4.
"Guys, what took you so long, it's not easy to stall a Herbology teacher, you know!?" Ron was livid when They joined him at the workstation in greenhouse 3. They had class with Ravenclaw, and to Harry's relief, a breif scan around revealed that Cho didn't have class with them.
"What are you looking for?" Came a dreamy voice in Harry's exposed ear. Harry jumped a little, which caused Hermione and Ron to giggle. "Err... the earmuffs!" The Gryffindor improvised. Beaming triumphantly at the others.
"Oh. For a moment I thought you were looking for," she dropped her voice to a whisper, "Cho Chang." Harry's jaw dropped and the Ravenclaw resumed her normal volume. "Well, to save you time, the earmuffs are on the table in front of you, as are the gloves. Farewell, Hermione, Ron. Bye Harry." And she walked off without another syllable.
"Epic fail!" Teased Hermione and Ron.
"Oh, this is hopeless! If Luna can figure me out that easily, imagine the rest of the castle!" Harry said breathlessly, sighing in defeat. "Oh come on Harry, this is Luna we are talking about! The most observative and clever of the Ravenclaws! She knows your secrets before you do, but never tells a soul if not for a completely valid reason. No one has the deduction abilities of Luna Lovegood, with the exception of Sherlock Holmes! Trust me, it will take a while for everyone else to figure out who Mystery Girl is, but be more careful about what you drink. You never know how desperate people can be to get information. And like you said, owls are due." Hermione ended her explaination there and class begun.
They crossbred some European Mandrakes, and African Madrakes with a gene-copying spell, and grew it from an individual cell. Professor Sprout also taught a spell to speed up the cell duplication process, and the new bred Mandrakes grew into screaming pre-adults.
After the lesson, the trio headed to Hagrid's since their next class was in thirty minutes: Harry and Ron had Divination, Hermione had Muggle Studies.
Hagrid wasn't home so they split up early, Ron went to look for Luna to "ask for help" on the assigned homework, and Harry just tailed Hermione to the library. The two walked back up to the castle in silence until they made it back past the greenhouses.
"I enjoyed that earlier," Hermione began vaguely. "The hug after. It was nice, and I think it would be...healthy, to continue that practice. But it's just a suggestion." She adds too quickly, and looks off into the distance, anxious for his response.
"Yeah, I agree, it was nice. And I don't at all mind that you love being wrapped in my strong and protecting arms." He teased and failed an attempt to dodge another punch in the arm. They laughed as they entered the castle and headed for the Land O' Books.
When they arrived, few students were in, and Madame Pince was sorting a pile of returned books into piles that had no immediate meaning to them personally. "Harry there is something I want to show you." Hermione whispered into Harry's ear, her breath unknowingly tickling butterflies into his stomach. Before he could confirm or deny her offer, she grabbed his hand, and dragged him through a maze of shelves and carts, all the way to a deserted aisle filled with tomes covered in undisturbed dust particles.
They were far from another living (or nonliving) soul. Hermione summoned a ladder, and climbed to the third-from-top shelf and removed a volume the color of a faded tomato and as thick as Hagrid's fist. "Hermione, what is this thing?" Harry questioned, as she made him tote it to a nearby couch. It wasn't much of a couch, since it only had 1.5 cushions. They sat down and it was quite snug, but they both pretended not to notice, and Hermione cracked open the book. On the inside cover, it read:
The Noble House of Potter: Vol IV
"Hermione...how did you know about this? How long has it been here? Where can I buy one? Wh-" She placed her index finger gingerly onto his lips to quiet his assault of questions. "Hmm. You have rather soft lips, sorta plush." That comment caused Harry's cheeks to turn rosy, and Hermione just rolled her eyes and flipped to a previously marked page. She pointed to something, mumbled a bit, then flipped a bunch more pages until they was staring into the eyes of two people who fondly reminded Harry of his father.
"Hermione, are those my grandparents?" Harry barely whispered. He was suddenly unable to breathe as he read the two most important words he had in his life:
Mortality: Living
Was magically printed under both of their pictures. The photos showed two elderly people, one slightly Dumbledoreish, and one slightly Sproutish, since her height was short. "Hermione, is this thing updated?" Harry asked with a tone of desperation. Hermione smiled at her friend's interest and nodded. "To the very second." Then Harry did the only thing he could think of: he cried. Hard. And his best friend was right there to lend a shoulder.
After his violent sobs subsided to occassional sniffs, and Hermione just rubbed his back soothingly, he asked the question that has been lingering on both of their minds. "Hermione, why didn't I go to live with them instead of the Dursley's?" She stopped rubbing his back and wrapped an arm around him instead. "I'm not sure. Maybe Dumbledore will know." And with that they left, and Hermione returned the book to the shelf with a flick of her wand.
As they began to weave their way back to the front, Harry stopped as an idea struck him. "Hermione!" This urgent tone caused her to spin around with her wand raised, face panicked. She strutted towards him unsettled. "Jove, Harry. You can't go 'round scaring me like that! What is it?" She was apprehensive about what was so important, but slightly annoyed too.
"Oh, sorry. Well...I-um-do...doyouhaveadatetotheballalready?" The words just stumbled out past his lips, like they tripped over his front teeth, all jumbled together. Hermione knew what he meant though.
"Why no, I do not. I decided against going when you did, since you did. I hadn't bothered to change my mind back. Why do you ask?" She asked this innocently, trying to mask how hopeful she was about what he might say. "Err...cool. I was just thinking...you know, since you don't have a date, and hear me out please, I need one. Even though you weren't the first person I though of, you are the only one who I'd feel 100% comfortable going with." And with that he got on one knee and held her hand gently.
"Hermione J. Granger, will you be my date to the Christmas Ball?" Hermione's eyes filled with tears at her friend's romantic notion and nodded enthusiastically. Harry got from the floor and pulled her close for The Hug: Part 2. Now it was his turn to whisper.
"Thank you so much Hermione. For my grandparents, your friendship, your timeless wit and beauty, and your existence. I may not say it often, but I truly and grandly love you. You are wondrous." And with that all out on the table they walked out of the Book Landfill, hand-in-hand.
