Enigmatical Prince

7

Hermione accidentally knocks over a shelf making quite a loud sound. The sudden noise caught the Drakes off guard and they turn around to investigate the sound and this causes Hermione to panic. Pisces turns to approach and she tries to hide quickly in the shadows. The situation seemed very tense now and she was getting scared that Pisces was walking towards her direction.

Hermione holds her breath as she watches Pisces approach close to where she is hiding. She is getting really scared that she will be found when all of a sudden, Pisces is called away by someone from his own house. He leaves and goes to join his fellow Slytherin, leaving Hermione hidden and safely concealed in the shadows. She can't help herself and feels a huge wave of relief wash over her body. Her attention then shifts to Cygnus, who had remained alert and watchful after the noise. She was relieved that Pisces had gone away, but now she would have to be extra careful and stealthy to avoid being found by Cygnus.

Hermione breathes a huge sigh of relief as she sees Cygnus leave the library. She was very relieved that she had managed to conceal herself and stay hidden. She didn't know what she would have done if Cygnus had discovered her eavesdropping outside the restricted section. She decides to remain cautious and stealthy and keeps looking around the library to make sure that no one was coming her way before she decides what she was going to do next.

Hermione was sitting at the Gryffindor table during lunch and suddenly she noticed Cygnus looking at her intensely. She instantly feels nervous, as if he was able to see right through her. She couldn't help but worry that he had discovered that she had been eavesdropping on him and his brother earlier. She keeps her guard up and watches Cygnus as discreetly as possible. "Hey Hermione! Why is Cygnus staring at you?" Ron whispers to her, as he and Harry try to stare back at Cygnus subtly. As she sits there, Ron whispers to her and she glances over to see that Ron and Harry are staring back at Cygnus. She is confused for a moment because she had no idea that they were there. But Ron's comment about Cygnus staring makes her realize that he really was giving her a look. She shrugs her shoulders casually and whispers back.

"I have no idea why he is...staring at me...but it's a little weird." Hermione doesn't want to let Ron and Harry know that she has eavesdropped on Cygnus and Pisces before. She is somewhat cautious and wary now after everything that has happened and she doesn't want to tell them everything just yet. So she lies to cover up her eavesdropping and to keep her and the trio's investigation of the Drake family secret.

"Oh, he is probably just staring off into space or something. I think he is just being weird and nothing else." She lies again.

At transfiguration, Cygnus sits next to her without saying a word and even the fellow Ravenclaw students found this unusual. She could feel his intense scrutiny and his intense stare once again as he sat right beside her. It was starting to get pretty uncomfortable but she tried not to let it bother her and kept her focus on her work. Unfortunately for Hermione, she has been paired with Cygnus for a project by Professor McGonagall. As the professor starts to explain the project requirements, she feels his eyes still intensely watching her but she is determined to work together with him and to ignore his stare instead of reacting angrily to it.

"So Granger... Where were you earlier?" Cygnus asks looking at her suspiciously. She freezes as Cygnus asks a very direct question. She was feeling nervous and uncomfortable because she knew that if she was honest with him, it would most likely reveal to him that she had eavesdropped on his conversation in the library. So instead, she hesitates and tries to think of a convincing lie to tell him instead.

"... Um... I was... studying..."

Cygnus didn't seem to believe her, because he was still looking at her suspiciously, but decided to drop the subject and focus on their project. Hermione was relieved that he dropped the subject, although it seemed like he suspected her of lying about where she was earlier. She was eager to just get the work done so she focused on the project instead. And as they began working together on the project, she tried to act as if nothing had happened and as if all was normal.

Hermione was actually quite surprised that they were working so well together. She had been expecting for there to be some awkwardness or tension due to their previous conversations. And not to mention the fact that she had eavesdropped on him and Pisces in the library. But somehow, she was actually enjoying working with him and it seemed like they were a pretty good working team together. She couldn't help but admit that Cygnus was indeed smart. She knew that he was a bit of a troublemaker and a prankster before. But he showed a whole different side to him while working on this project with her. She was surprised by how engaged he was and how he actually knew a lot about the topic they had to work on. It made her wonder if he was even smarter than she initially thought he was and it made her wonder who he truly was beyond his silly and goofy facade.

Hermione couldn't help but stare at him as he continues to write on his parchment. His focus made her realize just how handsome he actually was. She was beginning to understand why girls fawned all over him. She also noticed how his features seemed to have matured over the years and he looked even more handsome now then back in first year. She had known he was attractive but now she was starting to see him in a slightly different light.