Hey, I'm in a hurry but I wanted to update this chapter so bad, I hope you like it!

I mentioned it on the last chapter but Hermione is eight years old right now so Ginny is seven, in case you were wondering.

Enjoy!

Chapter 7

Sirius was used to Prongs and Moony joking about how he wasn't exactly "father material" and he didn't blame them, hell if it wasn't for Moony he wouldn't know what to do half of the time, but it was okay. That of course didn't mean that they were right about him in that aspect, because while he still didn't know what being a father meant, he was pretty damn proud to say that he knew his daughter better than anyone.

Sometimes even better than Moony, although that was a thought he liked to keep for himself.

That's why when he saw Hermione smiling at Ginny in the garden he immediately knew that she didn't like the girl, on the contrary, it seemed that Hermione was ready to tackle the girl and pull her hair. Sirius wondered, with hidden amusement, if he would have to stop a child's fight at some point of the day. He couldn't hear what the kids were talking about but Narcissa would've been proud of Hermione's fake smile and, slightly noticeable, defensive pose.

It didn't take long to Sirius to find out that Hermione and Ginny were not going to be friends.

"It seems they'll get along well" Arthur, who didn't know Hermione really well, said and James nodded agreeing with him.

"See, Moony?" James asked Remus smiling "it'll be okay."

Sirius observed how Moony smiled uneasily at James and smirked.

He had noticed too.

Well, perhaps Sirius wasn't the only one who was good at reading Hermione.

Hermione tried to distract herself, she knew she couldn't create problems just because she didn't like a girl. So, while enjoying the gnomes in the garden and laughing along Fred and George she decided not to pay any attention to Ginny Weasley and it worked but only for a while. Ginny was the type of girl that liked to be the center of attention, or at least those were Hermione's initial thoughts about it.

The little redhead was holding Harry's hand at any chance she could, she was laughing loudly and whenever Hermione tried to say something she would speak first, she was really rude.

Hermione decided that ignoring her would be the best course of action, she didn't need to get upset and create a ruckus with accidental magic. So once Neville arrived she thanked the heavens, she knew Neville wouldn't feel comfortable around a rude girl and she also knew that he was extremely shy so keeping him company would help her calm down.

"Why are you so late?" Hermione asked him when he finished greeting everyone.

"Dad got lost," Neville explained as he took a seat on a bench next to Hermione on the garden "uncle James had to prepare an emergency Portkey for us."

Hermione laughed at that.

"So…" Neville said while swinging his legs "how come you're not enjoying the afternoon next to Harry? Is not like you two to be apart like this."

Hermione huffed, it was obvious that Neville would notice. He was quiet, shy and sometimes really clumsy but Hermione knew that he was quite observant too.

"I don't like her," Hermione mumbled awkwardly "she reminds me of the girls of the orphanage."

Neville sighed, he didn't know a lot about the orphanage but Harry once told him that that particular topic wasn't easy to discuss with Hermione. Her time in there had been horrible so she never got to forget about it.

"Well," Neville said after a few seconds "even if that's the case we should play, I mean look, Fred and George are bringing the brooms, come on."

Hermione nodded as Neville grabbed her hand and took her to where the others were. She decided that she would at least try to be civil with Ginny.

She wasn't inside the orphanage anymore so she shouldn't let her ruin her day.

"You know," Sirius said casually to Frank Longbottom "I think your son just saved the day."

Arthur had got up to help his wife to set up the table along with Alice Longbottom who decided that Lily and Molly had done enough already so only Frank, James, Remus and Sirius were watching the kids from the living room. Sirius felt the imperative need to watch over Hermione, he wanted to be that she would end up fighting with Ginny at some point, and while he would obviously stop her from going overboard, he also wanted to find out the reason behind her anger.

"What do you mean?" Frank asked confused, all that Neville had done was to talk with Hermione and dragged her to play with the others. They couldn't hear what the kids were saying but it looked like normal kid's behavior.

Sirius looked around them to make sure that no one could hear them.

"Well, you probably cannot notice" he started to say smugly "but my daughter doesn't like Ginny for some reason."

James frowned.

"How can you tell?" he asked him, they looked like they were getting along fine to him.

Sirius chuckled.

"My dear, Prongs" he said while patting James on the shoulder "I happen to know my kid quite well."

