Storyline (c) 2003 inTOtheSKY, all Chimeral characters are my own and should not be copied without permission. All other characters belong to JK Rowling ;D Feel free to e-mail me at spirit@eluding.org
Ch1
About six months ago
"So, did you see the flyer posted on the notice board this morning?" Hermione Granger asked as she flipped her thick wavy hair over her shoulder, walking with her two friends down the stairway.
"Sorry Hermione, you know better than to ask me that." Ron replied distractedly, fixing a few loose papers that protruded from between the heavy books he was carrying. "I didn't have time to check out the notice board - I had to stay up all night for that Transfiguration essay, remember? I ended up falling asleep in the common room while I was writing it and-"
"Right." Hermione broke in before Ron could finish his explanation, giving him a frustrated look before turning the Harry. "What about you, Harry?"
"What, you mean that yellow sheet of paper about the exchange student program?" The dark-haired adolescent replied as he re-adjusted his glasses upon his nose. "Yeah, I saw it."
Hermione nodded in exhilaration. "Isn't that exciting? A group of students from Chimeral Wizarding School are going to be coming to Hogwarts for a few months...and you know what that means!"
Seeing the blank stares fixed upon her companion's faces, Hermione threw her hands up in disbelief. "It means that a group of Hogwarts students will get the chance to go and study at Chimeral!"
Ron shrugged. "Your point being?"
"How can you be so...so..." Hermione appeared to be on the verge of exploding. "Chimeral is one of the best wizarding schools in the world! Hundreds of powerful witches and wizards graduated from Chimeral; they've got such well educated backgrounds that-"
"Look Hermione." Harry interrupted his friend in mid-sentence and stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Where is this Chimeral anyway? Why haven't any of us heard of it before?"
Hermione looked impatiently at her friend. "Harry, its all in the books. But if you must know, it's located somewhere to the far west - in the United States."
"Don't tell me you're actually going to sign up for this thing, Hermione." Ron spoke up. "I mean, the US...its so far and-"
"Don't go telling me that you aren't the slightest bit interested!" " Hermione snapped. "Besides...I-I...I'd feel a lot better if you two would come with me!"
Harry shook his head. "Look, Hermione. It all sounds fun. But...y'know...I'd much rather prefer showing the Chimeral students around Hogwarts than actually traveling all the way to the States to some place I never heard of. Hogwarts is a great school; I've got everything I need here. If you want to go to some top-notch academy for a while, that's perfectly fine; I'm sure you'll be able to...err, expand your knowledge there..."
"Yeah." Ron said while scribbling furiously upon a sheet of ink-splattered parchment, most likely his un-finished essay for Transfiguration. "Don't tell me you're scared to travel overseas, Hermy."
"W-well, no!" Hermione stamped her foot. Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she cleared her throat. "...It's just that, well...I've never gone anywhere without...y'know...you two."
There was a moment's silence between the three friends when Harry finally spoke. "Hermione, that's a really nice thought, but...look, we're in our sixth years already...I figure...I figure that by now..."
"You'd be grown up enough to go somewhere by yourself." Ron broke in. When Hermione simply stood there glaring at him, Ron shrugged and continued scribbling. "Well, its true, isn't it?"
"Fine." Hermione pursed her lips, swallowing hard.
"So when are sign-ups for this thing anyway?" Harry asked, changing the subject quickly. "I didn't catch it on the flyer."
"They're today, actually. Right outside the Great Hall, presumably after breakfast." Hermione replied. "It's a very selective process...they only want students with grade points of average or above, with excellent citizenship...and they're only accepting about ten students."
"Oh." Harry nodded. "Well then...good luck on getting in."
"Thanks." Hermione gave him a quick smile. Ron took the time to look up from his parchment to wish good luck as well, and the three of them entered the Great Hall to take their seats at the Gryffindor table. Breakfast appeared shortly, and Ron and Harry looked on in amusement at Hermione, who was forcing her food down as quickly as she could. In a mere ten minutes she'd cleared her plate, which had originally been stacked high with different varieties of rations. Slamming her now empty glass of pumpkin juice upon the table, Hermione wiped her mouth gingerly, stood, and walked calmly out of the Great Hall.
"She's going to get in for sure." Ron muttered in a bitter tone of voice as he watched her go.
Harry eyed his friend over his glass. "Why d'you say that?"
