Just a quick shout out to SereniteRose, thank you for your help and guidance with the Scorpion stunt last chapter, I hope I did it justice! Also, a shout out to the reviewer who goes by the name of K, your kind words in your review warmed my heart! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed and put this story on their favourites, it's amazing to see how many people are responding to it. This chapter will have a little of Hermione and the muggle world but will be mainly Hogwarts-centric. Enjoy Chapter 14!
Hermione checked her watch for the final time, it had been six minutes. Gripping the sides of the bath, she slowly lifted herself out and stepped onto the bath mat.
"If that's an ice bath, I can't imagine what a polar bear swim feels like," she said, shivering. The screen went black for a few minutes; the Hogwarts population could hear the rustling of clothing and Hermione humming to herself. She reappeared wearing a long black T-shirt and her hair in a knot on the top of her head.
"Em? Anna?" she called as she left the bathroom and walked down the stairs. There was no answer. Hermione entered the kitchen and looked around. It looked much the same as it had the night before; clear countertops and the gentle thrum of the refrigerator.
"They must be in the hot tub already," Hermione said aloud as she opened one of the cupboards and pulled out a pitcher and three tall glasses. She opened a cupboard door before closing it again.
"Where did Mum put the trays?" she said as footsteps sounded in the hallway. She turned around to see Annabel behind her. She was dressed similar to Hermione, a long t-shirt with her hair pulled back into a ponytail.
"What are you looking for, Mia?" she asked. Hermione crossed her arms and tapped her foot, much to Harry's amusement, he'd seen her do that countless times when she was trying to remember something.
"I'm looking for the trays to put these on," Hermione replied as she indicated the pitcher and glasses she'd placed on the counter. Annabel nodded and started to help Hermione look through the cupboards.
"Ah-ha! Found them!" she exclaimed triumphantly. She pulled a wooden tray out of one of the cupboards and placed it on the counter. Hermione shook her head as she filled the three glasses with water, repeating the action with the pitcher.
"I guess Mom went through one of her "I have to reorganize everything in the kitchen" phases. It feels like every time I come home for the holidays or for the summer, she's had one," Hermione admitted to her cousin as the two girls left the kitchen. Annabel chuckled.
"Well, you know Auntie Jean, she always has to rearrange the house once in awhile. Mum and I were over here a couple of days and she had reorganized the furniture in the living room. Said the way it was before was messing with her feng shui," Annabel said. Hermione chuckled, that sounded like her mother alright.
"What's feng shui?" Parvati whispered to Harry. He shrugged, the Dursleys hadn't exactly shared anything like that with him, and Sirius would have no idea.
"Maybe we'll find out. Or we can always ask Hermione when she comes back to school," Cho said. The others nodded and turned their attention back to Annabel and Hermione, who had arrived at a room with a closed door. Hermione balanced the tray while Annabel opened the door. The Hogwarts population gasped, even Ron and Ginny couldn't hide their amazement and awe. They were looking at an enormous room. A pool was surrounded by lounge chairs, while fluffy towels sat neatly folded on a rack. Hermione set the tray on a table before she went over to where Annabel was standing. Together, the two girls lifted the lid of the hot tub off and pushed it to the other side.
Annabel leaned over and dipped her finger into the hot tub. She let out a sigh of satisfaction.
"Nice and hot. I wonder where Emily is," she said. Hermione shrugged.
"I've been wondering the same thing, I thought she would have met up with us in the kitchen," she replied. She was about to suggest they go look for Emily when the door opened and the girl in question sidled in.
"There you are, what happened, Em? We were getting ready to come look for you," Annabel said. Emily came towards them as she wrapped an elastic around her long red hair.
"Oh, I got some water and ice on the floor in the bathroom so I cleaned that up, and just when I was heading out the door, I slipped in some water I'd missed and fell," she explained.
"Are you okay? Do you need an ice pack or something?" Hermione asked. Emily shook her head.
"No, I'm alright, thanks. Let's just get in the hot tub and relax, maybe go for a swim after," she suggested. Annabel and Hermione nodded and all three of them pulled off their T-shirts. The jaws of the boys and quite a few of the girls dropped. Hermione was in a deep purple bikini, Annabel in a dark red one, and Emily in light blue.
"Damn!" Blaise breathed. All around the hall, similar exclamations were taking place. Even Harry was staring open-mouthed, along with the girls. While Harry had known Hermione was petite, he had never realized just how muscular, toned and strong she was. Her abdomen was tight, and the muscles of her back and shoulders shifted as she rolled her shoulders before climbing into the hot tub.
Draco swallowed hard; he was going to have a hard time getting to sleep tonight. He forced himself to pay attention to the conversation of the three girls.
"So, Mia, are there any good-looking boys at that boarding school of yours?" Emily asked as she sipped her water. Hermione nodded.
"Yes, there are. The uniforms don't hurt either," she added with a wink and giggle that was most unlike her.
