By early the next morning, everyone in Hermione's small circle knew she had received a rose.
"Who on earth would be courting Hermione?"
Ron finished his morning classes and threw his arms about dramatically in the dormitory. "As far as I know, Hermione's birthday is less than ten days away — she's not even twelve yet!"
Sometimes boys gossiped even worse than girls.
For no particular reason, Harry found himself thinking of Cho Chang, who got along quite well with Kate. Ever since they'd met, he'd tried to ask Cho out a few times, only to be turned down with one excuse or another. He figured they were probably just too young, so he'd quietly tucked those feelings away.
Maybe by the time he was older, his heart wouldn't pound like that whenever he saw Cho Chang.
"You've got a point," he agreed with a nod. "Given Hermione's age, no upperclassman would go out of their way to pursue her."
That was purely based on age, of course — the older girls who had already grown up were bound to be more appealing than a scrawny little girl who hadn't yet awakened to romance. All the boys were thinking the same thing.
Neville asked in surprise, "Then could it be a classmate, or even a younger student?"
"Yes, it must be!" Ron nodded with conviction. "A classmate seems unlikely, though — if someone in our year liked Hermione, they'd have made their move last year already!"
That left the new first-years, who had only been at school for a week. And there were only a few dozen of them — take out the girls, and you were left with maybe a dozen boys.
"Most of them barely even know Hermione." Ron ran through all the names in his head, then circled one.
Colin Creevey.
He was the only male first-year who managed to see Hermione every single day.
Harry's cheek twitched. "I swear on the scar on my forehead — absolutely not." Every time that kid spotted Harry, his eyes practically glued themselves to him. There was no way he was paying any attention to Hermione standing nearby.
"Then we're out of leads." Neville shrugged from his seat on the bed.
Ron frowned suspiciously. "So who else could it be? Don't tell me it was Kate who sent it?"
The moment the words left his mouth, all three boys' eyes went wide.
"This morning I saw Hermione and Kate sitting all cozy together again — they must have made up!" Harry said with certainty. "It had to be Kate!"
Which raised an interesting question: even if the two of them had reconciled, why would Kate send a rose?
Could it be…
Harry glanced instinctively at Ron, only to find him holding up one finger and curling it downward suggestively.
"If that's really the case," Neville stood up from the bed, "then we absolutely must protect their love with everything we've got!"
Kate and Hermione had helped him so much — the least he could do was support them in return!
"Hey, hold on!" Harry couldn't help stopping him. "Girls sending each other roses doesn't necessarily mean that kind of relationship, does it? And besides, they're both still so young…"
His voice trailed off.
Ron let out a knowing chuckle. "See? Even you think that if it's those two, it's not out of the question."
After all, in their experience, girls who were practically inseparable — walking hand-in-hand everywhere they went — were nearly unheard of. That was just a matter of cultural atmosphere; at least in Europe, even close friends rarely went around hugging and clinging to each other.
Kate was like that because she'd grown used to physical affection in her past life, and Hermione, who'd never really had friends before, simply mirrored whatever Kate did.
"…Alright," Harry conceded helplessly. "Even if those two haven't gotten there yet, I'd say they're not far off."
These two girls were among their very few female friends. No matter what, they had to protect this tender blossom of a romance before it even bloomed!
Harry turned his head and saw the same light reflected in both Ron's and Neville's eyes.
It was the light of guardians, sworn to protect the pure and innocent love (?) blossoming between their best friends!
——
Kate had been feeling rather strange lately.
Dumbledore had asked her to come back over the weekend, so at least during the school week, her academic life should have been pleasant and fulfilling.
That is, if she could ignore those weird individuals who had been trailing her and Hermione at every opportunity.
After another two-period back-to-back Potions class, Kate was just about to pack up and head to the Great Hall with Hermione when she glanced back and spotted those three dawdling over their books — clearly determined to wait until the girls had left before moving.
"Wait for me outside the dungeons."
She murmured quietly to Hermione. The moment they stepped out of the classroom together, Kate stopped dead in the corridor, watching until Hermione's figure disappeared up the staircase before turning around with undisguised irritation.
"Gentlemen," she said, sweeping her gaze across all three of them, arms folded across her chest with considerable authority. "You've been following us for two or three days now. What exactly do you want?"
Ron answered on reflex: "We haven't!"
"Really?" Kate smiled faintly and laid a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Don't lie to me, or else—"
"We just want to protect your relationship with Hermione!" Neville cracked under the pressure. His chubby body gave a little shudder, and everything tumbled out of him like beans from a tipped jar.
But before he could say another word, Harry's hand shot out and clamped over his mouth.
Kate took a step back with an expression of pure distaste. "You three… don't have some kind of weird fixation, do you?"
They were unquestionably brave Gryffindors — all three of them — but who was to say a brave soul couldn't have a few strange quirks?
"W-we don't!" Harry's eyes went wide as saucers, and he quickly released Neville.
After a long moment, he steadied himself and asked carefully, "Kate… are you and Hermione… together?"
"...Huh?"
Kate stared at the three of them with a head full of question marks. Her lips worked silently for a good few seconds before she managed — barely — to stop herself from swearing.
"Have you all been studying so much magic that your brains have short-circuited?" She swore to herself that didn't count as a swear word.
She glanced back at the staircase to make sure Hermione hadn't accidentally wandered back, then drew a long, slow breath to keep herself from imploding.
"What I feel for Hermione is the same as a big sister doting on her little sister. Harry, Neville — never mind you two — but Ron, you have a whole pack of brothers and sisters. Can't you even tell the difference?"
Ron laughed awkwardly, looking a bit sheepish. "But…"
"No 'buts.'" Kate planted her hands on her hips, her back molars grinding audibly. "I'm only saying this once. If any of you dare breathe another word of this nonsense — especially in front of Hermione—"
She drew her wand and, with a casual flick, blasted a small pebble on the floor to dust. Then she smiled pleasantly up at them.
The three boys were silent for a beat — and then, as if on cue, bolted, hollering as they fled.
Hmph. Three incorrigible yuri-fanboys with nothing better to do than let their imaginations run wild.
Kate gave a quiet snort and turned around — only to find Malfoy standing at the back door of the classroom.
____
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