warm skin is roughened , familiar , lovely against her own / how long has he been taking her hand , running down a rabbit hole of their 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 ? ( he , eleven and trembling and stuttering in front of enraged professors ; she , tear - streaked and indignant and yet willing to lie , a little bit brazen in how BOLDFACED it is . oh , if only she’d known . ) won’t bother to speak as she tugs , gentle , and begins to wind their interlocked frames through corridors that seem to pulse .
“ does the placebo effect apply to quidditch ? ” tone is 𝚜𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚢 as it’s tossed over her shoulder , smiling around the edges . her quips are thrown as easily as his , but admiration is a glossy shine that’s hardly transparent and was never meant to be . it’s difficult to pretend like he doesn’t dazzle her , in the literal sense of the word / there’s something impossibly bright about a killawatt smile , about 𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛𝘩𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 that blinds hermione a little . let it be known she’s ALWAYS enjoyed it , but that’s no secret . whether it’s the drink or the way her fingers press against the tops of his hands , she feels radiant . “ you were pretty good at your next game , though . ”
if the party is cataclysmic in its destruction of the minister’s carefully - curated mansion , hermione can’t be anything but thankful . doors are flung wide open ( except for the ones that aren’t ; she’ll nearly 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐏𝐒𝐄 in a fit of giggles against ron’s chest when a closed door is nudged open to reveal terry boot’s flushed face and mussed hair , devoid of both shirt and dignity ) ; chaos has gripped the place , turned it inside out . it makes it easier to spot the study , though .
the mahogany has an ungodly sheen , gleaming when hermione latches upon the door handle and if there’s 𝘈𝘕𝘠𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘕𝘎 deserving of a reverential gasp under liquor - warm breath , it’s this . dragging ron right into the thick of it , they are SURROUNDED — - bookshelves go all the way to the ceilings stacked with antiquities / it’s the only room in the entire damned place with any personality . “ wish he wasn’t such a prick , ” she’ll breathe , gravitating to a grand desk to which she can anchor a hip , “ 'cos he’s got a fucking stunning study . ”
it’s not easy to navigate , but it’s simple to let her tug him along . there’s this arresting moment of familiarity , some sense that this has been done before ; and maybe it has , time and time again . ( no idea what you could be implying . i’m just naturally talented -- cracked back , only thinking of her her her even when hermione is no longer looking over her shoulder . ) the manor is all wide halls spiderwebbing off of narrow landings on each floor / abandoned rooms , mixed with some not quite so . there’s no telling how long it takes before the right empty room is uncovered .
( he’s more focused on her when they find it . watches the second more in details , like the way her expression brightens as if being lit from the inside out . “ it’s . . . yeah , ” he’ll agree , when he finally drags his attention outward . )
there’s a little more space to breathe here , where tension can bleed from coiled sinew and bone . while less so than previous rooms , the furnishing still feels ostentatious and a bit ornamental . a display of affluence , no matter how useless of one it may be . perhaps he was too much kid in the burrow and not enough sacred purity like surname was historically meant to entail . still , it’s the most interesting room in the place yet .
ron will squeeze her hand once before letting go to let curiosity propel him closer to one of the shelves lining the wall . it lasts just a half - beat too long , lingering in a way that might be as deliberate as it could be an accident . irises skim past titles decorating spines both antiquated and surprisingly new , bounce from object to object . ( a bronze statuette of some historic figure he doesn’t know , gleaming dully with almost lifelike eyes . a silver - veined book cover that he doesn’t bother reading . a gilded box displaying some sort of emerald ring . a small latched box that he wants to make a mental note to come back to . )
“ can’t be anything that good in an unlocked room , right ? ” the light question is tossed over his shoulder when he paces back down the length of the shelves , closer to the back wall the desk paralleled . “ always the locked rooms that are more interesting . ” all that to say , he doesn’t feel quite so bad when attention drifts towards the desk itself . it’s organized , nearly pristine , with muted light winking off of the handles of the drawers . ron’s gaze flicks towards hermione , brows raised only a fraction . “ think there’s anything worth looking at in there ? ”