knowing glint in his eyes.
He read too much into things. It was ironic, Hermione couldn't help but think, that after years of lamenting the general thickness of boys, she had finally come across one who used intuition like a weapon.
"Step on my heel again, Dodders, and I' ll thump you," Draco said rather tiredly, to the tiny, third year Slytherin behind him. Hermione glared. It was not a normal day at Hogwarts when Malfoy didn't make at least one younger student red with embarrassment or anger.
He brushed past her, and it was then that she felt him shove something into her palm- a small scrap of paper. She had instinctively tightened her fist around it, hoping that her expression did not register her surprise. The momentary bottleneck was over, and the crowd was moving along once more.
After a final, quick word with McGonagall and Blaise, Hermione had hurried to her room to read the note. It didn't seem odd to her that she recognised his handwriting. She had certainly seen the same bold, slightly slanted strokes on the blackboard in class enough times over the past seven years.
He had girls' handwriting, she couldn't help thinking, with a bit of a smirk.
We will send the letter tonight. Meet me in the Owlery after second watch.Bring owl treats.
How very to-the-point.
She had been slightly impressed with his persistence in bringing the whole blasted Fida Mia fiasco to a quick end. God knew he certainly had enough on his plate to be getting on with at the moment.
So when the Aurors' first scheduled patrol ticked over into 'second watch' at roughly two am on what was now very early on Friday morning, Hermione left Gryffindor Tower. Ten minutes later, after narrowly avoiding the disaster on the steps, she arrived at the Owlery located at the top of the West Tower.
The tall wood-rotted door to the Owlery was slightly ajar. With some trepidation, Hermione pushed it open, half expecting the rusted hinges to protest with many centuries of neglect. The bottom of the door caught at the straw and other organic debris on the floor, but thankfully gave way without too much noise.
Once inside, Hermione was greeted by the familiar smell of bird droppings, damp and the faint whiff of not-toorecently caught prey. Aside from fortnightly letters sent to her parents using either Hedwig or a school owl, she didn't tend to visit the Owlery very often. Harry and Ron went there at least once every two days, having their own owls to care for.
The darkness meant that Hermione was mostly unaware of what exactly it was she was stepping on as she made her way across the large, roofless room. The crunchy, occasional squelchy feel of the floor made her immensely glad that she already rolled up the hem of her pyjama bottoms.
"Ew," she exclaimed, when she trod on something moist and pulpy.
"You made enough noise coming down the corridor. By all means, please continue," Draco hissed at her.
Damn him. He had practically popped into existence from the shadows. Hermione couldn' t help it. She startled audibly, causing a few owls to flap their wings in alarm.
"Shush!" he scolded, looking like he was about to slap his hand over her mouth.
She backed away warily. "That' s what happens when you sneak up on people!"
"A bit old to be afraid of the dark, aren't you?" he drawled.
In actual fact, there was more light in the Owlery than there had been outside. Sans ceiling, the moon shone over the circular room. Hermione could by now make out the hundreds of pairs of keen, owl eyes watching them with interest from as many perches.
Every species of owl (and a few daring crossbreeds) was accounted for: barn, snow, scops, tawny, screech and eagle. Being nocturnal creatures, many were coming and going, so there was at least a level of background noise that would allow for close to normal conversation.
She spotted Hedwig immediately. Harry's clever snow owl was preening herself. Something that looked to be (recently) a furry woodland creature, lay in her clawed grasp. No sign of the excitable Pigwidgeon, however, and given the tiny owl's propensity for creating noise and chaos, Hermione was grateful.
"Did you bring treats?"
"Yes," she said, patting the small wad of biscuit looking things in her pocket. They were Lavender' s. The packet had been labelled 'mouse and cheese flavoured' , with a brand logo that was a disturbing amalgamation of the two.
Draco was dressed in his school robes, which