Hermione stared thoughtfully at the vast assortment of dishes laid out on the buffet table, virtually none of them food she recognized, aside from some rather bland looking side dishes. She had been here now three days, but so far, every meal Hermione had dared to try was a tad too spicy for her sensibilities. The food was probably the young witch's least favorite thing about her new home, Battuta Advanced University of Magic, which was to say Hermione could find very little to complain about it at all. The grounds were beautiful, not to mention temperate despite the sweltering heat Hermione had experienced in nearby Fez. Her fellow students were all kind, and having all volunteered themselves for advanced education as well, they were certainly not the sort that would tease Hermione for her bookishness. Most importantly though, all the courses Hermione had thus far attended had left her thoroughly impressed, and she had given herself more than a full load.
Of course, Hermione had scarcely any doubts she would like it here. After all, the institution came highly recommended from Headmistress McGonagall after had admitted she was unsure what she wanted to do with herself once she'd finished her seventh year at Hogwarts. And McGonagall had been right to laugh when Hermione expressed concern over being admitted. Her acceptance letter came as quickly as one could expect a round trip to Morocco to be made by owl.
Yes, this place was like an absolute Mecca to Hermione. And try as she might to convince herself that it had not weighed in on her decision, gaining some distance from Ronald in the form of a few thousand kilometers certainly didn't hurt. Now with some unknown food in hand, Hermione walked haltingly down the dining hall, looking for some unoccupied seat where she wouldn't be intruding on some group. Ron's final words of advice flashed through the witch's mind; "Make some friends, Hermione." Hermione had rolled her eyes at first, but taken it to heart once Ron made it clear he was sincere.
Hermione tried hard not to let a scowl appear on her face as she thought guiltily of Ron, how blissfully unaware he was as she departed that this new chapter in her life was in part an escape. She knew she should be able to just talk frankly with him, after all they had been through together, but somehow the weight of their past together just seemed to make addressing any dysfunction between them even more difficult. Just as the scowl began to win out on Hermione's expression though, a saving grace came in the form of a faintly familiar voice.
"Hermione! Hermione Granger!" Hermione snapped back to reality and looked around for the source of the voice that was calling to her. "Hermione, over here!" And there sitting along the side of the room at a small table was the figure of a young woman waving happily at her. Hermione paced over quickly, rather surprised to find herself face to face with none other than:
"Cho Chang?"
Cho rose from her seat and quickly wrapped her arms around Hermione, taking her somewhat off guard. "It's so good to see you, it's been ages!" Cho then ended the hug and took a step back. "You uh, looked a bit like you might not have anywhere to sit. Care to join us?"
Hermione glanced back at the table. Apparently 'us' consisted only of Cho and one other witch sitting across from her; a woman looking perhaps a few years older than Cho and Hermione, with vibrant though obviously charmed blue hair. The other witch gave Hermione a very subtle smile and looked back down to their meal. "Oh, erm, sure," Hermione replied after a pause and sat down alongside Cho. "It was that obvious I had nowhere to go, huh?"
Cho giggled a bit and smiled broadly. "Well, Aveline did say you might be looking for someone in particular. Oh!" Cho suddenly rose a bit and motioned over to the witch sitting across from her. "Hermione, this is my friend Aveline Cortes, she went to Ilvermorny, in America." Hermione considered outstretching her hand, but when the witch only waved modestly at her introduction, Hermione opted instead to just follow suit. "Aveline," Cho went on, speaking slower as she introduced Hermione, as though she were choosing her words carefully. "This is Hermione Granger. We know each other from Hogwarts. She was very close to Harry Potter."
Upon hearing the name 'Harry Potter', Aveline's sedated expression perked up somewhat. For a moment, Hermione worried that she might have to answer some questions on a subject she really didn't much like talking about after doing so what seemed like hundreds of times. "Aah. Friend of Harry Potter," Aveline's voice was cool and steady, well-suited to her expression, and carried an accent which Hermione placed as American. "So that means you must have some good embarrassing stories about Cho, her being Harry's first girlfriend and all."
