Harry Potter and the Taming of the Shrew

Chapter Three

Ron and Neville witnessed the deal passing between Draco and Harry from a distance. It was by the Quidditch pitch, almost dark, and Hermione was in a Gryffindor Quidditch practice. Lavender was up in the stands, screaming encouragement that Hermione couldn't possibly hear. They watched as Draco gestured with his hands, pointed at Hermione a few times, and finally handed over a few golden galleons. Harry Potter had taken the bait.

"This is great!" Ron exclaimed, nearly jumping up and down with excitement. "I can date Candace!"

"Not yet you can't," Neville said, snapping him back to reality. "Hermione actually has to go on a date first. She hasn't even been asked yet."

"But the first step has been taken," Ron protested, trying to cling to his tiny piece of hope. "He'll ask her out. She has to say yes."

"And if she doesn't?" Ron scowled at that thought.
"She will."

* * * * *

She pushed her broom handle down and dove, almost freefalling towards the ground. Pavarti Patil had challenged her to a feint competition, and Hermione was never one to say no.

The ground rushed up to meet her, and seconds before she got splattered all over the grass, she sat back, hauled on the handle, and soared back up into the air. Pavarti had already pulled up. "Looks like I won Patil," Hermione said. "That will be twelve Knuts, thank you very much." She waited until the little bronze coins were rolled into her hand before flying back to the ground. Lavender was practically shaking.

"You had me so scared!" she scolded. "And you know that you're not supposed to practice feinting during Quidditch practices. You're a Keeper, not a Seeker."

"I can't get better if I don't practice though," Hermione reasoned. "Who knows? A Keeper could have to dive some day. And I can handle myself." Lavender sighed, crossed her arms, uncrossed them, and then met Hermione's gaze.

"If you break your neck, don't come crying to me," she declared. With a laugh, Hermione pushed off the ground lightly, both of her legs hanging over one side of the broomstick. "What are you doing now?"

"Just floating around a little." This was a lot more comfortable compared to straddling a broom all the time. Hermione had no idea how guys especially could do this day in and day out. It had to be painful on them.

Her feet swung underneath her. With a flick of her wrist, she jerked the handle up a little more until she was twenty feet above the ground. The broomstick flew slowly and gracefully, letting her relax like she'd been wanting to do all day. Lavender peered up into the sunlight, shading her eyes.

"The bell's going to ring in five minutes!" the blonde shouted. "Get down here or you'll be late for Potions!" Hermione reluctantly dropped back down to the ground. The fun never lasted as long as she wished it would. Together, the two girls made their way down the hall to the stairway that would lead to the dungeons. On the way, however, Hermione found herself followed closely by a certain boy with black hair that seemed very intent on watching her.

"Lavender," she hissed. They turned into the classroom, and the boy followed. "Lav, I think he's following me."

"Oh, calm down already," Lavender huffed. "Harry's a Gryffindor too. He's supposed to be here. Don't be over dramatic. I know what you mean though," Lavender added as an afterthought. "That guy's creepy." The ever-suspicious Hermione made sure to keep him in sights for the rest of class. There was something weird about that kid.

* * * * *

It wasn't until after Quidditch tryouts later that week that Hermione found out how weird the kid really was. She was making her way off the field, confident with her performance and knowing she'd kicked the other players' butts, when none other than the stalking green-eyed guy approached her. "Hi there," he said by way of introduction. Hermione stopped walking to glare at him. "How's it going?" he pressed.

"Would you...like something?" she tried, hoping to scare this guy off like all the others. Not too many people came up to her like this. Which meant only one thing; this kid was on drugs. That, or possibly doing a dare. That was a little more likely. Drugs were entirely possible however.

"Actually, I would." This surprised her. Not only did the guy act like he'd known her forever, but he wasn't being scared off either.

"Really. Well, keep dreaming, cause you're not getting it from me." Hermione continued walking, but the kid caught up and matched her pace.

"How about this: you and me going to Hogsmeade together on Friday." The boy was too cocky for his own good. He had a self-assured smile that was beginning to get on her nerves.

"Yeah," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Friday. That's right. Mm-hmm." She waited, trying to see if he was nervous yet. He wasn't even a little shaken.

"You don't know what you're missing," he added, giving her what he had to think was a seductive look. "And I'm sure you'd like to find out." Hermione rolled her eyes and wished that she could get away from this annoying, overly sure freak. He'd been talking to her for less than a minute and he was already driving her insane.

"I'm not missing anything," she told him pointedly. "Besides, I don't date complete strangers."

"Harry Potter," the kid quickly said. "See, we're not strangers anymore. That was a lame excuse if I ever heard one anyways." Hermione almost froze. Listening to this guy was like listening to herself. Tough, sarcastic and with true emotions hidden away, all at once. She almost felt bad for him, but pushed that thought away.

"You wish." Hermione stalked away, intent on leaving him behind. From a distance, she heard, "Think about it! You know you want it!" With an exasperated sigh, she ignored him and kept walking.

* * * * *

Ron groaned from where his head was buried in his arms. "This is taking too long," he complained to Neville, who was sitting across the library table from him. "Why can't Hermione just say yes to him and be done with it?"

Neville didn't answer, so Ron decided to use the silence to think. Obviously, just paying the guy wasn't working. He was trying, but...it wasn't panning out. Maybe he wasn't the right kind of guy for Hermione. All they had to do was...

"Inside information," Ron hissed, sitting up straight. Neville glanced at him.

"What?"

"We need someone to tell us all about Hermione. And then we can tell Harry, who will use that information to get the girl, and I'll get Candace. See? It's going to work out. I swear. All we've got to do is ask Candace. She knows what we're doing. She'll go for it." He was getting excited now. "Music tastes, likes and dislikes...we can figure that out. It's easy!"

"You said that about getting Harry to ask her out," Neville pointed out bluntly. "And she didn't say yes when you said she would."

Ron ignored that comment, quickly scheming in his mind. If this worked out, Harry could make himself into the kind of guy Hermione wanted to date. It was all too perfect. He pushed himself away from the table and stood.

"I'm going to find Candace," he announced. Without waiting for an answer from Neville, he walked out of the library and started his search.

* * * * *

It wasn't everyday that Ron stood in the middle of the seventh year's girl's dormitory. Candace, being the loving sister she was, was sifting through a pile of books beside Hermione's neatly made bed. Ron shifted uncomfortably.

"Okay," the younger girl finally announced. "We've got a reading list, CDs, an empty container of Thai food - where did she get this? - and some tickets to that concert playing when we're in Hogsmeade next weekend." There was a slight pause. "What else...?" she mused, scanning the room with her eyes.

Their gazes both fell on the trunk at the same time.

Candace wasted no time hurrying over to it and lifting the lid. Ron peered over her shoulder. Hermione sure had a lot of useless things tucked in among her clothing. That was when he saw it.

"Ooh," Candace stated, lifting something with the tip of her finger. "This I don't believe." And Ron found himself face-to-face with a tiny black skirt. Calling it a mini was generous. "How long has she been hiding this?" she wondered out loud. Ron swallowed, nearly choking. "I never knew Hermione owned something so...tiny." He tried to ignore the clothing dangling in front of him and faced Candace.

"So..." He shifted his weight back and forth between his feet.

"Yes?"

"Can I see your room?"

"No..." Candace bit her lip.

"Why not?" Ron wanted to know. It wasn't like he hadn't seen a girl's room before. Heck, he was standing in one right now.

"Because...because a girl's room...it's private, okay?" she snapped. Ron blushed bright red.

"Okay." He didn't realize how ironic it was that he was standing in a girl's bedroom at that very moment.