A.N./Don't own Harry Potter characters.
Chapter 11: Old Enemies - New Friends
When Harry and Hermione returned to school on Monday morning, they were more relaxed and it showed. It felt nice knowing that they had met some new kids and hopefully made some new friends. After talking to Miss Tomas about the way she treated Hermione, they spent one night a week after the end of class showing Hermione the proper way to respond to questions. That is to give short concise answers. Harry also used this time to get help with his penmanship.
It had been a month since the incident on the playground. There had been some pushing and shoving, but no fighting. Even that stopped after Harry had learned enough about fighting. John Sullivan had tried to shove Harry, but when he side stepped away from him. John tripped and fell. Miss Tomas was there at the time and confirmed that Harry was not the instigator and did nothing to make John fall.
Wednesday held a surprise to them. Jasmine Johnson, who seemed to torment Hermione the most, approached them as the last bell rang at the end of the day. It was with some concern that they watched her approach.
"Hermione, may I speak with you?" she asked cautiously.
"What about?" Hermione replied suspiciously.
"I know I have treated you badly and have no right to ask, but would you consider helping me and a few others study?"
Hermione thought for awhile. What was she up to? There were no test in the near future besides quizzes which is usually why people wanted to be her friend and then dump her after they had passed.
"Why? After all this time why now?"
"I don't blame you for being suspicious after the way you have been treated, but you have changed and I would like to get to know you. And maybe what ever it was that changed you can change me too. Ever since that day when we all went to the Heads office and you gave your little speech, I and a few others have been thinking about it. As you mentioned, we have all been bullied in one form or another and, well, we would like to start over if we can."
She looked at Harry. "You know them better than I do Hermione. It's your decision. I'll stand by you whatever."
"How many people are we talking about? And who are they?"
"Eight, there's me, Mike Newman, Susan Jones, Debbie McNamara, Shaun O'Toole, Patty and Thom McKinnon and Josh Finnly."
"I still don't understand why, but we'll see. There will have to be some rules. We are not going to waste our time if you aren't serious about this."
"That's understandable."
"Give me a day or two to rearrange our schedule and then we'll try it and see how it goes. Plus we'll all have to get permission from our parents so that they know where we are."
"That's Okay by me and I'm sure the others will agree." She said with a small smile.
"Now the big question is where will we study? How close does everybody live to the library?"
"I'll find out and let you know tomorrow." Jasmine said gleefully as she left.
"What do you suppose that was all about?" asked Harry as they left the school.
"I don't know. Maybe they're telling the truth, they haven't tried to bully or pick on me for awhile now. But I'll believe it when I see it."
"Hmmmm. You don't suppose it's because I effectively beat John's butt the last time? Maybe they were afraid of me." With a steady diet, potions, and exercise, Harry had filled out and developed some muscle. He was still smaller than John, but he was faster and hit harder.
"I don't know. We will have to wait and see."
After they arrived home and deposited their books in the study, they sought out the elder Grangers.
"Mom, I need to talk to you and Dad."
"What about honey?" her mom asked.
"Some of the kids at school want to form a study group with me and Harry. I'm not sure what to do?"
"Why aren't you sure? It sounds like a nice idea."
"I'm not sure because some of the kids are the same ones that used to pick on me before Harry became my protector. I'm not sure what they're after."
"What did they tell you?" Dan asked.
"Jasmine apologized and said that I've changed, whatever she means by that, and wondered if it was possible to study together."
Emma looked at her with a knowing smile and asked, "What was your reply?"
"I would have to think about it and that there would have to be some rules."
"Well that sounds reasonable enough. What sort of rules were you thinking about?" asked Dan.
"I was thinking no horse play, how long we studied, where we meet, and making sure they have their parents consent so that they know where they are."
Dan and Emma looked at each other and smiled, "Those sound like reasonable rules. Let us know what you decide." said Emma.
Harry and Hermione went to the study on the second floor of their house to talk about things.
"What do you think Harry?"
"I don't know Hermione, you know them better than I do. I haven't paid much attention to them as I was trying to concentrate on our studies and make sure we were left alone so I don't have any idea as to how smart they are."
"Hmmm." She said as she bit her lower lip in thought. "Well we could do one of two things, either give them a quiz to see what they know or we could ask Miss Tomas and see were they stand."
"Or we could do both." Harry suggested.
"Why would you suggest that, Harry?"
"Look Hermione, I had to hide how smart I was when I lived at the Dursleys for a reason. Maybe because of bullying, they did the same."
"That makes sense." She said and thought about that for a moment. "Okay we'll do both. Now, when and where?"
"You suggested the library if it's convent for everyone and probably the best time I right after school. We could walk there together."
"Okay. Now how often are we willing to meet with them and how will it affect our study time?"
"Get out your planner and let's look at what we have scheduled."
5A.M. 5K run
6 A.M. physical exercise
7 A.M. Breakfast
8 A.M. - 4 P.M. School
4:30 - 6 P.M. homework/study
6 P.M. diner
7 - 8 P.M. martial arts
8 - 9 P.M. free time
9 P.M. bedtime
"Looks pretty full to me," said Hermione. "How about this? We talk to Mum and Dad, move diner back an hour and do martial arts in the morning instead of exercise since we get plenty of exercise doing that any way. That would leave about an hour to an hour and a half after school for them and still leave us about an hour to make sure we got our studying finished."
"Do we want to do this every day?"
"It will depend on how much or how little they know and how much tutoring they actually need."
