A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the wait, but I pretty much killed the power supply to my laptop, so I had to wait to get a new one and everything, so…sad, I know. Anyway, here's the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy it! And make sure to review!!!

Lauren

Disclaimer: Man, J.K. can think up her own plotlines, she doesn't have to garner inspiration from movies, all right? I'm not as good as her. Yet. (mwahahaha…)

Just kidding, as that is quite impossible.

Chapter Three

Seeing is Unbelievable

That night, Hermione apparated into her living room more frustrated than she had ever been in her life. She dropped her briefcase onto the floor by her couch and sank into it, sighing heavily. Don walked in briskly and sat next to her, placing something on the floor.

"Hey sweetheart, how was your first day?" he asked.

"Fine, it was fine. Um, why are you wearing a suit, and what's with the suitcase?" she asked, her brow furrowed.

"Oh, well, see, I've been called for a promotional shoot down in Scotland for a few days. I wanted to tell you, but I had no way of reaching you earlier, so…" he finished lamely with an awkward smile.

"Oh, um…that's nice, that's great…so when are you coming back?" she asked, crestfallen.

"Well, they want me for at least a couple of weeks, so we can tour some of the cities down there, you know… It'll be amazing, I hear Scotland is gorgeous…" he said, his eyes lighting up. Hermione frowned.

"Actually, around this time of year it's a bit…" she started, sitting up and starting some hand gestures, and then hesitating, "…no, I'm sure you're right. It will probably be wonderful. So you're leaving now?"

"Yes, I have to. I'm sorry Hermione," he added, looking sad. She smiled appreciatively.

"No, no, there's nothing to be sorry for! Have fun, I hope you have a great time," she exclaimed, and she stood up and hugged him tightly. He chuckled, hugging her back.

"I'll call you tomorrow night, okay?"

She nodded, and he brushed her cheek with a kiss. He walked to the door and, as he closed it behind her, waved one more goodbye.

Hmm, well that's just wonderful…alone, again. she thought, sinking back into the sofa and turning on the television.

She was forty-five minutes into Pride and Prejudice when suddenly the phone rang next to her. She jumped up, then grabbed the phone and clicked the small, gray button labeled 'TALK'.

"Hello?" she answered, sitting back on the sofa.

"Hi, may I speak to Herm please?" came the light, carefree voice from the other end. Hermione thought she had heard incorrectly; no one had called her that in a very long time.

"Excuse me, but who is it you're looking for?" she asked politely.

"Hermione? Is that you?" the voice said, full of awe.

"Um, yes…"

"Hermione, it's me, Ginny! Gods, you don't even remember your best friend?? Has it been that long?" she asked, laughing. Hermione smacked her hand over her forehead.

"I'm so sorry Ginny, I don't know what came over me…how are you?" she asked, cringing. How could she have missed that?

"I'm fine, um, listen. I haven't got much time to talk, but I wanted to ask you if you were available on the twenty-fourth. It's mum and dad's anniversary, and it would be so great if you could come, we haven't seen you in so long, and…well, we'd all love to see you again. I'm sure it would make them so happy. So can you come?"

So Hermione was now booked to reunite with the family she had tried to leave behind.

The next day, Hermione woke early, habitually rolling over to kiss what was now empty space above an empty pillow. Sighing, she got up and dragged herself to get ready. Determined to be more self-assured than the day before, she put her shoulders back, took a deep breath, and gripped her briefcase tightly before she disapparated.

"Ron, where is everybody?" Hermione asked, disgruntled. Ron turned around and smiled.

"Well, good morning. You look a little…down today. Is everything all right? Certainly nothing's wrong with Don Henson now, is there?" he asked with a smirk. Hermione gave him a cross look.

"That is none of your business, thankyouverymuch," she said huffily. "And no, there is not, for your information."

"Hmm, suddenly realizing that squibs are a bit on the dull side? Or did he leave you? Undoubtedly on some sort of trip, off to tour the world, is he? That's the harsh reality of marrying a football player, they never do stay still…" Ron said, as though thinking out-loud. Hermione's face grew continuously hotter.

