(DISCLAIMER: I obviously own none of the rights to any of the characters,
situations, and scenarios that have occurred in the Harry Potter universe.
I also have no rights to the character known only as Mallory, and any
events that occur in this fanfic that may resemble real life events are a
mere coincidence. I especially own no rights to the Ray character, as I am
only a minor and my parents own my rights for another 6 months. Lol.)
Part 1: The Mall and Many Questions
It was a hot day as Mallory and Ray drove along the crowded street. It was summer vacation and Ray was so sleep deprived that he was barely awake as they pulled to a stop at the corner. "Wake up!" Mallory said as she playfully executed her patented double slap to Ray's face. "I am awake," he replied as he slowly sat up and smiled. He looked out of his window and realized that they would arrive at the mall shortly. He pretended to stretch and slyly poked Mallory lightly in the side. It startled her and she yelped loudly. Ray chuckled silently as the guy in the car next to them looked at her strangely. "Meanie butt!" Mallory complained back with that smile of hers. It always seemed that the more she said that the more he teased her. It was their past time. After a few more minutes of driving they pulled into their familiar parking place at the mall, and got out of the car. They entered the mall and started at Mallory's favorite store. It was a good 45 minutes, and 6 outfits later that they left Deb and moved on to another store. After a few quick interludes in other stores they stopped in another of Mallory's favorite stores and she dropped another $50. By this time they were both more than a little tired and both were starving. They soon found a pretzel vendor and both of them ended up with a hot pretzels with cheddar cheese sauce. As they walked away Ray spilled his cheese, but Mallory offered to share hers. They made their way over to the food court and sat down. Their conversation continued on for a couple of minutes about nothing in particular. Mostly just more inside jokes, and Ray's own brand of cheesy humor. They just sat there for a few minutes, resting their legs before they got up to tackle a few more stores. Just as Mallory started to pack up their trash she noticed a girl standing next to their table looking a bit puzzled. "Umm...hello..." Mallory said as she looked up at the girl, a little lost for words. A few seconds later she added, "Is something wrong?" "Well yes actually, I was trying to find a bookstore called...err...Barnes and Nobles, but it seems I've taken a bit of a wrong turn," the girl replied. Her British accent was almost overwhelming, and it took both Ray and Mallory a second to figure out what she had said. She looked to be about two or three years younger than they were, maybe fourteen. Her eyes were brown and she had strangely frizzy hair, her teeth looked out of proportion, almost buck-toothed.
"We were just about to go there, we could show you the way," Ray stated as he stood up and pushed in his chair. "Really, that'd be great," she responded, "I was hoping to pick up some good books to read in between classes." "Your in school right now?" Mallory asked inquisitively. "Yeah, umm...I'm taking classes at the local CCC," the girl replied with a nervous smile. "I don't believe I caught your names," the girl added as she extended her hand before continuing, "mine name is Hermione Granger." Both Ray and Mallory kind of stared at her for a moment, and both of them were thinking along the same lines. "The Hermione Granger?" Ray asked as her shook hands with her. He thought to himself that this just must be an odd coincidence. Everybody knew that as much as they hoped J.K. Rowling's world was real, it indeed was not. Even though he was somewhat skeptic, the girl did fit the bill of how Hermione was written in. "Yeah I guess..." Hermione said as she looked at him a bit strangely before adding, "but what do you mean the Hermione Granger?" " You do know your named after a character in a popular book?" Mallory asked before remembering the girl's original question. "By the way, my name is Mallory," she added, politely shaking her hand when Ray finally stopped shaking it. "It's a pleasure to meet you," Hermione replied with a smile, seemingly having forgotten the first thing Mallory had said. They started off towards Barnes and Nobles after Mallory finished throwing away her trash. They walked around the edge of the seating area. It was obvious that they both were thinking the same thing; was this all a joke, or were they truly talking to Hermione Granger? "Did you say you were going to CC, as in GRCC?" Mallory asked, breaking the silence. "Yes, well, something of the sort..." Hermione replied. She seemed nervous as Ray and Mallory took turns giving her confused glances. They continued on walking past the pretzel vendor, and the restroom right next- door. Hermione asked if they would wait while she relieved herself and they agreed. "Do you really think..." I turned to Mallory and started to ask as soon as Hermione was out of earshot. "I don't know," Mallory said cutting Ray off. "If it is really her, then why would she be here?" she continued. "I don't know, but her accent was clearly British, she's obviously not from around here," Ray stated. "Yeah, and you would be the expert on British accents...," Mallory started in with a