Chapter 577: Ch 603 - Never an option for Hermione

~Flashback~

With those heavy thoughts swirling in his mind, Blaise Zabini hurriedly finished what little was left of his dinner and stood up from Slytherin bench, intent on tracking down Hagrid by his cabin to offer him a secure place to live if things turned as ugly as he was expecting.

However, before he could even clear the double doors of the Great Hall, he was intercepted by none other than Dolores Umbridge. "Come with me immediately, Mr. Zabini," she said in her usual, sickeningly saccharine tone, her fingers clutching her pink leather clipboard.

Reluctantly, Blaise was forced to set aside his immediate plans for Hagrid’s safety and follow her up the winding stone stairs to the ’Defense Against the Dark Arts’ office.

The moment he crossed the doorway, he noticed he was not alone inside the room. The space was already tight with several prominent Slytherins: Marcus Montague, Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Draco Malfoy, the latter having been freshly discharged from the Hospital Wing earlier that afternoon.

When Draco’s grey eyes locked onto Blaise entering the room, the blonde boy instinctively took a panicked step backward, his face growing exceptionally pale. He had, after all, recently gotten socked right on the bridge of his nose by him because of his loud insults regarding Hagrid.

The half-giant just so happened to be Zabini’s ’favourite’ professor and rare potions material supplier; in fact, behind the scenes, Blaise had been privately funding the half-giant’s dangerous excursions into mountains. ’Theodore Nott had laughed so hard when he heard about the beating,’ Draco thought bitterly. ’Salazar’s ghost, some best friends they turned out to be in this house...’

"Draco, what’s wrong?" Pansy asked instantly, her pitched voice laced with a maternal concern as she stepped to his side.

"No... it’s nothing..." Malfoy muttered under his breath, his head shaking weakly as he tried to hide his fear.

"You must still be recovering from your sudden classroom illness," Montague said, his tone loud, arrogant, and derisive as he leaned against the desk. "Although I personally think punishment of a simple Quidditch game ban is far too lenient for those Gryffindor thugs... Maniacs like the Weasley brothers and Potter should have been expelled from this school entirely."

Malfoy visibly flinched at the bold statement, casting an uneasy glance over at Zabini. Blaise, however, didn’t offer a physical reaction. He stood still by the doorframe, his expression completely impassive and unbothered, as though Montague’s loud words hadn’t even reached his ears.

"Oh, there is no need for a silly game ban anymore, Mr. Montague," Umbridge said cheerfully, her sing-song voice echoing as she stepped into center of office, "By tomorrow morning, their temporary suspension will be replaced with a much more... instructive evening detention."

"What?!" Montague shouted, his face twisting in a sudden flash of anger. "But Professor, that’s not fair at all! They launched a physical assault!"

Umbridge slowly turned her saccharine, plastic smile directly onto his face, her bulging eyes narrowing ever so slightly into cold slits. "Do you happen to have any objections to my decisions, Mr. Montague?"

Montague instantly stiffened under her gaze, his bravado vanishing. "Of course not, Professor Umbridge," he said hastily, bowing his head. "You’re the High Inquisitor; we’ll do as you say."

"That’s better," Umbridge said, her wide mouth stretching into a triumphant smile. "Now, forget all about the Weasleys for a moment. I have gathered you here because I have something far more important for all of you to handle." Her tone dropped into a low, conspiratorial whisper. "I have discovered that someone has started an illegal organization at this school, a rogue, secret group that is teaching students how to perform dangerous magic behind my back."

"This sort of rebellious thing is unacceptable under Ministry law," She continued, her voice a false concern. "Evil, disruptive individuals like that mustn’t be allowed to operate inside our school... I want all of you to form an elite group, investigate the corridors, and find out who they are and where they meet."

"Can I count on your loyalty to do that for the Ministry?"

When the Slytherins heard they were being granted official permission to hunt down and catch Gryffindors breaking school rules, Montague was immediately excited. As for why the suspect couldn’t be someone from Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, he had his own logical reasoning: teaching others to use dangerous, practical magic was just so inherently ’Gryffindor,’ it had to be their reckless idea. With this thought in mind, he promptly stepped forward. "I’m perfectly fine with it, Professor. Consider it done."

"I’m sure I can find their hidden numbers too," Millicent Bulstrode added eagerly, her fists clenching.

Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle exchanged a series of glances, their collective attention drifting over to Malfoy. To their surprise, the blonde boy was unusually quiet today. He hadn’t spoken a word since entering the office. This passive behavior wasn’t like his usual arrogant self at all.

"Draco, aren’t you happy about the hunt?" Pansy finally asked, unable to hold back her burning curiosity.

Of course Malfoy wasn’t happy in the slightest. He would have gladly fled the room and returned to the safety of the Slytherin common room if he could. He had a signed letter clutched in his thoughts, and knew Morningstar’s shadow was watching him. But he couldn’t say to his housemates now, so merely pretended that nothing was wrong, nodding mutely.

