Disclaimer: See Chapter 13
Boys, I must warn you- Take caution when reading this chapter, it might gross you out- If you even get what they're talking about. Girls, it really doesn't matter.
Okino's teaching duties were fairly light, but he didn't have much free time during the run of the day. Ron Weasley decided that Okino would be his special project. At least once a day, and usually more often, he would pop into the office and say something along the lines of, "My dad'll never forgive me if I don't ask this." Then he'd try to find out about some piece of Muggle technology or other. Arthur Weasley's hobby, as well as his job at the Ministry of Magic, involved human ways of doing things, without magic.
When Kiki once asked her father if Ron wasn't being a pest, he simply gave his usual chuckle. "I think it's fun, actually. And it keeps me in perspective. With people calling me "Professor" all day long, I don't want to forget that I'm just as much a student as they are."
Ron sought out Okino in the first place because of the glowing report Ginny gave him about her flying lesson with Kiki. As for Kiki, she didn't need a go-between; she'd met Harry Potter that first night at Hogwarts. From then on, she always seemed to sit at his end of the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, or take a chair near his if they were in the Common Room together. And when she audited a class, usually Harry was in it.
If you had asked Kiki why she acted this way, she would have denied it was conscious. (If you teased her about it the way Jiji did, she would have thrown something at you.) But Kiki was someone new and more than a little mysterious to the students at Hogwarts. Before her first week was out, a couple of older boys from Ravenclaw asked her about studying in the library together. She refused, very quickly and very nervously. Her outlook on life in general, and on boys in particular, seemed to be changing, and she wasn't sure exactly how it would end. She did know that she felt safe around Harry, who was younger than she was, and who did indeed remind her of Tombo. She still knew almost nothing about Harry's fabled past.
Harry didn't mind at all. He saw Kiki in rather the same light in which he saw Hermione: as a girl who was a friend, but not necessarily a girlfriend. Besides, being thought of as Kiki's friend seemed to enhance Harry's stature in some circles, as if it needed enhancing.
Hermione spent as much time as she could with Kokiri-although that wasn't much, given the amount of homework she always seemed to have. Still, it was a rare day when Hermione wasn't in the greenhouses, at least for a few minutes. She kept trying to understand what Kokiri meant by "the magic of the heart." None of the other faculty ever seemed to talk about it.
One afternoon, though, came a visit neither expected. It was in late September. The sky was overcast, but no rain threatened. Kokiri was in the greenhouses. She had just finished harvesting some brillibot pods (which make a very therapeutic cough medicine as well as a tasty spaghetti sauce) when she saw Hermione standing at the door, looking rather glum. Kokiri was surprised: "Aren't you supposed to be with Professor Lockhart now?"
"I.I was excused," Hermione muttered. "Had to go to the infirmary."
"Are you in pain?"
"I was told . I could go to my dormitory after I got cleaned up a bit. There was nobody about, so I started writing home. I mean, it's not every day a girl starts." Hermione's words suddenly caught in her throat, as Kokiri moved next to her.
"What's wrong, Hermione?"
"I.I." She suddenly threw her arms around Kokiri and started crying like a lost soul. "I want my mommy!"
Kokiri knew that there was nothing to do but hold Hermione, and let her emotions run their course. After a few minutes, Hermione could speak again between sobs. "I'm sorry, but.why did it have to be today? Why couldn't I be home with my mother? Now she's hundreds of miles away and.and." The tears started again.
"It's all right," Kokiri said soothingly, stroking Hermione's hair. "I suppose I'm a poor substitute for your mother."
"Oh no!" Hermione shook her head violently. "If you weren't here, I don't know what I'd do! I mean, I know some of the other girls, but none of them well enough to speak to about this. My best friends are Harry and Ron and Hagrid, and, well, I couldn't talk to them, either."
"Mother!" Kiki stormed into the greenhouse. "Father's making me crazy; he insists you took his lecture notes for tomorrow by mistake. You don't have them, do you?"
"No, but that ghost Peeves was hanging around in the corridor when I went to have lunch. Hermione, would he have taken Professor Okino's notes?"
"I wouldn't put it past him," Hermione said, wiping her eyes. "If he did, he'll probably drop them on Professor Okino's head in the middle of dinner, or when he's taking a bath."
"Is something wrong, Hermione?" Kiki asked.
"Nothing's wrong, Kiki," her mother smiled. "Hermione just climbed the mountain."
"You mean she. That's great!" Kiki pulled Hermione off of her mother and half-dragged, half-danced her around the greenhouse. "That is so great! Aren't you excited?"
"Kiki, dear, don't be so rough on her," Kokiri said gently. "She was feeling kind of alone, since her mother wasn't here."
"Oh, right. If we were back home in our village, we'd throw you the best party!"
"Really?!"
"Think about it, Hermione," Kokiri said. "There isn't a wizard on this planet, no matter how powerful, who can ever do what you can do now."
"You mean . you mean, have babies and all? I never thought of that as magic. I mean, my mother told me about all that years ago."
"Yes, and, no offense meant to your mother, but she probably made it sound like pulling teeth. Most doctors-and dentists, I'm afraid-treat the body like a machine in need of spare parts. Believe me, my dears, that this really is magic."
"Well, father's lecture notes can wait. Let's go in to supper and celebrate!"
"I'll meet you later, Kiki," Hermione smiled at Kokiri. "I have to finish writing a letter." She paused at the door. "Thanks for everything."
***
*Acts Like A Dumb Blonde* So, like, R/R, okay? 'Cause this chapter was like, so totally cool! *Twirls a bit of hair around her finger as she speaks*
Mari: *Gags* Gimme a break.