sly smile on her face. She knew she had gotten her revenge for the incident in the car. The inside joke was apparent and they both laughed before Mallory added, "Seriously, the only way we're going to find out the truth is if we ask her." "Yeah right Mal, what are we really going to say, 'are you a witch?'" Ray said, laughing at the idea of how ridiculous that would sound. It was just then that Mallory caught a glimpse behind Ray's shoulder and saw Hermione standing there. Ray followed her eyes and turned to see her standing there with her perfect posture. She wondered how much the girl had overheard... "Uhh...Hermione...," Ray just kind of stammered. He didn't know what to say and his heart was racing a mile a minute. "It's OK, I overheard that last part you guys were talking about," Hermione interrupted with a slight grin. "I suppose you want to know the answer to your question?" she finished. "Yeah..." Ray replied sheepishly. "Matter of factly, I am a witch," she answered coolly with confidence. "I know this is probably a stupid question, but, do you think you could prove it?" Mallory asked a bit reluctantly. At that Hermione started looking around, and soon her eye spotted the spilt cheese from earlier. Ray and Mallory both followed her gaze. "Cheddaro Mopup," she chanted under her breath as she lightly waved her hand. Sure enough, the cheese sauce disappeared and the floor returned to it's previously shiny state. "That was incredible," Mallory said as Hermione just looked on grinning. "Yeah, just think about the practical applications that would have in house cleaning," Ray whispered to Mallory who just laughed. "Is that enough proof?" Hermione asked as they continued on walking towards Barnes and Nobles. "Definitely," Ray answered as a million questions raced through his mind. He wondered if she was exactly how the book portrayed her. Had she really been through the experiences that Rowling had charmed the world with in her books? He had so many questions he wanted to ask, but he hadn't yet worked up the nerve. He wondered if Mallory was thinking the same things, and decided that knowing her curiosity she probably was. Hermione was like an old friend who went away for awhile, but then came back for her high school reunion ten years later. The three of them continued on to Barnes and Nobles, and upon their arrival they looked at books together. Hermione asked if we knew of any good books and me and Mallory kind of looked at each other and chuckled. Mallory listed several good books she had read and Hermione started looking them over. When we passed a display that had the Harry Potter books on them Mallory couldn't resist the urge to make a comment. " These are those books I was mentioning...your actually a main character in them," she said as she picked one of them up and handed it to Hermione. "Being entirely muggle-born I'm surprised you haven't heard about them," Mallory added. "Actually I have heard of them, but Harry Potter is such a common name that how was I supposed to know it was referencing one of my best friends?" Hermione snipped almost offended. Ray sensed there could be a clash of egos and personalities in a second. "I guess," Mallory answered, she must have felt the tenseness in the air. Hermione turned the book over and skimmed the back quickly. "So does any of it sound familiar? Or is it total BS?" Ray asked out of genuine curiosity. "It does indeed sound somewhat familiar, but I'm sure some details have been exaggerated," Hermione responded. She seemed to take great interest in the book. After a few more minutes of shopping Hermione decided to get the first two books in the Potter series and made her way to the check out. After they went to Barnes and Nobles, Mallory asked Hermione if she wanted to hang out with them for the rest of the day, and she gladly accepted. They decided it would be best if they left the mall however, because Mallory and Ray were itching to ask Hermione some questions and she happily obliged. The threesome decided to hit a local park to take a walk through the trails, and do a bit of exploring. They spent the rest of the afternoon conversing and getting to know each other even better. " I thought it was against the law for underage wizards to use magic away from Hogwart's?" Ray asked, remembering the cheese incident. "Of course it's not, what would be the point in learning it if you never got to use it?" she responded. "Whatever gave you that idea?" she countered as they walked on. "It's all in the books, you'll see," Mallory replied, climbing over a log that lay fallen over their path. "So what brings you here all the way from Britain? You said something about classes at CC, but aren't you a little young for college?" Mallory asked. "Oh that," she responded wryly, "...what I said was CCC, you must have misheard me," Hermione said. "...And what exactly is that?" Mallory inquired. "Since you guys already know more than most about me, I guess it won't hurt to fill you in," Hermione stated. Then she added, "CCC is short for WCCC, the acronym for Wizarding Chess Convention Center, there are plenty of WCCC's around the world, they are primarily used for the World Wizarding Chess League," she stated, proud of her extensive knowledge. "And you can take classes at these...centers?" Ray interrupted. "Well, the summer is the offseason for Wizard Chess, and so in that time