The Next Big Thing
A/N: This is the first chapter in a round robin completed by a section of 'Draco's Angel' Please Enjoy!
Disclaimer: The characters and settings are J.K. Rowling's and the Warner Brothers Company's.
The Plot belongs to the Writer's of the Round Table.
The Title is a song title by the group MxPx from their c.d., The Ever Pressing Moment.
School began in one week; all supplies had been purchased and arrangements made, however, Hermione Granger still hadn't finished her homework. It wasn't her fault of course; she had just been a bit too preoccupied and had forgotten to bring her work with her to Bulgaria. She sighed as she perused yet another book recommended to her by Professor Lupin for her Potions essay on the Wolfs bane potion, this one was entitled, Taming the Inner Wolf. She had at first laughed at the books for their titles sounded like the new-age self help books for modern hippies, however, they were now proving to be a vital resource, containing more information than any of her school books.
"Only two more inches, only two more," ran through her head constantly and prevented any helpful thoughts from entering, namely, writer's block.
Hermione groaned angrily, she was so close from finishing. Why did her thoughts have to dam up now? The only way for her to break the blockade would be to write something else, a letter perhaps. Hermione slid open one of her desk drawers and lifted a slim rectangular box from it. The sunlight danced over the worn wooden box and hinted at several years of use and care. Hermione lifted the lid from the container and pulled out her red and gold stationary.
Dearest Viktor,
I'm glad that I had decided to visit you in Bulgaria. I must confess
that I hadn't wished to do so originally, however, the choice to go proved a good one.
I don't think that spending Christmas with you though would be too wise, perhaps, instead
you could come to my home in England and celebrate with me. My parents would love you, you have
a perfect smile. Thank you for the beautiful gray owl, even if it wasn't my birthday.
I have named her Pallas, a name from one of my favorite poems, The Raven. I must now think
about what I should get for you, so far I haven't thought of anything special enough. I will
though and when Pallas reaches you on January 19th, I hope you find my gift to be as perfect
for you as Pallas was for me. Send your replies back by Ignis, I would rather Pallas rest than
complete a return journey and I trust you.
With all my love,
Your Hermione
Hermione placed down her quill and attached the somewhat brief letter to her owl's leg. She thrust open the window and allowed her silvery gray owl to fly out toward Bulgaria.
"Go to Viktor, Pallas!" The morning sun illuminated Hermione's face and revealed the hidden strands of natural gold that she had inherited from her grandmother. Her eyes burned with a secret smile as she slowly turned back to her desk and homework.
However, she still couldn't concentrate, her mind refused to leave her thoughts and memories of Bulgaria.
She had left for Bulgaria filled doubts and had returned home filled with happiness. Viktor had surprised her by being such a wonderful guy. He was no model of course, but then again neither was she. Instead of handsomeness, he had sensitivity, knowledge, and extreme abilities in other areas such as Quidditch and Herbology. He may not be her dream guy, but he treated her with such a tenderness that no other guy ever had.
She sighed softly, a shy smile playing on her lips.
Suddenly the loud annoying 'Brrrring! Brrrring!' of the telephone broke her from her reverie.
Hermione groaned; people always called at the least opportune times.
"Hello? The Granger household." An icy edge cut through her words.
"Hermione?" a teasing voice replied from the other end of the wire, oblivious to Hermione's tone, "Remember me? I used to be an acquaintance of yours; some even called us friends. It's Katelyn"
"Katelyn? Hm--- I think I can faintly recall someone by that name." Hermione answered with a wide smile, knowing exactly what her friend wanted, they had this conversation every summer since Hogwarts.
"Really? I thought that you would have forgotten me by now, what with that fancy boarding school stealing away all your time…" Katelyn trailed off mid sentence and waited for Hermione to interrupt her.
"Kat!" Hermione jumped in with a laugh, "No one could ever forget you!"
"Glad to hear it" came the harrumphed reply. Silence dominated for a few seconds then Kat continued at her usual hurried pace, "Look Hermi the real reason I'm calling is this. I've been appointed the co-editor of Westcote High's newspaper and am in charge of revising our summer issue, but I have no idea where to begin! So I was wondering if you wouldn't mind coming over for lunch. We could reminisce about our days at Gatewood Elementary and then you could help me with the paper. I know you know how to do it, you're the Fantastic Hermi!" Kat mocked her with an old nickname.
"I'd love to. Maybe helping you will break my writer's block."
"Terrific, all of Westcote will thank you. I'll expect you in about two hours around 11." Kat's voice bubbled over the line, "See you then!"
"Bye." Hermione placed the phone back into the cradle and began to prepare.
Hermione arrived at Kat's house about 15 minutes early, writing handbooks and yearbooks in tow and her brown hair plastered to her face, her entire frame dripping from rain. She rang the bell yet again, but still no one answered. Katelyn most likely had her CD player turned up too loud.
