Ok. I'm humble. To anyone who might have been waiting for this, I'm so very sorry that it took me such a long time. I had given up on this story completely because after reading it over I've decided that I'm not very proud of it. It's hard to continue something that you're not proud of. I think the reason that I'm not pleased with this is that I've realized that it's not the most canon-rific! of fics. I payed close attention to dialogue in particular in my rereads, and I'm completely off-base for most of it. Hermione is too flippant when she speaks to her parents, Harry is *way* too perceptive, and Ron is just too... too British. Of course duh yeah he *is* British, but he's too... proper British. I mean, come on. I made him use the words "good show." That's very sad, isn't it?
But anyway. I'm not here to rant and whine. I got myself into this mess of a fanfic, I need to get myself out of it (if only for the satisfaction of ending this piece of crap that I used to enjoy creating). If there's anything I'm not, it's a quitter. So... Here it is. The seventh chapter of "Flying Without Wings." (God, I hate that title. What was I thinking?) I went back and changed parts of the sixth chapter, too. I didn't like the way it turned out.
Since it's been so long, I'm going to give you guys a little chapter-by-chapter summary. Chapter 1: After having a bizarre dream that involves herself in ice skates, Hermione wakes up one morning. She goes to the Great Hall for breakfast where she recieves a letter from her parents, saying that she must come home for Christmas, and that she's to bring Harry and Ron with her. Chapter 2: We find out why Hermione is horrified at the idea of bringing Harry and Ron home with her, and they all make the trip to King's Cross. Chapter 3: The trio meet up with Mr. and Mrs. Granger, and drive to the Granger's house. Hermione gets angry for no apparent reason, let's chalk it up to PMS. (yeah, way to go, Courtney.) Chapter 4: After ice skating on the pond behind the house, Hermione is sent to wake up Ron and Harry for breakfast. They apologize, she accepts, a pillow fight ensues. Chapter 5: The kids are recruited to shovel the driveway while Mr. and Mrs. Granger go into town for some last minute shopping. Ron learns how to use a Band-Aid, and (once they're outside) shows his sensitive side :). Chapter 6: Christmas morning. While opening presents, Ron and Hermione get into a fight in which there's a lot of yelling (well... duh), and Ron (unintentionally) insults a sore spot of Hermione's. The fight only ends when Hermione storms from the room after getting the last word in. Chapter 7: Hermio- Oh yeah. Just see below!
~**~**~**~**~Hermione couldn't remember a more uncomfortable Christmas. Sure, there'd been a few awkward occasions, especially as she got older, but never before had she been so completely nervous. She, Harry and Ron all had seats at the children's table along with most of her cousins; for this she was grateful. It was bad enough that Ron and Harry had had to meet her family, she didn't need to worry about them actually talking to her relatives.
Harry had sat between her and Ron, trying to get some sort of conversation going between them. Hermione had ignored his attempts. She didn't plan on speaking to Ron anytime soon after what he had said to her. She had instead focused on her plate and her cousins.
Now she was sitting on the living room couch with one of the books her parents had given her that morning. The sounds of talking and laughter floated from the kitchen where the adults and her older cousins were still gathered, some playing cards and others just hanging out. Harry and Ron had been recruited by some of the younger kids to help build a huge tent fort. Shrieks and shouts came from the den, where they had set up camp.
Twelve year old Danielle wandered in with a book under her arm. "Hey Hermione." Hermione smiled at her.
"Hi." Danielle seated herself in a chair and opened her book. They read in silence for a few minutes.
"Can I ask you something?" she said suddenly, and Hermione closed her book and nodded.
"Of course."
"Ok." Danielle raised an eyebrow. "What's up with you today?"
Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just not in the Christmas spirit, I guess."
"Why?"
Hermione sighed, "I had a fight with my friend Ron."
"That's the red-headed one, right?"
"Right."
"What did you guys fight about?" Danielle asked.
"I have no idea." Hermione sighed again. "Mum and Dad gave me some new ice skates, and then he called me a liar because I didn't tell him that I used to skate."
Danielle waited for more, but she was finished. "That's it?" she asked skeptically. Hermione nodded. "Let me get this straight. You never told him absolutely everything about you, so he got mad?"
Hermione shrugged. "Well.... yeah. I guess that's one version."
"Hmm." Danielle rubbed an imaginary beard. "Sounds... suspicious."
Hermione snorted. "What a brilliant deduction." She rolled her eyes. "And anyway, you're wrong, it's not suspicious in the least. Ron and I always fight about stuff like that. It's just the way we are together."
"So... Do you guys have a *thing* going on?"
"No!" Hermione gave a short laugh. "He's one of my best friends, Danielle."
"He definitely acts like it, too. You know the old saying, 'with friends like that...'?"
