AN: Hey there. :) I know this may come as a shock to some of you, but I haven't written in a while! *Hides sarcasm poorly* I started way back in the day on some earlier work, and looking back on those old fics makes me gag and gasp! I think I was just immature when I started, and I'm trying to write a bit better. That being said, I am going to do a big edit on my page and get rid of a lot of old fics. So if you have a request for one to be finished or continued, please consider this your first and final warning. lol. This piece of work was started last summer and has a few more chapters finished, so it could be a new beginning. Canon compliant, could be almost extracted from the book. The main goal of this work was to make the romance between our two favorites more authentic and believeable. I can't think of a better way than for it to start with what we know to be true...HP itself. Before I ramble on more, please enjoy and feel free to drop a note or review about any works you want to see finished and if you are pleased by the new work.

All my very best,

Ashton

Something to be Said About Tea

Chapter 1. Leaves, Life, and Laughter: The Tale of Third Year

Nearly falling under the spell of the perfumed air in professor Trelawney's prison of a classroom, Hermione haphazardly gazed down into her recently emptied tea cup. At first glance, the saturated leaves resembled nothing more than a disheveled lump of cooked greens. Harry and Ron seemed to be fairing just as well as Hermione, and the young witch had to stifle the ever-growing urge to giggle at hearing her best friends' tea-leaf interpretations.

"I dunno, Harry," commented Ron, tilting his head to one side and screwing up his face. "From this angle it looks a bit like a banana with a handlebar mustache."

At this prediction, both Hermione and Harry lost what little self-control they had previously had.

"I think this class is bananas," retorted Hermione with a yawn. Professor Trelawney shot them all a disapproving glare that only amused the trio further.

Hermione yawned again, stretching her arms high above her head. This year's ambitious schedule had been proving to be taxing upon Hermione's dwindling hours of sleep. "Well, if nothing else, this class does have its mildly amusing moments," added Harry. "Let's have a go with your leaves then, Hermione."

Passing Harry her horrendously pink tea cup, Hermione sighed; partly out of frustration, but mostly out of dismissal. "Go for it, maybe you'll have more luck than myself."

Harry peered down into the cup, his eyes fixed upon the organic way the leaves had arranged themselves. "Hmm…That bit there looks like a bird of some kind."

Hermione nonchalantly flipped through Unfogging the Future while Ron muttered something like, "Yeah, a bird…That stupid cat probably ate one for breakfast this morning."

Ignoring Ron completely, Hermione continued on. "What kind of bird, Harry?" All three had become blissfully unaware that Professor Trelawney was peering quietly over their shoulders and into the tea cup in question.

Harry shrugged. "How about a swallow?" He suggested as Hermione continued to flip through their reading until she found what she was looking for.

"Here it is," she added. "The swallow…A journey with a pleasant ending." Hermione smiled in satisfaction, but Ron was already shaking his head.

"No…No, that can't be right, now can it?" He replied, confidence laced throughout his words.

Hermione closed the book, slightly disgruntled. "And just why not, may I ask?"

Harry chimed in before Ron could open his mouth again. "Well that much is obvious, you would think. If it doesn't end in total destruction or my death, then there's just no possibility of it being right." Ron nodded in full agreement before he also added his two Sickles.

"Lemme see," said Ron. He pulled the teacup quite near to his face before then pulling it away from him, stretching as far as his freckled arms would reach. "Just as I thought," he nodded. "That's a chess piece, that is." Professor Trelawney peered back down into the cup, her insect-like eyes bulging even farther.

This time it was Harry who searched his copy of the assigned book. "The chessman," he began. "Means that you will be troubled by matters which are difficult to adjust to your satisfaction, and you must expect a certain amount of anxiety and worry."

"Well that much is also obvious, considering my work load." Hermione commented smartly before retrieving her cup back from Ron. Glancing only briefly down into her leaves, she then proceeded to slam it back down so hard on the table that the handle came flying off and smacked Neville square in the jaw, who had been seated two full tables away.

Without even apologizing, Hermione continued her rant. The stress from her schedule was starting to slowly chip away at her patience, and the young witch had taken to losing her temper at a greater pace than either Harry or Ron had ever witnessed. "It's just rubbish! The lot of it! I mean, really, tea leaves? Ball gazing? Palm reading? Maybe these people should try reading something real for once!"

At this exclamation, Professor Trelawney finally spoke. "Like a book, perhaps? My poor, dear girl…" She shook her head while Harry and Ron watched in disbelief. "If you had even an ounce of talent for this subject, you could have quite plainly seen what lies so obviously before my inner eye!" She swooned, her voice sounding just as wonky as it ever did.

It was hard to take anything the woman said seriously when every bit of her outfit seemed to sway quite contradictory to the harsh manner in which she was now speaking. But even Harry and Ron couldn't deny that there was at least some truth to what their Divination Professor had to say next. "In your leaves," she continued forcefully, almost breaking Ron's nose as she shoved the teacup past him and into Hermione's face. "Lies the wall."