Cho's expression went instantly from the joy from watching friends connect to sheer terror. She raised up her hands to call for parlay. "A-Aveline, I don't think-"
"Well," Hermione interjected, suddenly very pleased that she would not be answering any uncomfortable questions—or not uncomfortable for her at any rate—and that she found herself on the better side of teasing. "I don't know about embarrassing stories, but I do seem to recall a certain very concise description of Cho's kissing Harry once gave me."
Cho buried her face in her palms, eyes searching frantically through the slits between her fingers for some savior. "Oh, do go on," Aveline replied, now sporting a Cheshire grin.
"I believe it was-"
Just then, Cho apparently found what she was looking for because she shot up from her seat and began waving wildly as she had done before for Hermione and shouted "Rolf!"
Aveline traced Cho's gaze and turned, and so Hermione found herself doing the same. There in the distance, waving back was an excited looking, short wizard, ruffled hair that reminded her of Ron's, save for its brown color. Moments later he was upon them, placing down a plate at the seat across from Hermione. "Hello Cho, Aveline!" he too spoke with an American accent, though his voice was far more chipper than mellow Aveline's. "And who's this?"
"This is Hermione Granger," Cho repeated. "She's a... friend of mine from Hogwarts." Hermione flinched a bit at Cho's hesitation on 'friend', though it wasn't exactly unfair. They'd hardly talked in their Hogwarts years.
The man, who had not yet seated himself, reached out a hand, giving Hermione a firm shake when she grabbed it. "Rolf Scamander," his smile came through in his voice. "Any friend of Cho's is a friend of mine. Very good to meet you!"
Hermione smiled back somewhat awkwardly, gears turning in her mind as she did. "Wait a moment, Scamander? Are you related to Newt Scamander, author of-"
"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," Rolf finished excitedly. "I am I am! He's my grandfather. I'm studying here at Battuta to follow in his footsteps, you know."
"Oh, magizoology?" Hermione said back. "Are you acquainted with the Lovegoods at all?"
Rolf's jubilant expression went almost instantly dark. "Yes, I am. Tell me you don't believe their lunacy." Cho started shaking her head at Rolf, to signal to him to stop, but he apparently took no notice. "They're all absolute nut jobs in that family."
Hermione folded her arms. "Perhaps I don't believe all of it, but I'll thank you not to say such things about my friends. Luna Lovegood, Xenophilius' daughter, is a friend of mine."
"Oh." Rolf looked at this moment very awkward, deservingly so. "So sorry, I'm sure she's lovely. I've only ever met her father. Anyway," Rolf now seated himself at last, "what were we discussing before I interrupted with my entrance?" With Rolf seated next to Aveline, it was now emphasized just how short he was. Or perhaps just how tall Aveline was.
Hermione thought back, but Cho was quick to answer. "Hermione was just telling us her reason for attending Battuta, weren't you?"
Hermione bit her lip, recalling what they had been discussing in actuality. Cho's clever trickery was apparently not lost on Aveline either, who rolled her eyes. "Yes, well…" Hermione pried for an eloquent answer but found none, her mind only fixating on her intention to flee Ronald Weasley. "I actually didn't really have an exact plan coming here. I was considering advanced transfiguration?"
Cho and Aveline seemed entirely satisfied with this answer, to Hermione's relief, but Rolf, on the other hand, appeared perturbed. The wizard snapped his fingers and said quite plainly; "you're lying."
Cho immediately began to cough loudly, apparently choking on whatever it was she was eating. Aveline didn't miss a beat, quickly retrieving her wand and pointing it at Cho, whispering the incantation "Anapneo." Rolf for his part recoiled at his own actions as well.
"S-s-so sorry!" and he immediately bowed his head. "I'm afraid it just slipped out. I'm a legilimens you see, r-runs in the family, and I can't really help it sometimes."