"Well, its Hermione!" Ron exclaimed loudly, causing a few fellow Gryffindors to look in his direction. "...Smart, nice-looking girl like her...she'll definitely get in." He then dug his fork into the middle of a thick slice of bacon and forced it into his mouth in frustration. "...Probably end up meeting someone at Chimeral and decide to stay at that stupid school forever and ever...and I...we...we'll never see her again."
Harry placed his glass of pumpkin juice down with a slight smile upon his face. "If it bothers you so much, why don't you sign up for the exchange program with her then?"
"W-what? No!" Ron looked up, his face flushing steadily red. "...I-I refuse to do so! I already made my decision before, and I'm sticking with it!" He then forced his head down and buried his face inside one of the books he had in his lap.
"Right." Harry cleared his plate and stood. "You ready to go, then? Hermione's probably waiting for us."
Ron stood wordlessly and brushed himself off. "Yeah."
As they exited the Great Hall, they spotted Hermione standing behind a rather long line of students, all of whom appeared to be waiting for sign-ups to be opened.
"Merlin's beard..." Ron shook his head in disbelief.
"Never thought that so many people would want to visit Chimeral." Harry said. "I guess we were the only ones who didn't know, eh?"
Ron gave a long sigh in reply, and Harry gave his friend a pat on the back.
"Even if I wanted to sign up…what're my chances of getting in? Look at all those people - most of them either are just as talented as Hermione or better than me, at least!" Ron shook his head. "I give up, Harry."
Harry said nothing, knowing better than to intrude upon Ron's private matters. Instead, he cleared his throat and focused his attention upon the large glittering sign that hung above the sign-up table: "Exchange Program with Chimeral Wizarding School - A once in a lifetime opportunity!"
Noting this, Harry furrowed his brow in thought. "They don't have many exchange programs do they? I mean, the sign says, 'A once in a lifetime opportunity'. Exchange programs are pretty rare then, right?"
"Sure." Ron replied glumly.
"C'mon, cheer up!" Harry turned to his friend. "Y'know, I'd sign up anyway…just to see what'd happen…you never know, you could end up being one of the ten…plus you'd get to spend some quality time with Hermio-"
"I'm not in it to spend time with Hermione!" Ron snapped intransigently, his face turning red. "I-I just y'know…get worried about her and everything…her going so far and all that…she'll need some companionship…"
Harry simply shoved his friend towards the direction of the line, standing back to laugh a bit at his friend's clumsiness as he strode awkwardly towards Hermione, a disgruntled expression upon his face concealing the slight smile forming across his physiognomy.
As he waited for his two friends to sign up, Harry was greeted by Neville Longbottom, and the two immediately started up a conversation.
"So Harry, did you happen to finish that essay for Transfiguration?" Neville asked pleasantly. "Four scrolls of parchment! Can you believe it?"
"I got through it all right." Harry replied. "I actually started early this time and didn't wait till the last minute."
Neville nodded. "Same here! I mean, with that exam in Potions coming up, I figured that I might as well finish everything-"
"Exchange student program?" A loud voice broke in superciliously, cutting into Neville's sentence. Harry narrowed his eyes in annoyance: he knew all too well whom that voice belonged to.
"Chimeral, eh?" The voice continued. "Sounds like a load of rubbish to me…"
Neville turned his head slightly. "…Malfoy."
Two hands pushed coarsely through the line of people, and a sixth-year with pale blonde hair stepped arrogantly through to face Harry.
"Oh. It's you, Potter." Draco smirked as he eyed his adversary. "I'm surprised you aren't in line with all these other gits…there may be some hope for you after all."
Harry was sick and tired of having to put up with Draco after all these years, and at the moment he felt it a waste of time to even speak to his enemy. Harry glared back in silent hatred at his opponent, who was sneering in the most disgusting manner.
"What's the matter, Potter?" Draco asked in a singsong voice. "Have you finally learned to show some respect?"
"Expelliamus!" Harry drew his wand from amongst his robes with almost impossible speed. Thrown off guard, Draco went flying through the air and fell hard upon the marble floor. A few people cheered and applauded Harry for what he had done, but most stood in shock.
As Crabbe and Goyle scurried over to help Draco to his feet, the Slytherin forced himself back upon his elbows. "…Never thought I'd see the day when the great Potter practiced bad sportsmanship…" Draco coughed with the effort to speak. "Amazing…"
"Why don't you ever shut that mouth of yours, Malfoy? You're like a repeating record…going on and on and on…" Harry retorted.