"If you don't shut up this instant, I swear to you Ron Weasley, you will wish that you had no mouth to speak with…do you understand me? Don't forget, I'm a master with my wand, I could hex you faster than you can blink."

Ron stared at her, seemingly amazed, until he started chuckling to himself.

"No, I haven't forgotten, Hermione. I haven't forgotten," he said, walking away.

Hermione turned away and sighed. Just as she was about to lament, she noticed the new group of interviewees approaching from the south side of the field. She rushed over to the center to set up the tables when she noticed Ron taking off to meet them. No, I suppose it never occurred to him to help, did it? As she finished with the last table, the group reached the setup and waited.

"Well, shall we get started then?" she asked brightly. Each of the 25 creatures began speaking at once, except for one very quiet one. He was, in fact, much less than a creature and more of a person, and it interested Hermione as to why he was there. He looked very unkempt indeed, his hair shaggy and to his shoulders, and his face left unwashed for several days. His clothes were beat up and gray, and he kept his hands in his pockets. She leaned over to Ron and pulled him a bit aside.

"Who is he?" she asked, nodding her head in his direction.

"Oh, that's Jack. Would you like to meet him?" he asked with a smirk.

Hermione sat down across from Jack a few feet away from the group, and rested a stack of papers on her lap. Jack observed her keenly, watching how she crossed one leg over the other and tucked her hair behind her ears. She sat up, ready, and he smiled wearily.

"So, Jack, is it? Nice to meet you," she said stiffly, offering her hand hesitantly. Jack grinned to himself as he shook her hand politely.

"It's nice to meet you too, Miss Granger."

"So, what brings you here? I mean, we usually don't get very many people around here, most team mascots and those affiliated with sports are, well, creatures," she said with a light laugh, but Jack remained silent and still. She chuckled again, but nervously, as she clicked her pen and readied a notebook.

"So, tell me then, what is it you have a complaint about?" she asked, putting a serious expression on her lips. Jack leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head.

"Well, people don't often take me very seriously, but then, when they realize I'm the real thing, instead of accepting it, they threaten me. Usually with things like hexes and the like, though I've gotten a few threats concerning poisoned food or drink. Once, though, someone claimed to know a member of the Wizarding mafia and told me I'd find a hippogriff's head in my bed when I awoke the next morning…anyway, it's gotten rather bad lately, and the Ministry's done nothing to protect me or anything. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that gambling is a bit, um, well, looked down upon, but they don't seem to care that I'm not the one gambling."

Hermione looked at him blankly. What on earth is he talking about? She looked over, hoping to find anyone who could be of any kind of assistance, only to find everyone else tied up in other interviews. Luckily, Ron, who was standing nearby chatting with a goblin, had been watching her (for professional reasons, of course…) and came to the rescue.

"Hermione, Jack's a Seer," he said, pulling her aside. "I guess I should have told you when I introduced you, but I guess I assumed you knew already. Sorry about that," he said, and he looked a bit embarrassed; his ears were turning delicately pink. Hermione stared at him, almost incredulously.

"He's a Seer, you say? Oh, right, sure. Sure he is. Alright, you realize that there's really nothing we can do for him, right? I mean, that's our first problem: who in the Ministry is going to believe that he's a Seer? Because personally, I don't believe in that rubbish, and you know that, so how do you think we can protect a person who is, in technical terms, lying?"

Ron's expression was one of great upset.

"Lying? How can you say that, you've only just met him, you have no idea what you're talking about! I for one know that he is a verifiable Seer, because I've, erm, seen it with my own eyes. Just give him a chance, all right? Just because the idea seems ludicrous to you, the undeniably ingenious, know-it-all Hermione Granger, doesn't mean it's not real, all right?"

Hermione gave him a steely look, then walked over and reclaimed her seat across from Jack the Seer. She placed the notebook back in her lap and looked him straight in the eye.