Unsure of why she was doing it, Hermione defended Ron. "So he's not always the nicest guy. He has his good moments, you just haven't seen any yet." Hermione was silent for a minute, thinking. Then she scoffed. "Ron and me, having a thing. Right. You're completely crazy."
"Ok. I'm crazy." Danielle gave a fake, mad-scientist laugh and returned to her book. Hermione looked at her for a moment, a trifle miffed, then went back to her book as well.
A loud crash came from the den. Running footsteps, and then a voice shouting, "Mum! Billy broke that big white thing on Aunt Helen's table!"
A few minutes later Hermione's mom poked her head into the living room. "Hermione, could you take the kids outside? They're getting rowdy."
"No problem." Hermione stood up and grabbed her coat from the closet. "Do you want to come?" she asked Danielle.
"Sure."
"Alright then. Put your jacket on and get the kids' boots and stuff ready, will you?" Hermione went to the den to round up her cousins. "Come on guys, let's go outside and play in the snow!"
"But what about our tent?" asked Ryan, pulling at Hermione's pant leg. "I want to finish the tent!" Ryan was only three, and the baby of his family. He was spoiled rotten, and Hermione could see a tantrum coming on.
"You can finish it when we come back inside, ok?" Ryan screwed up his face, obviously getting ready to scream at the top of his lungs.
Ron hurried over and lifted Ryan in the air, putting the small child on his shoulders. "I'll tell you what. Come outside with me and I'll help you build a snowman!"
"Ok!" Ryan's frown instantly left his face. "Let's go!"
Ron marched him around the room, bouncing in his steps. He caught Hermione giving him a funny look. "What?"
She turned and stomped away. Leave it to Ron to be better with kids than she was. Hermione didn't know why she was surprised. Ron was pretty childish himself, no wonder he got along with kids so well; they could relate to him.
~**~**~**~**~
Ten minutes later they were all outside. Three of Hermione's cousins and Ron were building a snowman, two were making a fort, and the rest plus Harry were engaged in a snowball fight. Hermione watched from the sidelines; she didn't have the energy for a fight, she was no good at building things, and she didn't want to be near Ron. That left her with zero options. She sat on the porch and watched the sky. The sun hadn't set yet, but it was getting close. The sky had taken on a light purple tinge near the horizon.
Danielle paused in the act of throwing a snowball at her brother. "Come on, Hermione!" She payed for her lapse in attention when he hit her instead. "Dork!" She ran off after him and grabbed the back of his jacket, pushing him down to the ground and rubbing snow in his hair. "That'll teach ya." She brushed her gloves off and sat down next to Hermione. "Are you just going to sit here all night?"
Hermione faked thinking it over. "Um... Yeah."
Danielle rolled her eyes. "I can't let that happen. You're home for Christmas for the first time in four years. Having a bad time is not an option. You are going to have fun, whether you like it or not!"
"Alright, fine," Hermione said with a laugh. "What should we do? Nothing that will get me wet, please."
"Well there goes just about everything. Hmm..." Danielle smiled. "We could go skating."
Hermione shook her head. "I don't think so."
"Oh come on! What else are we going to do?"
"But..." Hermione sighed. "Truthfully? I just don't want Ron to see me skating. He'd just get mad again, and I don't know if I could handle another fight right now."
"The pond's in the backyard. We don't have to tell anyone where we're going." Danielle looked at her with pleading eyes. "Please? You can teach me how to do a twirl or something."
"You don't have skates!" said Hermione, her voice holding a slight bit of triumph.
"I can wear your old ones!" Danielle shot right back, her tone identical to Hermione's.
"You're not going to give up on this, are you?" Danielle shook her head, grinning widely. Hermione sighed with resignation. "Fine. I'll go get the skates. Meet me around back." Danielle clapped her hands, and Hermione went inside.
~**~**~**~**~
"No, you have to lean to the inside when you move into it. Try again," Hermione instructed, watching as Danielle fell down for the fifth time in a row.
Danielle let out a groan of frustration. "What am I doing wrong?" she demanded, legs sprawled out in front of her. "I leaned to the inside! I concentrated. Why can't I do the stupid spin?"
Hermione laughed and helped the younger girl to her feet. "Over-correction. You need to lean, but not so far that you tip over. Try again?"
"I don't think so," Danielle said, rubbing her arm. "My elbow hurts. Not to mention by ankles, my knees, my butt..."
Hermione giggled. "Amateur." Danielle skated to the edge of the pond and sat down on the log on which they had sat to put on their skates.
"I'm putting my shoes back on." She watched as Hermione did a quick spin. "I thought you didn't really want to skate?"
"I changed my mind." Hermione jumped in the air and spun twice before landing. "It's therapeutic. And you can keep those," she said, nodding towards the skates Danielle had just taken off. "They're too small for me." She continued to skate, twisting and zig-zagging on the ice. Danielle watched quietly for awhile, but jumped up when she heard a shout.