Draco was now upon his feet, eyeing his challenger in a most amused manner. Harry opened his mouth to speak again when Neville grabbed onto his shoulder.
"Don't, Harry." Neville shook his head. "You don't need to stoop to his level."
Draco didn't appear fazed whatsoever; instead, he began to laugh. "You're a fool, Potter. A weak, pathetic, stupid little fool. Now you've got Longbottom protecting you…" The Slytherin turned, throwing back the folds of his school robes with a pompous flourish. "I'd almost feel sorry for you…but I don't like you, Potter, and that's an irrevocable fact."
"Turn around and say that to my face!" Harry shouted in anger, struggling in Neville's grasp. Yet Draco did not turn, and instead strode down the hallway, his cocky laughter reverberating in everyone's ears.
"Nice job with handling Malfoy, Harry." Ron looked admiringly at his friend once Draco's voice had faded away. "I'm glad I was here to watch that bit of action."
"Naturally, Malfoy doesn't realize what he's missing out on when he called Chimeral 'a load of rubbish'" Hermione rolled her eyes as she imitated Draco's lingering drawl. "But I'm proud of the way you handled him, Harry…and you too, Neville, for stepping in when you had to."
Neville smiled in reply, while Harry gave a simple, "It wasn't anything." Ron's smile began to fade, and noticing this, Harry attempted to change the subject once more when Ron broke in.
"Look Hermione, I'm sorry I couldn't defend you and your beliefs about Chimeral!" He blurted out loudly. When his friend looked back blankly, Ron reddened and turned away.
Hermione, who usually was very good at deciphering people's thoughts and emotions, seemed clueless when it came to Ron. She simply gave him a disapproving look.
"Look, Ron. It wasn't your fight to begin with. Harry and Neville did what they had to do. I'm actually glad you weren't involved…what if Harry and Neville had gotten hurt? You would have been as well." Saying this, Hermione looked back towards the front of the line and tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for her turn to sign up. Hermione's words seemed to have affected Ron both positively and negatively, and so the color of his face gradually returned to a neutral color as he waited meekly in silence behind his friend.
- -
A few days later, results of the student exchange were posted upon the notice boards in the common rooms of each house, and naturally Hermione was the first to know who had made it and who hadn't. She nearly choked Ron to death when she discovered the results, and while she was doing so, Harry had meandered to the notice board to take a look at the finalized list.
"Lavender Brown…Cho Chang…" Harry skimmed the list quickly for his friend's names. "No…that's not it…no…no…hey…Ron Weasley!" Harry turned from the notice board to congratulate his friend. "Hey Ron! You made it!"
"Wh…what?" Ron murmured weakly, still in Hermione's grasp.
"You made it! You're going to Chimeral!" Harry strode over to his friend's side. "See, I told you!"
"Right, Ron made it." Hermione looked furious. "But I didn't!"
Harry immediately looked to Ron, who paled to a sickly yellow. "No…"
"Are you sure?" Harry dashed back to the list and reread it. There was no Hermione Granger.
"This is absolutely…ridiculous!" Hermione fumed. "I just…I just want to rip something up!"
"I felt just the same when you and Ron were made prefects and I wasn't…" Harry reflected thoughtfully for a moment, standing before the fire while Hermione released her wrath upon Ron. "I'm sure there's a logical reason for all of this."
"…Right…right, I'm sure there is…" Hermione muttered through gritted teeth.
"Y'know, Hermione…if you'll just relax a second…" Ron dashed behind an armchair and remained there. "I'll tell you the truth. I didn't really want to go to Chimeral…its just that…y'know…you sounded like you really wanted us to be there. And since Harry didn't want to go at all, I volunteered to keep you company." He paused for a moment. "So I'd gladly give up my spot to you, if you'd like."
Hermione's physiognomy softened, and she gave Ron a smile. "Oh, Ron, that really means so much to me!" She went to him and enveloped him in a tight hug, while Harry watched in amusement, seeing Ron turned a shade of pink. "But can we just switch spots with someone like that?"
"Professor Flitwick, of all people, is in charge of the exchange." Harry spoke up, remembering what he'd read upon the flier. "I'm sure he'll let you two exchange places."
"Great!" Hermione broke away from Ron and turned to pick up her books. "Well then…let's head off to breakfast, shall we?"
