"Three Little Words"
Chapter One... 'The Cup News'
The atmosphere was beyond excitement. As Hermione Granger waited nervously for the announcement, people all around her were pacing the room, muttering to themselves, jumping up and down and running around in circles. Hermione's nervous energy wasn't coming out quite in the same form as many of the other people but she was just as nervous, if not more.
"Calm down," said Harry Potter, as she tried to pick up her wallet from the nearby table but dropped in three times before Ron Weasley had to pick it up for her.
"Calm down?" she exclaimed, louder than she had planned. Everybody in the room went silent. You could even hear the tree branches scratching on the glass windows.
"Calm down?" she repeated, a bit more quietly. "They are going to announce it any second now this is my future we are talking about I don't know what to do why aren't they hurrying up what is taking them so long?" All of her sentences were running together.
Ron patted her on the head. "Don't stress Hermione, look, here they come now!"
Ron was correct. Just as he said that, three very important Daily Prophet officials made their way to the front of the little room, one holding a green envelope.
Hermione recognised the three people as the editor of the newspaper, Abby Folding and two of the main reporters, Neil Dickson and Bob Berdutt. Biting her well manicured nails, Hermione eagerly awaited the announcement.
Three weeks ago Hermione had been flicking through the Daily Prophet, just the way she normally did every morning while she ate her breakfast. In this particular edition however, there had been a competition about three pages into the paper. They were looking for new talent in journalism and were running a contest for young wizards and witches aged from seventeen to twenty one who wanted to be apart of the Daily Prophet.
As journalism was something Hermione had been working towards since she could remember, this contest was the perfect opportunity for her. All she had to do was write a 200 word essay on why they should select her. It was just like homework had been at Hogwarts, which she had graduated from just last year.
The winner of the competition would get to report on the Quidditch World Cup which was happening in just one week from now. Ron and Harry wanted Hermione to win too because it would mean they'd get free tickets!
Abby the editor cleared her throat. "Before we announce the winner, I'd like to say a few words," she began. Hermione sighed in frustration. It seemed whenever something this important was to be announced, somebody always wanted to just say 'a few words'.
She felt Harry shift uncomfortably next to her, he was probably equally as frustrated.
"First of all, I'd like to thank you all on behalf of the Daily Prophet, for coming today for the announcement. You should all be proud of yourselves for making the short list."
Abby was cut off by a round of half-hearted applause. Everybody knew that making the short list wasn't a big achievement, it was winning that mattered now.
"Yes, yes, you all did a splendid job. The essays were all hand read by the panel of judges which consisted of myself, and Bob Berdutt and Neil Dickson, a couple of our senior writers. It was a very difficult decision to make as there were so many excellent essays, however we have come up with our final winner. And that person is..."
Hermione grabbed Harry and Ron's hands and squeezed them tight.
"...Hermione Granger!"
There was another round of half-hearted applause. Hermione couldn't help but feel disappointed. Never the less, she had done the best job she could have done and Abby was right... making it onto the short list was great. Still, Hermione was quite upset at herself and felt tears brimming in her eyes.
"Hermione? Is Ms. Granger here?" Abby was holding a hand over her eyes, scanning the crowd for movement towards the front of the room.
"Herms!" Ron nudged her heavily in her ribs. "You won! You won!"
Ron's last words stuck in Hermione's ears. She'd won? She'd actually won? An amazing rush of adrenalin came pumping through her veins, excitement like she'd never experienced before. She was so ecstatic that she felt giddy and the adrenalin couldn't seem to find a way to be set loose. So in the most dignified way she possibly could, Hermione jumped up and down screaming like a five-year-old on red cordial and hugged Harry first, and then Ron, and then both Harry and Ron and the old man standing near them at the same time.
"Congratulations," people were saying as Hermione made her way through the parted crowd towards the front where Abby and the others were standing. She could feel people patting her on the back and moving away to make room for her and for a moment, she felt like royalty. The other competitors were not being nasty to her at all and none of them were being sore losers... everybody seemed happy for her. It was all a dream come true for Hermione and as she shook hands with Abby Folding, anything seemed possible.
