EAVESDROPPING

By the time Hermione made it back to the girls’ dormitory, all the lights were out. She was so exhausted that she had to fumble her way through the dark, tripping over someone’s discarded sweater and a pile of books, before she even thought of using a spell.

“Lumos,” she whispered quietly. A thin beam of light shot out from the end of her wand. “Really. You’d think I wouldn’t have to use a light spell in my own bloody room.” Generally there was moonlight, shining through the windows and illuminating everything with a silver glow.

But, she observed, someone had apparently pulled the thick curtains over the windows, shutting out all light except for the glow of Hermione’s wand. As if that wasn’t enough, the curtains were pulled on every four-poster in the room, except for her own and Parvati Patil’s. Both were empty.

Not that Hermione was one to talk, since she had just come back from a late-night meeting with Ron and Harry, but people really shouldn’t be wandering the halls at night, if only to spare Gryffindor from a loss of points. Or unfortunate death by evil wandering things, which was really just as likely these days.

She was just about to march back out of the room to look for Parvati when she heard a quiet giggle from the general direction of Lavender’s bed. And then another. “Lavender?”

The giggles stopped abruptly, and someone, presumably Lavender, cleared her throat. “Yes? Is that you, Hermione?”

“Yes,” Hermione answered. “Would you happen to know where Parvati is?”

The giggling started again, and was once again cut off abruptly, this time accompanied by a muffled ‘oomph’, as though someone had been shoved. “Yeeess…she’s in here with me. So you don’t have to worry about it. ”

Hermione frowned and pointed her wand at Lavender’s bed, but it was no use. All it illuminated was thick velvet draperies. “What’s she doing in bed with you?”

Parvati’s voice, slightly muffled, drifted out of the curtains. “I’m reading her palm. Go to sleep, Hermione.”

“All right, then. Just be quiet about it, would you? And next time don’t leave your divination homework until past midnight, you two.” Hermione couldn’t resist a bit of a lecture. After all, if she could keep up with all her classes, so could everybody else.

“We’ll be sure to do that. Now, goodnight, Hermione.”

Hermione glared at the closed draperies and then spun on her heel, muttering to herself about people who put off homework till the last minute. She used the light from her wand to put on her nightclothes, quickly cast a face-and-teeth cleaning spell and, minty-fresh, was about to crawl into her own bed when she heard whispers coming from Lavender’s again. She crept over, pressing her ear against the velvet draperies.

After all, she reasoned with herself, it wasn’t really eavesdropping. If they were dim enough to forget to cast a spell to prevent people from hearing what was said, it was their own fault that they were heard.

“That was close. Now, where were we?”

“Parvati! Next time I’ll ask you to please not lick my fingers when I’m talking to Hermione.”

What?

“Hopefully there won’t be a next time, and she’ll learn to mind her own business.” Hermione drew back slightly, face red. “Besides,” Parvati’s voice continued slyly, “I was reading your palm.”

“Good thing we’re not taking anatomy, because my fingers are not quite my palm, if you’ll…what are you doing?”

Parvati’s voice became even more muffled. “I do believe that I need to read your stomach, now.”

Lavender giggled.

Oh, thought Hermione. Well, that explains that, then.

She began creeping slowly back towards her own bed, careful not to trip over anything. She could still hear Lavender and Parvati whispering to each other.

“And now I need to read your neck…”

“Oh…” Lavender whispered breathily.

“And now the inside of your thigh…”

Hermione’s eyes widened, and she walked as quickly and lightly over to her own bed as she could.

“And now…”

Hermione threw herself down on her bed, whispered “Nox!” as quietly as she could, and pulled her curtains shut and her blankets over her head.

Quite clearly, a giggle came from Lavender’s bed. She leaned her head out of her draperies and was about to throw a shoe when she heard Parvati speak again. “That’ll teach her to eavesdrop on us.”

Hermione hoisted the shoe again, ready to throw, but then Lavender snorted. “Please. That’d be much more convincing if you didn’t have your hand up my nightgown. Besides, you don’t know that she was listening.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Hermione thrust her curtains closed again and lay down, shutting her eyes just in time. She heard her heavy curtains pushed aside and then Parvati’s voice whispered, “Lumos.” Hermione tried not to squeeze her eyes shut against the light.

Lavender’s voice came from close behind Parvati’s. “See that, she’s asleep. But why’s she got a shoe? And does she always sleep with her face squinched up like that?”

Parvati sighed. “I don’t know. Hermione’s just a strange one. C’mon, lets go back to bed.”

Lavender sounded peeved. “You know, it’s a good thing our star charts both said we’d be together at least until year seven, because otherwise I’d be a bit jealous that you want to stare at Hermione Granger in her nightgown.” Hermione’s curtains fell back into place, and she breathed out a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, Parvati seemed determined to prove to Lavender that she was not, in fact, crushing on Hermione, and spent a good part of the night alternately saying things like, “She’s such a know-it-all, can you imagine going to bed with her?” and “She doesn’t even believe in Divination!” and making Lavender giggle even louder than she had been before.

Hermione pulled her pillow over her ears and went through her Arithmancy homework in her head until she fell asleep.

 

END

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