She nearly skipped out of the room while Ron stood frozen to the spot. Harry gave him a grin, clamped his arm around his friend and helped him into the hallway outside.
The day went by quickly, and Hermione was pleased to report to her companions that Professor Flitwick had approved of the change and that she would be going to Chimeral in place of Ron. She then promptly gave Ron another small hug before running off to pack for the six-month trip; she would return the week before the term ended to share her findings with her peers, as well as submit a mandatory essay on her feelings towards Chimeral.
The evening before departure was, strangely enough, an emotional one. Many friends of the students leaving gathered about the stairway with presents. Ron and Harry had managed, after immense effort, to place a spell upon what appeared to be a normal good-bye card. When opened, however, the viewer would be able to see what their best friends were up to at that exact moment. Hermione was absolutely delighted and amazed to receive such a gift, and promised to owl both Ron and Harry often.
When it was finally time to leave, Hermione gave both her friends a swift peck upon the cheek, clutching Crookshanks in one of her arms and wheeling her trunk in the other. When the last of her had disappeared down the hallway, Ron gave a long sigh.
"Guess its just going to be us two, then." He murmured.
"You make that sound as if it's a bad thing." Harry muttered, beginning to feel that his friend was getting a little too overworked over the leave of Hermione.
"It's going to be so weird without her!" Ron moaned. "Stupid Flitwick! Why didn't Hermione make the stupid list in the first place?"
"Hey, at least you made her happy, right?" Harry replied. "Maybe its better this way."
Ron sniffed, rubbing at his nose. "Yeah...maybe it is."
The two of them walked slowly down the hallway, with Ron dragging his feet.
"So...when d'you reckon the Chimeral students are going to show up?" Harry thought out loud.
"Who cares?" Ron grumbled.
"I wonder if they'll be sort-"
"Oh honestly Harry, you think too much!" Ron exclaimed, throwing up his hands in annoyance.
Harry fell into silence, not in the mood in argue. Ron then sheepishly apologized, and in reply, Harry nodded.
They then began to talk about the big Quidditch match that would be coming up in a few weeks, where Gryffindor would be competing against Ravenclaw. Harry felt a sense of relief coming back over him as they talked, and decided that even with the absence of Hermione, everything would continue to go on, normally as usual.
Ch1
About six months ago
"So, did you see the flyer posted on the notice board this morning?" Hermione Granger asked as she flipped her thick wavy hair over her shoulder, walking with her two friends down the stairway.
"Sorry Hermione, you know better than to ask me that." Ron replied distractedly, fixing a few loose papers that protruded from between the heavy books he was carrying. "I didn't have time to check out the notice board - I had to stay up all night for that Transfiguration essay, remember? I ended up falling asleep in the common room while I was writing it and-"
"Right." Hermione broke in before Ron could finish his explanation, giving him a frustrated look before turning the Harry. "What about you, Harry?"
"What, you mean that yellow sheet of paper about the exchange student program?" The dark-haired adolescent replied as he re-adjusted his glasses upon his nose. "Yeah, I saw it."
Hermione nodded in exhilaration. "Isn't that exciting? A group of students from Chimeral Wizarding School are going to be coming to Hogwarts for a few months...and you know what that means!"
Seeing the blank stares fixed upon her companion's faces, Hermione threw her hands up in disbelief. "It means that a group of Hogwarts students will get the chance to go and study at Chimeral!"
Ron shrugged. "Your point being?"
"How can you be so...so..." Hermione appeared to be on the verge of exploding. "Chimeral is one of the best wizarding schools in the world! Hundreds of powerful witches and wizards graduated from Chimeral; they've got such well educated backgrounds that-"
"Look Hermione." Harry interrupted his friend in mid-sentence and stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Where is this Chimeral anyway? Why haven't any of us heard of it before?"
Hermione looked impatiently at her friend. "Harry, its all in the books. But if you must know, it's located somewhere to the far west - in the United States."
"Don't tell me you're actually going to sign up for this thing, Hermione." Ron spoke up. "I mean, the US...its so far and-"
"Don't go telling me that you aren't the slightest bit interested!" " Hermione snapped. "Besides...I-I...I'd feel a lot better if you two would come with me!"
