Om nom nom ... Pro calmly enjoyed the feast laid out in front of his eyes as a worried Hermione sat next to him while fretting about the whereabouts of Harry and Ron.
After a while, Hermione couldn't help but glare at Pro and gave him a pinch, "Do you ever stop eating?!"
"Why? What's up?" Pro replied after he swallowed a delicious mouthful of food.
"You know what's up! Harry and Ron are still not here. As a friend, don't you have the least bit of worry about them?" Hermione asked with a frown.
Ripping off a piece of panera bread from the dining table, Pro smiled and gently stuffed it in Hermione's mouth while replying, "Eat. Don't worry so much. I'm sure they are fine."
Hermione's small mouth moved to chew and swallow the piece of bread before she said, "After what you told me, how can I not be worried? Harry and Ron can get in a lot of trouble if it is true ... or even worst, expelled!"
Chuckling, Pro replied, "Don't worry. With the headmaster here, Harry will never be expelled. Pretty sure you understand why by now."
Hermione paused for a moment before she turned to glance at the professor's table. It was then she noticed that Dumbledore was gone. Scanning the table, she also noticed that Professor Snape, McGonagall, and Sprout were also gone.
"The professors are gone. Did something really happen?" Hermione mumbled before she turned back to look at the calm Pro and sighed.
It didn't take long before a frown appeared on her face, "Still, even if they don't get expelled, they will still get in a lot of trouble. If they do, Gryffindor will lose a lot of house points! Honestly, do those two daft dimbos ever think before they do what they do?"
"Hahaha, nope! But don't worry Hermione, we probably won't lose any house points. I don't think Professor McGonagall will be happy to start us off with negative points. Instead, you should think about when you will give me the kiss you owe."
A faint blush appeared on Hermione's face as she whispered back, "When did I ever owe you a kiss?"
"From out bet."
"The results haven't come out yet."
"I'm sure my smart Hermione is able to guess the results by now."
"The results haven't come out yet," Hermione firmly repeated as she looked away with a blush, only to see Dumbledore strolling to the podium to make an announcement.
Of course, what Dumbledore announced was needless to say. Harry and Ron's glorious deed got the cheers of most of the Gryffindors and also hyped up the atmosphere in the Great Hall. Perhaps the only ones that are worried for the two boys are Hermione and surprisingly Ginny. Well, Ginny was probably only worried for Harry. Poor Ron.
As the hyped up feast continued, Pro sneakily reached out to grasp Hermione's little hand under the table, causing her to look over with a blush. Pro then asked with a chuckle while staring into her eyes, "So ... when will I get the reward for my bet?"
Hermione's cute, blushing face was Pro's only answer throughout the feast. It wasn't until the end of the feast that Hermione leaned in and softly whispered in his ear, "Tonight, midnight ... in the commons room."
Hermione's moist breathe made Pro's ear a bit itchy and it put a grin on his face. Turning to glance at the shy Hermione whose eyes were swiveling about erratically, Pro chuckled and held her soft hand before replying, "Then, I'll be waiting."
The feast ended and the students began to head back to their commons room. Hermione had long gotten the password from Percy, so the duo calmly took their sweet time to stroll back hand-in-hand.
Approaching the fat lady's portrait, Pro was able to spot his two familiar trouble-making friends stuck outside the commons room.
"There you are! Did you two really fly here like the rumors said? You two are lucky that you aren't expelled," Hermione said in a severe tone.
"Skip the lecture and tell us the new password," said Ron impatiently.
"It's wattlebird,'" said Hermione before she continued in an attempt to lecture, "but that's not the point-"
Well, the clapping and cheering of the rowdy Gryffindors drowned out the sane Hermione's small voice. Hermione's mouth gaped open as she watched this scene before she turned to Pro, "This ... how ... we shouldn't be celebrating this behavior ... why?"
"Well, it's Gryffindor, what do you expect?" Pro replied with a wry smile.
Hermione sighed as she stepped into the commons room with Pro. Seeing the two boys being encouraged in the midst of the crowd, she scowled a bit. Well, Harry and Ron broke through the crowd and headed off to bed soon after while hollering back to them, "Good night Hermione, see you upstairs Pro."
The scowling Hermione couldn't help but begun to mumble to herself in a disapproving tone, "How could they ... this shouldn't be allowed ... they could have been hurt ..."
Giving Hermione's hand a squeeze to get her attention, Pro said with a smile, "Alright Hermione. Don't think too much about it. Don't forget our meeting."
Hermione blushed before she replied in a shy voice, "Don't worry. I won't forget."
Then, she slipped her hand out of Pro's hand and escaped upstairs. Pro chuckled and was prepared to take a step forward, but suddenly, he could feel a heavy weight over his shoulders as two taller red heads stood on each side of him.
"Pro, what's this meeting you are having? Do you need any help or special services? George will be happy to comply."
