Short little thing for .1998 for her Birthday. I hope you like it :)
Hermione found herself staring at the fire, breathing in the heavy odour of perfume that made her feel so sleepy she thought she might possibly fall off her chair.
This wasn't what she'd expected when she'd signed up for this class; somehow she'd expected Divination to have something of substance. Instead she was starting to feel like someone who'd been doused in copious amounts of hair products, and at the present moment was finding it incredibly difficult to breathe.
She turned to Ron, who's eyelids seemed to be having difficulty staying up whilst he sat supposedly listening to Professor Trelawney mystically predict fortunes in regards to subtle shifts of planetary alignments.
What hogwash!
"Ron," She hissed, jabbing him in the ribs with one finger.
"Wha- huh?... Hermione! What was that for?" Ron moaned rubbing his side pathetically.
She felt a brief twinge of remorse for having hurt him, but quickly recovered due to the tone of his voice, well if he was going to be like that!
Hermione held out a palm towards her friend, Harry having paired off with Seamus.
"You're supposed to be reading my future, with my hand." She prompted, self-importantly. She found herself keen to find out what mumbo jumbo Ron would spout regarding the curving and confusing lines of her out stretched palm. Maybe he'd be nice to her for a change.
He gave her a sleepy stare, before his eyes travelled towards her hand. With a huge sigh he dragged his volume of unfogging the future closer and riffled the pages to the appropriate chapter.
She tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for him to start predicting her hand's lines.
"Lets, er… the Heart line… That's this thing here," Ron muttered to himself jabbing at her hand. His finger didn't leave her palm however; it began to drag a path along the line, softly. The motion was so soft and tender and completely unexpected of Ron, she looked at him sharply and found herself blushing. "It says, that long line means that, uh… you'll have a good relationship… but it's deep… so erm… it'll be stressful?" Ron looked up hopefully, hoping that he hadn't upset her. "That's good right?"
She stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.
"The… Head line. That's this one here," he said as he read the page indicating the line. His finger moved like a caress across her skin to the line directly below the previous one. He didn't move just once this time, he stroked her hand a few more times, his brows furrowed in concentration. Finally it cleared and he continued with the prognosis upon her palm. "It says, you're intelligent, cause it's short right? But.." His face fell. "It says cause it goes down like that, it can indicate incessant grief."
Ron paused, and his eyes travelled to her face, which had gone tight from disbelief of palmistry; what does a book know about someone's future.
"I'd be there for you," he said quietly. Hermione wasn't quite sure what he had meant at first, but realised he referred to the fact he wouldn't let her suffer alone. Her heart leapt, strangely and completely unexpectedly. He'd be there for her. A smile flooded her mouth, relaxing her previously pursed lips.
Ron gave a nervous cough and continued.
His fingers were driving her crazy, as they stroked her palm like it was a precious kitten. He'd managed to pull her hand right across, so she was practically sprawled against the table in a most unladylike fashion. But she didn't care; she was transfixed by the concentration on his face.
"This one here, is the fate line," he said more confidently. "It says in the book if it's deep like this, you're strongly ruled by fate, and there's a big break here… it means… that… something is going to dramatically change your life." He paused again to study her hand. "Very early on."
She smiled, her eyes flicking to his. "I couldn't imagine what that could be..." but let her normal bossy tone echo her words as she finished what she was saying. "Those things are never very specific are they?"
He gave her an exasperated look, raising an eyebrow. He had thought for once second that she may have believed…
He continued anyway, "and lastly the life line. Yours is… long… deep… and curvy." The way he said it in his rumbling nonchalant voice set the hairs on the back of her arm into goosebumps.
"What does that mean?" She managed to say nervously biting her lip, finding herself gazing at him again.
"Vitality… plenty of energy." He grinned at her happily having read her palm successfully, but kept his hand on hers for that second longer than he had to.
Their eyes met across the table and he realised, she had believed, as he drank in the radiant smile she was giving him. Maybe Divination really was good for something.