Part of the Year Long Scavenger Hunt (E15 - Write about Hermione disappearing for years and then reappearing) on HPFC.
Beater, Chaser, Seeker
It had been a lighthearted jest. Hermione couldn't fly, and Harry and Ron were known for taking the mickey out of her for it. Hermione was good at nearly everything else in the wizarding world, so she was determined to hone her flying skills, if for nothing else than to shut Harry and Ron up.
Ginny was waiting for her at the Pitch, but it had begun to rain heavily just a half hour before Hermione's lessons were to begin. By the time she reached Ginny, their uniforms were soaking wet. Ginny scowled.
"Hermione," she said. "I don't think this is the best weather to practice in. We'd better wait until tomorrow."
Hermione dropped her borrowed broomstick to the ground, putting a hand on Ginny's elbow. "Please, Ginny. You know Harry and Ron will be relentless if I quit before I've even started."
Again, Ginny scowled up at the sky. A bolt of lightning flashed across it and a resounding crack! filled the air. Against her better judgement, Ginny told Hermione to mount her broomstick. She adjusted her stance as she saw fit, and Hermione was getting defensive already.
"Do you want my help or not?"
Ginny put her hand on her hip and waited. Hermione sighed. "All right," she said. "I'm sorry, Gin."
Nodding, Ginny stepped away from the broom. "Now, all you have to do is kick off the ground a little. A little. Then you use the handle to steer. Left for left, up for up… you get the idea. As you kick off the ground, steer the handle up slowly. If you do it too fast, you'll likely go flying—and not in the way you want."
Hermione nodded once, kicked off the ground, held the handle upward, and…
No one had ever really believed Fred and George, but Quidditch players from many different countries had experienced the time lapse. Despite that, no one had ever figured that simply flying would make a person disappear. Even then, the longest a Quidditch player had ever disappeared for was two months.
But Hermione was gone. Ginny blamed herself; there was nothing else for it. Harry and Ron had stood vigil by the Quidditch Pitch every night for the last two years, but to no avail.
When they graduated Hogwarts without her, they left the Pitch for the last time, having given up hope completely.
"Harry," Ron said. "Was there anything we could have done?"
Harry's head hung low, and he wiped his watering eyes with the arm of his sleeve.
"You could have stopped teasing me. Ugh! Boys!"
Harry and Ron's heads snapped up to see Hermione standing before them holding a Nimbus 2000.
"Hermione?!" Both of their voices were hoarse as they ran to her and enveloped her in a bone-crushing hug.
"Oh, for pete's sake," she said, shooing them away. "What has gotten into you—two—"
They stepped back enough for her to see that they were years older. Hermione shrieked at a pitch so loud Harry and Ron had to put their hands over their ears.
"How long have I been gone?"
Neither of them wanted the pleasure of telling her that. Her cheeks reddened in a fury. She threw the Nimbus to the ground and stomped past her two best friends.
"I am NEVER picking up a broom again!"
Ron glanced at Harry, who had a giant smile on his face. "Can't blame her, can we?"
They both burst out laughing. Hermione was two years behind in her studies. They wouldn't see her again in another couple of months while she caught up, but this time her disappearance was warranted.