Dear Harry,
How's your stay with Ron been so far? I hope you're having fun and playing a lot of Quidditch- I know how much you've missed it during your stay here.
Are the twins pranking you too much? If yes, could they tell me some of their pranks? I need inspiration for some spells I'm practicing. I also hope you don't miss the piano too much; you'll be back playing at Hogwarts in a week after all.
My flight to Japan went well, thanks for asking. My friend- the sick one I told you about- she was really happy to watch our recordings, so happy she got me a whole bunch of Caneles from her dad's bakery shop. I was really lucky too- I managed to visit her while she was outside the hospital. She's preparing for her own gala concert with her friend who's a lot like you in some ways. I'm glad she started playing the violin again... I think telling her I'd find a cure with magic helped.
She believes me you know? She's not like those doctors that just nod and smile blankly or pat my head like I'm stupid.
So she won't give up. I won't let her.
Anyway, I'm thinking of getting you guys some sweets from here too; the ones Cho's mother offered us are barely the tip of the iceberg! Speaking of Cho, I'll be spending the rest of my time here with her in Tokyo.
I'll show you all the images once we're on the train!
Tell Ron I said Hi and not to break any limbs while flying around. The same goes for you!
Much Love,
Hermione
She sighed satisfied, and attached the newly sealed envelope to Hedwig and sent her off with a small snack and a gentle pat to the head.
"What an amusing way for magicals to communicate."
"True. I still prefer the muggle way... it is fun though." She conceded before adding with a small smile.
"I want to try it sometime- imagine Kousei's face when an owl lands on his shoulder!" The blonde sitting beside the brunette laughed loudly with Hermione joining her.
"A-as tempting as it is, I'm already risking enough by telling you about, well, all this."
"Ah well…" Miyazono Kaori, one of the youngest up and coming sensational violinists of her time, shrugged and grinned in that way that never failed to comfort Hermione ever since her earliest years as the young woman's protégé.
"So is my little prodigy ready for her second year at this Pigwarts?" She spoke excitedly while munching on an egg and mayonnaise sandwich she brought for their impromptu picnic while Hermione was sipping some orange juice she nearly choked on after Kaori's phrasing of Hogwarts.
"It's Hogwarts, not Pigwarts- th-they're not the same… at all…"
"Meh, whatever, they both have warts don't they?" She waved her hand carelessly while Hermione comically sighed and resumed with her drink.
After several minutes of comfortable silence and an empty juice box, the brunette's voice resounded throughout the mostly deserted park while the breeze played with their hair and fickle cherry blossoms.
"I hope it'll be a good year." She breathed out uncertainly while staring at the small birds hopping around and picking at some of the bread they threw earlier while her mentor rubbed her back in a gesture of comfort and solidarity.
"Time will tell, little one..."
"I need to do this apparating thing well so that you can show me Osaka… you made it sound really exciting."
"I mostly talked about the food but I'm glad you think so. You know apparition is only for 7th years and older right?" Cho quipped humorously while the two girls descended the stairs away from Tokyo tower.
"Nevertheless, I don't doubt you'll be able to do it soon enough." She resumed cheerfully and playfully nudged Hermione who settled for smiling coyly.
"Speaking of which, how's your wandless magic coming along?"
"Well, but I haven't found much time to practice for it- I've been reading up more on some topics…"
"At least you're done with occlumency and legilimency, right?"
"Sure, but I'll always need to practice with Professors Snape and Dumbledore." They resumed their random trek across the mildly busy afternoon streets in comfortable silence.
Eventually they came across and small park with a playground and sat on the swings, leisurely swinging for a while.
Cho later suggested they trek atop a small hill she visits occasionally to watch the sunset.
"Doesn't that involve a lot of walking?" The brunette was unsure of getting off the swing she's already gotten very comfortable with, much to the chagrin and whining of the other kids wanting to take a turn and of the Asian witch. Hermione warded them off with a well placed glare to which Cho rolled her eyes.
"It's really pretty."
The Gryffindor grimaced and was still reluctant to move, so Cho sighed, fingers poised at her brow to seem contemplative.
"If you come we'll eat whatever you want afterwards."
"Hmmm maybe…" She was still hesitant, looking up at the fluffy pink clouds stretched over the minutely darkening sky.
"And I'll take you to a hidden magical library- it's pretty big, you know." She casually mentioned while skipping around the swing set with a tiny smirk once Hermione's head snapped to her close friend.
"How big?"
"Twice as big as Hogwarts… at the very least." In the blink of an eye, she was being dragged forward by the shorter girl who tugged at her wrist with purpose.