* * * * *
The next day Hermione woke up in her little blue bed wondering whether the previous day's events had been a dream or whether it had actually happened. It was all too much for her to take in at once and the reality of the success had only just sunk in.
Still high on the adrenalin, she leapt out of bed and did a messy and unco-ordinated cartwheel across the pale floor. The carpet was feeling ticklish and not only did her bedroom appear brighter but so did the day.
At exactly 7 o' clock on the dot that morning, an owl arrived, attached to the Daily Prophet. It read:
Dear Ms Granger,
Once again, congratulations on winning! The Daily Prophet staff cannot wait to meet you.
We hope you have no further plans for today as a chaffeur will be arriving at exactly 8 o' clock ready to take you to the Daily Prophet Head Quarters. After a brief meeting with Sarah Pumpkin, who will be your senior supervisor, you will be sent home with an itinerary so you can pack for the Quidditch Cup. You will need to organise this afternoon who will be accompanying you for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as not only will you get wonderful seats for the match but you will have backstage passes for you and your chosen friends.
Looking forward to seeing you soon,
---Abby Folding---
Editor, The Daily Prophet
Hermione had to clasp a hand over her open mouth. First the Quidditch World Cup and next she'd be jetsetting off to Rome and France and exotic countries, reporting on wonderful and undiscovered sights.
She choked down as much Bertle and Gertle's Marshmallow Bites cereal before running to her office area and dragging out some loose parchment. Without even wasting a second by glancing at the clock she quickly scribbled notes to both Harry and Ron just to let them know what was going on. She'd meet them at 2 o' clock at the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley, to discuss their travel arrangements. By then she would have heard from this 'Sarah Pumpkin' lady, what was happening and they'd be able to confirm things in more detail.
After sending her owl Snowflake off with the two important deliveries, Hermione raced into her bedroom and quickly went through her wardrobe looking for appropriate apparel. She had always been one of those 'no fuss' sort of girls who didn't really mind how they looked as long as they looked smart and tidy but today was an exception. Today she would be meeting the Daily Prophet staff and today she would need to look breathtakingly stunning yet down to earth yet level headed yet imaginative yet clever and organised without looking too strict and bossy. They were a lot of guidelines to stand by and as she raided her wardrobe she realised she didn't have a single thing appropriate.
Her jeans and sweaters all appeared too casual but her suits were far too formal. In the end, she quickly apparated to Houdini's, a witch dress store, still wearing her silk pyjamas.
"Uh hullo," a saleswoman greeted her as Hermione, glancing at her wrist watch, tore down one of the aisles nearly knocking over a moving mannequin who was sporting the latest catwalk fashions.
"Hi!" Hermione called over her shoulder, stopping when she reached the section with a big glowing 'Business' sign above.
She sorted through a rack and pulled off a black knee length skirt and sleeveless red shirt. She ran over to another rack and grabbed a nice looking black jacket with fake fur trimmings before running to the saleswoman handing her some coins, yelling 'Keep the change' and apparating back to her home.
When she arrived back, breathless and panting for air, the clock only said 7:28am. Relieved, she slowly got dressed into her new clothes, looked at herself in the mirror and to her surprise she liked what she saw for once.
The outfit made her look smart but still young and fashionable. After all she was only eighteen. She was allowed to look fashionable wasn't she? Hermione slipped on some of her good shoes, brushed her teeth and allowed herself exactly twelve minutes to do her hair and make-up.
By eight o' clock, Hermione was sitting in the kitchen, poring over the Daily Prophet with a cup of coffee and completely ready to go when a strange looking elfish-sort of creature appeared in the window.
"Good morning M'am!" is cheerfully greeted her. "Mind if I come in?"
Hermione, who was too shocked for words, just nodded her head as the greenish creature jumped down onto the sink.