"He's right" Moony said while standing behind Sirius "Hermione got really tense when she met her and her smile was fake, whatever they said to each other was not nice at all."

James's eyes widened.

"How can you tell?" he asked surprised and judging by Frank's widened eyes he was surprised too.

"Oh, come on!" Sirius said slightly offended while looking at his best friend "I did not give birth to her but what kind of father does not know how to read his own child?"

James crossed his arms while smirking and then looked at Moony.

"I never imagine that I would hear him say something like that" James said amused.

"It surprises me sometimes too" Lupin admitted.

"Guys…" Frank said while standing up "since you know Hermione really well I guess you could swear that she wouldn't get involved in a silly, and dangerous, broom race, right?"

"Of course not" Sirius said while rolling his eyes "she hates brooms."

"Then why is she about to ride one?" Frank asked and when Sirius looked back at where the kids were he stood up with panic written all over his face.

Hermione was getting on a broom with a determined look on her face.

"Holy fuck!" Sirius said as he ran towards the garden.

All of the others followed him.

"Sorry, what?" Hermione asked Ginny. It wasn't that she didn't hear her question but she didn't want to tell her that she was useless on a broom, it would feel like admitting defeat.

"Do you want to compete with me?" Ginny asked her smiling "we ride the brooms to the top of that hill" she said pointing at the place in question "and whoever comes back first wins."

Hermione frowned.

"I don't think…" she started to say but Ginny interrupted her.

"Unless you can't do it" Ginny said tauntingly "in that case I understand, I heard that you're extremely smart. I guess you cannot be good at everything."

Hermione looked behind her, Fred, George, Harry and Ron were trying to teach Neville how to ride a broom properly. They weren't paying attention to them.

"So?" Ginny pressed on.

"I take it that you can ride broom pretty well?" Hermione asked her while crossing her arms.

Ginny nodded.

"Yes!" she said proudly "all of my brothers taught me, that's why I understand if you can't do it."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked frowning.

"Well, you're an orphan" Ginny said as if it was obvious "no one ever bothered to teach you stuff like this… did they have brooms on the orphanage where you lived?"

Hermione clicked her tongue as she took one of the brooms for Ginny's hands.

"Let's do it" she said defiantly "and once I win you'll apologize to me for calling me an orphan."

Ginny smirked.

"And if I win you'll admit that once an orphan, always an orphan."

Hermione glared at her, how come someone could be so mean? She always excused the girls back at the orphanage because they, just like her, didn't have parents so they didn't know better. But Ginny was completely different, she had an amazing and lovely family, why was she so cruel? Well, in the end it didn't matter to Hermione, she was going to make her apologize.

"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Ginny asked her "the dress might make it difficult for you."

Hermione looked at Ginny's outfit, she was wearing blue jeans and a simple white shirt. That obviously gave her an advantage.

"I don't care" Hermione said while getting on the broom, her hands were sweating and her heart was beating frantically. She wasn't good at this but it was a matter of pride so she couldn't afford to hesitate.

Ginny got on her broom too so they were both ready.

"Hermione," Harry said while approaching her "what are you doing?"

"I'm going to race Ginny" she said while smiling at Harry "cheer for me, okay?"

"But…" Harry tried to say.

"It'll be okay" Hermione interrupted him although she knew she wasn't fooling anyone, she felt terribly unsure.

She was about to tell Ginny to start the race but Sirius stepped into the garden and walked towards her in an all business manner. Hermione huffed, she didn't want him to intervene in this but she supposed that it was inevitable.

"Princess" Sirius said once he was standing next to Harry "sorry but I have to ask, what are you thinking?"

Hermione smiled at him.

"I'm going to race" she explained.

Sirius then looked at Ginny, the little redhead looked impatient to start the race. Sirius could also tell that Hermione was nervous, she was smiling but she was tense and a little pale, he wanted to tell her that there was no need to do this, whatever problem she had with Ginny could be easily ignored, but looking at the determination behind her eyes he supposed that there was no use.

She was stubborn like that.

"As long as you survive I'll allow this" Sirius said finally.

Hermione smiled wider and nodded enthusiastically. Sirius kneeled down so he could be at her height and hugged her.

"You better win" Sirius whispered on her ear "if you do that we might get you one or two books on the way back home."

Hermione giggled and kissed him on the cheek.

