The Goblet of Fire - Harry Potter Male Reader Insert

26: (Not So Secret) Secrets Declared

A/N: The following chapter is inspired from a Fanfiction that I once read.

Hermione Granger was acting odd.

True, it had only been for a few hours, but her behaviour was odd all the same.

It was now the weekend, and the Quartet were due to meet with Sirius in Hogsmeade at one o' clock. Ever since the morning, however, Hermione had been acting very strangely around Y/N.

Not that her behaviour around him usually couldn't be warrented as 'strange' anyway, but Hermione Jean Granger had never openly avoided him to this extent.

The previous night, after the disastrous lesson with Professor Snape, the four of them had returned the the common room as usual, and when Hermione and Y/N had sat side by side on the sofa in the common room much in the same manner as they surely had done hundreds of times over the years, she had actually shifted away from him when he, with his arm comfortably on the backrest behind her, had absentmindedly rubbed her shoulder with his fingertips. She had literallty squirmed away from his touch. This never happened. Y/N and Hermione's relationship was, as Harry put it many times, "the epitome of everything two human beings could ever hope to be."

In other words, Y/N and Hermione did not simply scurry away from each others touch. It was unheard of. Sure, it was common knowledge by now that one was extremely smitten with the other, but what was not common knowledge was the fact that the feelings were mutual. Even so, the two of them never let those feelings get in the way of their platonic intimacy. Which was why it confused Y/N to no end that Hermione had fled from his touch the previous night.

And now, come morning, she was avoiding him as though he had the plague.

And, as much as he was reluctant to admit it, it hurt quite a bit.

How many words had they exchanged this whole morning? Four, maximum?

So why was Hermione avoiding him? Had he finally pushed her over the edge with his incessant teasing? Was this her way of getting revenge for outplaying her the other day? Or did she actually start feeling uncomfortable around him?

Well, there was only one way to find out.

There was now an hour until their Hogsmeade visit, and Hermione had been in the library, and was due to return to the common room any moment. Sure enough, in a few minutes, Hermione was crawling through the portrait hole into the common room.

"Hermione." Y/N said in that monotone voice of his, approaching her.

Hermione let out a little yelp and did a 180, rounding away from him in an instant, and made to climb back out of the common room.

"So, you're not even going to talk to me, then?" Y/N said, following after her as she race-walked out of the portrait and down the corridors.

Hermione stopped walking, and paused. "What are you talking about?" she said, feigning ignorance, still not looking at him.

"You've been acting weird around me since last night," Y/N said bluntly. "And I want to know why."

"I have no idea what you're -"

"Don't even." Y/N interrupted, before she could deny it. "Seriously Hermione, what's going on?"

Hermione tutted. "I stop talking to you for a few hours and you're already pestering me?" she said. "Bit extra, isn't it?"

"You're doing more than just not talking to me," he retorted. "You're full on avoiding me."

Hermione remained silent.