Harry shook his head. "Look, Hermione. It all sounds fun. But...y'know...I'd much rather prefer showing the Chimeral students around Hogwarts than actually traveling all the way to the States to some place I never heard of. Hogwarts is a great school; I've got everything I need here. If you want to go to some top-notch academy for a while, that's perfectly fine; I'm sure you'll be able to...err, expand your knowledge there..."
"Yeah." Ron said while scribbling furiously upon a sheet of ink-splattered parchment, most likely his un-finished essay for Transfiguration. "Don't tell me you're scared to travel overseas, Hermy."
"W-well, no!" Hermione stamped her foot. Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she cleared her throat. "...It's just that, well...I've never gone anywhere without...y'know...you two."
There was a moment's silence between the three friends when Harry finally spoke. "Hermione, that's a really nice thought, but...look, we're in our sixth years already...I figure...I figure that by now..."
"You'd be grown up enough to go somewhere by yourself." Ron broke in. When Hermione simply stood there glaring at him, Ron shrugged and continued scribbling. "Well, its true, isn't it?"
"Fine." Hermione pursed her lips, swallowing hard.
"So when are sign-ups for this thing anyway?" Harry asked, changing the subject quickly. "I didn't catch it on the flyer."
"They're today, actually. Right outside the Great Hall, presumably after breakfast." Hermione replied. "It's a very selective process...they only want students with grade points of average or above, with excellent citizenship...and they're only accepting about ten students."
"Oh." Harry nodded. "Well then...good luck on getting in."
"Thanks." Hermione gave him a quick smile. Ron took the time to look up from his parchment to wish good luck as well, and the three of them entered the Great Hall to take their seats at the Gryffindor table. Breakfast appeared shortly, and Ron and Harry looked on in amusement at Hermione, who was forcing her food down as quickly as she could. In a mere ten minutes she'd cleared her plate, which had originally been stacked high with different varieties of rations. Slamming her now empty glass of pumpkin juice upon the table, Hermione wiped her mouth gingerly, stood, and walked calmly out of the Great Hall.
"She's going to get in for sure." Ron muttered in a bitter tone of voice as he watched her go.
Harry eyed his friend over his glass. "Why d'you say that?"
"Well, its Hermione!" Ron exclaimed loudly, causing a few fellow Gryffindors to look in his direction. "...Smart, nice-looking girl like her...she'll definitely get in." He then dug his fork into the middle of a thick slice of bacon and forced it into his mouth in frustration. "...Probably end up meeting someone at Chimeral and decide to stay at that stupid school forever and ever...and I...we...we'll never see her again."
Harry placed his glass of pumpkin juice down with a slight smile upon his face. "If it bothers you so much, why don't you sign up for the exchange program with her then?"
"W-what? No!" Ron looked up, his face flushing steadily red. "...I-I refuse to do so! I already made my decision before, and I'm sticking with it!" He then forced his head down and buried his face inside one of the books he had in his lap.
"Right." Harry cleared his plate and stood. "You ready to go, then? Hermione's probably waiting for us."
Ron stood wordlessly and brushed himself off. "Yeah."
As they exited the Great Hall, they spotted Hermione standing behind a rather long line of students, all of whom appeared to be waiting for sign-ups to be opened.
"Merlin's beard..." Ron shook his head in disbelief.
"Never thought that so many people would want to visit Chimeral." Harry said. "I guess we were the only ones who didn't know, eh?"
Ron gave a long sigh in reply, and Harry gave his friend a pat on the back.
"Even if I wanted to sign up…what're my chances of getting in? Look at all those people - most of them either are just as talented as Hermione or better than me, at least!" Ron shook his head. "I give up, Harry."
Harry said nothing, knowing better than to intrude upon Ron's private matters. Instead, he cleared his throat and focused his attention upon the large glittering sign that hung above the sign-up table: "Exchange Program with Chimeral Wizarding School - A once in a lifetime opportunity!"
Noting this, Harry furrowed his brow in thought. "They don't have many exchange programs do they? I mean, the sign says, 'A once in a lifetime opportunity'. Exchange programs are pretty rare then, right?"
"Sure." Ron replied glumly.
"C'mon, cheer up!" Harry turned to his friend. "Y'know, I'd sign up anyway…just to see what'd happen…you never know, you could end up being one of the ten…plus you'd get to spend some quality time with Hermio-"
"I'm not in it to spend time with Hermione!" Ron snapped intransigently, his face turning red. "I-I just y'know…get worried about her and everything…her going so far and all that…she'll need some companionship…"
Harry simply shoved his friend towards the direction of the line, standing back to laugh a bit at his friend's clumsiness as he strode awkwardly towards Hermione, a disgruntled expression upon his face concealing the slight smile forming across his physiognomy.
