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Hermione couldn’t imagine what it must be like for someone to be a last year transfer to a new school, let alone to a new school that was currently being prepared to fight in a war that they shouldn’t even be in in the first place and so her heart went out to the newest Hufflepuff. Hermione had to admit that she didn’t really pay attention to anyone who was in Hufflepuff, but then they generally didn’t bother with her either so she wasn’t going to waste any time worrying over that. When Cedric Diggory had been alive, she had sort of taken notice then, even if her eyes had mostly skipped over him because of Viktor Krum.
Hermione hadn’t heard from Viktor for a while now, which she supposed made complete sense considering that he wouldn’t want to take sides in a war that wasn’t his to fight, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt. Especially when you took into account the fact that he had been there when this war had started and just because he wasn’t from this country didn’t mean that he shouldn’t be affected that somone he had fought alongside had died in such a tragic way. She’d decided not to let it bother her so much though, and that had meant that she had ended up fixating on the new student.
Not much was known about him, except that his name was Newt Scamander and he had been homeschooled for most of his life. Hermione hadn’t known that that was something that magical folk could even be and she’d be lying if she said that she wasn’t intrigued by this. Hermione hadn’t introduced herself yet, however. She wasn’t entirely sure what was holding her back and she knew that if she wanted to know anything more about this beautiful stranger - and she really did want to know more - then she had to find her own way in.
That was probably why one day after a particularly gruelling Defence Against the Dark Arts class with Professor Snape she decided to take the plunge. Scamander was a Puff after all and they were known for being kind so it wasn’t as if he could be any worse than the actual torment that she had suffered at the hands of the Head of Slytherin House - not to mention the fact that talking to him was a lot more inviting than the idea of heading up to the Gryffindor Common Room and being forced to watch Lavender fawn all over Ron. She had no idea where Harry was but she honestly didn’t want to face him either.
“Hello.” She had made herself walk straight up to the Hufflepuff but it was him who had spoken first while she had just stood there, staring at him with what she realised was probably panic in her eyes.
Hermione had never been all that good at making friends and now that she was in Newt’s presence it was even harder to make words come out of her mouth. Hermione had never been left speechless before, much less by a boy, and she wasn’t sure that she liked the way that he made her heart flutter or the way that her palms grew sweaty.
“Are you okay?” Newt asked, an eyebrow raised ever-so-slightly as he quite obviously looked her up and down and Hermione briefly wondered if he was looking for any signs of trauma. She couldn’t blame him, she probably would have done the same if their roles were resolved.
“Yeah, I - I just wanted to come over and introduce myself, seeing as how I haven’t yet and I figured that you might want a friend - unless you’re too busy for friends because of your exams…” She trailed off as she realised that was probably the reason that he had come to Hogwarts.
Fortunately for her he had this smile that put his mind at ease, at least temporarily. It lit up his whole face, highlighting the dimples on his cheeks. “That’s mighty kind of you. I’m Newt.”
“I know.” Hermione said before clearing her throat. “I mean, I’m Hermione. Granger.” She hated how nervous she was about all of this but at least she had done the hard part and actually introduced herself.
Newt’s head was tilted before he gave a nod, as if he had just analysed her and come to some sort of conclusion that only he was allowed to know. Hermione never usually wanted to know the ins and outs of other people’s heads, but she couldn’t help but wish that she could read his thoughts then. She wanted to know if he thought she was some random creepy person or if he had understood that she wanted to be friends.
And then the thought of ‘or maybe more’ floated through Hermione’s mind and she realised that the reason that she was so nervous was not because she wanted to be friends so desperately with him but because she wanted to go on a date with him. She’d never been on a real date before, unless you counted the Yule Ball. The chances, however, of Newt asking her out now that she had made such a shocking first impression on him were slim, not to mention the fact that Hermione didn’t think that it was wise to enter into a relationship when they were faced with a completely uncertain future.
These thoughts all running through Hermione’s brain at the same time meant that she was standing there, staring at him, and unable to say or do anything at all. Newt didn’t seem to mind, thankfully, and instead just said “Well Hermione Granger, would you like to come with me to the kitchens and see if we can score some cauldron cakes from the house-elves?”
It would have been rude for Hermione to say no, right? Not that she wanted to say no. In that moment there was nothing that Hermione wanted more than to get a cauldron cake with him.