"Sirius!" Remus said approaching them "you're supposed to stop this! Not to encourage her!"

Hermione looked around them and suddenly there was a little crowd around them. Everyone had forgotten about the lunch apparently, the Weasley family, the Potters and the Longbottoms were watching too. Hermione gulped when she saw the small crowd, she didn't know if she could do this with everyone watching them.

"Okay, dear public!" George said while standing between Hermione and Ginny "place your bets! Which girl do you think will win?! Ginny Weasley or Hermione Black?!"

"George!" Molly said scandalized "this is not the time…"

"Ten galleons that Hermione wins!" James Potter said smiling and Hermione blushed.

"James?!" Lily asked worriedly, she actually wanted to stop this. She knew that Hermione hated the brooms so why was she doing this?!

"Ten galleons for Ginny!" Arthur Weasley said and Fred started to pick the money as if it was really a serious race.

"Twenty galleons for Hermione!" Frank Longbottom said and Hermione gaped while looking at him, seriously? But he also knew she didn't know how to ride a broom! Now she felt even more pressure to win.

"Okay, this is ridiculous!" Remus said annoyed.

Hermione looked at him and then Sirius spoke.

"One hundred galleons for my daughter!" he said and the twins looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Sirius?!" Remus and Lily asked at the same time.

"Okay!" Fred said "then we, as her older brothers, will bet twenty galleons each for Ginny!"

"Get ready!" George said "ready, set…"

"Mione" Harry said and extended his hand, Hermione took it gratefully "good luck!"

Hermione felt a sudden rush of magic and confidence overflowing. She was sure that Harry hadn't done it on purpose, their magic was always crazy whenever they were together after all but now she felt invincible, she knew she was going to win. So with the newfound determination she grabbed the broom tightly and looked in front of her.

Ginny did the same.

"Go!" George said finally and they were both gone.

Remus grabbed Sirius hand out of worry but Sirius simply smiled at him.

"She'll be okay" he told him low enough so no one else could hear "she's our daughter."

Hermione didn't know what was happening, she felt the wind on her face and a rush of adrenaline that she hadn't experienced before. The broom she was using was old and it didn't feel as safe as Draco's broom, Aunt Cissa always made sure that the respective safety charms were on place after all, so this was quite the dangerous experience.

"You never mentioned you were good at this!" Ginny yelled, obviously furious, at her.

The little redhead was better than Hermione, that much was obvious, but she wasn't winning. They were side by side, the green scenery around them was blurry because they were going really fast. They had left the Weasley's garden behind them and they were now flying over a green field with several flowers, Hermione would've admired the landscape any other day but for now they were about to arrive at the hill.

Hermione remembered how James once told Harry to use his body weight in order to make the broom faster so trying to imitate that she dived a little and Ginny, who wasn't expecting that, slowed down. Hermione smiled as she reached the hill and directed the broom to turn around but Ginny was still pursuing her hotly.

"She's really annoying" Hermione muttered under her breath.

"Careful!" Ginny yelled "your underwear is showing!"

Hermione blushed and looked down at her legs, Ginny was lying! But that distraction was enough to give the redhead the lead and now Ginny was winning. Hermione huffed as she tried to go faster but the broom wasn't working like in the beginning. The worst part was that she could already see the Weasley's garden and everyone was cheering, Hermione couldn't listen to what everyone was saying but she didn't want to lose!

"Come on!" she said frustrated at not being able to catch up to Ginny.

She was about to cry out of anger when she saw Harry jumping up and down.

"You can do it! Hermione!" he yelled.

Hermione smiled at that and nodded, she could do it! She could reach Harry faster than Ginny!

"I can win!" she said and she felt another rush of magic. Before she knew what was happening the broom went faster and she took the lead, leaving Ginny behind her.

"No!" she heard Ginny yelling.

"Yes!" Hermione yelled back and crossed the fence first, winning the race.

Sirius, James and Harry cheered at the same time at her victory and Remus, who knew that Hermione didn't know how to stop a broom took out his wand and pointed it at her. The broom stopped right in front of him and Hermione laughed loudly as the adrenaline started to leave her system. She was about to get down of the broom when someone picked her up, it was her father.

"That's my daughter!" Sirius yelled and Hermione smiled at him.

"Dad! I won!" she said as he put her on the floor.

Harry ran to hugged her and she hugged him back.

