"Su, are you gonna spill it or not? If you don't, I'm going to sleep."
Lee Su felt like the inside of his head had split into black and white sides.
On the black side, a tiny Harry Potter was floating in the air, yelling at him to hurry up and speak—opportunities like this don't come twice! If he didn't say something now, when would he?
On the white side… why was there a tiny Tom?
Little Tom was stammering something about friendship and bonds, rambling on with a bunch of stuff Lee Su didn't really catch.
Anyway, just go for it.
Right here, right now!
"Tom, I've got a question. With Hermione… is it really just friendship?"
"What else would it be?" Hermione sounded confused. "Do we look like anything more than that?
"You see us every day—we're either arguing or fighting. And right now she's kinda weak, but once she gets stronger? It'll probably get even worse… What are you trying to ask?"
"Well… if I asked Hermione to be my date for a future ball, do you think I'd have a shot? I mean… you know… Hermione's Muggle-born, and I'm pretty much the same. I feel like we'd be a good match."
A confession?
To me?
Hermione shrank deeper under the covers.
But we barely know each other! All I know about you is that you're kind of a goof.
What would Tom say in this situation?
"The goddess of luck isn't on your side, buddy. Give it up, Su—Hermione's not right for you. You deserve someone better." Hermione rattled it off like a Peashooter from Plants vs. Zombies. "Hermione's heart is only for studying. Really, truly, only studying. She craves knowledge and isn't interested in that kind of thing."
After unloading that, Hermione dove under the blankets.
Time to sleep!
Suddenly she popped back out. "But tomorrow I can take you to her. You can tell her yourself—like a man. Stop being all shy and twisty about it like today."
This time she really settled down.
This was going to be hilarious!
She couldn't wait to see what kind of answer Tom would give Lee Su's confession.
Reject him politely like a gentleman… no, like a lady?
That didn't sound like something Tom would do at all.
With those fun thoughts swirling, Hermione drifted off to sleep.
…
The next morning.
Bright and early, Hermione yanked Lee Su out of bed.
"Let me sleep a little more…"
"Sleep? More sleep? If you keep sleeping, Hermione's gonna go off and have fun with someone else! Come on—now, right this second—get up!"
She dragged him up by the ear and watched him stumble off to wash up.
"Can't you do something with that hair? You look like a mess!
"Oh my gosh, why are your socks two different colors? And there's a hole in one—your big toe's sticking out…
"Wizard robes? Just because you're wearing robes on top doesn't mean you can skip looking decent underneath!"
Lee Su's head was spinning.
Why… did it feel like Tom wanted this to succeed even more than he did?
Was Tom really just friends with Hermione?
Then… maybe I actually have a real chance?
Maybe I should get a bouquet of roses and, while I'm at it, book the wedding venue?
"Tom, you think I've got a shot?"
Zero chance—I just want to watch you crash and burn.
Of course Hermione didn't say that out loud. She cleared her throat. "Do you know Schrödinger's cat? You put a cat and a vial of poison in a box. As long as you don't open it, the cat has a 50% chance of being alive!
"So I don't know if you have a chance either. Until you try, it's 50%—but that 50% stays 50%. In a lot of things in life, 50% equals 0%!"
Lee Su thought about it for a second, then nodded. "Got it. How do I look now?"
"Not bad. Let's go catch her."
"Catch?" Lee Su blinked. "Is that… really the right word?"
"Whatever—let's move!"
…
"Today Mrs. Mona's making her special burgers. Hermione, when you get back, can you bring me two…?" One of her dorm mates mumbled sleepily first thing in the morning.
On weekends, the two Gryffindor girls always slept until the world ended.
According to them, weekdays were torture enough with classes—they had to catch up on sleep over the weekend.
And they really did.
"I'll see what I can do when I get back, but are you two gonna survive that long?" Tom glanced at the time. It was just past seven; he wouldn't be back until at least noon.
They weren't going to starve, right?
"We'll manage… Thanks, Hermione. We're going back to sleep now."
They flopped over, and soon Tom heard their steady breathing—they were out again.
Light snow was falling outside. Tom pulled on thick red snow boots, leaving a trail of footprints in the fresh powder.
"Haa—"
He suddenly ducked.
Whoosh!
A snowball sailed over his head and landed nearby.
If he hadn't dodged, that powdery snow would've gone right down his neck.