As he waited for his two friends to sign up, Harry was greeted by Neville Longbottom, and the two immediately started up a conversation.
"So Harry, did you happen to finish that essay for Transfiguration?" Neville asked pleasantly. "Four scrolls of parchment! Can you believe it?"
"I got through it all right." Harry replied. "I actually started early this time and didn't wait till the last minute."
Neville nodded. "Same here! I mean, with that exam in Potions coming up, I figured that I might as well finish everything-"
"Exchange student program?" A loud voice broke in superciliously, cutting into Neville's sentence. Harry narrowed his eyes in annoyance: he knew all too well whom that voice belonged to.
"Chimeral, eh?" The voice continued. "Sounds like a load of rubbish to me…"
Neville turned his head slightly. "…Malfoy."
Two hands pushed coarsely through the line of people, and a sixth-year with pale blonde hair stepped arrogantly through to face Harry.
"Oh. It's you, Potter." Draco smirked as he eyed his adversary. "I'm surprised you aren't in line with all these other gits…there may be some hope for you after all."
Harry was sick and tired of having to put up with Draco after all these years, and at the moment he felt it a waste of time to even speak to his enemy. Harry glared back in silent hatred at his opponent, who was sneering in the most disgusting manner.
"What's the matter, Potter?" Draco asked in a singsong voice. "Have you finally learned to show some respect?"
"Expelliamus!" Harry drew his wand from amongst his robes with almost impossible speed. Thrown off guard, Draco went flying through the air and fell hard upon the marble floor. A few people cheered and applauded Harry for what he had done, but most stood in shock.
As Crabbe and Goyle scurried over to help Draco to his feet, the Slytherin forced himself back upon his elbows. "…Never thought I'd see the day when the great Potter practiced bad sportsmanship…" Draco coughed with the effort to speak. "Amazing…"
"Why don't you ever shut that mouth of yours, Malfoy? You're like a repeating record…going on and on and on…" Harry retorted.
Draco was now upon his feet, eyeing his challenger in a most amused manner. Harry opened his mouth to speak again when Neville grabbed onto his shoulder.
"Don't, Harry." Neville shook his head. "You don't need to stoop to his level."
Draco didn't appear fazed whatsoever; instead, he began to laugh. "You're a fool, Potter. A weak, pathetic, stupid little fool. Now you've got Longbottom protecting you…" The Slytherin turned, throwing back the folds of his school robes with a pompous flourish. "I'd almost feel sorry for you…but I don't like you, Potter, and that's an irrevocable fact."
"Turn around and say that to my face!" Harry shouted in anger, struggling in Neville's grasp. Yet Draco did not turn, and instead strode down the hallway, his cocky laughter reverberating in everyone's ears.
"Nice job with handling Malfoy, Harry." Ron looked admiringly at his friend once Draco's voice had faded away. "I'm glad I was here to watch that bit of action."
"Naturally, Malfoy doesn't realize what he's missing out on when he called Chimeral 'a load of rubbish'" Hermione rolled her eyes as she imitated Draco's lingering drawl. "But I'm proud of the way you handled him, Harry…and you too, Neville, for stepping in when you had to."
Neville smiled in reply, while Harry gave a simple, "It wasn't anything." Ron's smile began to fade, and noticing this, Harry attempted to change the subject once more when Ron broke in.
"Look Hermione, I'm sorry I couldn't defend you and your beliefs about Chimeral!" He blurted out loudly. When his friend looked back blankly, Ron reddened and turned away.
Hermione, who usually was very good at deciphering people's thoughts and emotions, seemed clueless when it came to Ron. She simply gave him a disapproving look.
"Look, Ron. It wasn't your fight to begin with. Harry and Neville did what they had to do. I'm actually glad you weren't involved…what if Harry and Neville had gotten hurt? You would have been as well." Saying this, Hermione looked back towards the front of the line and tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for her turn to sign up. Hermione's words seemed to have affected Ron both positively and negatively, and so the color of his face gradually returned to a neutral color as he waited meekly in silence behind his friend.