"Are you sure you don't know how to apparate?" Cho quipped with a chuckle, but doubted the brunette heard her over her own drooling over the tomes she has yet to see in the library. Sometimes it was too easy to persuade Hermione.
Despite panting and faltering in her steps, the Gryffindor never faltered with her grip on the taller girl's hand who was long since carrying her own weight and walking up with her friend with nearly the same enthusiasm.
They finally made it to the cliff as Hermione was on the verge of collapse while Cho giggled lightly in between her pants and looked over at a passing train several streets away after hearing the familiar chugging sound of the engines.
Hermione, after recovering her breath, joined the Ravenclaw who stood at the railing and admired the city landscape below them, silently taking in the way building and house windows reflected the diminishing afternoon sun, while glistening tree leaves flickered and flew away from the faint breeze that cooled the inhabitants on this hot summer day, including the two silent girls.
Hermione contently breathed in and out while raising her head, and glanced up at the sky only to be greeted with a marvelous sunset. She lightly nudged Cho, who was grinning at two stray cats sauntering across the edges of a wall near them and pointed ahead of her.
Cho's eyes widened in awe for a moment before she smiled knowingly, always impressed with the sunset that would greet her on such quaint peaceful days. Her eyes shifted to Hermione, and seeing her two normally jaded brown orbs filled with such simple amazement and enjoyment elicited a warm smile out of the Japanese girl. Gazing back into the abyss and the long threads of pink and violet clouds extending into thin wispy lines to reach the fading sun, they remained standing beside each other in a comfortable silence interrupted only by the chirping of several sparrows that flew near them.
After the sun finally drowned in the endless azure ocean and the sky darkened to a cerulean blue, the girls finally tore their eyes away from the scene and grinned at each other before Cho led the way towards this mystic library that enthused the brunette so swiftly.
The 'Yakan' (Nocturnal) library she called it. Looking at it from outside, it didn't look any different from a regular library- perhaps it was muggle?
Upon her inquiry, Cho merely smiled and ushered her forward. What's stranger was the complete lack of people around them; even the librarian was missing. Nevertheless, Hermione dutifully followed. They arrived at what the brunette guessed was a storage door. Upon Cho urging her to open it, she twisted the door knob with a skeptical expression; what greeted her on the other side was phenomenal, unbelievable! To put it simply.
It was magical.
The first aspect that caught her eye was the ceiling covered by thick bulging dark clouds that occasionally brimmed with a hint of lightning, and in the gaps of said dark sky were shining stars that illuminated the whole room surprisingly well, asides from the lanterns attached to opaque ghost blobs with white triangles tied around their heads- must be a Japanese thing, Hermione concluded confused. They circulated around the 50 plus bookshelves that were arranged vertically of horizontally across the library, and were nearly a gaping 20 feet tall- a terrifying amount to the short brunette. Thankfully, the library had a lot of help, in the form of one tailed Kitsune (foxes) that lithely retrieved any book the reader desired, if asked nicely- giving them a snack never hurt either. Cho pointed out to her how there are also 2 tailed foxes guarding the librarian and doors of the library; apparently the more tails the fox had, the wiser and more powerful it was.
The librarian, dressed in a black Hakama, seemed pretty normal compared to the rest of the creatures here, except for the odd white medical eyepatch that covered his left eye and the huge black smoke pipe that never left his lips, puffing out white rings every now and then.
Hermione looked like she just stumbled upon Atlantis while Cho was impressed with the renovation and additions to the place in the time span within a year. Both got quickly comfortable with their surroundings and drowned in the inked pages soon after, occasionally taking breaks to pet some of the Kitsune whose cuteness they simply couldn't resist.
The librarian, as amused and pleased as he was with two youngsters so taken with his books and the endless fountain of knowledge they had to offer, nearly kicked them out in order for him to finally close and leave his precious establishment. Thankfully they left him be after he agreed in selling them a couple of books- something he rarely does for outsiders. Cho was a good responsible girl- he knew well from her parents, but this brunette... something unexplainable about her convinced him to do so.
"I can't believe you were able to buy those 'Mione!" Cho exclaimed flipping through a tome filled with runes and saw another about esoteric spells in french. Those two made her the most curious out of the books Hermione held at her side, in addition to a dueling book and an animagus one. From those alone Cho knew she was up to something again but decided she wouldn't bother with it until they were back at Hogwarts.
"How are you going to study these two?"
"I've been to France a lot when I was young and I've learned it during elementary school. As for the runes, Professor McGonagall said we can learn runes and arithmacy next year so I'll keep it until then." She replied slightly tiredly while glancing at Cho's own arithmacy, charms, and Japanese mythical creatures books with an appraising nod.
