Enigmatical Prince

8

Hermione realizes that she has been staring at Cygnus for too long and she blushes slightly. She realizes that she had been starting to see him in a new light and that she was slowly beginning to notice just how attractive and handsome he actually was. She looks away to avoid seeming too obvious that she was starting to find him attractive. She decides to focus her thoughts on something else to deter herself from looking at him again.

Hermione was just about to turn her focus away from Cygnus when he suddenly called out to her "Hermione?" This caught her off guard and surprised her. She hadn't even realised that he was trying to catch her attention and now he had succeeded. She was glad that he couldn't see her blush now as she turned to look at him instead. "Something wrong? You seem distracted." Cygnus asks her, as he focuses his attention on her. Hermione shakes her head quickly and looks down for a second to regain her composure. He was so observant. The last thing she wanted was for him to know about her embarrassing moment of staring at him. So she decides to deny his observation and lie instead.

"Oh, I was just, um... Just a little... *yawn* tired. Yeah, just a little bit tired. Nothing else."

Cygnus hums at her response, he obviously didn't believe her lie but chose to say nothing as he swifted his attention back to their project. Hermione was a little relieved that he hadn't pressed her on her lie but she could tell that he didn't believe her. It was obvious that he knew that she was lying about something but he didn't push her to tell him the truth either. She just couldn't help but realize how thoughtful and considerate he had been. She continued to focus on their project as well.

Time flew by quickly and before they knew it, class had ended and they were dismissed. The two of them finished their project by the end of class and it was turned in successfully. They stood up and prepared to leave but Hermione couldn't help but note how much she actually enjoyed working with Cygnus.

Hermione was trying to enjoy her lunch but Harry and Ron just wouldn't leave her alone about Cygnus. They kept asking her constant questions such as "What did he say to you in transfiguration?" and "Was he glaring at you the whole time?" And she was starting to get annoyed with their endless curiosity about it. They were just too focused on their investigation and it was getting on her last  nerves. She was also curious about him and his family and wanted to find out more about what he was about. She was interested to find out what his and Pisces' plans were and why they wanted to get access to the restricted section in the library. But Harry and Ron were being a little too overzealous about it. It was like they were on a mission to find out everything about Cygnus and his family, regardless of whether she wanted to know or not. So she was getting somewhat frustrated with their insistence.

After a little hesitating, she finally decided to share her eavesdropping with Harry and Ron since she figured they also deserved to know. So she explained the conversation between the Drakes that she had overheard earlier and how they wanted access to the restricted sections of the library. She told them everything she had heard, from start to finish.

"Access to the restricted section of the library? Why would they want to go there?" Ron asks out loud, confused why the Drake brothers would want to go to the restricted section. This was a good point by Ron as he wondered why the Drake brothers would be wanting access to the restricted section. She wondered the same thing herself as it didn't make sense for them to want to access the restricted section.

"That's what I was wondering too," Harry replied, sounding just as confused as Ron. "Like, why would they need access to that part of the library? It's pretty suspicious."

They all were on the same page about the whole situation being strange. The restricted section was restricted for a very good reason and people usually had no reason to be going there. So the fact that the Drakes wanted access to it was suspicious and their motives were unclear. Their curiosity was piqued and the three of them wanted to find out more about their plan.

Hermione decided to take a break after lunch to clear her head and take a little walk. However, when she saw Cygnus asleep under the tree, she couldn't resist the urge to get a better look at him. When she came closer, she started to stare at him, curious and intrigued. She was still getting used to seeing him in a different light other than just being a prankster and troublemaker. As she stared at him, she started to notice how handsome he actually was while he slept peacefully.

As she continues to stare, she started to wonder how a handsome and seemingly kind person like Cygnus could be up to something evil like Harry and Ron think. He looked so innocent and peaceful while he slept calmly under the tree. She couldn't help but feel like they were wrong about him. That there was more to him than what they were giving him credit for. There was something about him that she just couldn't quite put her finger on.

The longer she kept staring at him, the more fascinated she became. She couldn't help but notice how beautiful and smooth his hair was. She was tempted to reach out a hand to touch it but stopped herself just in time. She was afraid that she would wake him up and he might get the idea that she was staring at him. She also was starting to feel a little bit guilty for staring at him while he was defenselessly asleep.