- -
A few days later, results of the student exchange were posted upon the notice boards in the common rooms of each house, and naturally Hermione was the first to know who had made it and who hadn't. She nearly choked Ron to death when she discovered the results, and while she was doing so, Harry had meandered to the notice board to take a look at the finalized list.
"Lavender Brown…Cho Chang…" Harry skimmed the list quickly for his friend's names. "No…that's not it…no…no…hey…Ron Weasley!" Harry turned from the notice board to congratulate his friend. "Hey Ron! You made it!"
"Wh…what?" Ron murmured weakly, still in Hermione's grasp.
"You made it! You're going to Chimeral!" Harry strode over to his friend's side. "See, I told you!"
"Right, Ron made it." Hermione looked furious. "But I didn't!"
Harry immediately looked to Ron, who paled to a sickly yellow. "No…"
"Are you sure?" Harry dashed back to the list and reread it. There was no Hermione Granger.
"This is absolutely…ridiculous!" Hermione fumed. "I just…I just want to rip something up!"
"I felt just the same when you and Ron were made prefects and I wasn't…" Harry reflected thoughtfully for a moment, standing before the fire while Hermione released her wrath upon Ron. "I'm sure there's a logical reason for all of this."
"…Right…right, I'm sure there is…" Hermione muttered through gritted teeth.
"Y'know, Hermione…if you'll just relax a second…" Ron dashed behind an armchair and remained there. "I'll tell you the truth. I didn't really want to go to Chimeral…its just that…y'know…you sounded like you really wanted us to be there. And since Harry didn't want to go at all, I volunteered to keep you company." He paused for a moment. "So I'd gladly give up my spot to you, if you'd like."
Hermione's physiognomy softened, and she gave Ron a smile. "Oh, Ron, that really means so much to me!" She went to him and enveloped him in a tight hug, while Harry watched in amusement, seeing Ron turned a shade of pink. "But can we just switch spots with someone like that?"
"Professor Flitwick, of all people, is in charge of the exchange." Harry spoke up, remembering what he'd read upon the flier. "I'm sure he'll let you two exchange places."
"Great!" Hermione broke away from Ron and turned to pick up her books. "Well then…let's head off to breakfast, shall we?"
She nearly skipped out of the room while Ron stood frozen to the spot. Harry gave him a grin, clamped his arm around his friend and helped him into the hallway outside.
The day went by quickly, and Hermione was pleased to report to her companions that Professor Flitwick had approved of the change and that she would be going to Chimeral in place of Ron. She then promptly gave Ron another small hug before running off to pack for the six-month trip; she would return the week before the term ended to share her findings with her peers, as well as submit a mandatory essay on her feelings towards Chimeral.
The evening before departure was, strangely enough, an emotional one. Many friends of the students leaving gathered about the stairway with presents. Ron and Harry had managed, after immense effort, to place a spell upon what appeared to be a normal good-bye card. When opened, however, the viewer would be able to see what their best friends were up to at that exact moment. Hermione was absolutely delighted and amazed to receive such a gift, and promised to owl both Ron and Harry often.
When it was finally time to leave, Hermione gave both her friends a swift peck upon the cheek, clutching Crookshanks in one of her arms and wheeling her trunk in the other. When the last of her had disappeared down the hallway, Ron gave a long sigh.
"Guess its just going to be us two, then." He murmured.
"You make that sound as if it's a bad thing." Harry muttered, beginning to feel that his friend was getting a little too overworked over the leave of Hermione.
"It's going to be so weird without her!" Ron moaned. "Stupid Flitwick! Why didn't Hermione make the stupid list in the first place?"
"Hey, at least you made her happy, right?" Harry replied. "Maybe its better this way."
Ron sniffed, rubbing at his nose. "Yeah...maybe it is."
The two of them walked slowly down the hallway, with Ron dragging his feet.
"So...when d'you reckon the Chimeral students are going to show up?" Harry thought out loud.
"Who cares?" Ron grumbled.
"I wonder if they'll be sort-"
"Oh honestly Harry, you think too much!" Ron exclaimed, throwing up his hands in annoyance.
Harry fell into silence, not in the mood in argue. Ron then sheepishly apologized, and in reply, Harry nodded.
They then began to talk about the big Quidditch match that would be coming up in a few weeks, where Gryffindor would be competing against Ravenclaw. Harry felt a sense of relief coming back over him as they talked, and decided that even with the absence of Hermione, everything would continue to go on, normally as usual.
