Chapter 3

            Hermione looked up when she saw her parents coming.  She was sitting on a park bench in Central Park, a few weeks after she arrived in New York City, looking at the small children sailing boats in the pond.  Hermione had decided to sit on the bench and think, while her parents took a stroll around Central Park.  Hermione noticed how happy her parents were, walking hand in hand together.  Seeing her parents together, Hermione was suddenly reminded of Harry.

            "Only another week," Hermione said to herself.

            "Hermione dear, we're heading off to dinner, so come along," Mrs. Granger said sweetly. 

            "Coming Mum," Hermione replied, leaving the bench and the children playing by the pond behind.

            "We're trying to decide between Italian or French for supper.  Which would you prefer?" Mr. Granger asked.

            "How about Italian?  I love the pizza they make here in New York," Hermione said, debating between the two choices in her mind.

            "All right, let's get a cab," Mr. Granger said, lifting out his arm to signal for a cab.  A yellow taxicab pulled up and drove the Grangers to their destination.

            Hermione stared out the window, watching the many people of New York City.  She had begun to feel homesick over the last few days.  Hermione was tired of eating out for every meal and was looking forward to a home cooked meal by her Mum.  Hermione watched as a little girl went running by, making her ice cream cone fall to the ground.  The girl's mother rushed up to the crying girl and bought her another cone.  Hermione suddenly felt like she wanted to have the feeling of a small child in her arms. 

            Hermione ate silently at supper, picking at her food.  She was starving, but once the pizza was set in front of her, she didn't feel like pizza any more.  Mrs. Granger was surprised when Hermione didn't even order her favorite dessert.  She reached over the table to feel her daughter's forehead, but finding her temperature normal, went back to eating her dinner.  Once Hermione was back in her hotel room, she took out the picture of Harry again, and smiled as she saw the man in the picture with emerald green eyes, and messy raven black hair, the man she had begun to love.

***

            The coach, McIntire, blew his whistle, signaling for the Quidditch players to come back to the ground.  Harry, rubbed his hair out of his eyes and landed, hopping off his faithful Firebolt.  Harry's team gathered around him and waited patiently for the coach to begin their instructions.

            "All right crew, we will be heading to Salem the day after tomorrow, bright and early in the morning.  We will have a quick practice tomorrow, then take a flight on Wizard Airlines," McIntire began.

            "Why can't we just apparate?  It'll be quicker," Susan Connolly, a tall, skinny, girl in her mid-twenties with chestnut brown hair down to her waist asked.

            "Because it's not exactly safe to apparate across oceans.  You can try, but I doubt you'll make it all the way, you'll most likely end up somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  All right now I need to talk to Harry about his Wronski Feint.  Continue with the practice strategies I've assigned you," McIntire replied.

             "Yeah Coach?" Harry asked as his teammates flew into the air.

            "You've been going really slow these past few days.  When you first started your Wronski Feint was perfect but now, well, let's just say it's not," McIntire explained.

            "Sorry, Coach.  I'll work on it," Harry said.

            "Is something wrong Harry? Did you break up with your girlfriend or something?" McIntire asked.

            "Break up with Hermione?  Never.  I just miss her.  I haven't seen her in almost a month and I'm not sure if she has tickets to this game," Harry replied.

            "Well you do have a few days off after the first match, now go and get working on that Wronski Feint.  We have to beat those Salem Cats, you hear?" McIntire replied.

            "Sure thing coach," Harry said, hopping onto his broom and flying into the air.

***

            Hermione looked out of her hotel window, staring at the night sky.  Hermione wished she could see the stars, but the lights from New York City were blocking them from the night sky.  Hermione sighed, wondering if Harry was flying in the sky somewhere.  He most likely was still practicing Quidditch or getting ready to, considering New York was quite a few hours behind Europe. 

            "Hermione, you should get some rest, we have a big day tomorrow," Mrs. Granger said, coming into Hermione's adjoined hotel room. 

            "I know, but I just wish I could see the stars," Hermione replied.