At least Malcom Graham wasn’t involved in this Ministry circle; the boy had been quiet lately, and Draco knew that wasn’t a good sign for the house dynamics either.

xxxxxx

At present, by the time the lovers’ interlude concluded in upper corridors, it was well past two o’clock in the morning as they finally set back off towards the Gryffindor Tower. Lucifer and Hermione walked hand-in-hand through the deserted, pitch black stone corridors, grinning from ear to ear as they cuddled close into one another’s warmth to chase away the December chill.

When they reached the heavy canvas portrait of the Fat Lady, they quickly whispered password and clambered into the warm common room undetected by Filch.

Lucifer and Hermione shared a bittersweet, lingering farewell kiss right at the bottom of the twin staircases that led up to their separate dormitories.

He stood perfectly still at the base of the stone steps for a long moment, his dark eyes watching intently as her figure climbed up toward her room, his old heart feeling genuinely overjoyed by how incredibly lucky he was to call a girl like her ’his own.’

When she finally disappeared out of sight past the oak landing, Lucifer quietly made his way up to his own shared fifth-year dormitory. He slid into his four-poster bed inside a room that was currently full of loud, heavy snoring. He wasn’t sure what precise hour it was before he finally dozed off into the dark, but surely remembered how incredibly quickly his morning wake-up call seemed to arrive.

Regardless of receiving only a few, much-needed hours of sleep, Lucifer sat up sharply in his sheets, rubbing the residual cobwebs from his eyes before glancing around the room.

Scarily enough, Ron Weasley’s bed seemed to be the only one occupied at this hour; the ginger boy was sitting still on his mattress, staring blankly ahead as he glared with an intense fury straight in Lucifer’s direction.

Not long after, Harry walked out of the en-suite bathroom in his pyjamas, proving that Dean, Seamus, and Neville must have gone down to the Great Hall for breakfast early, despite how out of character that routine sounded for the boys.

"Morning," Harry beamed upon noticing that Lucifer was awake, stretching his arms. "Came in late last night, eh, mate? So you were out with...?"

"Hermione," Ron spat bitterly, his voice cutting through the room like a razor. "There is no point in beating ’round the bush anymore, Harry. Might as well just say her bloody name... we all know the truth now, isn’t that right, Morningstar?"

Lucifer’s brows furrowed in deep confusion. It seemed based on the volatile tone like Ron hadn’t even known they were dating this entire time. Was the ginger boy blind over these past five years? He and Hermione had always been open about showing their mutual physical affection in the tower, yet somehow, it was as if Ron’s primitive brain hadn’t registered the reality until now.

For a brief second, Lucifer opened his awareness to the ’fourth dimension,’ tapping into the localized timeline strings. Sure enough, his senses picked up that the boys were being affected by a residual wave of the world’s Sentient Magic. The timeline itself was desperately trying to mend the broken storyline back into its original alignment, a dangerous cosmic correction that reiterated his deepest, darkest fear: ’Hermione Granger wasn’t supposed to be dating a celestial entity like me. Under the world’s original design, she was destined to be loving Ron Weasley instead—’

"Yeah," Lucifer said softly to Harry, consciously cutting off the diagnostic line as he ignored Ron’s glaring eyes.

"Glad to hea—" Harry started with a smile.

"How do you do that?" Ron growled loudly, flinging his blankets aside as he stood up from his bed, fists clenching.

Lucifer furrowed his brows, calmly climbing out of his own bed sheets to begin getting dressed for the day. "Do what, Weasley?"

Ron crossed his arms over his chest, his posture radiating an impressive, dense amount of aggression for it being so early in the morning. "Pretend like nothing is going on? Parade around and act like what you’re doing behind closed doors isn’t bang out of order?"

"And what am I doing that crosses your lines?" Lucifer said, his tone dropping as he pulled a clean scarlet shirt over his bare, toned torso.

"You’ve been snogging Hermione this bloody term, haven’t you?!" Ron grunted in disgust, his chest heaving. "And yet you failed to mention a word of it to me, but you had no problem sharing with Harry—"

"Are you blind?" Lucifer asked sarcastically, letting out a dry, mocking laugh as he adjusted his collar. "The entire school knows at this point that we are officially dating, you idiot."

"Funny," Ron growled, his jaw now tightly clenched as he took a step forward. "Forgive me, but I foolishly thought we were mates."

"We are not mates, Weasley," Lucifer shrugged carelessly, getting slightly annoyed by the dramatic display. "As far as I am concerned, my private relationship with Hermione is none of your business."

Ron scoffed loudly, his face turning an angry shade of red. "It bloody well is my business, and you know it!"

Lucifer was taken aback by the pure audacity of the claim, his eyes narrowing. "And how do you figure that logic?"

"Guys, come on," Harry interjected frantically, stepping between their beds. "Let’s just calm down for a second, alright?"

"No," Lucifer snapped, his voice dropping into a freezing balm, "If Weasley feels so inclined to know every intimate aspect of my relationship with Hermione, then I have a right to know why he cares?"

"Piss off!" Ron barked, his voice rising sharply as the temperature in the dormitory began to drop. "You don’t know a thing what you’re bloody talking about!"

