The Dangers Of A Curious Mind | Onhold

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Hermione suffered a dreadful night's sleep. Her head was full of buzzing thoughts, each growing louder than the other.

There was something terribly off about Moody.

Harry seemed on the brink of a breakdown.

Pansy, fucking Pansy, had her hands on information about Veela and was up to something with it all.

Hermione tossed and turned so much that the white linen sheets of her bed twisted around her, feeling like suffocating binds.

Fleur…

Hermione couldn't stop her mind turning back to the blonde.

She was hooked on the feeling of getting Fleur to lower her guard. Of seeing that rare flash of vulnerability that Fleur kept carefully locked away from everyone else.

Not to mention the way Hermione's body practically set alight when Fleur was physically near. Hermione had felt ready to spontaneously combust when Fleur had kissed her cheeks in a chaste goodbye the previous evening.

Hermione felt like rubbish as the sun rose over Hogwarts, beaming bright sunlight through the tower windows. She sat up and rubbed her bleary eyes, tiredly disentangling herself from the twisted sheets.

She could already hear Lavender and Parvati up and about, loudly discussing their skincare routines and how they were planning to wear their hair that day. It was already giving her a headache.

Hermione didn't complain though, she had enough on her plate without getting in a disagreement with her dorm-mates.

Hermione felt like her arms and legs were made of lead as she pulled on her uniform, fumbling with the top button.

She was still tying her tie up as she hopped out of the portrait-hole and headed down to the Great Hall. Knowing Ron and his appetite, the boys would have headed directly to breakfast.

Hermione was so engrossed in getting the knot right in her tie that she didn't even notice the sound of wood on stone until Mad-Eye Moody had fallen into step beside her. Hermione felt her body instantly tense up.

Once again, the hallway was almost entirely deserted for their encounter, Hermione stuck halfway between the Gryffindor tower and the Great Hall.

“Granger.” Moody grunted.

He was looking a lot healthier than the last time Hermione had seen himㅡ healthier for a grizzled and deeply battle damaged ex-Auror, anyway. The pale sweats were gone and his glass eye looked more secure in its socket as it rolled around.

“Professor.” Hermione replied guardedly. She didn't want another one of his intense and unsettling conversations to arise in the short walk to the Great Hall this morning.

“I wanted to apologise for last night.” Moody said gruffly, staring straight ahead as he clunked along beside her, “I was, er, feeling very unwell and shouldn't've taken it out on you and your friend.”

“Ah, that's okay.” Hermione replied awkwardly. She sped up her walking pace slightly, wanting to get back to the comforts of being around other students.

“I was just worried about Potter, you know, being so young and inexperienced for such a dangerous Tournament.” Moody explained, “It came out all wrong with how unwell I was feeling. Please pass on my apology to your friend, Delacour.”

“Er, right.” Hermione replied. They had turned a corner and now she could see the Entrance Hall in the distance. She was so close. “Well, I hope you're feeling better now, Professor.”