What is it with men and asking for directions? –Dori, Finding Nemo
I woke up the next morning almost the exact same way I had the prior morning.
"Hermione." Harry called, I groaned and opened my eyes to see George's face looming over me. I jumped and squished into Fred.
George leaned back and turned towards the tent entrance. "She's up!" He yelled out the tent. I jumped again and he turned back towards me as Fred sat up.
"What are you yelling about?" Fred asked, sitting up and frowning at his twin.
"Oops, did I wake you?" He asked, not looking even slightly sorry. "Sorry about that then."
"Oh shut it you big oaf." Fred said, sitting up and shoving his twin on the arm. George laughed and ducked out of the tent. I turned to Fred, smiling as I snuggled into his arms.
"Think they'd notice if we didn't come out?" I asked sleepily, he was remarkably warm.
"Probably, the real question is whether or not we care." He replied. I grinned and snuggled in closer, nuzzling my cheek against his chest before pulling back and sitting up.
"Okay, come on. The sooner we get started the sooner we can get back to the castle."
"And Arthur." He mumbled extremely quietly, a frown forming on his face.
"What?" I asked, standing and looking back at him. I must have miss heard him, he couldn't have said that.
"Nothing." He said quickly, standing next to me and dusting off his tunic and breeches. "Come on, we don't want to keep the others waiting." He stepped out of the tent without another glance back. I stood frozen for a moment, my mind racing as I thought of what he had just said. I know he had said Arthur's name, but what had he meant by it? Did he think I was interested in Arthur? He couldn't have been more wrong, I wasn't interested in anyone other than him. I was rather taken with him to be honest. I'd have to figure out some way to put that fear to rest. Arthur wasn't interested in me, he was just being nice.
I gave myself a mental shake and stepped out of the tent with my wand drawn. I waved it at the tent and caused it to once again fold in on itself. I grabbed the folded packet and shoved it into my saddle bag before turning to look at the others. George and Fred were already on their horses and Harry was climbing onto his. He was getting much better, but he still wasn't great. At least he could climb on the horse without assistance now.
"Okay, we're getting near to the island we may have to stop by a village and see just where it is."
"You don't know?" Harry asked, sounding shocked.
"Did I not mention that the island was unplottable?" I asked, raising my eyebrow at Harry.
"Yeah, but I thought you'd know anyway."
"How? You can't remember it if you can't plot it. It's like a fidelius charm, you can't find it or remember it. I couldn't find any more information on it while I was at the castle. I know the general location, but that's not very good for apparating, I'm likely to take us to the middle of the ocean. It'll be much safer to stop and ask for directions." A grin quirked my lips as I finished. How funny was that, he was being such a guy, God forbid that we might have to ask for help. Why couldn't guys just ask for directions? It saved time and effort, and it wasn't like it made you look dumb. I actually felt it made a person look smarter. It showed you were woman enough to admit you didn't know where something was, and you were taking the initiative to correct that problem.
"No other way?" Harry asked with a frown.
"Oh really," I said, nudging my horse forward. "I'll be the one asking for the directions, me, Fred or George. Sorry, but you're terrible at the accent. You might want to pretend to be a mute." Fred and George laughed while Harry glared at me.
"Come on," he said sulkily. "We'll be late if we don't get a move on." I grinned at him and then turned towards Fred, winking at him before Fea started to gallop after Harry's horse. I had passed him a moment later and we were on our way towards the quintapeds. I loved riding, it was something I was going to try and keep doing in my own time, but I was not looking forward to this ride. We were going to be reaching the island by tonight and I still wasn't sure how to fight the monsters. I was beginning to fear that I was going to have to follow the twins advice. We were all going to just have to wing it.
I hated winging it, I thrived on routine, on plans. I was not good at winging it.
We rode for two hours before we came to any sign of a village. We slowed down when we saw it, and then climbed off the horses. Fred, George, and I left the horses with Harry.
"Okay, so, I haven't actually tried talking in Scottish, I may need you guys to take the lead." I said, stepping in between Fred and George. They both looked down at me with equally excited grins.
"Sure." They said together.
"There are some villagers over there, " I said, pointing towards a group of people standing on the outskirts of a house.
"We'll talk to them, it would look strange for the one woman in the group to be speaking." George said, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. He probably thought I was going to hex him just for saying that. If this had been our actual time, I would have. He had a very valid point for this time though. It would look strange if I spoke, women were supposed to be quiet and reserved, seen but not heard. We were little more than slaves.
I nodded my head in agreement and slowed down so that I was half a step behind them, keeping my eyes downcast so that I wouldn't look to forward or bold. I now look, and felt, humble. We reached the villagers, who looked up at us as we neared with a definite frown. Why didn't anyone ever look happy to see us? Were visitors that unwelcome in the Middle Ages, or were we just that unpopular?