"You’re the one who brought the topic up," Lucifer countered smoothly, taking a long step towards Ron’s position.

"You better watch yourself, Lucifer," Ron growled, his hands shaking. The display made the youth wonder briefly if the ginger had somehow grown a pair overnight to dare talk back to his face with such venom.

"And why is that?" Lucifer demanded, taking another step forward until he was towering over the boy. The air around his frame grew slightly thick and heavy; the world’s ’Sentient Magic’ was pressing against his lungs, making it noticeably harder for him to breathe normally.

"Luci—" Harry tried to grab his shoulder.

"Stay out of this, Potter," Lucifer said calmly, his eyes never leaving the ginger’s face. "I want to hear what he has to say."

But Ron said nothing for a tense beat. Instead, he simply narrowed his eyes at Lucifer, his ears turning a bright, furious red from anger as the two stood face-to-face in the center.

"C’mon, Weasley, say it," Lucifer taunted, a predatory smirk curling on his lips. "Why does it bother your fragile ego so much that I’m dating Hermione, huh?"

"Guys, please—" Harry begged.

"Say it, Weasley. Let me hear—"

And before the final words could even clear Lucifer’s lips, Ron lunged forward, his hands shoving hard against the boy’s chest.

"BECAUSE I’M IN LOVE WITH HER!"

With that echoing shout and another hard push, the entire room fell into an suffocating silence. Both Harry and Lucifer knew the fundamental truth of the declaration, of course; Ron hadn’t been modest or hidden over the years regarding his underlying pursuit of Hermione... and yet, hearing the truth spoken aloud made Lucifer’s face turn stone-cold, his fingers clenching into dangerous fists.

"Touch me one more time, Weasley, and I swear—"

"What?! What are you going to do to me?!" Ron spat aggressively, taking another step forward into his space. "Does the truth bother you, Lucifer, huh?! That I am in love with your girlfriend?! Are you annoyed?! Because then you’ll know how it feels for me! I’ve spent every day since our third year watching you two get close, sitting back in the shadows and growing angrier at the mere sight of you touching her... and you knew it! But you didn’t say a damn word, did you?!"

"What was I supposed to say to you, Weasley?" Lucifer growled, casting a massive shadow over the ginger as his voice cracked, "Thank you for being in love with my girlfriend? Thank you for being far too stupid and cowardly to ever make a move? Thank you for letting me so graciously claim her? Wake up, Weasley! Look at the reality! You were never an option for her—"

’Smack!’

This time it wasn’t a simple push, but a full-on, desperate right hook straight to the jaw. Lucifer’s head whipped violently to the side from the impact, and for a single second, eyes widened in shock that the ginger boy actually possessed nerve to punch him in the face. The physical blow successfully unleashed every drop of the anger that had been building up inside his chest all term.

Lucifer slowly turned his face back to look at Ron, his pupils instantly turning a dangerous, glowing crimson shade of devilish red. He was prepared to leap forward and manually tear the boy apart when Harry desperately stepped right in front, his arms seizing shoulder in a vice grip.

"Potter, let me go this instant," Lucifer said coldly, his voice vibrating with a terrifying power as he tried to yank his hands out of his friend’s grip, "He deserves every fucking piece of violence he is about to get from me, you damn bloody moron..."

He raised his fingers, focusing his intent, and Ron’s cocky expression instantly vanished as he began choking. The ginger boy gasped, clawing at his own throat as his primary oxygen supply was cut off from his lungs by the telekinetic pressure.

Ron scoffed weakly through his gasps, his face turning purple. "Fuck... fuck you, Lucif—gah!"

"Come on, mate, stop!" Harry addressed Lucifer, using ounce of his physical strength to hold him back from execution. "Think about it! Hermione wouldn’t want this blood on your hands! She would hate it!"

At the sudden, clear processing of the words regarding his anchor, Lucifer came to a reluctant halt on the floorboards. He let out a shaky, ragged breath, his glowing red pupils sending literal daggers over Harry’s shoulder at the gasping Weasley.

"As you wish, Potter."

With a snap of his fingers, the invisible pressure vanished, and Ron fell to his knees, taking several deep, frantic breaths as he greedily inhaled the cold winter air back into his burning lungs. Without another moment to grow angrier or risk a total collapse of his restraint, Lucifer turned on his heel, opened the dormitory door, walked out, and slammed the oak behind his back with a thunderous ’bang’.

The door slam instantly drew the startled attention of those few students sitting down in common room or, more specifically, Ginny and Hermione, who were currently sitting together on the plush couch engaging in a quiet conversation.

As Lucifer came barreling down the boys’ stairs, his face white with rage, their heads whipped toward his position in shock.

"There you are!" Ginny beamed, unaware of the bedroom drama. "Hermione was just telling us that, oh my god... Lucifer, what happened to your face?!"

"Ask your brother," Lucifer said menacingly, his voice casting venom as he stomped his way straight toward the portrait hole without offering a glance in his terrified girlfriend’s direction.

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