After givin"Harry Potter: My Life as Hermione"Chapter 103: The Taste of Sweat, and the Meeting of Rivalsg Hermione her first taste of flying, Qin Yu gently set her down on the grass.
"Feeling better now?" he asked, casually smoothing her wind-tousled hair.
During practice, he'd noticed her below, head lowered, absently kicking at tufts of grass—clearly bored and a little glum. Remembering what she'd said earlier, Qin Yu had taken a break, swooped down, and whisked her into the sky for a few exhilarating laps.
"Actually, I wasn't really unhappy. I was just... thinking about some things," Hermione murmured, pressing her lips together.
"Oh? What kind of things? Anything to do with me?" Qin Yu arched an eyebrow, his tone teasing.
"Yes, actually," Hermione replied, looking up at him with surprising seriousness and nodding.
"So, did you figure it out?" Qin Yu asked, genuinely curious.
"Hmm... not completely. But I think I know where I want to go with it," Hermione said, tilting her head thoughtfully before giving a determined nod.
"That's good," Qin Yu said, satisfied. He didn't press further—he knew if Hermione wanted to share, she would.
Then he frowned, feigning disappointment. "Miss Granger, after all this time practicing, aren't you going to say something encouraging?"
Hermione's face lit up with a mischievous smile. She clasped her hands behind her back, fingers twining, then bit her lip, rose onto tiptoe, and whispered in his ear, "So cool~ so amazing~ so brilliant~"
Her voice was soft, but it slipped right into Qin Yu's ear, sending a tingle down his scalp and a shiver through his heart.
It must be the proximity, he told himself—a trick of bone conduction, nothing more. Absolutely nothing to do with her.
Seeing Qin Yu's carefully neutral expression, Hermione felt a sudden, inexplicable flash of annoyance.
She glanced around—no one was watching—so she darted forward and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.
Just like last night.
Except this time, she didn't run away. Instead, she lifted her chin and met his "stern" gaze with a defiant glint in her eyes.
Hmph! Worst case, she'd get dragged off to another secluded corridor. Worst case, she'd have to accept a little "punishment" or satisfy his so-called symmetry OCD. Hermione decided she could live with that.
Finally, when Qin Yu gave in with a helpless smile, Hermione knew she'd won this round.
"Be good and wait for me to finish training. Then we'll go have a picnic by the hut," Qin Yu said, patting her head.
"Mm-hmm!" Hermione nodded eagerly.
The "hut" was, of course, Hagrid's.
It had been a week since term started, and with the weekend here, Qin Yu had arranged a little picnic with Hagrid and friends. Hermione was looking forward to it more than she'd ever admit aloud.
She watched as Qin Yu threw himself back into the air, chasing the scarlet Quaffle and dodging black Bludgers. Her eyes sparkled with laughter—and something softer, something she couldn't quite put into words.
Absentmindedly, she licked her lips and tasted a faint saltiness there—probably from the sweat on his cheek she'd just kissed.
Strangely, she didn't find it gross or off-putting at all. In fact, she rather liked this odd, slightly salty taste.
"...Is it weird to like something like this?" Hermione wondered, her cheeks growing warm as she licked her lips again, savoring the fading flavor.
Oh well, something to investigate later. For now, she focused on watching Qin Yu's practice, cheering and calling out encouragement every so often.
That way, he couldn't complain she wasn't being supportive.
...
Not long after Gryffindor's Quidditch team resumed training, a handful of first-years came running over, having caught wind of the action.
"Ron, why didn't you tell me Qin and the others were practicing today?" Harry panted, out of breath.
"I only found out when I went looking for George and Fred and overheard some of their mates. If I'd known they were starting this early, I'd have been here first thing," Ron replied, a bit annoyed at himself.
Between the two of them, Ron was definitely the bigger Quidditch fan—at least for now.
Harry, on the other hand, was mostly curious to see just how good Qin really was, and to get a feel for this wizarding sport everyone raved about.
"Hmm? Who are those guys?" Ron asked, spotting three familiar silhouettes in the distance. He had a bad feeling.
"It's Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle," Harry said immediately. He recognized them at once—he really couldn't stand that blond Slytherin boy.
Maybe it was because Draco Malfoy was the first wizard his own age he'd ever truly disliked. The memory stuck.
Just like Qin was the first wizard his age he'd ever really liked—a special sort of friend.
"Typical. Just ruins the mood..." Ron muttered, clearly no fan of Malfoy either.
Harry and Ron exchanged a quick plan: ignore the Slytherin trio.
"Harry Potter? You actually came to the pitch? Bet you've never even touched a broomstick before, have you?" Malfoy's drawl carried across the grass, full of smug arrogance.
"My business is none of yours," Harry shot back, stopping in his tracks.
He decided then and there to treat Malfoy just like Dudley—same smug tone, same piggish attitude.
"Hmph, watch out for Bludgers, Potter! Oh, wait—you probably don't even know what a Bludger is, do you?" Malfoy sneered, clearly amused by his own joke.
"..."
"This is Gryffindor's practice, what are you doing here?" Ron piped up, mustering his courage to confront Malfoy.
The Slytherin trio flushed red.
"This is the school pitch. We can come if we want. Besides, I want to see if that Qin guy is really as good as everyone says, or if it's all just talk!" Malfoy finally found a halfway reasonable excuse.
"Then keep your eyes peeled and watch closely!" Harry retorted, striding off with Ron in the opposite direction.
The pitch was huge—plenty of room to avoid each other. Out of sight, out of mind.
Once they were far enough away, Harry leaned in and whispered, "Ron, what's a Bludger?"
"Harry, are you serious?" Ron stared at him, incredulous.
—Dimensional Wall—
(Don't worry, I'm not dropping the story! Just busy lately, so updates have been a bit delayed. There'll be another chapter this afternoon or evening.)
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