Cho hummed in understanding, impressed with Hermione's language skills before the two trekked on to her vacation house, hoping her mother will understand their tardiness.
After several owled messages between Hermione and the boys back at the burrow, they agreed Hermione would spend the last day at the burrow before returning to Hogwarts. Cho reluctantly agreed and stopped pouting soon after Hermione cheered her up with an offer of buying them dango and pocky- the brunette fell in love with these Japanese sweets and ate them every chance she got, with the amount she consumed worrying Cho. Heaven forbid she ever steps foot into Osaka- the snacks there will give her diabetes... if she didn't get it by now.
"I can't believe this is your last night here." She was back to sulking while Hermione smiled sheepishly.
"I'll only be gone a day, it's not so bad. Besides your mom said you'll go visit your relatives living south of here." She smiled encouragingly while Cho conceded with a shrug.
"I guess I did miss them… It'll be nice seeing them again." Her cheery disposition was back, though she let a yawn escape before rubbing her eyes and opening them in time to see her little friend who was already sitting, polp down sideways on the tatami mat set up beside her bed, snuggling into her pillow fast asleep.
'Lavender and Parvati tell me she sleeps like a log- short of nothing can wake her up unless you take her violin away' Ron told her once while they were having small talk over one of their more placid chess games. She had to admit her ginger haired classmate was very correct, and held back a giggle at her friend's awkward positions during sleep- very similar to her cat's that she entrusted Harry with, being able to talk to animals and what not.
She spared one more glance at her friend's peaceful face, her true friend, and let a warm smile slip before turning to flick off the lights.
"G'night Hermione…"
"Ah!" Hermione embraced the dirt floor and rolled to a stop before sitting up and grumbling about stupid no good portkeys. Upon seeing the burrow nearby, she quickly got up and dusted off her jeans and T-shirt, checking to make sure her violin was alright, even with the cushioning charm she placed on the indigo case as a precaution.
She grabbed it and made her way to the crooked mess of a house as fast as she could on her short feet, tentative smile brightening her face.
Said smile widened when Harry and Ron playing Quidditch outside saw her coming from a distance and forgot all about the game, zooming down on their worn brooms with enthusiastic yells, much to Fred and George's confusion, until they too turned around and saw the brunette's bushy hair from their view point.
"Tiny Mione finally showed up!"
"Well then Gred, let's give her a proper Weasely meeting!"
"Wouldn't have it any other way Forge!" They followed the younger boys with their usual carefree troublemaking grins.
"Hermione you made it!"
No sooner did they land on the ground, Harry and Ron tackled her into a warm hug, Hermione reciprocating as eagerly as she can.
"We missed you!"
"So did I!"
"Group Hug!" The two pranksters grabbed ahold of the surprised trio and swept them into a huge hug, practically engulfing the brunette in a sea of red.
Despite the scorching summer heat, Hermione didn't mind the warmth they gave off in the very least.
"Fred, George you'll suffocate the poor dear!" Molly Weasely yelled out after opening the door to welcome their new arrival after Ginny who was watching the boys play from the window notified her.
After breaking up the embrace and getting greetings over with, Molly finally got a good look at Harry and Ron's contantly mentioned friend.
Well, she was shorter than she imagined.
Nevertheless she welcomed the girl with a customary Molly Weasely hug that had the poor girl suffocating before releasing her and scrubbing some dirt off her nose.
'Damn Portkey…' She was embarrassed at this point and her reddened face made Molly ruffle her hair with amusement before expressing her joy at finally meeting her and ushering everyone inside for lunch, insisting they needed to fill their stomachs, especially Harry and her. Now that she threw her raven haired friend a second appraising glance, she noticed his cheeks had a healthier color; he filled out considerably, looking much healthier than his earlier borderline anorexic state.
The same could almost be said for her too, but she still dreaded the amount of cooking the Weasely matriarch would force feed her, as Harry recounted nauseously in his letters.
She noticed another red head looking at them shyly across the doorway with curious and nervous vibrant green eyes.
"Come and introduce yourself dear, there's nothing to be shy about!" Mrs Weasely ushered enthusiastically with her hand.
The girl shuffled her feet uncertainly to which Hermione smiled, reminded a bit of herself before lifting her hand in a small wave.
"H-hello there, I'm Hermione Granger. Pleased to meet you."
"G-ginny Weasely, likewise!" The red head's face broke into a smile after hearing Hermione's earnest welcome and genuine smile. Ron and Harry- it took her a while to get over her shyness of him but thank Merlin she managed to overcome it- both really admired her from the way they talked about her, especially Harry.