"Kat! Katelyn Morrison! It's me, Hermione! Answer the door!" She heard a scurry of laughter from behind the door and realized that Kat had been making her wait on purpose.
"You must first answer three questions…"
"Just open the door! I'm getting soaked out here!"
"Whoops! Sorry, Hermi, I forgot it was raining. Just a moment." A clicking of locks echoed through the door, "Here you go." The heavy oaken door opened to reveal a rather short girl with chin length brown hair and ancient dark green eyes. "Well, are you coming in or not?"
"No, I was just kidding when I said I was visiting you. All I really want is to admire your lovely front door while catching my death from this infernal rain."
Kat smiled, "Well, in that case…" She began to close the door, but was stopped by Hermione's foot.
"Of course I want to come in!" Hermione stepped over the threshold and walked into the hall. After Katelyn had shut the door she asked, "Do you have any towels I can dry off with? I wasn't expecting any rain so I didn't bring an umbrella."
"Yes, they're in the closet at the top of the stairs.
Here I'll show you." Katelyn led her up a grand staircase to the second floor and grabbed a few towels from a small closet. After Hermione had stopped dripping, she began to explain, "Mother left a small lunch prepared for us down in the kitchen. Why don't we go eat that, then we go to my room to work on the paper?"
Hermione nodded and the two descended the steps to the kitchen. While they ate, Katelyn and Hermione recalled Kat's high jinks, Hermi's reputation as the one who knew all, and the many times they had spent together.
All in all it was a fun luncheon and made Hermione miss being a normal student. If only she could get the same sort of experiences at Hogwarts that Kat had had at Gatewood and Westcote. Little did she realize that an idea was beginning to form in her mind.
Later that night, Hermione returned home with a copy of Kat's paper. They had never gotten around to editing it and so she had promised to do it at home then mail it to Kat when she was done with a letter explaining what she had done. As she edited it, the feeling of being left out came back stronger than before. If only Hogwarts…suddenly an idea flashed into her head. She ripped a notebook from a shelf and began to map out her plan.
A week later, in the car ride to King's Cross station, Hermione perfected her idea. She had a drafted letter of request and an outline explaining how she would execute her scheme. She couldn't wait to show it to Harry and Ron, she was certain that they would be just as excited as she.
As her parents pulled up to the station, Hermione stuffed the notebook in her bag and quickly readjusted her hair band.
"I love you, Mum, Dad," she kissed each in turn and scurried to the platform, dragging her trunk behind her. Her parents watched her go, then left hurriedly for they had an appointment in 10 minutes and couldn't be late.
Hermione stepped boldly through the barrier and once again immersed herself into the wizarding world. Harry flagged her down and Ron helped her load her trunk.
"Hey, 'Mione, where did you get the owl? You didn't buy one when we went to Diagon alley together," Ron asked as they boarded the train.
"Oh, Pallas? Viktor gave her to me when I visited him," Hermione answered casually. Ron didn't know of her relationship with Viktor yet and she wasn't going to tell him until she had to.
"He bought you an owl?" Harry inquired incredulously, one brow cocked.
"Yes, she's an early birthday present," Then changing the subject, "Come on, there's something I want to show you."
The three friends quickly settled into their compartment and Hermione immediately pulled her notebook out of her bag.
"I visited an old muggle friend over the summer to help her edit a summer edition of her school's newspaper. While editing it, I started to wish that Hogwarts had something like it. Then I realized that it could!"
"You want to start a newspaper at Hogwarts? Are you crazy?"
"Do you realize how much work that would take?"
Hermione blinked at them surprised, "I thought it would be fun!"
"Yeah," muttered Ron, "About as much fun as being locked in a room with Professor Snape."
"Hermione, no offense, but every year you come up with some crazy idea that results in more work. The search for Nicholas Flamel, the Time Turner, S.P.E.W., need I name more?" Harry asked her.
"Fine then," Hermione replied crisply, "I wasn't asking you to do it. I just thought that it would be cool idea. I thought that you two would at least appreciate it, but no I was I wrong. All you care about is how much time it would take." Hermione turned sharply in her seat, her back facing the two boys and stared angrily out the window. 'I'll show them,' she thought, 'by the end of the year, they'll wish that they had asked to join when I had told them and I will say 'No. I don't want you to have too much work.'' Hermione pursed her lips in determination and begin to revise her letter of request.
We hope you have enjoyed this first chapter. Please Review. Compliments, Comments, and Insults are all welcomed. However, if you want to insult, at least tell why. Thank you!
This Chapter was written by LilyAyl
She is also the writer of several original stories and poems and a Severus/Lily Romance entitled 'Lily Lost.' Please go and read her stories while you await the next chapter in this story.