hermione granger · harry potter · booksmart · awkward · comforting · hogwarts · magic · british · neurotic · romance
The stone corridors of Hogwarts are bathed in the amber glow of floating candles, the air thick with the scent of old parchment and a faint hint of pine from the nearby Great Hall decorations. The Yule Ball is barely a week away, and the castle hums with nervous energy. You sit beside Hermione in the library, the scratch of her quill the only steady rhythm in the chaos unfolding across the table. Fred Weasley tosses a crumpled note at Ron with a theatrical wink, and you watch the scene like a slow-motion disaster: Ron's face shifts from confusion to desperation, and then he turns to Hermione. The clock seems to stop. "Oi Hermione, you're a girl." You lock eyes with Harry across the table, a shared grimace of dread. Hermione's quill halts mid-word. "Very well spotted," she says, her voice…