"I love smart girls," said Harry causing Hermione to blush slightly at the compliment. "And I agree 100% about the exercise part. I don't see any reason not to combine the two. Let's talk to our parents and see what they think about your plan at diner." They then proceeded with their normal study/homework schedule until diner.
At diner, they showed Dan and Emma what they had decided on as their new schedule and why they did it the way they did.
"I'm impressed. That is a very efficient use of time and I commend you both," said Dan.
The following day after school, they met with Jasmine to find out about what the others had decided and if they could meet in the library. It turned out that all of them wanted to be in on this discussion, which was just a little intimidating at first.
"Jasmine, what have you found out?"
"I talked to the others,' she looked around at the others, 'and they all live within easy walking distance of the library. What we need to know is if you are willing and how long we will be there and how often."
"We rearranged our schedule and depending on how much you need tutoring it can be everyday for about an hour and a half," said Hermione.
"How will you determine how much time we need?" asked Mike.
"We thought that we would ask Miss Tomas and give you a quiz and go from there. Do any of you have a problem with that?" Some of them looked uncomfortable at the mention of a quiz.
"Why would you have to talk to Miss Tomas?"
"In order for us to know what you need to catch up on, we need to know what you know and as Harry pointed out, since you have admitted to being bullied at some point or other, you may be hiding just how smart you really are. Having first hand experience with Harry I have to agree with him."
"How old are you two really?" asked Shaun.
"He's ten and I'm eleven."
"You could've fooled me. You sound more like Miss Tomas."
Hermione cheeks turned slightly pink. "I'm not sure if that's a compliment or an insult."
"It's not meant to be an insult, but I'm not sure it's a compliment either. Just an observation," defended Shaun.
"Okay, we have a few simple rules will we are studying. No horse play and you have to have your parents signed permission so that they know where you are. Any fooling around and you will be asked to leave. We take studying very seriously. If that is agreeable and your parents agree, we can start next Monday after school."
On Friday they approached Miss Tomas with a list of names. "Miss Tomas, these students have asked to join a study group with us. We would like to know were they stand grade wise so we know what they need the most help with. Any information you can provide would be most helpful." Hermione stated.
Miss Tomas looked at the list then looked at Harry and Hermione. "This is a strange group of students. Are you sure about this, Miss Granger?"
"Not really, but it can't hurt to try. Harry and I know going into this the possibility of deceit, so we will be prepared. We still want to try."
"Very well, give me until the end of the day to check their records."
"That will be fine Miss Tomas and thank you."
They spent several hours over the weekend deciding the best way to use their time to the best advantage. Though they all needed some help in everything, some needed more help than others and in different subjects. Monday found ten students headed for the local library with mixed emotions. Some were excited; some were apprehensive, but for the most part eager. By the time they reached the library, six were panting even though it was not that far. Harry and Hermione were the least affected by the walk.
"How can you to not be winded by that forced march?" moaned Mike.
Harry looked puzzled, "that little walk?' he scoffed, 'that's nothing. We run 5k every morning before breakfast."
Thom looked amazed, "You've got to be kidding. Why? I'm into sports and I don't run 5k."
"Maybe some day when we know each other a lot better we'll tell, but not now."
Hermione went straight to the Librarian. "Good afternoon Miss Granger. What can I do for you today?"
"We,' she indicated the others around her, 'will be in here every afternoon and I wanted to give you a list of who we are and their library card numbers for quick reference."
"Thank you. I don't foresee a problem as long as you don't disturb the others here."
"Number one rule, no horse play or they're out of the group." They then proceeded to find a table large enough for all of them.
"Now then after talking to Miss Tomas, we found that you are not in desperate need, but you all could use help to be better. Which I assume is the reason you asked us to help in the first place. Some need more help than others and in different subjects. What we propose is that for the first hour of every session we will cover one or two subjects until you are up to par. The last half hour will be going over the work you have done checking for errors and making suggestions to improve your work. Whether you make the changes or not is up to you.
"To start, I think we should introduce ourselves and give a brief history of ourselves. You all know who I am. My parents are dentist for those that don't know. I love to read."
"I'm Harry. My parents died when I was a baby. I live with the Grangers."
"Not much history there Harry." Shaun said.
"Not much of a life so far that I want to talk about." Harry replied.
"My name is Jasmine. I'm eleven, my mother stays at home and my father deals in stocks. I like rock and roll music."
"I'm Mike, ten years old. I keep to myself mostly. My dad delivers goods all over the country; mom stays home with my younger brother. He'll start school next year.
"Susan Jones. I like all things Goth. The music is to die for. Dad left, Mom works as a clerk."
"Debbie McNamara. I like chamber music and Art Galleries. Don't really know what Dad does but I know we are well off. Mom attends parties more often than not. I don't like boarding schools. Too snobbish." The rest of the group just looked at her. She was considered one of the prissier girls in school.
"Shaun O'Toole. We migrated from Ireland four years ago. Dad's in the army, mom's a secretary for some barrister."
"Patty McKinnon. Maternal twin to the dummy over there. Dads a construction laborer; mom keeps house. Strange as it may seem I like poetry."
"Thom. Yes Patty is my sister as much as I try to deny it. I'm in to most sports. Haven't decided what I want to excel at yet. I favor football more than anything."
"Josh Finnly. I like sports but I don't play. Dad plays for the Fleet Mustangs. Mom works part time as a clerk to help make ends meet."
"Now that we know each other a little and you know what we have planned, there is one other item. We will not meet Wednesday for personal reasons."
They all struggled at first but they soon started to learn from each other. Hermione honed her people skills with help from Harry and her parents.