"I will indeed. Fred has some interesting props you could use. Do you have any interest?"
Glancing at the two twins clamping himself in between, Pro had a wry smile as he replied, "Thanks Fred and George, but not for now,"
"Anything for a big customer. We have some new wares, and we can show you later on," one of the twins said.
"Yes, look forward to it," the other twin chimed in.
Then, the two twins left Pro and rejoined the crowd. Pro chuckled to himself as he thought about how he got the favor of the twins. After opening the way by purchasing the secret routes, he occasionally spent some of the galleons he made from his sales on the twins to purchase their interesting products.
Although they are usually joke products, some of them can serve as good distractions during battle. He also managed to get some dung bombs from them instead of purchasing them directly himself because the shop owner refused to sell it to his 'masked magician' identity.
Basically, Pro had spent enough to fund the twins to be considered a big customer of some sort. It was just another connection he built up, Pro won't complain about it.
Leaving the rowdy common room, Pro headed upstairs and found the dormitory of the second years. Pushing open the door, he was greeted by the excited scene of Seamus, Dean, and even Neville pestering the two celebrities for the story.
Seeing Pro come in, the group of boys greeted him in cheerful voices and also dragged him to join them in listening to Ron recount the tale in an exaggerated manner while Harry chimed in from time to time. After a while, Pro decided to leave them to listen on as he headed for his shower.
"Pro, going for a shower again? Aren't you going to stay and listen? Blimey, it's exciting, how could you miss it?" Ron hollered out.
The other boys nodded in agreement as Harry and Ron's face beamed with pride and joy.
"Well, it's exciting now, but when tomorrow comes ... just prepare for what your family would say," Pro replied with a chuckle and waved his hand as he strolled out the door.
The excited Ron suddenly choked and lost his excitement as he understood what Pro said. His face paled as he muttered with a pale face, "I'm dead this time ... my mum would kill me."
When Pro returned, the boys had already headed off to bed. A certain redhead was still shuffling around in worry though over his impending doom. Still, the boy eventually fell asleep due to exhaustion.
As midnight approached, Pro quietly got off his bed and headed down to the common room. Plopping himself down in a chair, Pro quietly spent some time memorizing some details in Lockhart's story. Getting Lockhart's favor was a part of his plan for this year. After all, the books in the normal library section don't provide much XP anymore. Only the restricted section books can be used for grinding now.
Midnight arrived and Pro could hear soft footsteps coming from the girl's dormitory. Glancing up at the door, it didn't take long for Pro to see it open as Hermione stepped into the common room.
Locking eyes with Pro, the cute Hermione in her pajamas blushed as she paused in place. After a couple of moments, she slowly shuffled over and stood near Pro while fidgeting.
"Hermione, you can sit if you want," Pro chuckled as he glanced at the shy Hermione.
Seeing she still stood there with no response, Pro reached out his hand and gently tugged her down into his embrace.
"Eep!"
Hermione made a cute sound before she landed in Pro's warm embrace. Her body tensed up a bit before she relaxed and comfortably leaned against Pro while burying her face against his arm to avoid looking at him.
Seeing the cute Hermione, Pro couldn't help but tease, "Hermione, why are you still so shy? This isn't the first time you kissed me."
Hermione shuddered a bit before she whispered in a soft voice without looking at Pro, "But this is different."
Raising his brow, Pro couldn't help but ask, "How is this different?"
Hermione trembled a bit before she looked up. Her eyes swiveled about as she stuttered in a soft voice, "I- I've never done it before ... it will be my f-first."
Pro tilted his head with a bit of confusion, "Huh? What first? Isn't it just a peck on the cheek?"
The room fell into silence as Hermione stared back at Pro. Her eyes widened a bit in shock before she realized what Pro was saying, knowing that she had misunderstood.
Seeing her like this, Pro grinned as he teased, "Well ... I didn't expect my cute Hermione would be so naughty to think of doing that kind of kiss ..."
Hearing him, a furious blush arose on Hermione's face as she her eyes swiveled around in panic, "I- I- mean ..."
The blush on the girl's childish, but quickly maturing face only served to tempted Pro further. With an evil grin, Pro couldn't help but whisper, "If that is what my Hermione wants, then I am happy to oblige."
Hermione stiffened as she locked eyes with Pro. The two eyes seemed to stare at each other's soul. It wasn't long since they've been together, but they are attracting each other like magnets.
Lowering his head a bit, Pro still confirmed in a soft voice, "Hermione, are you sure you want to do this ... to share something precious like this with me? We are still young ... and we made a rule ..."
Staring back at Pro with a faint blush and watery eyes, Hermione replied in a soft voice with a charming smile on her face, "Rules are made to be broken ... aren't they?"
The soft glowing light from the dwindling flames of the fireplace cast a long, intertwining shadow across the common room. It didn't take long for the last of the flames to be snuffed out as the embers of a budding romance were born.