March Matters

During Charms the next day, Harry told Ron and Hermione the whole story. When he mentioned Voldemort's Horcruxes, both of them could not help showing awed expressions.

"Wow..." Ron murmured. "Harry, you—you're going with Dumbledore to deal with that... wow."

The wand in his hand unconsciously waved toward the ceiling, causing a flurry of white snowflakes to drift down.

Hermione sighed and casually flicked her wand, making all the snow covering the ceiling and the three of them vanish without a trace.

"Watch your image," Hermione said in a low voice. "Your little girlfriend is staring at you."

Harry followed her gaze and saw Lavender Brown, seated a few rows away, staring fixedly in their direction.

Ron shook his head and muttered in a voice only the three of them could hear, "Lavender isn't bad, it's just... she's a bit too clingy."

"You should count yourself lucky." Hermione smiled somewhat disdainfully before changing the subject. "By the way, did you notice—Hannah Abbott is back, and..."

Harry and Ron both turned to look toward the back of the classroom. Hannah was practicing magic with Neville Longbottom. They stood very close together, and their coordination was surprisingly seamless.

"What?" Ron's eyes widened in shock. "The two of them are together?"

"You only just noticed?" Hermione wore an expression that was both amused and faintly proud. "I noticed it back in Dumbledore's Army. The way they interacted was a little different—"

Her voice suddenly softened. "And Hannah just lost her parents. She really does need some companionship and comfort..."

Hermione's words sounded perfectly reasonable, but that was not the truth.

Hannah Abbott and Neville Longbottom had indeed just become a couple, but it was by no means because of any "emotional comfort."

The real reason was that, the day before returning to Hogwarts,