New Romantics | Hermione Granger Book IV

|61| Chapter Sixty-One

S I X T Y  O N E 

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One thing that an imperius curse couldn't control was Saffron's nerves for her sister and friend and those nerves were evidenced in how she had bitten down her nails completely by the time lunchtime came around the next day. She stayed by Harry's side for the majority of the day, as she knew that he needed him and it was what the caster of the curse that controlled her wanted her to do. She would have anyway, as Maya had Rachel and Rowan, alongside friends like Melanie and Bethany to try and distract her from the giant task was looming over them all. Harry only had Saffron and Hermione, who were there unconditionally snapping at any Slytherin or Ravenclaw who decided to take it upon themselves to harass Harry during the day.

"Do you have nothing better to be doing?" Saffron snapped waspishly as Pansy Parkinson came over, presumably to offer Harry a box of tissues as countless other students had done over the day. She was sat with Hermione, Harry, Lavender and Parvati at the Gryffindor table, and with that combination of people, Pansy was fighting a battle she was automatically going to lose.

"No I don't," sneered Pansy, scrunching her nose in disgust at the five Gryffindors. "I wanted you to know, Potter, that I have plenty of free tissues if you've already used yours up from crying about your parents all day,"

"Why do you talk like that?" Lavender asked Pansy simply, furrowing her eyebrows at the Slytherin girl.

"Like what?" Pansy practically spat.

"Like you're trying to make your voice sound like a girls but in actuality you're sounding more and more like the dog you are," Lavender stated matter-of-factly, smirking at Pansy. She then went down the route of public humiliation by saying: "Anyone who wants Pansy to go back to her normal voice, raise your hand and let her know,"

Saffron had no preference as to how Pansy spoke but she went along with it, putting her hand up and a line of Gryffindors followed suit, excluding Harry who still hung his head down trying to block any external influences out.

"The hall has spoken," Lavender pursed her lips and they curled into a smile. "Bye, Pansy..."

Pansy turned on her heel and stormed off in a huff, leaving many Gryffindors chuckling to themselves and Saffron hoped that Harry's spirit at the very least wasn't dampened by someone as spiteful as Pansy making their way over to bother him. He didn't need more than one task for the day, fighting off a dragon as surely more than enough.

After a few more minutes, Professor McGonagall made her way into the hall, beckoning for the Champions to come down to the grounds to prepare for the task. Harry and Maya were both present in the hall and Saffron wasted no time in ensuring that she wished the two of them the best of luck.

"You're going to be okay, Harry," Saffron said to him, taking the boy who was blue in the face into a warm embrace. "You know what you have to do, so just focus on that,"

"Thanks," said Harry, sounding like an entirely different person altogether. Saffron merely gave him a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder before heading down the hall to Maya, as Hermione offered Harry good luck, taking her place.

"Everything will be fine, don't worry about me," Maya was saying to Rachel and Rowan, as Saffron took a place beside Rachel in wishing Maya good luck. "I don't want any of you three to panic and go there, just have a little faith in me,"

"Just be careful," whimpered a teary Rachel, wrapping her arms around Maya and placing her head on the older girls shoulder. Rowan followed suit and Saffron did likewise after a second of watching her three siblings together.