I Learned Your Pulse

"Partners?"

"I doubt it. I am, after all, re-paintable."

"Good."

Hermione's eyes flashed and she took out her wand. The lady look at her with defiance, practically begging her to do it. Her insides churned.

"Hermione Granger!" The voice had the slightest hint of a Russian accent, but spoke English very well.

She spun around so quickly she surprised herself when she found she was pointing her wand at a boy's throat. "Sorry," she said unmeaningly, stuffing the wand back in her robe. "Force of habit."

"Not likely," he said kindly. "I'm the competitor from Cabaronn. Nice to meet you."

"Ah," she said, looking around to see if there was anyone else to greet. "And your name is?"

"Simis Travelton. You'd be the girl who didn't put her name in and the famous brians of the Golden Trio."

She nodded weakly.

"Oh, I'm not going to ask for your autograph or anything," he said reassuringly, "so don't worry about that. I was just wondering if maybe, on the trip to Hogsmeade, you'd fancy a butterbeer?"

"Sure," she agreed without thinking, some hint of civility creeping into her voice. She actually looked at him.

He seemed a very nice boy, but very plain - in a handsome way. He had dark brown curls that fell just to his cheeks and tan skin that seemed to glow by the torch light. He had brown eyes, like hers, but filled with fire - on second thought, they were whiskey-colored. He wasn't very muscular, but he seemed smart enough.

He leaned toward her and whispered, "Have you any idea what the first task is?"

She shook her head, feeling more alive by the second but still mostly dead.

He grinned. "I'll tell you Saturday."

Saturday, the first trip to Hogsmeade of the year. She'd completely forgotten it was that soon. And she almost forgot again with the promise of learning the first task. "You know?" she said, trying for exciting but only achieving a polite tone.

He nodded. "Goodbye and see you Saturday," he said cheerily, waving once and skipping off into the dimly-lit corridors of the school.

She stood there for another moment before taking a step back toward the Gryffindor common room.

"Miss Granger," said someone else from behind her.

What now?

She turned and faced Professor Yasmen, who was jogging to meet up with her. "I was hoping to find  you," he said pleasantly, looking after the direction Simis had disappeared in. "Who was that?"

"Simis Travelton."

"The Cabaronn Champion?"

"The one and only," said Hermione nonchalantly. "Is everything okay, Professor?"

"Wha -? Oh, yes, quite alright," he said, bringing himself to a stop right in front of her. "I was merely wont to offer you something."

"What?"

"I was merely wont to offer you something."

"No, I know that," she said, a hint of her old exasperation popping out, "I meant, 'What do you have to offer?' "

"Then you should say it like that," he advised, smiling. "You sound hearing-impaired when you simply say 'what'."

She immediately liked this teacher four times more than previously. With any other teacher, it would have been said condescendingly (as Hermione herself often said things), but with him it was merely a playful gesture. "Alright then. What do you have to offer?"