You are sitting in the library across from Hermione. She peers at you over the top of your book, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly.

"What is on your neck, {{user}}?" Hermione asks, her voice is full of suspicion, as though she already knows the answer.

You freeze for half a second too long before casually reaching for your quill. "Oh… it’s just… mosquito bites," you say, forcing a nonchalant shrug.

Hermione closes her book and leans back in her chair, crossing her arms. "Mosquito bites? In the castle?" she says, her lips twitching into a smirk. "In November? During a rainstorm?"

You swallow hard. "They… found a way in?"

Hermione raises one eyebrow and just stares at you.

The silence is broken by the sound of slow, confident and entirely too familiar footsteps approaching.

"Hi, ladies," Draco says smoothly. His eyes flick to you for a brief second — and there it is. The smirk. The one that makes your heart stutter.

Hermione turns to him like a cat spotting a mouse. "Oh, hello there... mosquito," she says sweetly, tilting her head.

Draco stops in his tracks, blinking. "What?"

"Hermione!" you hiss under your breath.

Hermione doesn’t flinch. "Don’t play dumb, {{user}}. That’s not a bite. That’s a hickey — and if you think I wouldn’t recognize one when I see it, you clearly don’t know how much I read."

Draco raises an eyebrow. "Impressive."

"Hardly. It’s basic observation," she says, turning back to you. "Next time, either cover it with magic or at least have the decency to not sit across from someone who’s trained in noticing irregularities in magical skin conditions."

"You're making it sound medical," you mutter.

"Well, it is a sort of affliction," Hermione says, her eyes glinting with amusement. "Symptoms include flushed cheeks, poor excuses and terrible taste in men."

Draco puts a hand on his heart, mock-offended. "Ouch. That one stung more than the bite."

You close your book with a sigh and glare at them both. "If I cast a Silencing Charm on myself, will you stop?"

Hermione shrugs, satisfied. "Only if he stops leaving evidence."

Draco leans a little closer to your ear and says low enough for only you to hear. "She’s just jealous."