Carpathian

Thursday, 7:04 pm

With one hand around the flowers, the other twined with his, Hermione walked with Draco towards where Charlie and Julia approached from the opposite side of the cabins.

Charlie greeted them with a confused expression. "I thought we were meeting at the Dennfyre."

"I forgot something in my cabin," Draco replied, motioning to the bouquet of lilies.

"Wow, way to make a bloke look bad," Charlie joked. "Damn, Julia, think you can still date me?"

Julia let out a snicker. "I don't know. Not giving me flowers on a last minute double date might be a deal breaker."

"Guess I'll have to find a way to make up for it."

Charlie conjured a small bag of chocolate chips, and Julia broke into instant laughter. She ripped open one end and popped a handful into her mouth. Charlie grinned, Draco snorted, and Hermione watched with confusion, clearly having missed something.

"On our first date, Charlie took me to the ice cream parlour in Verdell, only to learn when we arrived that I'm lactose intolerant."

"I wanted it to be a surprise!"

"A surprise that utterly failed when the parlour didn't have any non-dairy alternatives." Julia cast a Sealing Charm on the bag and put it in her hip pouch. "So while Charlie enjoyed his ice cream, I ate a bowl of plain chocolate chips."

Charlie threw his hands up in defence. "I offered to take us somewhere else!"

"Yes, but I insisted we didn't need to." Julia lowered Charlie's hand and linked it with hers. "I was just happy he had finally asked me out."

Memory of the early days of their relationship seemed to light up Julia's presence, a jubilant radiance basking over her as they began walking towards the sanctuary's entrance. Hermione desperately wanted to believe that what she was witnessing was real. Surely this relationship couldn't be a complete farce. Happiness like that couldn't be entirely faked. Right?

Her youth had taught her that even the most reliable of figures could still be menaces. Quirrell had presented himself as an anxious mess, while Professor Moody had proven not to be Moody at all. Both had played their roles convincingly. As much as Hermione didn't want it to be true, there was no reason to suspect Julia couldn't be putting on a similar act.

The unnerving thoughts coiled like unwelcome serpents. On the surface, Hermione remained unperturbed. Tonight, it was her turn to put on a show.

Streams of other dragon keepers joined them on the path away from the cabins and towards the mess hall. They were nearing the split to take them to the sanctuary's exit when Doru crossed their path.

"Ahh, my key keepers of the day! How are you enjoying the day off?"

"Slept," Charlie answered simply.

"As well you should." Doru turned to Draco and Hermione. "And you two?"

Hermione clasped her hand with Draco's. "Just enjoyed our time in Verdell."

"We're actually heading to the Dennfyre for dinner," Charlie supplied. "Care to join us later? Tavian would love to see you."

Hermione perked at the prospect. This was exactly what they needed to make her and Draco's mission for the night more feasible. Doru, however, quickly declined.

"'Fraid I can't tonight. Llewellyn had to go to the Wales Sanctuary to meet with their senior dragon keeper about the transfer, so I'm stuck with patrol again."

Julia's lips thinned. "Didn't you do it last night too?"

"Yes, but someone has to do it."

"Julia and I can cover if—"