141 Puberty

Arthur, Ron, And Hermione left the blank looking Harry alone on the bed and exited the hospital wing.

Ron had a depressed look on his face.

"Well... what a pretty bad day we're having today..."

"Bad is an understatement." Retorted Arth. "We lose the quidditch match, Harry loses his broom, Wood is killing himself in the bathroom."

Ron sighed.

"I'm going to take my leave first, I need to go do homework... damn. Such a bad day."

Arth and Hermione waved Ron off with dark looks when Hermione seized Arth by the scruff and dragged him along into an empty classroom the moment Ron's figure disappeared around the corner.

Caught off guard, Arth could only comply with her wishes.

Hermione let go of Arth and looked him in the eye with a stern look.

"Explain."

Arth raised an eyebrow.

"Explain what exactly?"

"Explain what happened today in the stands."

"Erm... I'm not following?"

Hermione gave a frustrated stomp.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Clarify please." Said Arth pretending to look confused.

Please don't ask about Alfred. Please don't ask about Alfred. Please don't ask about Alfred.

"Who is Alfred?"

Damn it.

Arth put on his best poker face before answering.

"Who?"

"You know exactly who I'm talking about Arth."

"Err... I think we have a miscommunication going on over here. I don't know any Alfred."

"ARTHUR KINGSCROWN!"

Arth gave a startled flinch.

For some odd reason, Arth found Hermione to be particularly fearsome and scary today.

"Tell me now!" Hermione said with a firm gaze.

Arth averted his eyes.

"How would I know Who Alfred is? You must've heard wrong, Hermione-"

Hermione took a step forward while Arth took a step backward. This continued until Arth's back hit the classroom wall.

Hermione's face was now a centimeter apart from Arth's and Arth could feel her warm breath rest directly on his lips.

She smelled nice as well. Like the calming smell of Parchment.

Hermione narrowed her beautiful brown eyes at Arth and asked in a clear voice.

"What are you hiding."

Arth couldn't help but notice how beautiful Hermione seemed to be in this moment. He was dumbstruck.

"Er..."

"Who was the person who appeared after you called out Alfred?"

Arth regained his composure and let out a wry grin.

"... don't you think we are a little too close right now? If someone saw us like this, they would think we were dating-"

SLAM!

Hermione planted her hand to the right of Arth's face, effectively pinning him to the wall.

She came closer and now their noses were touching and her body was on top of Arth's. The relaxing smell of parchment became even stronger and Arth's mind started to spin.

He could feel her warm body even though they were separated by two layers of clothes.

"Stop avoiding the topic and tell me the truth."

Arth started to panic.

His mind was freezing and he could no longer think in a logical and rational manner. His head was spinning and all he could think about was how beautiful she seemed right now.

"I'll give you three seconds."

Hermione held up three fingers.

"Three."

One finger went down.

"Two."

There was only one finger left standing.

"One-"

"Alfred-is-a-dementor-That-I-met-during-the-time-I-was-contained-in-Azkaban-And-He-listens-to-me." Said Arth in one breath.

Hermione raised an eyebrow in a charming manner.

"So why did you call him earlier today?"

Arth tried to avoid Hermione's gaze however couldn't.

"Well, Alfred is sorta like the leader of the dementors. So I called him to fix the incident."

"Was he the one who saved Harry."

"..."

"Arth."

"Yes."

Hermione took a step backward before smirking.

"So basically you have the ability to control dementors."

"Err... basically," Arth Replied finally able to calm down. "Nothing important actually-"

"Is it also you who sets the dementors on Malfoy?"

Arth froze once more.

"Er... no?"

"Hahaha, is that so." Hermione wore a smug face as she gave a quick glance at Arth.

"Alright then, keep your secrets. Just remember-"

Hermione took another step forward pinning Arth to the wall once more.

Her face was even closer this time and now their lips were barely separated.

"I don't want anymore-"

The door to the classroom opened and Colin Creevey entered the room.

"Oh hello, Hermione and Arth! Fancy meeting... you... here..."

Colin's face gradually became redder as he saw the scene before his eyes.

"Er... was I interrupting something? I'll... just... take me... leave..."

Flustered, Colin tried to exit but hit the door frame before flushing an even deeper red and running out the door.

Arth and Hermione stared at the open door for a few seconds before facing each other once more.

"As I was saying... remember, I don't want any more secrets-"

There was a loud click and Arth and Hermione whipped their faces towards the door where a tomato-faced Colin was holding a camera at the two.

"Colin... What are you doing?" Said Hermione with a cold voice.

"U-Um... sorry, I just i-instinctively took a picture-"

"I want a copy of the picture after this."

"E-Excuse me?"

Seeing Hermione's glare, Colin nodding his head furiously.

"Of course! I will definitely give you a copy! I promise-"

"Now leave."

"Y-yes ma'am!"

Colin left quicker than a terrified wizard.

Hermione let out a sigh before once more looking at Arth.

Arth let out a wry smile.

"You were saying?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"No. More. Secrets."

With those words she left the room with a hmph.

Arth watched her disappearing figure with a dreamy look.

"... is this what puberty feels like?"