"Ooh, boys in uniforms. Delightful!" Annabel said dreamily. Then she grew serious. "Do you have a boyfriend there, Mia?" she asked. Hermione shook her head.
"No, I don't. I'm not exactly the prettiest girl at my school. From day one I've been classed as the brainy bookworm type, and that doesn't seem to pull guys in, it just pushes them away. The closest thing I had to a boyfriend was a couple of years at that tournament I told you about," she answered. Annabel and Emily looked at each other and then at Hermione.
Emily spoke first. "Okay, first of all, you are gorgeous, Hermione. Second of all, all the guys who are intimidated by your intelligence, which is not a bad thing by the way, aren't thinking with the brains in their heads, they're thinking with something else," the boys of the Hogwarts population spluttered with shock, Emily was certainly outspoken. Emily continued, "Hermione, what you need is someone who will not only respect and appreciate your intelligence, but will be able to match it. I mean, you wouldn't want someone who you couldn't debate with every once in awhile, would you?" Hermione shook her head slowly.
"I guess you're right. Maybe the right person for me isn't at school," she said. Annabel and Emily nodded before the latter playfully splashed Hermione.
"How come I didn't know about this guy? Why am I out of the loop?" she asked.
Hermione blushed. "Well, we're not together anymore, but we're still good friends. We write to each other every week. He was from a visiting school and he's a big sports star, and he's a few years older than me too," she said.
"An older man! Way to go Hermione!" Emily cheered. Of the three girls, she was definitely the most boy-crazy. Hermione blushed while Annabel laughed and Draco steamed. He'd suspected there was something going on between Granger, Hermione, and Krum, but he'd never had it confirmed until now. Annabel picked up the conversation.
"Well, Mia, I think you have an admirer on the squad. Jason told me while they were having lunch, Grant couldn't stop talking about you." Hermione giggled; she'd thought Grant was pretty cute too. Draco curled his fingers into fists, why was he so jealous? Pansy and Blaise exchanged a look, they were definitely going to have to do something to cool Draco down, maybe literally.
The girls stayed in the hot tub for awhile longer before Emily yawned. "Well girls, I don't know about you but I'm ready for bed. We'll have to go for a swim another night," she said. Hermione and Annabel nodded in agreement and the three girls climbed out of the hot tub. Water dripped down their bodies, glistening on their taut muscles.
The Hogwarts population watched as the three girls pulled the lid back onto the hot tub and left the room. Hermione bid her cousin and Emily good night before the three of them went into their separate bedrooms. The screen went black and the sounds of running water and Hermione singing softly could be heard. A few moments later, Hermione re-emerged with wet hair and in her pajamas. She climbed into bed.
"Hope you enjoyed your second day in the muggle world, Hogwarts. Until tomorrow," she said before she turned the light off and curled up beneath the blankets. The screen went black and the faculty and their students stood up, ready to retire for the night. Harry turned to Cho.
"Can I walk you back to Ravenclaw Tower?" he asked. Cho nodded, a faint blush on her cheeks. Keeping a hold on her hand, Harry led the way out of the Great Hall. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a peeved looking Malfoy being frogmarched by Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson towards the doors that led out into the grounds, and wondered what was going on. Could Malfoy – no, of course not. Cho clearing her throat caught his attention and he turned sheepishly towards her.
"So, what did you think of what we just saw?" she asked. Harry had a faint idea she was testing him.
"I think it's apparent Hermione takes really good care of herself, and I hope she'll take good care of her heart if Grant makes his move on her. Hermione is my best friend, Cho, she's like the sister I never had. I don't want her to get hurt by some guy," Harry replied. Cho nodded thoughtfully and Harry breathed a silent sigh of relief, he'd said the right thing.
"Hermione will be fine. I think if Grant tries anything with her, she'll have no trouble telling him off," she said as they reached Ravenclaw Tower. Harry nodded, and for a few moments the two of them stood there awkwardly. Did they kiss good night? Hug? Handshake? No, that last one was too formal. Cho made the decision for both of them as she wrapped her arms around Harry's neck and he wrapped his around her waist.
"Good night, Harry," Cho said as she released him.
"Good night, Cho."
Author's Note: Well, here we are, Chapter 14. Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2021. 2020 has not been what any of us expected, and I hope all of you and your loved ones have been keeping yourselves safe and healthy during this wild year. It was never my intent to go this long without updating. Besides being in writing courses for six months, I also had a death in the family and had some personal stuff to deal with that made me just not want to write. On a lighter note, I finished the first draft of my first novel this October, and will be starting the editing and revising process soon. It took me 12 years to finish this novel. 12 Years! I also just want to say I have not abandoned this story or any of my other stories, and I never will. It might take me a year, or two years, but I will finish them. Thank you all for sticking with me and thank you for the reviews. Happy New Year everybody! Stay safe, stay healthy, better days are ahead.
Until next time, xoxoxo.