"Hermes!"
Hermione swiveled around, her eyes wide in curiosity. She was greeted by the sight of a smiling Teddy, enthusiastically waving his hand to and fro with Blaise, who was looking as dashing as before, armed with trademark, charming smile.
"Hey!" she replied as she gave them a huge smile.
"Let's go to lunch together," Teddy announced, swinging an arm over Hermione's shoulder. Blaise took his position beside Hermione.
"How was Ancient Runes?" Blaise asked as he followed the other two.
"Brilliant," she answered, breathless. Her eyes then sparkled, her smile growing wide. "Professor Flaxworth gave a new lesson and he said it would be part of the NEWTs. It was pretty challenging, you know. But I loved it. I can't wait to answer our NEWTs."
Teddy scowled. "Ancient Runes makes me feel stupid," he commented, removing his arm off her shoulders. "I can't believe you chose that subject. I mean... wow, you must be pretty intelligent to be able to understand all those weird numbers and symbols."
She laughed, shaking her head. "Well, at least it's way better than Divination," she used a subtle sarcastic tone on the last word. Apparently, she still hated Divination with all of her being. Like what she thought in their third year, Divination was a waste of time. "What happened to Divination, anyway?"
"Oh, you know, the usual," Teddy answered casually. "Oh, did you know that I predicted how I'd die in the future." He released a loud laugh, startling some passersby. "It was hilarious, really. I think that if I really died like that, it will be part of the headlines in the Daily Prophet. Oh, tell him, Blaise. I think I'll crack up before telling Hermes about my impending doom."
Hermione looked amused as she looked at Blaise expectantly, who, on the other hand, sighed in resignation. "He will stumble inside a cubicle. His face will land on a toilet bowl. He will accidentally flush the toilet with his flailing right hand. And then, he'll die because of drowning. The end."
Despite the bizarre death of Theodore Nott, Hermione laughed. It was funnier because Blaise used a monotonous voice as he told her about Teddy's prediction. It was funnier, too, because in the middle of Blaise's story, Teddy had burst into uncontrollable laughter. He was laughing so heartily he had to hold Hermione's shoulder for support.
"It was extremely hilarious when we saw Trelawney's face!" Teddy said.
"Let me guess; she thought it was a weird death, yeah?" Hermione answered.
"Au contraire," Blaise answered from beside her. He had this huge scowl on his face once Hermione looked back at him. "She actually thought it was the most creative prediction she had heard so far and even awarded Slytherin with twenty points... weird old bat."
Hermione looked genuinely surprised.
"Blaise? Insulting? Are pigs flying now?" Teddy exclaimed in mock surprise.
"Well, there are really flying pigs, you know. They are called" -
- "Hermes!" Teddy exclaimed, laughing. His laugh was infectious and soon, Hermione found herself laughing, too.
"Well, I can't help it," Blaise said, butting in. He had this troubled look on his face. "If I was as intelligent as you, Hermes, I will really choose Ancient Runes over Divination. I really think it's just a waste of time."
"EXACTLY!" Hermione loudly exclaimed. She blushed upon discovering her sudden outburst. "Exactly," she said in a softer tone, "I mean, how can Divination help you in the future? Unless you are going to be someseer or something."