"He really can't," Aveline affirmed. "Not that he needs to say so out loud when he hears something he shouldn't."
"Yes yes, I know!" Rolf groaned. "Really, I am very sorry Ms. Granger. I'm not so good at thinking before I speak all the time."
Aveline said "not so good at thinking in general," though Hermione was no longer paying much mind to the exchange. The young witch was now instead stewing in her thoughts, her guilt about Ron having been essentially thrown in her face. She had half a mind to get up from the table, though she didn't much like the thought of dramatically leaving only to awkwardly pace around the hall looking for another place to sit. Besides, Cho, whose airway was now apparently clear, seemed to be silently willing Hermione to stay seated.
"Uh, Ms. Granger?" Hermione looked up at Rolf.
"Please, just Hermione. What is it?" she replied.
"Oh, well, um, yes, Hermione," Rolf paused awkwardly between each word. "It's just that, I thought I'd warn you, you're still thinking really loudly."
Hermione scoffed. "Excuse me? How can I possibly think less loudly!?" Rolf recoiled again, but next to him Aveline was laughing lightly.
"I can teach you some occlumency if you like," Aveline said. "Everyone who hangs around that dork enough ends up picking it up by necessity before long. For now, though, changing the subject will probably be enough. For example, Rolf," the blue-haired wizard gave her neighbor a nudge. "Now that you've shown our new friend how thoroughly annoying you are, were you going to lecture her on her choice of meal as well?"
Rolf pulled at the collar of his cloak. "I-We've only just met! I'm not that mannerless, Ave."
"Didn't take you that long with me," said Cho, now smiling impishly, an expression Hermione didn't recall ever seeing on the witch at Hogwarts.
"Okay well, yes maybe I'd have gotten to it if she joined us for dinner," Rolf conceded, now smiling again as well.
"What's wrong with my food?" Hermione asked. "Unless you mean how I somehow always manage to grab something spicy without meaning to." The smiling at the table was apparently contagious, as Hermione realized she had also cheered up.
"Not what they were referring to, though we can help you with that too," said Cho. "Take another look."
Hermione now did a quick survey of the four dishes on the table they sat at. Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her seat. The difference was immediately apparent. "You're all vegetarians," she said grimly.
Rolf opened his mouth to say something, but Cho spoke first. "And we don't shame anyone who isn't, right, Rolf?"
"Of course, of course." Rolf nodded sagely as he spoke. "No shaming here. Just gentle nudges in the right direction."
"Every. Single. Meal." Aveline added. "Forever."
"Well, it's important!" Rolf snapped and then turned back to Hermione. "I mean, that's a person you're having for lunch there!"
Hermione sunk into her seat and pushed her plate away from herself. "Well, I've certainly lost my appetite." Rolf pulled at his collar again, apparently reconsidering his words somewhat too late. Aveline sighed on behalf of her friend.
"If it makes ya feel any better," Aveline said, "he did the same to all of us. First week of my second year at Ilvermorny was just this pesky first year pushing salads on me, and asking myself over and over 'why me?'"
"Aw Ave, don't pretend like you ever didn't like having me around. You were one of the few that actually listened! Besides, I wasn't terrified to talk to you since back then you were-" Rolf suddenly stopped midsentence as a wand held by Aveline was being jabbed into the underside of his chin. It had happened so fast Hermione hadn't even noticed Aveline's movements, nor had she seen when the blue-haired witch's eyes had become wide as dinner plates. Rolf continued very slowly. "-short as I was." Aveline sighed and retracted her wand, turning her full attention to the food in front of her.
"Here," Cho tapped on Hermione's shoulder, pushing her own bowl between the two of them. "Try some of mine, I don't mind."