She was jealous at first, disheartened even, but upon meeting her many of those misplaced emotions evaporated into thin air and she decided to give this new guest of theirs a chance. The fact that she was a supposed musical genius played a large part for the amateur music lover.
After spending a few hours together and witnessing how she even managed to get Percy to smile and lighten up, Ginny was impressed. She liked Hermione a lot, especially after listening to her play the violin- any tune that came out of it was so rich in sound and spirit, it literally animated any room she'd be in- she swore she even heard some garden gnomes cheering from the outside. But more than that, she felt that she could fly, for a fleeting moment.
She was the first to clap vigorously once she finished, the rest joining in, much to her embarrassment and tomato red face. She muttered a thanks before trailing behind the boys who once again sprinted to their brooms.
She noticed the longing look Ginny threw at the brooms and the boys during their match and turned curious.
"Why don't you fly with them?"
"They won't let me play with them, even after Harry tried to convince them- Mum doesn't like me flying either…" She commented sheepishly while looking away, thought the brunette detected a spark of irritation within those words that hinted at a fiery temper; it would later become a core part of the red head's growth.
Hermione frowned thoughtfully and sympathetically patted her shoulder before walking outside in search of trees with copious shade to allow her to read comfortably. She bid the slightly bored girl a small farewell and set out with her violin strapped to her back- it had become an odd habit of hers, this constant attachment to her instrument, as if it were an additional limb.
She looked back at the boys playing carelessly and scowled at them for leaving Ginny out, taking a long look at the brooms they were mounting, before venturing into the illuminated clearing filled with trees with a small idea in mind.
She snugly placed her violin under a tree she liked and huddled beside it, cracking open her book on animagus; she was fascinated with the concept ever since she saw McGonagall turn into a tabby cat during class and wanted to try it out for herself. She was so deeply immersed in the book half an hour later that she didn't register the faint melodies of a flute echoing across the trees until minutes later. She looked up from her dog eared page with wide eyes and keen ears.
What a sweet Irish melody it was, probably played on a Scottish flute by the sound of it- still, it held a melancholic tinge- an undertone Hermione was familiar with and held in her own playing. This style though, the more she listened, the more she realized it was carefree and light despite the emotions behind it. She finally recognized the tune as 'Land of The Free' written by 'Adrian Von Ziegler'.
Insanely curious, she pushed herself off the tree trunk and followed her faithful ears towards the source of the music, violin and book in grasp. With footsteps quiet and careful she tried to find the source but after several minutes of venturing inside all she managed to do was get lost.
'Marvelous… where's Natsu when you need her? Napping of course!' She groaned internally at her predicament, though still lent an appreciative ear to the ongoing melody that now switched to a more cheerful gig, a mix of several tunes, one of which she recognized being 'McFadden's Favorite'. She smirked as an idea came to her and took out her violin listening for a couple more seconds before joining in.
If she can't find the sound, then she'll let it find her.
It was obvious whoever was on the flute's end stopped momentarily, probably startled by the sudden addition of the violin fiddling from who knew where, but resumed to play along with the cheery fiddle. The melody carried on for several minutes and Hermione was pleased to remark the flute was getting nearer until she finally saw the person behind it, once they both ceased playing.
The initial sight of a barefoot child with pale blond wavy hair with even paler sky blue eyes in a white summer dress, wearing radish earrings and prancing around with her Irish flute reminded the mystified girl of adorable Elven creatures and spirited wood sprites she read about in fairy tales- all that was missing was a pair of pointed ears.
The pale girl gazed at the fiddler with a gentle smile, flute at her side; if she was surprised she most definitely didn't show it.
She then curtsied to the bewildered brunette, the latter imitating the blonde absentmindedly. One thing that Hermione was partly glad about during childhood was the pristine manners mother had drilled into her.
"It's nice to meet you, I'm Luna Lovegood."
Hello again, dear readers and fellow visitors. I hope you've all enjoyed your summers and relaxed tons.
I'm happy to say I'm back and working on the sequel to Magus Symphonia, revolving around our protagonists' second year. So far I'm managing University and music studies well and have time to keep writing, fortunately. Although much like Hermione during the beginning of her first year, I'm running around to find a music room I could use to practice with my friends. (So far, no dice)
Once again, If there are any small ideas, critiques or any feed back you have about the story, do share in your reviews. I sincerely hope you'll enjoy this newest adventure as much as the previous one, if not more!
And if you haven't read the first story, please do. Otherwise, I'm afraid this one won't make much sense to you.
-Ramela