"Greetings," Fred said with his scottish brogue, raising his hands in the welcoming gesture that our prior village had used. I hope these villagers used something somewhat similar. "Ma friends and I are traveling tae the island o Drear, only we hiv lost our wey."
I stared at the villagers as he spoke, repressing the urge to watch Fred. I really like that accent, more than I honestly cared to admit. I would be sad when we returned, he wouldn't have any reason to use it. Maybe I could think of something to persuade him to continue it...
"The island o Drear?" A brown haired man asked with a fierce frown. He eyed us with distrust, his eyes studying our very red hair before settling on me. I lowered my eyes to the ground again, uncomfortable beneath his hard gaze. "Tha island is no place for a lass. Are yea sure tha 's where yea are headed?"
"Aye, as sure as I can be." Fred replied, stepping minutely closer to me. George also stepped closer, but I was more aware of Fred because I noticed his wand hand twitched closer to the pocket he had his wand hidden in. I tensed up my own self and brought my hand closer to my own hidden wand. I didn't know what had alerted, or alarmed, Fred, but I wasn't waiting to find out. I was going to be prepared for whatever it was.
"Weill, I cannae help yea." He said simply, glaring at Fred before looking at me again.
"Are yea sure?" George asked with a frown, his own hand twitching towards his wand. Godric, what was worrying them and how was I missing it?
"Yea, I cannae tell ya where to go." He stepped away with a frown.
"Well he was pleasant." George mumbled, watching the mans retreating back with a disapproving frown.
"Did you notice the way he was staring at Hermione?" Fred asked, laying a light arm on my shoulder.
"Yeah, what was that about?" George questioned, moving nearer Fred. I watched the two of them talk with a small frown. I felt like I was missing something, a key piece to a puzzle. What had they noticed that made them so uneasy?
"It was like he..." He looked at me out of the corner of his eye and shook his head, letting the rest of his sentence just hang there unfinished.
"Come on, there's a person over there we can ask." George said, stepping past Fred and towards a tall red-headed man.
"Sir!" He called, stopping the man. He was carrying a basket of food and looked like he was quite busy. He turned towards us with a frown similar to the other man we had just spoken to. Did no one here know how to simply smile? Did we look that threatening? "Can we ask yea for some directions?" George continued, stopping in front of the man. I stopped behind him and Fred stepped up next to him. The man looked from Fred to George, and smiled slightly, until he saw me. His smile promptly dropped and a fierce scowl took it's place. He started muttering a string of something, it sounded like gaelic, or some language like it, and then stormed off.
"The nerve." I breathed out angrily. What was with everyone? We only wanted a few directions, it wasn't like we were trying to stay!
"I pretty sure we just got told to shove our wands where the sun don't shine." Fred said, watching the man's retreating back with a distinct air of disbelieve. I felt the same as him.
"Why do they keep staring at you, 'Mione?" George asked, turning towards me with a questioning frown.
"How should I know?" I questioned, my hands raising to my hips in disbelief. I didn't look strange, I wasn't standing out, I was keeping my eyes lowered and humbled. There was absolutely no reason for this man to be staring at me. I was blending in perfectly. My hair was even a slightly darker shade than theirs, so it matched me better. I looked like a naturally red-headed Scott.
"Maybe they don't like women." Fred mumbled, looking at me with an upraised eyebrow. "I really don't get it, you look really hot. Any hot blooded man would be looking at you, but not with that fierce of a glare." I flushed at his words, thrilled that he thought I looked nice, but embarrassed that the man was glaring at me. I felt like I'd done something wrong, which was just silly. Still, it was how I felt and I couldn't fix it. at least not since I didn't know what I had done wrong to start with. Was it because I was a girl? It was silly and stupid, but that's what it felt like to me.
"Why don't you go ask someone for directions without me?" I asked, dropping my hands from my hips and taking a small step back. "Maybe they'll talk to you if they don't know I'm with you."
"I don't know if I like the idea of leaving you by yourself." Fred said with a frown. I gave him a small smile and shook my head. It was sweet of him to worry, but completely unnecessary.
"I'll be fine." I said softly, staring at him.
"It's not like she'll be by herself anyway. We're just going to be over there. She can stand right here and we'll be able to keep an eye on her." George said practically. He walked over to Fred and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, it'll only take a minute."
"Okay." Fred said begrudgingly. He gave me one last look over his shoulder, and I did my best to give him a big smile, before he left. I watched them walk away feeling slightly uneasy. I couldn't figure out why though, it almost felt like someone was watching me. I let my eyes scan the village and I found the source of my unease. Both of the villagers we had talked to earlier were staring at me, frowns on there faces as they pointed me out to some other men.
Godric, what was going on?