Ok, my first real fic. Sooo excited! Please R&R, but no flames! My fragile
self-esteem can't take much! Thanks!
bReminiscing/b
Hermione Granger ground her teeth nervously as she made her way through the crowd aboard the Hogwarts Express. She scanned the aisle apprehensively. She couldn't see any empty compartments, and she certainly didn't know anyone she could sit with- at least, not yet. She was peering through the glass at another occupied compartment when she heard a throat clear behind her. She turned around to face a short, round-faced boy who looked about her age. "There's a seat open in here..." he trailed off.
"Thanks!" She smiled gratefully and he grinned back. "My name is Hermione Granger, by the way."
"Neville Longbottom," he said, leading the way into the compartment.
10 minutes later she bit back a groan as she opened yet another compartment door and leaned in. "Has anyone seen a toad?" She asked hopefully, but everyone shook their heads. She sighed and closed the door. Neville, though very nice, turned out to be very forgetful and blundering, having lost his toad, Trevor, in no time at all after meeting Hermione. She flattened herself against the wall just in time, as two tall red-haired boys and another boy in dreadlocks sped down the aisle, nearly running into her, and trodding on Neville's feet, which were sticking out from beneath his robes. She drew herself up and regained her composure, took a deep breath and opened the next door.
"Have you seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said, looking down at the compartment's occupants, two boys her age.
"We already told him we haven't seen it," one of them, a thin, gangly boy with bright red hair and a smudge on his nose answered. She didn't pay attention though, she had just noticed that he was was holding a wand over a rat in his lap.
"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." She sat down, feeling hopeful. Her mother had told her before she left that if she showed an interest in others, they would be friendly. However, this boy looked very put upon, while the black-haired boy simply looked at her, mildy interested.
"Er- all right." He paused then waved his wand and recited:
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
Nothing happened. The rat was still gray, and appeared to be sleeping. "Are you sure that's a real spell?" she asked, trying to keep the tinge of doubt from her voice, thinking 'nobody likes a know-it-all.' "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard- I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" She took a deep breath, realizing that she had talked very fast. Now the redhead was staring at her irately, and the black-haired boy looked amused- both by his friend's reaction and her. Inwardly she groaned. She had been making weird things happen since she was little, and it hadn't helped her make any friends at her old school. It seemed her social skills were a bit rusty. iA bit rusty!/i She though to herself, i more than a bit! He's looking at me like I'm insane!/i She was referring to the redhead, of course. The other boy was still just watching her, indifferent.
After what seemed like an eternity (but was probably no more than a minute) the redhead spoke. "I'm Ron Weasley," he said.
"Harry Potter," the black-haired boy introduced himself.
Hermione forgot all about social skills upon hearing this. "Are you really?" She asked him excitedly, "I know all about you, of course - I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in iModern Magical History/i and iThe Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts/i and i Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century/I."
He looked sort of surprised, "am I?" He asked.
"Goodness didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," she replied. Then she recalled what he was famous for and wanted to hit herself. iStupid!/i She thought, i he's famous because some Dark Wizard killed his parents and not him and I've just gone and practically said I was jealous! /i
She changed the subject quickly, blabbering a bit about houses and then then telling them they'd better change. She left the compartment with Neville in tow. "I really put my foot in it, didn't I?" She asked him miserably. He avoided her eyes and concentrated on not tripping over his robes. "Grreeatt!" She groaned, exasperated with herself. i This'll be just like home,/i she thought, thoroughly depressed.
bThe Present/b
And it was for a while, she reflected, everyone had hated her, especially Ron and Harry, until Halloween. She always considered Halloween their unofficial anniversary of being friends. In a way, she realized, she almost owed Quirrell for letting that troll in, ironically enough. Without it, she would have never become friends with Ron and Harry. And, she thought sadly, none of this recent war would have been easy without them.
"What are you thinking about?" Ron asked her, a quizzical expression on his freckled face. The way he wrinkled his long nose made the freckles look bunched together around it. She laughed in spite of herself. "What?" He asked, genuinely confused. "What's so funny?" She laughed even harder now. She had started and she couldn't stop. Several other people in the Common Room were shooting her curious looks, and several seemed amused to see Hermione Granger, the class brain, who was usually serious about everything, belly-laughing like this. Ron looked so confused now that she made herself stop.
"I'm sorry!" She gasped, "but I was just thinking about how we all became friends and then you looked at me and your nose, and freckles-oh!" She broke off, laughing again. Ron looked less than amused though.
"You were laughing at my freckles?" He asked incredulously, and she thought she detected a tiny bit of hurt in his eyes as they bored into hers.