Hermione took a fork full of what looked to her like an unfamiliar rice dish. She'd never been that adventurous of an eater, though it was rather hard not to be this far from home. This though…
"It's delicious," Hermione said, her eyes wide. "Far better than what I was having anyway. What is it?"
"Couscous salad," Cho answered, clearly very pleased with herself. "Don't take suggestions from those two, I swear everything they eat has some sort of fire charm on it. I avoid the spicy stuff too."
Hermione looked at the two sitting on the other side of the table, who were apparently not listening and instead had moved on to bickering about something completely new. "Hey Cho," Hermione turned back to the witch sitting beside her. "Thanks for inviting me to sit with you guys."
"Of course!" Cho said as if it truly had been nothing, though Hermione could see the satisfaction shimmer in Cho's eyes. "D.A. members have to stick together, right?"
Hermione smiled back, nostalgia from the year they formed their army washing over her. It was only then, face to face with a beaming Cho Chang, that Hermione realized just how different Cho was now compared to that year. The year after Cedric Diggory had died, and even in the years after, Cho had always had a certain gloom about her. But now, here at Battuta, she seemed enormously happy. Almost fetchingly so, Hermione though.
Thoughts of Ron came to Hermione once more, and she wondered for a moment if she was 'thinking loud,' though she found she didn't much care. Ron had said to make some friends. Looking over the three sitting with her at the table, Hermione felt she had made a good start.
The common area of the simply named Quartz dormitory was more massive and less homely feeling than that of Gryffindor House at Hogwarts. A fireplace no less humble crackled on one wall, but in place of the many plush armchairs and couches there were desks and chairs of stone, certainly not lacking for beauty but leaving something to be desired in comfort. The overall feel of the place, Hermione felt, was noticeably more spartan, perhaps emphasized by the fact that most people in the room seemed to be dutifully studying or holding respectfully quiet conversations.
Lacking too was the house pride Hermione had slowly grown to love at Hogwarts. Here there were no house points, nor house quidditch teams or crests or tables or color-coded robes. To the students here, dorms were little more than a place to live. There weren't even separate dormitories for boys and girls; everyone was trusted to live together and act like the adults Hermione had to continually remind herself they were. On the one hand, Hermione appreciated this institution's more focused approach to education. Though on the other, the witch couldn't help but feel nostalgic for Hogwarts.
In place of a sorting ceremony, since there weren't any particular traits associated with any of the dorms, there was apparently some divination done to determine which dorm an individual would be happiest in. Hermione still didn't care much for the more casual side of divination, anything below prophecies, but went along with her placement with no protest. And apparently, there had been something to it after all since all three of her fellow schoolmates she'd now been eating her meals with were apparently in Quartz as well. Rolf had assured Hermione that despite a bit of a shaky first impression, this surely meant they were meant to get along famously in the end.
Now realizing she was hopelessly lost in thought, Hermione looked up from the parchment before her. Cho Chang was waving gently and walked over to a desk just beside her friend. "Hello, Hermione!" Cho smiling today as well; Hermione had noticed the older witch was hardly ever caught without it. "Wow, got assigned essays already?"
Hermione looked back down at the parchment and quill before her; she'd been struggling with the same sentence for what felt like an hour now. "No, not essays, I'm trying to write a letter to Ron."
"Oh, how are you two?" Cho asked.
"We're…" Hermione trailed off, thinking over her answer. Her first instance had of course been to just say they were doing fine. This might instead be an opportunity though. Hermione hadn't confided her relationship trouble in anyone; normally her go-to person for issues she couldn't take to Ron would be Harry. But anything Hermione told Harry would surely make it to Ginny, and then Ginny might mention something to Ron. Cho, however, could likely be trusted not to let anything slip to a Weasley.
"Actually, Cho," Hermione brought her voice down to a low whisper, though she was not entirely sure anyone in the room would care to eavesdrop. "Do you recall asking me about why I came to Battuta and Rolf accused me of lying?" Cho nodded. "Well, the truth is that I came here largely to put some distance between Ron and me."