            "Well maybe in Salem.  And we have the Quidditch game to look forward to at the end of the week," Mrs. Granger said, closing the window.  Hermione said goodnight to her mother and lay down on her bed.  She could hear her father snoring in the next room.  Hermione sighed and stared up at the ceiling.  She eventually fell asleep and woke up by the sound of rush hour traffic. 

            Hermione sat up sleepily and looked at the clock on the nightstand.  It read 7:00.  Hermione yawned and decided to get up, since she wouldn't fall asleep because of all the noise on the street below.  She put on a pair of denim shorts and blue tank top and decided to head down to the continental breakfast the hotel offered.  Hermione left a note for her parents, deciding to let them sleep in. 

            Hermione was sitting at a table alone, eating a stale bagel and a bowl of Fruit Loops.  Hermione took a bite of the cereal and almost spit it back out.  The cereal was full of sugar, so no wonder she never had it as a child.  Hermione then attempted to eat an orange, but only to find it dried out, with not a drop of juice to spare.  She sighed angrily and decided a cup of hot chocolate would be fine and drank the it while she watched the hotel guests walk in and out with their families. 

            A group of seven people walked in, looking slightly out of place in their robes.  Hermione sat up looking at them, hoping for a sight of Harry.

            "How can muggles stand this food?" A tall skinny girl in her mid twenties asked.

            "Susan, it's the best we could do, now hurry up and find something to eat, we have a long trip ahead of us," A man in about his mid forties to early fifties replied.

            "Coach, the trip from here should only take a couple hours," A sandy haired man said. 

            Hermione listened, hoping for any sign of the team this was.  Her heart was beating hard as she hoped Harry was with this group. 

            "Now where has Potter gotten off to?" The coach asked.

            "He's in the bathroom," Susan replied.

            Hermione jumped up from her chair, rushing out of the room to see if she could find Harry.  But to Hermione's disappointment, her parents came down.

            "Hermione, come on up and finish packing.  We'll be leaving in about ten minutes," Mrs. Granger said.

            "But Mum, I need to find something," Hermione said.

            "Come on Hermione," Mr. Granger said.

            "But aren't you guys going to eat breakfast?" Hermione asked.

            "Yes, we're eating now, while you go pack," Her father said, handing her the key.  Hermione felt her heart plummet and got into the elevator.  She would have to wait until the Quidditch game at the end of the week to see her Harry.

***

            Harry came out of the bathroom, looking around for any sign of Hermione.  He had no idea where she was staying, but since the wizarding world didn't have any rooms open, his team had to stay at this muggle hotel.  Harry searched every hallway hoping to catch a glimpse of Hermione. 

            He walked into the dining room, getting ready for a bite to eat.  He could have sworn he saw the Grangers pass him on the way out, but they didn't say a word as he walked by, so he didn't know if they were from England or not.  Harry looked at the choices of food disgustedly.

            He grabbed an apple; only to find it was so dry it should have been shriveled up already.  He chose a cup of tea and took a bowl of cereal.  The Fruit Loops were something different, but he ate them anyways, because his sides ached from hunger.  He joined a few of his teammates at a small table in the corner, feeling out of place in his wizarding robes in the muggle world. 

            "So, Harry, you looking forward to your first game on our team?" Susan asked as Harry joined her and a tall guy with sandy-colored hair in his early twenties.

            "Yeah," Harry said, trying not to make a face, as he tasted the sweet cereal.

            "You've been working on the Wronski Feint?" Samuel Greene, another chaser on the team asked. 

            "Well I've been trying to, but I have a lot on my mind right now," Harry replied.

            "Like what?" Susan, one of the chasers and the only girl on the team asked.

            "Yeah. You-Know-Who is dead and Wormtail hasn't appeared for a few months now, so what could be the problem?" Samuel asked.

            "Those aren't the problem, it's more like relationship problems," Harry said.

            "Did you and your girlfriend break up?" Susan asked.

            "No, it's just I miss her," Harry mumbled.

            "Pardon?" Samuel asked.

            "I miss her," Harry said, blushing a bit.

            "Oh, that's so romantic!  I bet she misses you as much as you miss her!" Susan said, acting like a girl for once.

