The mortifying ordeal of falling in love with your entire secret study group

8th year: Hermione

"So," Harry started ominously on the way to lunch. "I've heard an interesting rumour."

"About?" Hermione could think of some things.

"Oh, just..." Harry hesitated. "Snape and Madam Pince."

Hermione burst out laughing.

"Wait," Ron's eyes were wide. "Are you saying it's true? Snape and Madam Pince eloped in summer?"

Hermione only laughed harder.

"I think it's a lost cause, mate," Ron said to Harry. "We'll never know."

"No, no", Hermione gasped for breath. They stepped into the Great Hall, and her Slytherins weren't there yet, so she followed her friends to the Gryffindor table. "Madam Pince is wearing an engagement ring, not a wedding ring, so she hasn't eloped."

Harry snorted as they sat down. "I sense a 'but' coming."

"Well," Hermione smirked, "trusted sources, who are Madam Pince herself, have said that she was proposed to a couple weeks ago."

"Proposed to? By who?" Ron grabbed a chicken wing and bit into it.

"By Professor Snape, of course," Hermione replied, and enjoyed Ron's sputter and choking. "Turns out that last year, when Professor Snape robbed that Muggle bookstore, he may have done so to woo Madam Pince. Or, Madam Pince started to woo him after the fact. I'm not sure. You'll have to ask someone who was here last year."

"Unbelievable," Harry muttered, but he also turned to his food.

Hermione pulled out Theo's copy of Advanced Alchemy for the NEWT student and managed to eat without getting any food on the pages. She'd been a bit worried that her year away from school had made her forget some of the basics, but she remembered. It helped that Theo and Blaise had been in the same class last year, and Theo's textbook was religiously annotated.

After lunch, Harry and Ron joined the Quidditch obsessed in flying around the pitch and passing Quaffles around. The weather was too good to stay inside, and rumours of the new orange tree drove even some teachers outside.

The tree was doing fine. Diana was happy when Blaise whispered to her that the tree was for her, that he'd brought it from home. For Hermione, that was all that mattered.

To soak up the sun, Hermione, Daphne, Theo and Blaise stretched out in the grass near the lake. Hermione rested her head on Blaise's stomach and just breathed.

"I can't believe our biggest problems will be homework," Theo muttered. He took off his cape and lay down next to Hermione, head on Blaise's thigh.

Blaise sighed. "Am I a pillow?"

"A comfortable one," Hermione said.

"The reputation of Slytherin House will be in shambles." Blaise didn't sound mad about it.

"We wouldn't want that," Daphne mused. She rummaged in her book bag, then pulled out a painting easel. A stretched canvas was next, with a halfway done painting. From where Hermione lay, she could only just make out yellow and black blobs.

Daphne pulled out brushes and paints next, and dipped a brush into a golden yellow.

The sun, briefly covered by a cloud, came back in full force. Hermione lifted her arm to cover her eyes. She felt each of Blaise's breaths lifting her head, and heard distant cheering that the wind carried over from the Quidditch pitch. The breeze smelled of lake and forest and magic. And her biggest problem was homework.