers was the "scene" that had inspired Padma's angry tirade in the first place.

She glanced back at the dark-haired girl in heavily concealed pity. She could easily tell the girl the truth: Hadrian Riddle was never hers in the first place.

Hermione could hardly blame her, though. A long time ago, she thought a boy that smart and seemingly interested in her mind could only mean that he was meant for her. She remembered way back in first and second year when her heart would beat a teensy bit faster every time, he smiled at her and innocently grabbed her hand.

But as she shifted her eyes back to the stunning blonde that sat beside him, Hermione knew when it came to who held Hadrian Riddle's interest, there was absolutely no question in the matter. Even as he was laughing with his friends, Hermione could only smile wistfully as he pressed a kiss to the side of Daphne's head, whispering something to her as she got up from the table.

Even a fool could see that Hadrian Riddle had always been meant for Daphne Greengrass. She felt silly she had even considered herself to be a contender for his affections at one point in time.

Speaking of the fool, Hermione turned back to Padma–who had made a disgusted noise as she watched the blonde from their table.

"Can you believe that? It's horrible how they're just pawing at each other at breakfast," She shook her head with disdain.

"Yes, they're really going at it like rabbits, aren't they?" Hermione remarked dryly. She watched with curious eyes as Daphne walked down the length of the Slytherin table, beginning to pass out what seemed to be envelopes to a few of the students.

Padma sighed. She bit her lip and looked at Hermione hopefully, "Hermione, you're best friends with him, aren't you?"

Instantly, she grew weary and pushed around the remaining potatoes on her plate. "Not his best friend," She replied noncommittally. No, that title was probably reserved for the other blond in Hadrian Riddle's life. The one she currently refused to make eye contact with, no matter how many times he had tried to unsuccessfully catch her attention.

"But you're close with him, aren't you?" Padma spoke, as if she hadn't said anything. "Could you just ask him.... ask him why? I-I miss him, you know. I don't know why things ended so suddenly between us," Her eyes were suspiciously watery as she bit out, "And now he's wrapped up with that Greengrass bint–"