Owl Business
The next morning was spent distributing timetables to the rest of the Gryffindors. Hermione found that she had
double Defence Against the Dark Arts first up. Hermione was eager to see what Professor Flavius was like as a teacher. She couldn't be worse than Umbridge or Lockhart but if she was anywhere near Lupin's standard, Hermione would be pleased. Ginny and Parvati went down to the Great Hall with Neville, Seamus and Dean but Hermione decided to stay in her room and write to Ron. She had so much to tell him, about her being Head Girl, and Professor Flavius, and Malfoy being back at school and Parvati and Seamus being together. She sat down, took out a roll of parchment and a quill and began to write.
Dear Ron,
How are you? I hope everything is okay at home, and that George is recovering quickly. Did McGonagall get in touch with you about you NEWTs? If not, I will talk to her about it.
Being back at Hogwarts feels so surreal! It looks the same as ever, the buildings have all been repaired after the war. What I found really strange is that Malfoy is back at school! I didn't think he'd have the nerve to come back after everything that happened. But he seems to be fairly distant this year. There are no other Slytherins that have returned and even the younger ones are ignoring him. I almost feel sorry for him.
We have a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Cornelia Flavius. I don't know what she's like but she comes from Durmstrang. I just hope she's nothing like Igor Kakarof but I doubt McGonagall would hire someone of that calibre. There are quite a few people from our year who have returned; Parvati, Seamus, Dean and Neville from Gryffindor; Ernie, Hannah and Justin from Hufflepuff; Padma from Ravenclaw and Malfoy from Slytherin. I'm actually quite surprised that so many returned, I didn't think they would.
Oh, by the way, Parvati and Seamus got together over the summer, which I found a little surprising but I'm happy for her.
I am missing you like crazy already and we've only been apart for a day. I just wish that I had you there to talk to; and Harry too! I miss both of you. It feels weird being back at school without you two. Our next Hogsmeade weekend is in two weeks so I hope to see you then!
Give my love to Harry and the rest of your family.
I love you so much,
Love Hermione
Xx
P.S. I'm Head Girl! McGonagall gave me the position yesterday because I was meant to get it but I wasn't at school last year. Ernie is Head Boy too.
Once Hermione was happy with her letter, she rolled it up and headed to the Owlery, the smile still evident on her face as she walked down the stairs. The common room was empty and silent, except for the occasional chattering of the portraits. It wasn't until Hermione was making her way to the Entrance Hall, that she heard the shouting. The commotion was coming from the Great Hall. Piles of students were crowded around the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables and there seemed to be a ruckus in the centre. Hermione almost knocked over Seamus, who was running out of the Great Hall after a distressed Parvati. Curious, Hermione joined the rest of the crowd to see what was going on. In between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, an epic duel was taking place between Ginny and Malfoy. Ginny was furiously casting spells at Malfoy, trying to catch him off guard. But Malfoy was a good dueller and easily blocked and countered her attacks. There were no teachers present, so Hermione, as Head Girl, felt it was her duty to put an end to it. Even if it was her friend. She threw herself between them and cast a shield charm so powerful; it sent both Ginny and Malfoy flying in opposite directions. Swearing, Ginny angrily got to her feet and glared at Malfoy. Hermione expected him to look smug and arrogant, but instead he just looked... empty.
"What is going on here?" asked Hermione in her most authoritative voice.
Ginny pointed an enraged finger at Malfoy. "He insulted Parvati about Lavender! So I hexed him," she spat.
Hermione turned on Malfoy. "Is this true?"
He didn't say anything. He just kept looking straight ahead.
"Well, this is absolutely ridiculous. What kind of example are you showing to the first years?"
"What makes you think you can say all this? You're just a filthy little Mudblood," Malfoy piped up.
"Why you little..." Ginny gasped and reached for her wand again by Hermione shook her head.
"That's enough out of you, Malfoy." She pointed to her badge. "I am Head Girl and that gives me the authority to discipline you. Now, because of your actions, I'm afraid I will have to take 50 points from both of your houses and will be talking to your Heads of House. No doubt, both of you will receive detention."
Malfoy looked surly, but Ginny was looking at Hermione in admiration, something Hermione couldn't understand given that she had just taken 50 points from Gryffindor. She turned to the rest of the congregation.