It was only very small, probably about one and a half feet high with big pointy ears and a long nose. It had a large mouth with only three teeth on the top row and five on the bottom. It's eyes were also large and to Hermione's surprise, bright purple... an almost amethyst colour. It wore a grey pinstripe suit that looked like something out of the muggle 1920's and for a moment, Hermione had to force back giggles as she imagined it smoking a cigar.
"My name is PW Wokly," it announced, puffing it's tiny chest out like somebody very important. Hermione wasn't sure whether she liked 'PW Wokly' very much at all.
"Uh hullo, my name is Hermione Granger," she replied, taking a step back from it.
"I am your chaffeur for this morning and I will accompany you on your way to the Daily Prophet Head Quarters. Ms. Abby Folding sent me and if you are ready, I'd like to start our journey."
"Oh... sure, uh, Okay... I'm ready," Hermione stuttered. This was something she had definitely not been expecting. PW Wokly sure didn't look dangerous but one thing she had learnt in Hagrid's Magical Creatures class was that you could never trust... well anything!
"Wonderful," PW Wokly pulled out a gold pocketwatch and flipped it open. "Wonderful," he repeated to no one in particular. "We're right on time. Now, if you please M'am, would you step up to the window?"
"The window?" Hermione replied, in extreme doubt. What if PW Wokly was nothing but a joke? Maybe the Daily Prophet staff were somehow watching her right now, having the laugh of their life. Never the less, there was nothing Hermione could do except what she was told even if it was by a short, green, weird looking thing called PW.
PW Wokly waited patiently for Hermione to stand in front of the window and looked at her almost, expectantly.
"Well?" she asked. "What am I meant to do?"
"Oh sorry," PW said. "I thought you knew. Well, concentrate really hard on the glass and visualise the words 'Daily Prophet Head Quarters' appearing on it. Then take a deep breath, close your eyes, say the words outloud and you'll be taken there. It works for any place, just another form of apparation I suppose."
"Why didn't we get taught this at school?" Hermione wondered outloud.
"It's dangerous. Some people can't spell so they end up in all sorts of weird places. The Daily Prophet uses it because it's sort of a test too. You see, if the person can't spell Daily Prophet Head Quarters then they are obviously not going to be a good employee," PW did his best to explain.
"Oh..." Hermione began to get nervous again. What if she ended up in Siberia? What if she spelt it wrong? What if she sneezed or stuffed it all up somehow? What if...
"No need to be nervous," said PW. "I'm right behind you!"
Hermione gave herself a quick pep talk before deciding she liked PW Wokly after all, even if she didn't know his actual name.
Taking a deep breath, she visualised the words on the clear glass and closed her eyes.
"Daily Prophet Head Quarters!" she exclaimed clearly and loudly and within a second, something pulled her right into the glass. She thought she was going to crash right into it and opened her eyes for a split second. Instead the glass seemed to melt and inside she went, like some sort of portal to another dimension. She heard PW behind her as promised and together they went tumbling through the rainbow coloured swirls.
It wasn't an uncomfortable ride like Floo Transport always was, but she began to lose sense of where she was facing. After about what seemed like ten minutes but was probably only twenty seconds, the rainbow swirls faded and she landed with a thump on grey carpet. Another thump a second later told her PW had made it too but being more experienced with this system of transport, he didn't land on his rear end like she had.
She quickly stood up to find she had landed right in the middle of the Daily Prophet Head Quarters.
"Wow," she breathed as she looked all around at the busy, bustling workers. Colourful machines were going at the speed of light, printing and duplicating copies of the paper. There was a distinct smell of owls and when Hermione looked to the right she saw why. Towards the far side of the room was a glass door that she could see led the way into the room that housed all of the owls. Inside there must have been at least a thousand of them, of all shapes and sizes.
"Welcome to the Daily Prophet Head Quarters," said PW, proudly. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you into Ms Folding's office.