"Oh, Hermione, I'm sorry." Cho put a comforting hand on Hermione's knee. "Have you talked to him about it?"
"No, that's just it. He makes it so bloody difficult to talk about anything. He can be lovely at times you know, but his inability to comprehend complex emotions is honestly suffocating… sorry, you don't want to hear all this."
Cho shook her head. "I do! I mean, if you want to talk about it that is. Although," Cho glanced around the common area and took stock of who might be within earshot. "Perhaps you'd want to come back to my room to talk? Bit more private."
Hermione took one last remorseful look at the letter she'd been failing to write all afternoon and sighed. "Yes, I suppose that does sound nice."
And so, the two witches exited the common area and began walking through the vast maze that was the dorm hallways. Hermione had thus far only been inside her room; a modest single which still featured rather sparse decoration. Looking up at the name placards above the doors they passed, it seemed most people also had their own room, though they did pass the occasional door with two names.
"Word of advice, something they don't tell you," Cho spoke, noticing where Hermione had been looking. "Careful not to spend too much time socializing in dormitories if you like your privacy. The building knows who you spend your time with, and it'll just mash your rooms together if you're constantly sharing space with someone anyway. Our first year Aveline and I were careful to keep just enough distance, but when Rolf showed up in our second, those two got doubled within the first week."
"Are those two..?" Hermione's voice trailed off, not wanting to fully commit to the question.
Cho giggled a bit. "No, though you'd not be the first to think so. I think their relationship is more like yours with Harry. Oh, here we are." Cho tapped her wand on the door handle and steered the two inside her room. "Make yourself at home! Well, not too at home." Cho motioned for Hermione to come inside and take stock of the place.
Though Cho and Hermione's rooms were the same size and even apparently featured the same windows with the same exact views, Cho had succeeded in making her's appear far more lived in and personalized. The stone walls were a sapphire blue with bronze embellishments which Hermione immediately recognized as the old Ravenclaw colors. The desk tucked into the corner was adorned with ornaments and keepsakes. On one wall was a large poster featuring the crest of the Tutshill Tornados, with players in their sky blue robes soaring through the foreground every so often.
The next thing which caught Hermione's attention was a bureau, the top of which was covered in framed photos. Hermione stepped over to inspect them; they appeared to be mostly family and friends, though at least one Hermione recognized as a quidditch star who had also apparently autographed the photo. And there in the corner, waving up at Hermione, was a quite flattering photo of one Harry Potter. Just then, the frame flipped and landed flat down on the bureau, hiding Harry from view. Hermione looked over her shoulder to Cho, who was now sitting on her bed and smiling bashfully, wand extended.
"Shall I forget I saw that then?" Hermione asked, a smirk on her face.
"H-Harry's a friend!" Cho snapped back all too defensively. "I've been thinking of owling him you know. Just to say hi, that is."
Hermione laughed a bit. "Sure, just be careful that you don't provoke a howler from Ginny in reply." Cho huffed and rolled her eyes. "Maybe if we home for holidays I can reintroduce you two?"
A distressed look flashed on Cho's features for barely a moment. "Maybe! Anyway, aren't we meant to be talking about you and Ron?"
"Yeah, suppose we are," Hermione looked back over to the Tutshill poster. "Couldn't help but be reminded of him by this, actually. He's always complaining about your team."
"Oh yeah, Chudley Cannon's fan, isn't he?" Cho was now smirking as well. "What a shame for him, they're doing absolutely dreadful this year. Again." Cho patted the spot next to her on her bed sheet, which Hermione took to mean she should sit down. "So, attending one of the most prestigious magical universities in the world to get away from your cruddy boyfriend."
"I know," Hermione looked down at her feet. "Not a very Gryffindor-like thing of me to do."
"I did always tell people you should have been a Ravenclaw," Cho said. "Though I suppose boldly going off to save the world does give you some points in Gryffindor's favor."