"So, Jack, you're a Seer. Tell me, who's going to win the Quidditch game tonight?" she asked, locking Jack in a deathly stare. Jack looked up at Ron, who was over Hermione's shoulder, in a questioning manner. Ron, unnoticed by Hermione, nodded his head.

"Puddlemere, by 10," he answered, returning the stare. Hermione looked at him skeptically, recording his answer in her notebook.

"Hmm, I see. And um, you believe this even though Meyers broke a rib last game and may not be able to play tonight? I mean, he's their strongest player, and a game without Meyers is hardly worth playing," she said smugly. Ron's cheeks reddened in anger.

"No, I stick by what I said," Jack said calmly. Hermione jabbed her pen onto her notebook repeatedly.

"All right then, fine. And um, one more thing, if you don't mind. What's the weather going to be like tomorrow?" she asked. Jack opened his mouth to open when she interrupted him.

"In Brazil."

Jack paused and looked once more up at Ron, who again nodded his head, this time more fiercely. Jack looked back at Hermione.

"There'll be a storm in the morning, followed by cloudy skies and a bit of a light drizzle around…six or six-thirty, I'd say," he answered, at ease. Hermione frowned unpleasantly.

"Well, all right then. If you don't mind, I'd like you to come back again tomorrow, just to um, check up on the situation. In the meantime, I'll speak to the Ministry, see what we can do for you in terms of um, 'protection'," she said, stuffing her notebook inside her briefcase and standing up. Ron, still behind her, watched her furiously. She was being inexcusably rude, not to mention incredibly smug. Jack, however, remained calm, standing up only to stick his hands back in his pockets. Hermione began walking away as Ron made his way over to Jack to apologize, but what happened next made him stop in his tracks.

"You're going to die in a week," Jack said casually, as one would announce to another an appointment with a client or at a salon.

Ron gaped at him a little, cocking his head to one side and eyeing him confusedly. Hermione spun around almost violently, and catching his eye, looked at him through heated slits.

"Oh, well isn't that just wonderful. Really funny, you are. Really, really hysterical. Look, I don't know what you're trying to pull here," she said, walking over to Ron, "but it's not cute. Are you trying to scare me into helping him or something? Because this, Ron, is ludicrous. This is just ridiculous. I really don't have time for this, so if you'll excuse me," she said, looking between the both of them before skulking away. Ron turned on Jack just as he turned to walk away. Even as he called after him, Jack didn't bother to turn around. Ron watched as Jack made his way across the field, and when he was gone, he ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He stood their, pensive for a moment, until he suddenly wondered where Hermione had taken off to.

"Hermione," he called after her, but she didn't answer. Exhaling, frustrated, he ran after her. She had walked off so quickly that he had to run practically the length of the field to catch up to her. When he did, he stopped right in front of her, blocking her path.

"Move, Weasley," she growled before he could speak.

"Hermione, wait, listen," he said, catching his breath.

"No, you listen… I am sick of this. I'm glad you've had your little laugh and everything, but tomorrow morning I am walking into Mr. Abernathy's office and requesting that you be taken off this assignment. And if he refuses, which I wouldn't be surprised if he did, then you know what? I'll quit. Because this is the last straw. I can't take this any more, I'm sick of it!" she said, pausing for effect. She made to spin right back around, but Ron grabbed onto her arm.

"Hermione, I promise you, I had absolutely nothing to do with this. I had no idea he would say something like that, you know I wouldn't put someone up to something like that! Come on now, be reasonable," he said, more desperately than he'd intended. She turned around and glared at him. She watched him for a moment, searching his eyes for the slightest hint of dishonesty.

"Anything else, Ron, and that's it. That's it."

Ron watched as her hair swished behind her like a sheet, and after a moment, she disappeared before his eyes.

"What the bloody hell…" Ron thought aloud, looking out onto the stretch of field that lay before him.

Hahaha. Poor Ron. Anyway, if you all wanna find out Jack was right, review! I'll be waiting…