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My head cocks back in surprise. "Really? I wouldn't think you would be open to—"
"I meant instead of me!" Hermione cuts me off quickly, and sends a red-faced glare my way.
"Too public," I say with a grin. "I haven't had a chance to exchange more than a few cool words with her in the corridors."
"And the occasional smile, I note." She folds her arms and raises an eyebrow meaningfully.
"And those," I admit, "but that doesn't matter because you're my date tomorrow."
"It's not a date!"
"Blast! I guess I'll have to come up with a different reason to kiss you, then."
"Harry, please hex him if he tries."
"Will do," Harry says with a salute. "Sorry, mate."
"Hey, I didn't mean on the lips," I say, opening my hands in a submissive gesture. "How about just a quick peck on the cheek?"
"No."
"Forehead?"
"No."
"Top of the head?"
"No."
"Back of the hand?"
"No."
"How about I blow you a kiss from a few feet away?"
"I'll dodge it."
"I don't know, I can aim those things really well. That sounds like a fun game."
"New plan, Harry, hex him if he even puckers his lips."
Harry laughs at our by-play. "You got it."
I sniff sadly. "I see how it is, Harry, keeping our dearest love all to yourself." I grin at Hermione's continued glare for a few moments, but my grin falters as I realize something. "I suppose it's for the best, actually...if Rita Skeeter catches sight of us kissing, you and I might receive death threats from Harry's fan club." I frown. "Actually, even hugging or holding hands would be enough for that loathsome beetle."
Hermione pales. "I didn't think of that."
"Loathsome beetle?" Harry asks.
"Oh yeah, Rita Skeeter is an unregistered beetle animagus," I say offhand.
"What?" Hermione screeches.
"Yeah, I imagine that's how she gets her exclusive scoops sometimes. She's a big blue beetle. I'm sure she'll show up around Harry at some point during the Tournament."
"William, we have to turn her in!" Hermione says.
"I could just wait until I see a beetle like that and then accidentally trip and smash it," Harry suggests.
That gets a gasp from Hermione, but I have to refrain from chuckling since I've seen that happen before. Or read it, rather. "Harry!"
"I did say it would be an accident..." Harry says, but he makes a placating gesture at Hermione's accusing glare. "Oh stop, you know I'm kidding, Hermione."
"Can you just go up to an Auror and say somebody is an illegal animagus?" I ask. "We could come up with a way to capture her and turn her in as a beetle."
"We'll have to keep an eye out for her, then." Hermione says with a frown. "She could spy on us almost anywhere."
"We could use muffliato pretty much all the time, just in case," I suggest.
"That could be difficult," she says, tapping her lips. "And Harry has already discovered that it leaves him vulnerable to getting hexed from behind, since he can't react to the incantation of a spell." She shakes her head. "We're just going to have to be mindful about using it at times like this. For example, until you told us about Skeeter, we shouldn't have had it up."
"Sorry, habit," I say.
She waves the apology away to change the subject. "William, how do you know what she is?"
I look at her seriously. "You didn't forget about my secrets, did you?"
She sighs. "Sometimes I do."
"You still love me, don't you?"
"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"
"Not as long as I can use it to make you stop being angry at me."
"I have a feeling you'll wear out that privilege in no time."
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Hermione passes a butterbeer over to me when she returns to the table, where I'm looking over the list of titles we copied from Tomes and Scrolls.
"Thanks for the drink," I say. It tastes like liquid butterscotch candy. A bit too sweet for me, but it's okay in small doses.
"Do you think we got enough?" Hermione asks for the third time, biting her lip in worry as she reads the list upside down.
"I'm sure three dozen titles is more than enough," I repeat. "You're really cute when you bite your lip like that, by the way."
"William! Stop making me blush in public!" she whispers heatedly despite the privacy charm.
"Sorry, I figured that was the best way to get you to stop asking that question," I say with a grin before taking another small sip. When she only glares in response, I change the subject.
"So, is there anything else you can think of that we haven't done for Harry's training, but should before the First Task?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure. It would have to be a spell of some sort, because there isn't enough time to learn a skill like certain types of advanced transfiguration. Without knowing what the actual Task is, we're just going to have to hope he's prepared. At least there are lots of possibilities with the Summoning Charm, that was really brilliant to have him test it long-range."
Well, I had to make sure he could get his Firebolt. "Speaking of advanced transfiguration, he should try to become an animagus."
"What?" Hermione chokes on her butterbeer. "William, that's extremely advanced magic! He can't do it in three days!"
"Not for the First Task, of course," I say, waving away her objection. "But you won't know unless we try. Harry's father and godfather both became animagi while they were at Hogwarts. If they figured it out, I don't see why you guys can't do the same."
Harry breaks his self-imposed silence under the cloak. "That's brilliant! I can't believe I never thought of that before!"
"You should ask Professor McGonagall about it, Hermione," I say. "Maybe she'll help you guys along. I'm sure Sirius will as well."
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(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
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