Boys, I must warn you- Take caution when reading this chapter, it might gross you out- If you even get what they're talking about. Girls, it really doesn't matter.
Okino's teaching duties were fairly light, but he didn't have much free time during the run of the day. Ron Weasley decided that Okino would be his special project. At least once a day, and usually more often, he would pop into the office and say something along the lines of, "My dad'll never forgive me if I don't ask this." Then he'd try to find out about some piece of Muggle technology or other. Arthur Weasley's hobby, as well as his job at the Ministry of Magic, involved human ways of doing things, without magic.
When Kiki once asked her father if Ron wasn't being a pest, he simply gave his usual chuckle. "I think it's fun, actually. And it keeps me in perspective. With people calling me "Professor" all day long, I don't want to forget that I'm just as much a student as they are."
Ron sought out Okino in the first place because of the glowing report Ginny gave him about her flying lesson with Kiki. As for Kiki, she didn't need a go-between; she'd met Harry Potter that first night at Hogwarts. From then on, she always seemed to sit at his end of the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, or take a chair near his if they were in the Common Room together. And when she audited a class, usually Harry was in it.
If you had asked Kiki why she acted this way, she would have denied it was conscious. (If you teased her about it the way Jiji did, she would have thrown something at you.) But Kiki was someone new and more than a little mysterious to the students at Hogwarts. Before her first week was out, a couple of older boys from Ravenclaw asked her about studying in the library together. She refused, very quickly and very nervously. Her outlook on life in general, and on boys in particular, seemed to be changing, and she wasn't sure exactly how it would end. She did know that she felt safe around Harry, who was younger than she was, and who did indeed remind her of Tombo. She still knew almost nothing about Harry's fabled past.
Harry didn't mind at all. He saw Kiki in rather the same light in which he saw Hermione: as a girl who was a friend, but not necessarily a girlfriend. Besides, being thought of as Kiki's friend seemed to enhance Harry's stature in some circles, as if it needed enhancing.
Hermione spent as much time as she could with Kokiri-although that wasn't much, given the amount of homework she always seemed to have. Still, it was a rare day when Hermione wasn't in the greenhouses, at least for a few minutes. She kept trying to understand what Kokiri meant by "the magic of the heart." None of the other faculty ever seemed to talk about it.
One afternoon, though, came a visit neither expected. It was in late September. The sky was overcast, but no rain threatened. Kokiri was in the greenhouses. She had just finished harvesting some brillibot pods (which make a very therapeutic cough medicine as well as a tasty spaghetti sauce) when she saw Hermione standing at the door, looking rather glum. Kokiri was surprised: "Aren't you supposed to be with Professor Lockhart now?"
"I.I was excused," Hermione muttered. "Had to go to the infirmary."
"Are you in pain?"
"I was told . I could go to my dormitory after I got cleaned up a bit. There was nobody about, so I started writing home. I mean, it's not every day a girl starts." Hermione's words suddenly caught in her throat, as Kokiri moved next to her.
"What's wrong, Hermione?"
"I.I." She suddenly threw her arms around Kokiri and started crying like a lost soul. "I want my mommy!"
Kokiri knew that there was nothing to do but hold Hermione, and let her emotions run their course. After a few minutes, Hermione could speak again between sobs. "I'm sorry, but.why did it have to be today? Why couldn't I be home with my mother? Now she's hundreds of miles away and.and." The tears started again.
"It's all right," Kokiri said soothingly, stroking Hermione's hair. "I suppose I'm a poor substitute for your mother."
"Oh no!" Hermione shook her head violently. "If you weren't here, I don't know what I'd do! I mean, I know some of the other girls, but none of them well enough to speak to about this. My best friends are Harry and Ron and Hagrid, and, well, I couldn't talk to them, either."
"Mother!" Kiki stormed into the greenhouse. "Father's making me crazy; he insists you took his lecture notes for tomorrow by mistake. You don't have them, do you?"
"No, but that ghost Peeves was hanging around in the corridor when I went to have lunch. Hermione, would he have taken Professor Okino's notes?"
"I wouldn't put it past him," Hermione said, wiping her eyes. "If he did, he'll probably drop them on Professor Okino's head in the middle of dinner, or when he's taking a bath."
"Is something wrong, Hermione?" Kiki asked.
"Nothing's wrong, Kiki," her mother smiled. "Hermione just climbed the mountain."
"You mean she. That's great!" Kiki pulled Hermione off of her mother and half-dragged, half-danced her around the greenhouse. "That is so great! Aren't you excited?"
"Kiki, dear, don't be so rough on her," Kokiri said gently. "She was feeling kind of alone, since her mother wasn't here."
"Oh, right. If we were back home in our village, we'd throw you the best party!"
"Really?!"
"Think about it, Hermione," Kokiri said. "There isn't a wizard on this planet, no matter how powerful, who can ever do what you can do now."
"You mean . you mean, have babies and all? I never thought of that as magic. I mean, my mother told me about all that years ago."
"Yes, and, no offense meant to your mother, but she probably made it sound like pulling teeth. Most doctors-and dentists, I'm afraid-treat the body like a machine in need of spare parts. Believe me, my dears, that this really is magic."
"Well, father's lecture notes can wait. Let's go in to supper and celebrate!"
"I'll meet you later, Kiki," Hermione smiled at Kokiri. "I have to finish writing a letter." She paused at the door. "Thanks for everything."
***
*Acts Like A Dumb Blonde* So, like, R/R, okay? 'Cause this chapter was like, so totally cool! *Twirls a bit of hair around her finger as she speaks*
Mari: *Gags* Gimme a break.