Hermione, who had had just about all the tea leaves she could handle for one day, moved as though she were going to say something that Ron might say to Professor Snape, but Professor Trelawney rattled on, her entire being shaking. Harry got quite a bit warmer as the magical energy of both witches radiated and pulsed in their strong convictions. "The wall shows your lack of perception, for you have barricaded yourself into a reality with no truth at all!" At this statement, everyone gasped, and Neville dropped his teacup as it smashed to the ground. No one seemed to mind though, everyone was seated on the edge of their pillows, desperately waiting for what would happen next. "Just books!"

Hermione snorted, quite like a dragon might have done. For what seemed like ages everyone just sat there, watching Hermione glare at Professor Trelawney and seeing their Divinations master return the glare quite kookily through her thick glasses.

Finally, the silence broke.

Laughter.

Hermione was laughing. At first it was only a mild chuckle, but then the laughter developed until she was clutching her sides and tears were starting to form at the corners of her hazel eyes. Ron and Harry stared at each other for what seemed an eternity, but Hermione's laughter just wouldn't cease.

Looking confused, slightly enraged, and always deranged, Professor Trelawney was slightly beside herself. Throwing her hands in the air in disbelief, she did the only thing left to do with three minutes left of her class. "Dismissed!" She said, almost in a whisper. Everyone (besides Hermione) had been so still that they had heard their professor, and didn't need telling more than once.

Even Hermione, still laughing, gathered up her books and left the hazy room with Harry and Ron at her side. "Care to share what's so funny?" Ron asked as they climbed the stairs. Outside the room and heading down the corridor Hermione finally sobered up to reply, quite amused with herself.

"You kill your enemies with laughter," she explained, wiping the tears from her eyes. Chuckling once more she added, "She's delusional! And I find it quite amusing." And even though Hermione did indeed find their professor amusing, she couldn't help but feel the sting of the truth that the words had held, even if just slightly. This year was not proving to be easy at all, and Hermione began to question if she was indeed surrounded by a wall of her own doing.

Telling Ron and Harry that she would meet them later, Hermione left them to talk to someone who had been quite helpful in more ways than one in Hermione's struggle, and someone who was also, in most everyone's opinion, the master of walls and facades…

One Professor Minerva McGonagall.

Minerva McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor house and Professor of Transfiguration, had just begun to sit down for a cup of tea when she heard the entrance to her office sliding open. "Oh yes, please do come in unannounced," she whispered sarcastically while unseating herself from her desk to see who had stopped in for a visit midday.

Minerva had hoped that it would not be anything urgent or ministry-related. Since before the start of term, the Deputy Headmistress had been in constant communication with the ministry, especially about Hermione's time-turner. It had been a never-ending argument, because the ministry seemed to think that Miss Granger was too young to handle such a fickle instrument, but Minerva had known otherwise…She had come through victorious, but Hermione would never know how much trouble her Head of House had gone through to receive the time-turner.

"Albus," Minerva greeted her colleague and best friend with a nod and a very rare smile, albeit slightly forced. The stress of the extra ministry work and the escape of Sirius Black had finally begun to take its toll on Minerva. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company this afternoon?" She managed to ask, although Albus knew his Deputy too well to be fooled by her somewhat forced cordial nature.

"Come now, Minerva," replied Albus, seating himself across from his dear friend of too many years to count. "We both know, and are also experiencing, quite a great deal of stress as of late." At this, Minerva rolled her eyes and poured herself and Albus a cup of tea, seating herself only after she had fetched the sugar for her sweet-toothed colleague.

Minerva hated to admit it, but she was indeed beginning to show signs of fatigue and frustration. "That much may be true, Albus," she continued on, picking up her tea with both hands and blowing gently across the top of the steaming beverage. "But I fail to see why it should get in the way of my good manners."

In reply to this, Albus only chuckled faintly, his eyes sparkling behind his crescent moon spectacles. "Manners are to be reserved for formalities. I would like to think of us as more than acquaintances, Minerva." The Deputy stared back at Albus, smirking before sipping her tea.

It was a pity that Albus did not fancy women, because anyone could have easily said that Albus and Minerva were each others' perfect counterpart. And for the most part, it was nothing short of true. And however deeply their friendship had blossomed over the years, it had never developed or had the potential to become anything more than friendship.

"Your tea, Albus," she commented, smiling and gesturing to his cup. "It will get cold if you leave it just sitting there." An omniscient twinkle had appeared in Albus' eye, and he silently picked up the tartan print teacup, drinking slowly, before setting it back down on the oaken desk.

"You know," began Albus, gazing down into the teacup. Minerva stared at him. "It is in this way that life is not all that unlike a cup of tea," the words seemed to almost pour out of him, but in that graceful yet gallant way that only Albus Dumbledore seemed to be capable of.

Minerva raised an arched brow at him, only to question further. "How so?"