"Well, you showed up at Hogwarts in the end."
Cho sighed. "Yeah, and ended up having to repeat my entire first year because of it. Very un-Ravenclaw of me."
"You what? You repeated a year because of that?" Hermione asked, totally shocked.
"Apparently defending your old school from a dark wizard doesn't constitute an excuse to miss finals," Cho's smile now looked a bit sullen. "Was probably for the best though, really. My mum sent me off here to get away from what was happening in Britain, but I was so distracted being constantly worried about everything that my grades were total rubbish." Cho let her eyes wander around for a moment before focusing back in on Hermione. "We're getting side-tracked again. Tell me about Ron!"
Hermione noted as she spoke, though not aloud, that Cho was a far better confidant than Ron had ever been. She offered most only support rather than judgment or unwanted advice. And when she did put forward her own opinion, she always asked whether it was welcome beforehand. Hermione told Cho how Ron had become less and less interested in Hermione's views and interests since becoming a couple. How while Hermione was getting her N.E.W.T.s, Ron wrote often but never seemed to want to visit. How his long hours of auror training left him hardly ever willing to do anything as a couple, though he always seemed to have time to attend a quidditch match. How he appeared to take Hermione's acts of kindness and presence in general for granted over time.
"And now," Hermione continued, "that I'm not right within reach, he's become absolutely overbearing. It's only been a week, and already I've got three owls from him. He doesn't even wait for one to return before sending the next!" She sighed loudly. "I know I've got to send some sort of reply or they'll just keep coming like this."
"Hmm, how about…" Cho lifted her hand into a writing position, as if writing with invisible ink on invisible parchment and began to orate mockingly. "Dearest Ron, I'm sorry, but I love the Tutshill Tornados. Chudley Cannons are a bunch of losers. Yours, Hermione." Hermione and Cho both laughed madly in unison. "Well it would work, wouldn't it? He'd be through with you immediately."
"He'd think me absolutely mad," Hermione said, stifling her giggles. "I may as well write that I'm in love with you." The two laughed again. "Really though, I don't think I'm quite ready to send him anything like that. Before I left for here, he told me to make some friends. So I think I ought to just write him about that, though I'm not really sure where to begin though."
"Why not send a picture?" Cho offered. "I've been thinking it would be nice to have one of the four of us."
"Not a bad idea, Cho. Though we'd have to hunt those two down."
"Oh, you haven't used the intercom yet?" Cho lifted herself from her bed and walked beside a stone in the wall which was carved into an owl's face, which Hermione recognized as a feature of her own room as well. Cho tapped it twice with her want and leaned into it, whispering "Cortes and Scamander."
Immediately, the eyes of the owl lit up, and a slight crackling and feedback noise could be heard. "Rolf, Aveline, you guys in there?" Cho now spoke loudly, still directly into the brick. A few moments later came the reply.
"Hello, Cho!" Rolf's voice, unmistakably. "Yes, we're here! What's up?"
"Make yourself presentable and head over to my place! We want to take a picture!"
Hermione could Aveline's muffled voice in the background; "Why does she think we're not presentable?"
"Be right over!" Rolf barked. Cho tapped the brick again and the owl's eyes faded. Hermione was very thankful for a moment that she had seen this system demonstrated before someone took her by surprise in her own room.
Aveline and Rolf arrived shortly, and Cho produced a camera complete with a stand and timer. Cho first joked that the four should line up in front of her quidditch poster, but Hermione insisted they use a backdrop that wouldn't send Ron into an aneurysm. Cho ended up taking five photos, one to send off to Ron and one for each of them to keep. Even Aveline, whom Hermione had at first suspected was not overly concerned with sentiment, seemed happy to receive one.
Aided now by the visual reference, Hermione finished her letter to Ron, trying to keep her malcontent out of her words, and sent it off by owl the next morning. With any luck, this reply would satisfy Ronald for now.