it serves as a sort of summer school for witches and wizards," she answered. "So what classes are you taking?" Mallory asked. "Well, even though I consider it a flawed field of magic at best, it'll look good if I at least get a few credits in Divination," Hermione responded. "Besides, I don't know that I necessarily hated Divination as much as I hated Trelawney," she added. "Understandable," Mallory thought aloud. "...She was always on with her this and that about what tragedy would strike next, or who's karma would be through the roof this week," Hermione continued ranting, not paying attention to the fact that Mallory agreed with her. Both Ray and Mallory looked eager to say something, but they just looked at Hermione apprehensively, wondering if she was done talking or not. " So...can anybody take these classes at the WCCC?" Ray asked gingerly as they carried on down the winding trails. As the sun was gradually setting Ray realized just how much it had cooled off from earlier that day. "Well, it's not the easiest thing to get enrolled in, it involves quite a bit of hardwork and commitment," She replied before adding, "that is, if you are even approved by the headmaster to enroll." "How does one get approved?" Ray persisted, it was clear where he was going with this. "You have to go through a private interview with the headmaster, and then he determines if your fit for the program or not," Hermione answered, and then added, "Why so curious, thinking of enrolling?" "Of course we are," Mallory stated as she made eye contact with Ray, making sure to get her name in on this opportunity as well. "Well...I could probably arrange interviews for the two of you," Hermione said as she took heed of the dark orange sun started setting in the sky. None of them had realized how late it was getting already. "Sounds great!" Ray exclaimed. "But how will we know if and when we have appointments?" he asked. "I'll send you an owl post, you should know when your appointments are relatively soon, by tomorrow night I'd guess," the younger girl answered. They had unconsciously walked all the way through the path and looped back to where they had parked the car hours earlier. All three of them sensed it was time to go home, and even though they had hung out all day, it seemed to have gone by too fast. "It's been fun," Mallory said before adding, " Hermione, do you need a ride back or anything?" "No, it's OK, I have my own ways of getting back," she replied. "Well I guess this is goodbye," Ray stated, somewhat skeptical that he would ever see or hear from Hermione again. "Good-bye, make sure you send a response back with the owl I'm sending tomorrow, OK?" Hermione relayed. "OK, see you later," Mallory said, as she turned to open her car door. "Bye," Hermione said, and by the time Ray and Mallory looked up she was already gone.
~~~~~~ Please read and review. What do you think?
Part 1: The Mall and Many Questions
It was a hot day as Mallory and Ray drove along the crowded street. It was summer vacation and Ray was so sleep deprived that he was barely awake as they pulled to a stop at the corner. "Wake up!" Mallory said as she playfully executed her patented double slap to Ray's face. "I am awake," he replied as he slowly sat up and smiled. He looked out of his window and realized that they would arrive at the mall shortly. He pretended to stretch and slyly poked Mallory lightly in the side. It startled her and she yelped loudly. Ray chuckled silently as the guy in the car next to them looked at her strangely. "Meanie butt!" Mallory complained back with that smile of hers. It always seemed that the more she said that the more he teased her. It was their past time. After a few more minutes of driving they pulled into their familiar parking place at the mall, and got out of the car. They entered the mall and started at Mallory's favorite store. It was a good 45 minutes, and 6 outfits later that they left Deb and moved on to another store. After a few quick interludes in other stores they stopped in another of Mallory's favorite stores and she dropped another $50. By this time they were both more than a little tired and both were starving. They soon found a pretzel vendor and both of them ended up with a hot pretzels with cheddar cheese sauce. As they walked away Ray spilled his cheese, but Mallory offered to share hers. They made their way over to the food court and sat down. Their conversation continued on for a couple of minutes about nothing in particular. Mostly just more inside jokes, and Ray's own brand of cheesy humor. They just sat there for a few minutes, resting their legs before they got up to tackle a few more stores. Just as Mallory started to pack up their trash she noticed a girl standing next to their table looking a bit puzzled. "Umm...hello..." Mallory said as she looked up at the girl, a little lost for words. A few seconds later she added, "Is something wrong?" "Well yes actually, I was trying to find a bookstore called...err...Barnes and Nobles, but it seems I've taken a bit of a wrong turn," the girl replied. Her British accent was almost overwhelming, and it took both Ray and Mallory a second to figure out what she had said. She looked to be about two or three years younger than they were, maybe fourteen. Her eyes were brown and she had strangely frizzy hair, her teeth looked out of proportion, almost buck-toothed.
