Plans and Schemes

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Hermione fled the Slytherin dungeons to hide in the library's Goblin History section, the same narrow aisle where Theo had first found her with Draco. ("I'll kiss you if you tell me ...") She settled on the floor with her back against a shelf, heedless of the tinny, screeching curses emanating from "The Gory Book of Goblins."

The numbers in her Arithmancy book swam before her eyes and Theo's voice played on a continuous loop: Nobody changes that much ... his obsession with you ... dangerous, possessive ... Draco Malfoy will break your heart ... She could hear the emotion in Theo's voice, the concern, but she also heard bitterness and injured pride, a baffled anger that nothing he could say would get him what he wanted.

And Hermione still believed her final words: If she had been so unfortunate as to fall in love with him, Theodore Nott would have broken her heart. Not right away, not through cruelty or anger—or worst of all, indifference. No, Theo would have been all attention and courtesy, with a sure hand and an easy smile, and she would have dashed her heart to pieces on that cool shell.

As for Draco, well, she had already drawn up a LOOP chart on the subject (with a probable future timeline, see Appendix A). He could break her heart. He could also wreck her reputation. He could be masterminding an elaborate setup to gratify his evil lusts and schemes.

The last option had Hermione snorting aloud. Come on. If Draco's pursuit of her was part of a diabolical plan, it was the most badly conceived and ineptly executed plan since Voldemort's Horcrux Road Show. Draco had undermined himself at practically every turn, frequently denying himself, in Hermione's opinion, the luxury of rational thought. The man was a bit of a mess, and this only strengthened Hermione's belief that Draco really had changed. Change was messy and painful and unpredictable. He was nowhere near redeemed—too many demons—but to her way of thinking, he had earned the opportunity to try, despite what Theo or Ron or that bloody LOOP plan said.

Hermione stretched out her legs on the stone floor and transfigured a handkerchief into a thick green blanket. It was freezing in the library, but one couldn't risk a warming charm around so many books. She pushed Slytherins out of her mind and focused on her Arithmancy text. The formulas for calculating the epicycles and deferents for Mars were fascinating, and Hermione had been exploring their implications. Ptolemy's geocentric model might be clunky and ridiculous, but the formulas held great magical power. Hermione had even drawn up a similar system using Jupiter as the center in her spare time, and was soon covering the floor of the Goblin History section with complicated number charts. It calmed her nerves. A fit of inspiration had her wadding up bits of parchment and floating them in the air to mimic the sun and planets' movements around Jupiter—in this case, Jupiter was an inkpot she'd painted orange and suspended in mid-air. It would be a great accompaniment to her next Arithmancy presentation: "What if Ptolemy Was an Alien?"

The success of her floating model so energized Hermione that she decided to go down to dinner, striding into the Great Hall with her arms full of Arithmancy scrolls. Draco cast her a quick, concerned look from his seat beside Blaise, and she gave him a tiny nod. Theo was on the other side of the table, flanked by his former Potions partners, who tried to tempt him with fruits and candies, among other things. Theo appeared more tempted by his goblet, which by his flushed cheeks, Hermione guessed didn't hold pumpkin juice.

She turned quickly away, dumping her scrolls on the Gryffindor table and sitting with her back to the Slytherins. But any hopes of a quiet meal were quickly dashed. Many NEWT-level courses had exams that week, and most of the table was in full panic mode. It was times like these she wished she'd been sorted into Ravenclaw—then she wouldn't have to deal with stupid questions about material presented weeks ago.

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