"Danielle! We're leaving now!" Her father and mother were standing by the house, already dressed in their coats and scarves.
"Alright, dad! Just a minute!" Danielle turned back to Hermione, who skated over to the edge of the pond. "I guess I'll see you later?"
"Guess so." Danielle hugged her, and Hermione almost overbalanced. They both giggled, and Danielle grabbed the extra pair of skates and trudged through the snow to her parents.
"Bye you guys!" Hermione yelled after her aunt and uncle, waving her arm over her head. They called back their farewells, and then they were gone.
Hermione looked after them for awhile, then turned back to the lake. Just a few more minutes, then I'll go in, she thought. She pushed away from the edge, taking a deep breath to prepare herself. She wanted a workout.
As Hermione put herself through the paces, she could feel her mind clearing. Nothing seemed as important as making sure that she landed her next jump, nothing more vital than keeping her form steady. Concerns about her family, her anger at Ron... Everything faded away as she moved.
She went into a tight spin, almost losing her balance at the beginning but pushing herself to finish. As Hermione extended her arms above her head, hands clasped together, she noticed someone standing up by the house, watching her
Hermione ended the spin immediately. It was Ron, and as she watched, Harry ran up next to him. For one moment she stared at him, and he looked right back. Harry said something, and Ron shook his head, continuing to stare. The peacefulness that she had felt just a second ago began to dissolve, and she was suddenly filled with fury. Ron had already ruined Christmas for her, and she wasn't about to let him ruin this as well.
She turned and skated away, her legs pumping hard to pick up speed. Her skating was 'stupid', was it? She'd show him stupid. Praying that she wouldn't fall, she jumped into the air, spinning twice and stretching one leg straight out behind herself after she landed. She skated backwards in a tight circle, letting the momentum from the jump carry her along the ice. Hermione looked back at Ron, and she could tell, even from so far away, that he was completely amazed.
She internally scoffed. He thought that was impressive? He ain't seen nothing yet. She brought her leg down and used the last of her quickness to jump into a spin, whirling fast enough to impress but slow enough to be able to keep her balance. She could hear Harry cheering her on. She broke from her spin and skated hard to regain speed. She felt exulted, like she could do anything. She could see the look on Ron's face as she skated past him; he and Harry had walked closer to the pond and she could tell just how impressed he was.
Feeling the cold winter air whip across her face and through her hair, hearing Harry's shouts of encouragement, and most of all, seeing his expression... All of these things made Hermione want to do new things, try her most difficult jump. The thought that it was too dangerous, she could get hurt, registered in her mind but she deleted it immediately. She could do it. She could do anything.
Hermione pumped her legs as hard as she could, mentally preparing herself for what was going to come next. She'd only pulled it off once before. If spins were difficult for her, axle jumps were impossible. Not only were they difficult, but it was dangerous; she hadn't stretched before skating, she was out of practice... A thousand doubts ran through her mind, but the need to put Ron in his place, as it always did, won through.
She took a breath, closed her eyes, and leapt higher than she ever had before. She kicked her right leg up and pulled in her arms and legs, spinning rapidly. She knew in her mind that she would stick the landing, knew that she wouldn't fall as she had so many times in practice. She prepared herself to land, knowing that as soon as she did she was going to start shouting and yelling like there was no tomorrow, whether Ron was watching or not.
All this happened in a split second. Her arc started to turn downward, she started to smile...
She landed on the pond. Hermione opened her mouth to cheer, but there was a sickening crunch, a sucking feeling, and then a flash of freezing cold that knocked all thoughts from her head.
She had fallen through the ice.
~**~**~**~**~
I'm so mean! I keep you guys waiting for such a long time for this chapter, and now I end it with the biggest cliffhanger that the story will ever have. The big climatic cliffie is what I call this sort of thing. I don't know when chapter eight will be up, hopefully before a big bunch of months... lol.
Whoops! I forgot a Disclaimer. I really *am* out of practice, huh? Harry Potter and all related characters, etc., are the property of JK Rowling, Scholastic, and (I think) Warner Bros. I don't own Danielle or Ryan, because they're modeled after two of my cousins (except the real-life Danielle is only eight). I might own the plot, depending on what sort of day it is. If it's a struggle-for-words day, then it isn't mine. If it's one of those days where the words flow, then it is mine. Um... I think that's it... Yup, that's all.
Wait. I need a dedication too. Dedicated to Manu, for letting me read her stuff first ("Who's the incompetent twit who let *that* happen?"! LOL) and for being a great friend (you guys may have guessed that I'm a natural ranter... She excepts this and offers advice free of charge. She's also the one responsible for guilt-tripping me into posting... LOL, just kidding.) Thanks for always listening, girl! You rule!!! And I *will* visit you one day, we just have to believe that it'll happen. Ubergirls forever! Two Plus Two for Me and You!
We love you Darth Vadar, goodnight!!!