"We were just about to go there, we could show you the way," Ray stated as he stood up and pushed in his chair. "Really, that'd be great," she responded, "I was hoping to pick up some good books to read in between classes." "Your in school right now?" Mallory asked inquisitively. "Yeah, umm...I'm taking classes at the local CCC," the girl replied with a nervous smile. "I don't believe I caught your names," the girl added as she extended her hand before continuing, "mine name is Hermione Granger." Both Ray and Mallory kind of stared at her for a moment, and both of them were thinking along the same lines. "The Hermione Granger?" Ray asked as her shook hands with her. He thought to himself that this just must be an odd coincidence. Everybody knew that as much as they hoped J.K. Rowling's world was real, it indeed was not. Even though he was somewhat skeptic, the girl did fit the bill of how Hermione was written in. "Yeah I guess..." Hermione said as she looked at him a bit strangely before adding, "but what do you mean the Hermione Granger?" " You do know your named after a character in a popular book?" Mallory asked before remembering the girl's original question. "By the way, my name is Mallory," she added, politely shaking her hand when Ray finally stopped shaking it. "It's a pleasure to meet you," Hermione replied with a smile, seemingly having forgotten the first thing Mallory had said. They started off towards Barnes and Nobles after Mallory finished throwing away her trash. They walked around the edge of the seating area. It was obvious that they both were thinking the same thing; was this all a joke, or were they truly talking to Hermione Granger? "Did you say you were going to CC, as in GRCC?" Mallory asked, breaking the silence. "Yes, well, something of the sort..." Hermione replied. She seemed nervous as Ray and Mallory took turns giving her confused glances. They continued on walking past the pretzel vendor, and the restroom right next- door. Hermione asked if they would wait while she relieved herself and they agreed. "Do you really think..." I turned to Mallory and started to ask as soon as Hermione was out of earshot. "I don't know," Mallory said cutting Ray off. "If it is really her, then why would she be here?" she continued. "I don't know, but her accent was clearly British, she's obviously not from around here," Ray stated. "Yeah, and you would be the expert on British accents...," Mallory started in with a sly smile on her face. She knew she had gotten her revenge for the incident in the car. The inside joke was apparent and they both laughed before Mallory added, "Seriously, the only way we're going to find out the truth is if we ask her." "Yeah right Mal, what are we really going to say, 'are you a witch?'" Ray said, laughing at the idea of how ridiculous that would sound. It was just then that Mallory caught a glimpse behind Ray's shoulder and saw Hermione standing there. Ray followed her eyes and turned to see her standing there with her perfect posture. She wondered how much the girl had overheard... "Uhh...Hermione...," Ray just kind of stammered. He didn't know what to say and his heart was racing a mile a minute. "It's OK, I overheard that last part you guys were talking about," Hermione interrupted with a slight grin. "I suppose you want to know the answer to your question?" she finished. "Yeah..." Ray replied sheepishly. "Matter of factly, I am a witch," she answered coolly with confidence. "I know this is probably a stupid question, but, do you think you could prove it?" Mallory asked a bit reluctantly. At that Hermione started looking around, and soon her eye spotted the spilt cheese from earlier. Ray and Mallory both followed her gaze. "Cheddaro Mopup," she chanted under her breath as she lightly waved her hand. Sure enough, the cheese sauce disappeared and the floor returned to it's previously shiny state. "That was incredible," Mallory said as Hermione just looked on grinning. "Yeah, just think about the practical applications that would have in house cleaning," Ray whispered to Mallory who just laughed. "Is that enough proof?" Hermione asked as they continued on walking towards Barnes and Nobles. "Definitely," Ray answered as a million questions raced through his mind. He wondered if she was exactly how the book portrayed her. Had she really been through the experiences that Rowling had charmed the world with in her books? He had so many questions he wanted to ask, but he hadn't yet worked up the nerve. He wondered if Mallory was thinking the same things, and decided that knowing her curiosity she probably was. Hermione was like an old friend who went away for awhile, but then came back for her high school reunion ten years later. The three of them continued on to Barnes and Nobles, and upon their arrival they looked at books together. Hermione asked if we knew of any good books and me and Mallory kind of looked at each other and chuckled. Mallory listed several good books she had read and Hermione started looking them over. When we passed a display that had the Harry Potter books on them Mallory couldn't resist the urge to make a comment. " These are those books I was mentioning...your actually a main character in them," she said as she picked one of them up and handed it to Hermione. "Being entirely muggle-born I'm surprised you haven't heard about