"Off you go! I'm sure you all have classes!"
There were many nodding heads and the crowd dispersed. Malfoy disappeared into the midst. Hermione helped Ginny up.
"Wow, that was amazing, Hermione! I mean, I wish you would have let me Bat Bogey Hex him or something!"
"Thanks," said Hermione. "That was almost as satisfying as punching him in the face."
"Except this time, the whole of Slytherin pays, not just Malfoy!"
Hermione laughed. "And that's even better! I'm just glad I got down in time."
"Yeah, what took you so long?" asked Ginny.
"I was writing to Ron." Hermione held up the letter in her hand. "I'm on the way to the Owlery."
"I'll come with you; I think I need to get away from people for a while."
"So what actually happened?" asked Hermione as they walked up to the Owlery.
"Well, Malfoy was teasing Parvati about Lavender, saying: 'So what's it like knowing your annoying ass friend got devoured by a werewolf?' And then Parvati got really upset and began to cry, and Seamus punched Malfoy before running after Parvati and then you showed up as I was hexing him."
Hermione shook her head. "I can't believe he would say something like that."
"I can," said Ginny bitterly. "It's Malfoy."
The two girls walked up to the Owlery. They saw Hagrid lumbering up through the Castle, a few gigantic birds hung over his back. He smiled and waved at them with his large hand.
"Hagrid!" cried Hermione and she ran to him and threw her arms around him. Not surprisingly, they didn't reach around him properly. She felt his body rumble with laughter as he patted her back gently; well, gentle for Hagrid anyway; Hermione's head hit one of the plate-sized brass buttons on his vest.
"Hermione!" he roared happily. Hermione pulled back and beamed up at him. Of all the people she had missed at Hogwarts last year, Hagrid was by far the top of her list.
"How were yeh holidays?" he asked jovially.
"Pretty good, actually."
"Where's Ron an' 'Arry?"
"They didn't want to come back. They wanted to do the NEWTs outside so they could train to become Aurors straight away," said Ginny.
"Ah well, yeh can't spend yeh whole life a' school. Yeh gotta get out an' see the world! Well, I best be off. Gotta give these damn birds to the house elves. Don't ask me why, haven't got a clue. See yeh around, Hermione, Ginny!"
With another brief, rib crushing hug, Hagrid loped away into the Castle. Hermione and Ginny continued up to the Owlery. They saw Seamus sitting on a bench, his arm around Parvati. She was whispering something to him and continually drying her eyes.
"Hey Parvati! Are you..." Ginny called out but stopped abruptly for Parvati and Seamus had begun snogging and looked as though they didn't want to be disturbed. Casting awkward glances at each other, the girls quickly passed them, taking care not to stare. Once they were out of sight, both of them burst out in laughter.
The Owlery was fairly empty, but for the abundance of owls cluttering the rafters. Hermione had always admired the Hogwarts owls; tawny, snowy, barn, screech. They peered down from the nests with large, wise eyes, occasionally clicking their beaks or ruffling their feathers. Yet, at whatever they were doing, owls always seemed to be patient. Except for Pigwideon of course. That tiny little owl of Ron's was a constant menace, fluttering and hooting whenever possible. But Harry's owl, Hedwig, had always had a wise, patient aura about her, as though she knew everything about you but simply didn't have the inclination to tell you. Sadly, Hermione had learned that owls were also quite a protective bird; Hedwig had defended Harry from the Death Eaters that night when he was being moved from Privet Drive and had been killed. But more than anything, Hermione had always wanted an owl. They seemed like good company. Hedwig had certainly been that for Harry, someone he could talk to when he was, more often than not, alone in his room, hiding from his cousin. They were also a great way of sending letters. Even though Hermione had Crookshanks for company, she couldn't use him to send letters to Ron or Harry over the holidays. Instead, she had to wait until Harry or Ron had sent her a letter and then reply, which took a long time since Ron was hopeless at writing letters. Next time I go to Diagon Alley, I am buying myself an owl!
She chose a tawny owl and tied her letter to its ankle. Like all the Hogwarts owls, it was well trained and stuck out its leg professionally until she was done before clicking her beak and flying off into the horizon. Hermione eyed it somewhat enviously. Sometimes, she wished that she could just fly off into the horizon, without a care or worry in the world, and see where the wind took her.