“Love is a bicycle with two pancakes for wheels. You may see love as more of an exercise in hard work, but I see it as more of a breakfast on the go.” ― Jarod Kintz

“I didn’t ask last night because it seemed like a bad idea at that precise moment, but where did you go yesterday?” Cho asked Hermione the next morning as they walked down the buffet line at breakfast the next morning.

“Well,” Hermione began with a smile as she added strawberries to her plate already laden with a variety of fresh fruits. “At first I went to the bookstore, where I met someone. Then we went to the café next door and talked.”

“Ooooh! You met ‘someone,’ eh?” Cho asked with a smile, raising an eyebrow. “I told you Frenchmen are dashing. Now spill the details!”

“There really isn’t much to spill,” Hermione replied, adding toast to her plate. But after seeing Cho’s crestfallen face, she reluctantly added, “Hermione style or Parvati and Lavender style?”

“Both,” Cho replied excitedly.

“He was intellectual, knowledgeable, interesting, and has a great taste in literature,” Hermione replied, pouring herself a steaming cup of tea. “As for the Parvati and Lavender version, he was…handsome.”

“That’s it?! Just ‘handsome’?!” Cho asked, looking like a child who had just been told that Christmas was cancelled. “We both know Parvati and Lavender would spill much more than that!”

“Fine! What do you want to know?” Hermione asked, adding sugar to her tea.

“Hmm, how about height?” Cho asked, getting herself a glass of orange juice.

“Roughly around 6’ 3”,” Hermione replied, picking up her tea and plate and making her way towards Blaise’s table.

“Hair?” Cho asked, following her.

“Medium length. Dark brown,” Hermione replied, setting her food down and taking a seat next to Pansy.

“Eyes?” Cho asked, sitting down between Hermione and Blaise.

“Sapphire blue.”

“What are you two talking about?” Pansy asked in a bored voice, spreading strawberry crème cheese on a bagel.

Before Hermione could say, “nothing,” Cho replied, “A guy Hermione met yesterday.”

Hermione shot her a quick glare before adding, “Oh, it’s nothing.”

Draco, who had previously been leaning back on his chair with his eyes closed, sipping his coffee, opened his stormy grey eyes and looked at Hermione with renewed interest.

“Do tell us more about him,” Pansy replied, showing interest in Hermione for the first time since her arrival.

Before Hermione could attempt to change the subject, Cho proceeded to enlighten them with everything Hermione had told her about the mysterious stranger.

“Are you sure he isn’t a character from the books you read?” Draco drawled from his side of the table.

“What’s his name?” Blaise asked, ignoring Draco.

“I…I don’t know,” Hermioe replied frowning, “I never asked him.”

“Yep,” Draco declared. “That confirms it. The mystery man is a figment of Granger’s overactive imagination.”

Hermione glared at him. “Anyways. It hardly matters. I don’t expect to see him again.”

“Why? Did you move on to another fictional character?” Draco asked.

“If you—,“ Hermione threatened, her hand itching towards her wand.

“Okay, then,” Cho announced loudly, trying to stop a fight from breaking out. “What’s on the agenda for today?”

Catching on what Cho was trying to do, Blaise replied, “Well, we don’t really have anything planned. I suppose we can all pick a place to go.”

“Place Vendôme,” Pansy offered looking bored. “They have amazing boutiques.”

“Their architecture is profound,” Draco commented, taking them by surprise.

“Okay,” Blaise replied. “Hermione?”

“Either Musee d'Orsay or the Lourve,” Hermione replied.

“Of course you’d pick museums,” Draco muttered.

“What’s wrong with museums? Are they too intellectual for your non-existent brain?” Hermione asked.

“Museums are boring! They are for children, old people, and teachers,” Draco replied, as if it was common sense.

“Museums are not boring! They are a great place for further enhancing---,” Hermione began, completely outraged.

“I think you just proved my point that museums are boring,” Draco replied with a yawn.

Before this argument could commence any further, Blaise cut in, “So we have the Place Vendôme, Musee d'Orsay, the Lourve so far. What about you, Cho?”

“The Tuileries Gardens,” Cho replied with a smile.

“Draco?” Blasie asked.

“I don’t care, as long as it isn’t a museum,” Draco drawled, pointedly glancing at Hermione.

“Alright, we can go to Place Vendôme, Musee d'Orsay, and the Tuileries Gardens today. Tomorrow we can go to the Lourve, Eiffel Tower, and finish it off with Avenue des Champs Elysees for New Year’s. Okay?”

“Sounds good!” Cho replied while Pansy picked at her food with mind-blowing indifference, sometimes glancing between Draco and Hermione, who glared at each other with pure, unfiltered hatred.

Thus the group spent the next two days visiting various attractions and eating the delicious food that France had to offer.

Although the trip had been fun for the most part, they were all eager to get back. By the end of Sunday, Blaise and Cho were exhausted from keeping Draco and Hermione from biting each other’s heads off, Pansy was becoming increasingly jealous of Hermione and wondering if her chances at scoring Draco were being jeopardized by her presence, and Draco and Hermione were happily at each other’s throats, continuously wanting to hex each other into oblivion.

Thus they all went to Avenue des Champs Elysees, gratefully, with hopes of ending the year on a sweeter note.