"Well, at first, then I just couldn't stop, I guess I just hadn't had a good laugh in a while." She bit her lip, hoping he wouldn't be mad. They had quarreled over far less before, after all, and now it didn't seem right to waste time fighting over small things. Now, in the midst of war, they should focus on the positive. She needn't have worried however, for, though face clouded for a second, he quickly grinned at her.
"Ok, well, I was going to be mad, but you're very right. We haven't really laughed in a long time. Certainly not really since, well, June, and all." He frowned at the memory, and she nudged his shoulder lightly.
"Come on, we were laughing a second ago." He smiled weakly, then his gaze shifted to over her shoulder.
"Oh, hey guys!" He cried, weak smile replaced by a fake, hearty one. She turned to see who he was addressing, and smiled. Harry and Ginny were bundled up like the eskimo wizards she had seen in iMagical Weather Theory/i, snow rapidly melting in their hair and on their cloaks and scarves.
"Hi Harry, Ginny, is it a little cold outside?" She joked. Harry laughed good-naturedly as Ginny scowled. "Bloody freezing, thanks. And you-" she turned on Ron, who was cowering a bit. "Did you just happen to forget about Quidditch practice? You're damn lucky Harry is captain this year, because Angelina or Wood would have kicked you off the team, you git! And it would show you, too! How are we supposed to practice as a team when we're missing our Keeper?" Hermione laughed as Harry watched Ginny rant, a fond expression on his face, and Ron shrank from his sister's wrath. She looked back at Harry. The expression was familiar, but she couldn't place it. She racked her brain, but it was useless. Ginny then turned to Harry, brown eyes flashing, and chided him. "What are you grinning for? If you'd start treating him like a player instead of your best friend, he wouldn't do this crap. You encourage him." Harry shrugged, looking both amused and resigned, and it clicked. They looked like Ron's parents! Ginny was almost the spitting image of Molly Weasley when she was worked up, and Harry was just humoring her, much like Arthur when Molly was mad at one of the children. 'You encourage him!' It was just the sort of thing Molly would say about Fred and George, or Bill's hair. She felt a grin growing on her face as she came to this realization. She knew she was only gloating inwardly, but she felt a bit superior with this newfound bit of information.
She smiled at Ginny and asked sweetly, "Gin, why don't you come upstairs with me? I need to talk to you, inow/i." She added, when Ginny looked like she was going to protest.
"Oh fine." She grumbled, gathering her bag, broom, and drying Gryffindor scarves from the armchair, waving off Harry as he rose to help. Ron shot Hermione a questioning look, but she shook her head. This was strictly girl talk.
bReminiscing/b
Hermione Granger ground her teeth nervously as she made her way through the crowd aboard the Hogwarts Express. She scanned the aisle apprehensively. She couldn't see any empty compartments, and she certainly didn't know anyone she could sit with- at least, not yet. She was peering through the glass at another occupied compartment when she heard a throat clear behind her. She turned around to face a short, round-faced boy who looked about her age. "There's a seat open in here..." he trailed off.
"Thanks!" She smiled gratefully and he grinned back. "My name is Hermione Granger, by the way."
"Neville Longbottom," he said, leading the way into the compartment.
10 minutes later she bit back a groan as she opened yet another compartment door and leaned in. "Has anyone seen a toad?" She asked hopefully, but everyone shook their heads. She sighed and closed the door. Neville, though very nice, turned out to be very forgetful and blundering, having lost his toad, Trevor, in no time at all after meeting Hermione. She flattened herself against the wall just in time, as two tall red-haired boys and another boy in dreadlocks sped down the aisle, nearly running into her, and trodding on Neville's feet, which were sticking out from beneath his robes. She drew herself up and regained her composure, took a deep breath and opened the next door.
"Have you seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said, looking down at the compartment's occupants, two boys her age.
"We already told him we haven't seen it," one of them, a thin, gangly boy with bright red hair and a smudge on his nose answered. She didn't pay attention though, she had just noticed that he was was holding a wand over a rat in his lap.
"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." She sat down, feeling hopeful. Her mother had told her before she left that if she showed an interest in others, they would be friendly. However, this boy looked very put upon, while the black-haired boy simply looked at her, mildy interested.
"Er- all right." He paused then waved his wand and recited:
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
Nothing happened. The rat was still gray, and appeared to be sleeping. "Are you sure that's a real spell?" she asked, trying to keep the tinge of doubt from her voice, thinking 'nobody likes a know-it-all.' "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard- I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" She took a deep breath, realizing that she had talked very fast. Now the redhead was staring at her irately, and the black-haired boy looked amused- both by his friend's reaction and her. Inwardly she groaned. She had been making weird things happen since she was little, and it hadn't helped her make any friends at her old school. It seemed her social skills were a bit rusty. iA bit rusty!/i She though to herself, i more than a bit! He's looking at me like I'm insane!/i She was referring to the redhead, of course. The other boy was still just watching her, indifferent.