them," Mallory added. "Actually I have heard of them, but Harry Potter is such a common name that how was I supposed to know it was referencing one of my best friends?" Hermione snipped almost offended. Ray sensed there could be a clash of egos and personalities in a second. "I guess," Mallory answered, she must have felt the tenseness in the air. Hermione turned the book over and skimmed the back quickly. "So does any of it sound familiar? Or is it total BS?" Ray asked out of genuine curiosity. "It does indeed sound somewhat familiar, but I'm sure some details have been exaggerated," Hermione responded. She seemed to take great interest in the book. After a few more minutes of shopping Hermione decided to get the first two books in the Potter series and made her way to the check out. After they went to Barnes and Nobles, Mallory asked Hermione if she wanted to hang out with them for the rest of the day, and she gladly accepted. They decided it would be best if they left the mall however, because Mallory and Ray were itching to ask Hermione some questions and she happily obliged. The threesome decided to hit a local park to take a walk through the trails, and do a bit of exploring. They spent the rest of the afternoon conversing and getting to know each other even better. " I thought it was against the law for underage wizards to use magic away from Hogwart's?" Ray asked, remembering the cheese incident. "Of course it's not, what would be the point in learning it if you never got to use it?" she responded. "Whatever gave you that idea?" she countered as they walked on. "It's all in the books, you'll see," Mallory replied, climbing over a log that lay fallen over their path. "So what brings you here all the way from Britain? You said something about classes at CC, but aren't you a little young for college?" Mallory asked. "Oh that," she responded wryly, "...what I said was CCC, you must have misheard me," Hermione said. "...And what exactly is that?" Mallory inquired. "Since you guys already know more than most about me, I guess it won't hurt to fill you in," Hermione stated. Then she added, "CCC is short for WCCC, the acronym for Wizarding Chess Convention Center, there are plenty of WCCC's around the world, they are primarily used for the World Wizarding Chess League," she stated, proud of her extensive knowledge. "And you can take classes at these...centers?" Ray interrupted. "Well, the summer is the offseason for Wizard Chess, and so in that time it serves as a sort of summer school for witches and wizards," she answered. "So what classes are you taking?" Mallory asked. "Well, even though I consider it a flawed field of magic at best, it'll look good if I at least get a few credits in Divination," Hermione responded. "Besides, I don't know that I necessarily hated Divination as much as I hated Trelawney," she added. "Understandable," Mallory thought aloud. "...She was always on with her this and that about what tragedy would strike next, or who's karma would be through the roof this week," Hermione continued ranting, not paying attention to the fact that Mallory agreed with her. Both Ray and Mallory looked eager to say something, but they just looked at Hermione apprehensively, wondering if she was done talking or not. " So...can anybody take these classes at the WCCC?" Ray asked gingerly as they carried on down the winding trails. As the sun was gradually setting Ray realized just how much it had cooled off from earlier that day. "Well, it's not the easiest thing to get enrolled in, it involves quite a bit of hardwork and commitment," She replied before adding, "that is, if you are even approved by the headmaster to enroll." "How does one get approved?" Ray persisted, it was clear where he was going with this. "You have to go through a private interview with the headmaster, and then he determines if your fit for the program or not," Hermione answered, and then added, "Why so curious, thinking of enrolling?" "Of course we are," Mallory stated as she made eye contact with Ray, making sure to get her name in on this opportunity as well. "Well...I could probably arrange interviews for the two of you," Hermione said as she took heed of the dark orange sun started setting in the sky. None of them had realized how late it was getting already. "Sounds great!" Ray exclaimed. "But how will we know if and when we have appointments?" he asked. "I'll send you an owl post, you should know when your appointments are relatively soon, by tomorrow night I'd guess," the younger girl answered. They had unconsciously walked all the way through the path and looped back to where they had parked the car hours earlier. All three of them sensed it was time to go home, and even though they had hung out all day, it seemed to have gone by too fast. "It's been fun," Mallory said before adding, " Hermione, do you need a ride back or anything?" "No, it's OK, I have my own ways of getting back," she replied. "Well I guess this is goodbye," Ray stated, somewhat skeptical that he would ever see or hear from Hermione again. "Good-bye, make sure you send a response back with the owl I'm sending tomorrow, OK?" Hermione relayed. "OK, see you later," Mallory said, as she turned to open her car door. "Bye," Hermione said, and by the time Ray and Mallory looked up she was already gone.
~~~~~~ Please read and review. What do you think?