Power ▸ Ron Weasley [1]

XXVIII. OCCLUMENS

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT:

OCCLUMENS

▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

      If there was any moment in time that Nova Nott doubted the intelligence of Hermione Granger, it was when she was sitting in the kitchens with her elbow in some sort of pasta and her hair falling wildly around her face. She seemed to be completely unaware of the state of her elbow, her eyes focused solely on the words in front of her on the book about Charms and how they were used. 

       Ron had immediately apologized the second he had dragged Hermione into the kitchens for their little meeting, but Granger had taken it upon herself to sit on one of the chairs and do nothing but study. She claimed that the Gryffindor common room was too noisy for her to concentrate and Nova had no doubts that it was easy for her to block out the sounds of the couple talking in the kitchens. Nova didn't mind her being there, and she especially didn't mind it now that she was so occupied with studying for O.W.L.s to berate them for staying out after curfew. When Nova had brought this up, Hermione had simply replied that the only reason she was breaking the rules was to study, so therefore it didn't count.

      Nova woke up Monday morning ready for her Theory of Charms test with a sense of calm she was sure her friends in Gryffindor didn't possess. That's where things differed between the two houses, considering all of the Slytherin fifth years had gotten together in the common room the night before and had a big study session in which Nova was proud to say she felt prepared for her Charms test. Theo was a little more frightened than she was, but she had given his shoulders a squeeze that suggested she would stay up and study with him for as long as he liked. When the morning came, she was happy to see that he looked refreshed and confident. 

      "Blaise helped me study last night," he said in a whisper when he sat down next to Nova, ignoring the interested look she gave him. "Not like that, Nova. Daphne and I just broke up yesterday."

     Ah, yes. Nova had forgotten that little tidbit of information. Daphne was currently sitting with her sister, having Astoria test her on some Charms, but it looked like her heart wasn't in it. She refused to look at the side of the table that Theo was sitting on and Nova swore she could see tears well in her eyes when Astoria asked her what the Charm for summoning was. Though a small part of Nova felt for Daphne, as she looked the same as Malfoy did when Nova had ended things, there was also another part of her that knew it was worth seeing Daphne upset if her brother finally had one small ounce of happiness.

      "Morning," Blaise said, squishing himself in between Nova and Theo. He had his Charms book in his hands, but made no move to open it as he set it down on the table. Nova gave Theo a small smile when Blaise discreetly reached his hand underneath the table and took Theo's in his own. Theo, who still wasn't used to the fact that he fancied Blaise, went slightly red at the action but made no move to pull away. "Are you guys ready?"