After what seemed like an eternity (but was probably no more than a minute) the redhead spoke. "I'm Ron Weasley," he said.
"Harry Potter," the black-haired boy introduced himself.
Hermione forgot all about social skills upon hearing this. "Are you really?" She asked him excitedly, "I know all about you, of course - I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in iModern Magical History/i and iThe Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts/i and i Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century/I."
He looked sort of surprised, "am I?" He asked.
"Goodness didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," she replied. Then she recalled what he was famous for and wanted to hit herself. iStupid!/i She thought, i he's famous because some Dark Wizard killed his parents and not him and I've just gone and practically said I was jealous! /i
She changed the subject quickly, blabbering a bit about houses and then then telling them they'd better change. She left the compartment with Neville in tow. "I really put my foot in it, didn't I?" She asked him miserably. He avoided her eyes and concentrated on not tripping over his robes. "Grreeatt!" She groaned, exasperated with herself. i This'll be just like home,/i she thought, thoroughly depressed.
bThe Present/b
And it was for a while, she reflected, everyone had hated her, especially Ron and Harry, until Halloween. She always considered Halloween their unofficial anniversary of being friends. In a way, she realized, she almost owed Quirrell for letting that troll in, ironically enough. Without it, she would have never become friends with Ron and Harry. And, she thought sadly, none of this recent war would have been easy without them.
"What are you thinking about?" Ron asked her, a quizzical expression on his freckled face. The way he wrinkled his long nose made the freckles look bunched together around it. She laughed in spite of herself. "What?" He asked, genuinely confused. "What's so funny?" She laughed even harder now. She had started and she couldn't stop. Several other people in the Common Room were shooting her curious looks, and several seemed amused to see Hermione Granger, the class brain, who was usually serious about everything, belly-laughing like this. Ron looked so confused now that she made herself stop.
"I'm sorry!" She gasped, "but I was just thinking about how we all became friends and then you looked at me and your nose, and freckles-oh!" She broke off, laughing again. Ron looked less than amused though.
"You were laughing at my freckles?" He asked incredulously, and she thought she detected a tiny bit of hurt in his eyes as they bored into hers.
"Well, at first, then I just couldn't stop, I guess I just hadn't had a good laugh in a while." She bit her lip, hoping he wouldn't be mad. They had quarreled over far less before, after all, and now it didn't seem right to waste time fighting over small things. Now, in the midst of war, they should focus on the positive. She needn't have worried however, for, though face clouded for a second, he quickly grinned at her.
"Ok, well, I was going to be mad, but you're very right. We haven't really laughed in a long time. Certainly not really since, well, June, and all." He frowned at the memory, and she nudged his shoulder lightly.
"Come on, we were laughing a second ago." He smiled weakly, then his gaze shifted to over her shoulder.
"Oh, hey guys!" He cried, weak smile replaced by a fake, hearty one. She turned to see who he was addressing, and smiled. Harry and Ginny were bundled up like the eskimo wizards she had seen in iMagical Weather Theory/i, snow rapidly melting in their hair and on their cloaks and scarves.
"Hi Harry, Ginny, is it a little cold outside?" She joked. Harry laughed good-naturedly as Ginny scowled. "Bloody freezing, thanks. And you-" she turned on Ron, who was cowering a bit. "Did you just happen to forget about Quidditch practice? You're damn lucky Harry is captain this year, because Angelina or Wood would have kicked you off the team, you git! And it would show you, too! How are we supposed to practice as a team when we're missing our Keeper?" Hermione laughed as Harry watched Ginny rant, a fond expression on his face, and Ron shrank from his sister's wrath. She looked back at Harry. The expression was familiar, but she couldn't place it. She racked her brain, but it was useless. Ginny then turned to Harry, brown eyes flashing, and chided him. "What are you grinning for? If you'd start treating him like a player instead of your best friend, he wouldn't do this crap. You encourage him." Harry shrugged, looking both amused and resigned, and it clicked. They looked like Ron's parents! Ginny was almost the spitting image of Molly Weasley when she was worked up, and Harry was just humoring her, much like Arthur when Molly was mad at one of the children. 'You encourage him!' It was just the sort of thing Molly would say about Fred and George, or Bill's hair. She felt a grin growing on her face as she came to this realization. She knew she was only gloating inwardly, but she felt a bit superior with this newfound bit of information.
She smiled at Ginny and asked sweetly, "Gin, why don't you come upstairs with me? I need to talk to you, inow/i." She added, when Ginny looked like she was going to protest.
"Oh fine." She grumbled, gathering her bag, broom, and drying Gryffindor scarves from the armchair, waving off Harry as he rose to help. Ron shot Hermione a questioning look, but she shook her head. This was strictly girl talk.