"I knew you would win!" he said proudly.

Hermione was feeling happy again and she ignored Ginny's enraged face.

The remaining of the lunch went without incidents. Everyone decided that the money would go back to their respective owners, it was nothing but a child's race after all. Molly's food was marvelous and everyone enjoyed themselves. Most of the adults praised Hermione for her amazing demonstration with the broom, although she promised Sirius and Remus that she wouldn't do it again, that one time was enough for a lifetime.

Once it was time to say goodbye Hermione approached Ginny, no one was paying attention to them so it was safe to talk about their agreement.

"What?" Ginny asked her sullenly.

"I'm just saying goodbye" Hermione said innocently "and I want you to keep your part of the deal."

Ginny scowled at her.

"I won't apologize" she said "I won't take back what I said."

Hermione could feel her temper raising.

"It was a deal" she said stubbornly "you should always keep your part of the deal."

Ginny huffed.

"You don't get it, do you? You're an orphan" she said rudely "so what if you have parents now? They are not your real parents, they never will be. Even if I apologize it does not make a difference."

Hermione clenched her fists.

"Why? I've never seen you before this, I've never done anything to you! Why do you hate me so much?!"

Ginny shrugged.

"I don't hate you" she explained "I just don't think that a simply orphan deserves so much luck, that's all."

Hermione's eyes widened, as she realized what the real problem was, Ginny didn't hate her but it was easy to understand her. The little redhead was using worn out clothes, she lived in a little, crowded home and, while she had a lovely family, she couldn't appreciate all of the blessings she had. Hermione couldn't believe it because, a few years back, she would've done anything to be on her place.

"I'm sorry" Hermione said finally smiling at her "I understand now."

Ginny frowned feeling a little offended, why was Hermione looking at her with pity?

"What? What do you understand?" she asked.

"You're just jealous of me" Hermione said smiling at her and Ginny gaped.

"What?!" Ginny asked offended.

"It's okay" Hermione said while turning around to go where her parents were "I understand."

Hermione left leaving a dumbfounded, enraged Ginny behind.

"I cannot believe that you did it!" Harry said as Hermione kept going through the library picking the books his dad had promised "you hate brooms!"

Hermione chuckled.

"It was a matter of pride" she said, although she kept to herself everything that Ginny had told her. She didn't want Harry to feel the need to take her side, especially since he was getting closer to Ron. Hermione supposed that it would be easier for him not to know about Ginny's real personality.

Because something was telling her that he would find out, sooner or later.

Harry was carrying four books, trying to help Hermione to decide which ones to take with her. He never questioned Hermione love for books, he liked some of them too and whenever she would find interesting spells she would teach them to him or practice with him.

It was fun.

"By the way" Hermione said while looking around Flourish y Blotts to make sure that no one was near them "thank you" she said finally while smiling at Harry.

Harry blinked confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked "why are you thanking me?"

Hermione shrugged.

"I think that you helped me win the race today" she said "after you wished me good luck."

Harry smiled mischievously.

"I knew you would notice!" he said proudly.

"You did it on purpose?" Hermione asked surprised.

"Not really" Harry said while walking side by side with Hermione "I assumed that our magic would react again, I just hoped that it would help you."

Hermione laughed and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you" she said sweetly.

Harry blushed and walked faster towards where the adults were while Hermione giggled.

"Dad!" Hermione called Sirius "I already chose which books I want!"

Sirius turned around to see Harry holding five books while Hermione was holding three.

"I said two!" he admonished "and the pup is going to collapse under those books!"

"I won't!" Harry said stubbornly and James observed amused his red cheeks, he was obviously struggling with the books.

Sirius rolled his eyes and looked at the manager.

"We'll be taking all of those books" he said finally "she won a race today so this is her prize."

"Lord Black," the manager said kindly "in a few years you've become our number one client, please keep visiting."

Sirius snorted.

"In a few years her love for books will leave me without money" he said half joking.

"Thank you, daddy" Hermione said while smiling at him.

Sirius smiled back.

It was the perfect end for a perfect day.

I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter and I assure you that I'll update the next one faster, okay?

Your reviews are the only thing that makes me want to continue writing these days, thank you!

The next chapter is up to you, do you want to see them at Hogwarts already or should I write another chapter about them at home? Let me know!

Thanks again!

Pd. I apologize for my grammar mistakes.