Turning around, Tom caught Hermione's smug grin.
"Oh, you wanna start a snowball fight, huh? Fair's fair—let's ditch the wands." Tom tossed his aside first.
"Hmph, fine. You just missed your only chance to beat me." Hermione did the same.
Lee Su, who'd been ready to approach, froze at the sight and stayed rooted to the spot.
"Take that!"
"That all you got? Check out my super snowball!"
"Hey, no fair—you're using magic!"
Tom cast wordlessly. A wand was just a bonus for him; he could do plenty of spells without one.
"You're cheating!"
"Hey." Tom wiggled his fingers, and several snowballs orbited around him. "In a heir's battle, anything goes. Let's see that cocky face of yours—take this!"
A barrage of snowballs flew at Hermione, leaving white marks all over her clothes and hair.
…
Lee Su stopped in his tracks. He rubbed the roses he was holding and tucked them inside his robes.
He took a deep breath; the air came out as white mist that floated up and slowly vanished into the sky.
Terry showed up out of nowhere and clapped him on the shoulder. "Su, I told you—no chance. You see how close Hermione and Tom are? Just drop it.
"If I had to guess, for the next few years, Tom's the only one who'll ever be Hermione's dance partner."
Though Tom might not be as exclusive.
After all, he was the guy who got candy from Cho Chang. Who knows how many partners he might have in the future?
"Come on, let's head back. Tonight I'll sit with you and drink hot red tea."
"Why not hot honey wine?"
"Because I hate alcohol." Terry shrugged. "And that 'Hermione Fan Club' of yours? Quit it already. I can see how this ends.
"Nobody but Tom can handle Hermione. Don't believe me? Throw a snowball at her."
"Would she beat me up?" Lee Su asked, puzzled. "They wouldn't both gang up on me, would they?"
"Exactly. Let's go." Terry patted his shoulder again and led Lee Su away from the heartbreak zone.
The snowball fight between the two was getting more intense.
—Well, one-sidedly intense.
Tom kept playing dirty, magically forming snowballs nonstop, until…
Thwack!
"Ow." Tom scratched his head. A cold chunk of snow slid down the back of his neck, making him jump and shiver.
"Senior? You're on his side?"
Cho smiled apologetically. "I was actually trying to help you."
"Then hit her! You were clearly aiming for my neck, right?"
"Less talk—take this!"
A righteous two-on-one battle was in full swing. Hogwarts was truly filled with joyful vibes.
…
After the exhilarating snowball war ended, the three of them plopped down in the snow.
"Hermione, Tom—it's rare to see you two actually free to play like this." Cho hugged her knees, breathing warm air onto her hands to thaw her icy palms.
Tom: "She started it."
"You're the one who cheated with magic first."
"Cheated?" Tom muttered under his breath. "When did I cheat? I only said we'd ditch the wands. Did I use mine just now? Nope!"
Then he turned to Cho. "Senior, the weather's perfect—let's go out and have fun. Tom's probably off to see Professor Snape anyway, so we'll leave him behind."
"I'm not going to him today!" Hermione snapped. "If you two go, I'm coming too… Okay, fine, I do have to see Professor Snape."
She grabbed Tom by the collar and yanked him close. "Listen up—you absolutely, positively cannot do anything inappropriate with Senior Cho!
"Or I swear I'll pin you down and expose you!"
Tom laughed. "Am I that kind of guy? I just want some one-on-one time with senior. Go on, hurry—Snape's moody. Don't get scolded.
"And… be careful of Quirrell. He's been fired, but he won't give up. Stay alert. If you run into danger… you probably won't, but anyway. We're off."
Hermione nodded and gave a serious warning. "You two be careful too. Every time you've faced the mysterious person, it's been in my body. He's probably targeting me now."
Tom lifted his chin proudly. "He can't beat me anyway. What's there to worry about? Let's go."
He took Cho's hand, waved goodbye to Hermione, and headed off.
Watching them, Cho felt a strange sense of something being off.
She knew Tom and Hermione shared some secret they couldn't tell anyone.
But that weird dissonance—how do you explain that?
"Senior, this way."
"Oh, right—coming."
Tom cleared his throat. "Follow me. I'm taking you to Hogsmeade."
"Huh?" Cho's eyes widened. "We can go?"
"Of course. Once you know this secret passage, anyone can. Keep up."