            "Harry, don't get her started about relationships.  Once you get her started, the woman side of her will come out and she'll go on and on about how you should do this and how you should do that and what you should say and what you shouldn't say," Samuel said, rolling his eyes at Susan.  Susan glared at him, punching him on the shoulder. 

            "Need help with that suitcase, Hermione?" A British male voice from the lobby asked. 

            "No Dad, I can manage," A female British voice replied.

            Harry jumped up from the table, making his bowl of Fruit Loops spill all over the white tablecloth.

            "Harry, what on earth?" Susan asked.  Harry ignored her, dashing out of the hall.  He saw Hermione walk through the front doors, following her parents out to a taxicab.  Harry reached the doors just as Hermione stepped into the cab.

            "Hermione!  Wait!" Harry called, but he was too late.  Hermione and her family had already driven away, heading down the street into the thick New York City traffic.  Harry felt heart broken and walked back into the hotel with his spirits in the dumps. 

            "I was so close," He said sadly, heading up to his hotel room.

***

            Hermione sat down in the cab, getting prepared to stare out the window.  She could have sworn she heard someone yell her name, but she couldn't get out of the cab.  It had already started to drive away.  Hermione craned her neck, but could only see a crowd of people getting ready to cross the street into Central Park. 

            "Hermione, what exactly is a Quidditch game like?" Mrs. Granger asked.

            "I don't exactly understand all the rules, but Harry would be able to explain it to you," Hermione replied.

            "Then why are we going to this game, if you don't even understand the concept?" Mr. Granger asked.

            "Because I thought it'd be fun to watch one and you guys have never been to a Quidditch Game," Hermione half lied.

            "Well I'd love to learn as much about the magical world as I possibly can, considering you will most likely marry someone from there and I'd like to know what's happening so I'm not always so confused," Mrs. Granger said. 

            "I could give you a lot on history and facts, but I'm not so sure I could tell you how a household is run, considering I barely spent any time with Mrs. Weasley while at her house over the many summer's I spent there," Hermione explained.

            "Hermione, what is Quidditch like, considered to, oh, what to you call us?" Mr. Granger asked.

            "Well for Muggles, Quidditch is sort of like soccer played on brooms with three goal posts per team and only seven players on a team.  That's basically as far as I've gotten into it, but there are three chasers who carry the quaffle around and two beaters who beat the bludgers away from their teammates, one keeper who protects the goal posts and one seeker who catches the golden snitch," Hermione explained.

            "What's the object of the game?" Mr. Granger asked. 

            "Well, I'm not exactly sure.  During most of the Quidditch matches at school I'd just sit and read a book or go through notes, but I did watch a few games that were excellent," Hermione said, thinking about Harry flying on his broomstick in the air.

            "How do you win the game?" Mrs. Granger asked.

            "Well, the first person to catch the golden snitch wins and I think it's worth 150 points. Every time a quaffle is scored the team gets 10 points," Hermione replied.

            "What exactly are quaffles and bludgers?" Mr. Granger asked.

            "I'll point them out to you at the game. Too bad it's all the way at the end of the week," Hermione said more to herself then anyone else. 

            "Hermione, dear, is something wrong?" Mrs. Granger asked. 

            "Huh?  Oh nothing's wrong Mum, I'm just fine," Hermione lied. 

            "Are you sure?" Mrs. Granger persisted.

            "I'm positive," Hermione said quickly.

            "Well, if you're positive…" Mrs. Granger said, taking out a book to read.

            Hermione turned to look out the window.  She stared at the buildings flashing by as the cab drove quickly through the city.  Hermione looked up at the sky and thought she saw something flying through the sky.  It definitely wasn't a bird, or a plane, but what looked remarkably to a witch's eye like a broom.

A/N:  So did you like it?  Is it too fluffy?  I already have chapter four written and it will be posted pretty soon.  And I'm also going to be re-editing chapter 1 and 2.  A special thanks to my friend Nova who edited chapter's 1 through 4 for me!  Now I better go finish all the corrections.  I will be putting a few corrections in chapter 1 and 2 a re-posting them soon, but they'll still be the same, just better edited.  So please review now and tell me what you think!