"That's the way of life, my dear," Albus smiled at the seemingly ageless witch. "If something is not used, it becomes lost." Minerva frowned slightly, realizing that both she and Albus had spent most of their lives waging wars. Even though the former had been won, the price both of them had to pay was undeniably great. "When one devotes their life to saving the world," continued Albus solemnly. "One forgets to save their own."

Minerva smiled even though tears had begun to well up in her eyes. She hated to cry, and Albus Dumbledore might have been the only living person around whom she allowed herself to truly just be. Minerva thought of her innermost desires of settling down and raising a family as she looked down at her teacup that had now gone cold. "But fighting in the war is something that I will never regret," replied his Deputy honestly.

"As I wouldn't expect you to," he whispered, glancing down at his tea once more. "But," added Albus. "That is not to mean that there is not a warmer future for either of us," he smiled at Minerva, who, despite these words, couldn't seem to muster a smile. Albus, realizing this, decided he had probably better leave his colleague in peace before the start of her next lesson. However, there was a faint knocking on the door that disrupted both of their thoughts.

Minerva wiped her eyes hurriedly and Albus stood up. "Do come in," barked Minerva in a slightly agitated voice. Company was not the number one priority on Minerva's list right now.

But then the door slid open to reveal none other than Hermione Granger, looking somewhat forlorn. At the sight of Albus in her Professor's office, Hermione interjected quickly. "Oh! Sorry Headmaster, I just needed to speak to Professor McGonagall for a moment, but if you are busy-"

"That's quite alright, Miss Granger," interrupted Professor Dumbledore, raising his hand in protest. "I was just on my way out." The Hogwarts Headmaster seemed to glide past Hermione and out the door before turning back to his friend and the young student. "Good day to you both."

Hermione stood at the door awkwardly, afraid she had interrupted something important. But Minerva was slightly relieved to see the girl, which meant that it couldn't be anything mortally pressing or urgent. "Please have a seat, Miss Granger," she gestured to the chair from which Albus had just left.

Hermione walked over and seated herself quickly across from her Head of House. Minerva summoned two new teacups and picked up the teapot. "Tea?"

The young witch seemed to almost jump out of her seat. "No!" She replied hastily. Minerva was slightly shocked, but Hermione continued to explain. "I mean…er…I'm sorry, I've just had all the tea I can stand for today."

Minerva smiled.

A genuine smile formed that hadn't graced her face for quite some time now. Minerva banished the tea completely before chuckling and adding, "I thought I was the only one."

Hermione Jean Granger was beaming, seated just there across from her Head of House. A smile from the seemingly ever-strict Transfiguration Professor was a rare occurrence. And for a reason unbeknownst to Hermione, observing this sight from a woman whom she had come to respect and admire greatly made her radiate happiness from head to toe.

Which was quite the opposite of her previous mood.

"So," stated Professor McGonagall as she relaxed for the first time that day. "If not for a cup of tea, under what pretense do I find you here in my office today, Miss Granger?" Inquired the Deputy Headmistress.

Hermione sat upright in her seat ever so slightly. "Well, Professor, I just came from Divination-"

For the second time that afternoon Hermione was politely interrupted. "Say no more, Miss Granger," retorted Professor McGonagall with a look that could have stilled the Whomping Willow. "I think I understand the issue completely."

Hermione looked slightly relieved at not having to relive her experience from earlier in the day, tucked away in the hazy prison known as Professor Trelawney's room. "While I have previously explained my strong dislike for Divination and Professor Trelawney as a teacher," emphasized Professor McGonagall. "I must say that she is a most fascinating and kind-hearted creature when not foreseeing the imminent death of everything within her immediate radius," finished the Deputy quickly, as if the words were scalding the inside of her mouth.

Hermione sat for a moment before nodding in agreement. "That may be true, Professor, but I don't care to be around her enough to ever find out for myself."

Minerva was at a loss for words. Personally, she wanted to continue on with the conversation in hopes of comforting her exceptionally bright student. Professionally, however, (which always trumped all else) Minerva knew that she had already said more than enough to have crossed a line…even if it were just a toe. "Well," she sighed. "I do trust you have resolved you issue, Miss Granger?"

Hermione gathered her bag back over her shoulder and stood up from the desk. "Yes, Professor. Thank you very much for your insight," she stated quite graciously. "And I'm sorry if I did interrupt you with Professor Dumbledore."

Minerva thought back to her conversation with Albus before she replied. "Not at all, Miss Granger. Please feel free to stop by here anytime." She said warmly, standing to escort her pupil to the door.

Before Hermione left, however, Professor McGonagall added something that puzzled Hermione slightly. It would be some time later that she would truly come to understand the meaning. "Oh, and Miss Granger," Hermione turned around. "Even though you may not enjoy the leaves," continued the Deputy.

The young witch stood in the doorway, awaiting the words with great anticipation. "Always remember," Minerva thought back once more to Albus' words from earlier. "There is indeed something to be said about tea."