The unicorn didn't disappoint. It trotted back a minute later, nuzzling Tom and letting out two soft, whiny bleats.
Even an outsider like Cho could tell it was pure flirting—the curly-horned goats had been convinced.
After a short back-and-forth with the goats, Tom turned to Cho and gave her a thumbs-up.
"Done deal. Turns out the curly-horns don't just shed their horns—they shed their fur too. Nothing about that in any book. We can take some of the shed hair and a couple of the big horns, but absolutely do NOT touch the baby lambs. That'll make the adults furious." He explained:
"If they attack, it's no joke. Those little curved horns aren't fully grown, but they're packed with terrifying magic. Stick close to me, senpai, and please—for the love of Merlin—don't reach for the babies."
…
Back at Hogwarts.
Hermione was aching everywhere, completely wiped out.
Those bright emerald eyes had lost half their sparkle; the usual fire was gone.
She stretched lazily and flopped onto the common-room sofa.
After a long day, she always treated herself to a strong cup of honey-sweetened black tea—three sugars, no less.
Flipping through one of Lockhart's adventure books, Hermione felt a rare moment of pure bliss.
Time slipped by. When she finally looked up, it was almost evening.
She figured she'd mastered ballroom dancing pretty well by now.
Hermione was a genius-level learner; she only looked bad because she was constantly being compared to Tom.
She closed the book and left the Ravenclaw common room.
She wanted to practice one more time—at least make sure she wouldn't embarrass herself at the Ball.
And Tom still hadn't learned a single step… which meant…
What if he tripped and face-planted in front of everyone? That would be mortifying!
The thought made her slap both cheeks.
No, no, no—what am I even thinking?
Who cares if Tom looks stupid? I'm just worried he'll mess up and drag me down with him.
If he ends up never living it down in front of the whole school, I'll be stuck dealing with the fallout too!
That can't happen. I need to get my dancing to top level—at least as good as Lady Elizabeth.
When she practiced with Lady Elizabeth, even when Hermione was still clumsy, the lady controlled the rhythm so perfectly it felt effortless.
If I can do that… maybe Tom will finally understand.
Who's the real genius here?!
Not him—it's me, Hermione Granger!
Little Hermione was ready to prove it.
Right as she stepped out of the common room, she ran into the Weasley twins.
George waved. "Hey, Tom—wait, Tom? You're still at school? I thought you and Hermione went out."
"Went out?" Hermione repeated the words slowly. "She left?"
"Yeah, they snuck out through the secret passage. Probably in Hogsmeade right now—with Cho Chang, too. I get it." George grinned. "You worried about interrupting girl time? I totally understand that feeling."
NO—!
Hermione screamed internally.
I just didn't know they went to Hogsmeade together!
How is Tom so reckless? Didn't he run into You-Know-Who in Hogsmeade before?
What if You-Know-Who is still lurking there, just waiting for him to show up?
Idiot!
And he dragged Cho-senpai along? He's definitely going to lure her into the Three Broomsticks and trick her into drinking honey mead or butterbeer.
That rotten Tom—using my body to pull stunts like this!
Hermione paced furiously near the Whomping Willow, staying well out of range, just staring at the passage.
The twins had told her about this secret tunnel (she still had no idea how they knew). So she waited.
Right before dinner, two small figures finally crept out of the passage.
The moment Tom saw Hermione, he turned and bolted without a word.
Hermione only managed to catch Cho.
"Senpai, what did you and Tom… what did you and that guy do?"
Cho coughed awkwardly. "Sorry, Hermione told me not to tell you. You'll find out on Christmas. It's only a week away—you can wait."
Christmas…
I want to know NOW!
Hermione scratched her head in frustration while Cho stayed stubbornly silent.
Watching Cho walk away, Hermione squatted down, grinding her teeth.
Those two annoying jerks!
No—no, Cho-senpai isn't annoying. It's that jerk Tom who's corrupting her.
He's always dragging everyone down with him!
…
Christmas crept closer.
Hermione grew more and more on edge.
These past few days, both Tom and Cho had been avoiding her. If their eyes met, they'd immediately look away.
Tom was still Tom—he'd slink up with that annoying smirk and chat about random nonsense.
But Cho-senpai wouldn't even acknowledge her anymore.
And that rosy flush on her cheeks made it impossible to guess what she was thinking.
One night, lying in bed, staring at the ceiling.
Hermione was unusually nervous.
Terry and Lee weren't asleep yet. They poked their heads out.
"Tom, the Ball's in two days. You feeling nervous?"
Of course she was nervous…
Hermione nodded. "A little."
Lee yawned. "You've been weird lately. Normally you'd be sneaking out at midnight to practice ballroom dancing."
He paused. "Think about it—you two are the only first-years going to the Ball. Everyone's going to be watching the upper years, sure, but they'll love watching us little ones even more.
If you nail it, your names will be legendary at Hogwarts forever.
Every time a new first-year shows up, the ghosts will brag about how, back on some Christmas, there was this brilliant Tom Riddle and his partner Hermione Granger—the prettiest first-year girl ever."
Hermione listened to him ramble… and suddenly felt more nervous than ever!
She'd completely overlooked that.
She'd thought everyone would just dance and mind their own business.
But they were the only first-years!
How many eyes would be on them?!
"You're right. I'll start tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Terry laughed and waved her off. "Might be too late by then. If you don't know the steps at all, ballroom dancing is brutal. There's a huge gap between 'can dance' and 'dances well.'
Maybe use your genius potion skills to brew something that makes everyone ignore you two."
---