Coup de Foudre [Fred Weasley] [5]

⚡️ Chapter 65 ⚡️

Vega had expected the following day to be free of all unnecessary drama as she tried to pick a choice between her careers but with the prospect of Harry forcing entry into Umbridge's office ahead – which he allowed Vega to tag along – Hermione wasn't so happy. Through their breakfast, it was less food and more of Hermione's continual attempts to dissuade him from what he was planning to do at five o'clock that evening.

For the first time ever, Hermione was at least as inattentive to Professor Binns in History of Magic as Harry and Ron were, keeping up a stream of whispered admonitions that Harry tried very hard to ignore, and more so for Vega – who was just trying to do her classwork and get a good grade if she wanted to go meet Fred over the summer.

"... and if she does catch you there, apart from being expelled," Hermione was going on as ever. "She'll be able to guess you've been talking to Snuffles and this time I expect she'll force you to drink Veritaserum and answer her questions..."

"Not with Vega around – saved our necks the last time quite easily," Harry pointed out while Vega wished he hadn't brought her into the conversation.

"If Vega gets caught this time, they'll be a cell in her name in Azkaban," Hermione said, clearly trying to hit a nerve and it seemed to have done it.

"Hermione, don't go that far," Vega warned, finally looking up from her notes.

"You know it very well, Vega," Hermione responded. "That woman has it in for –"

"Hermione," Ron said in a low and indignant voice. "Are you going to stop telling Harry off and listen to Binns, or am I going to have to take notes instead?"

"You take notes for a change, it won't kill you!" Hermione snapped back.

By the time they reached the dungeons, neither Harry nor Ron was speaking to Hermione any longer while Vega went into a blissful ignorance of their entire argument as she tried to make a decent potion with Hermione breathing down her back.

Undeterred, Hermione took advantage of their silence to maintain an uninterrupted flow of dire warnings, all uttered under her breath in a vehement hiss that caused Seamus to waste five whole minutes checking his cauldron for leaks.

Snape, meanwhile, seemed to have decided to act as though Harry were invisible. Vega gave Harry a curious look but Harry just shrugged in response – something that made Vega even more certain that something had happened with them.

Today's potion was Invigoration Draught, and Vega was quite sure that her potion would continue the tirade of 'Exceeding Expectations' when she knew that she had always given an 'Outstanding' performance. Snape clearly didn't seem to appreciate her interest in the subject of Potions any more than he liked her mere existence.

Vega was finished with her potion first and went up to put her flask at Snape's desk. She returned just as the rest of her table was finishing and started to pack up her stuff, taking up her Invigoration Draught since it was always good on hand.

Harry had just gone up to Snape's desk when Vega heard a smashing sound, followed by a gleeful yell of laughter from Malfoy. Vega's attention snapped up in concern and saw a potion sample laying in pieces on the floor – Harry's potion, at that, too – and Snape was watching him with a look of gloating pleasure.

"Whoops," Snape said softly. "Another zero, then, Potter..."

"It's okay, he can just take some more from his cauldron," Vega muttered as Neville looked around nervously. She looked to her right – "Hermione, no!"

But it was too late now. Hermione had cleared away Harry's potion. Hermione looked at Vega in horror when she realised what had happened. When Harry arrived back, he stared at his empty cauldron in shock and anger.