Thinking back on what occurred at King's Crossing, this morning, I still couldn't make heads or tails on what was going through that bloody git's head. We'd pretty much been ignoring each other since the summer of two years ago. It was mutually understood that what occurred then would never be repeated and that hormones had a lot to do with it. I chuckled silently as I realized that my previous thought seemed really naughty. It was only a kiss, all right, several kisses. Several raw, passionate kisses, but that was all. Who'd have thought my, Hermione Granger's first kiss, kisses, would have been with him?
Shrugging at my own question, I then pushed all thoughts of him away as I put on my black, hooded sweater and stepped out onto my balcony. It was a chilly Friday afternoon, the wind played with the wind chimes by the sliding doors. Deciding it was a good time as any, I went back inside my room. I grabbed my keys and small black messenger bag before heading downstairs.
"Going out, back later," I called out Crookshanks. What can I say? It's a habit I suppose.
Pulling my hood up, I stuck my hands in my pockets and headed towards the promenade. Arriving there, I made a beeline straight towards the bookstore. Opening the door, the tinker of a bell announced my presence, in the empty store.
"Hermione, to what do I owe this unexpected, yet welcomed surprise?" a warm voice asked.
"Hey, Tony," I responded, looking for my friend, "I just got back from school, and I thought you could use some company."
"You thought right," he responded smiling as he emerged from the backroom. His broad smile and warm brown eyes made me feel instantly happy. I ran over to him and hugged him. Pulling back, I realized that something was different as I looked up at him.
"Your hair, what did you do to your hair?" I cried.
"I cut it," he said nonchalantly, running a hand through his hair.
"Yea, I can see that," I murmured.
Tony, for as long as I could remember, had his hair long enough to tie it back in a small ponytail. His black wavy hair was something that I'd secretly envied. Now, it was short, and a bit spiked up. He now reminded me of one of those Abercombie-and-whatnot models.
"How was your birthday?" I asked suddenly, " I really wanted to attend, but with school and all…"
"It was great!" he responded, "We partied 'til sunrise at a posh club down in London. Not a bad 21st birthday bash, if I do say so myself."
"Did you get my present?"
"Yea, I was meaning to ask you where you got the spliff? I mean, aren't you in boarding school?"
I couldn't help but give a wicked grin.
"Tony, in all the years you've known me, haven't you figured out that I always find a way, without getting caught? Honestly, one would think we just met!"
We spent the next several hours catching up. I found out that he'd finally asked the bird that he'd had the biggest crush on for the past year, Eliza. They were a serious couple now. At hearing that, I couldn't help but feel a twig of jealousy, but it quickly passed.
When I was younger, before I received the letter that would change my life, I had a schoolgirl crush on Tony. I figure that his Spanish ancestry drew me to him, but it was his love of books that made me mad for him. He showed me the wonders that books contained and he sparked in me the hunger for knowledge. Even before I began Hogwarts, Tony had become my closest confidant. He'd always looked after me whenever there were problems at home (it is because of this that I feel extreme remorse in not telling him about the wizarding world and my being a witch. I want him to live a life without any worry about Voldemort). To the public eye, I have loving and understanding parents; in reality, I've got distant parents. My mother was never really close to me growing up; she always found excuses to leave me. My father loved my mother so much that he agreed to whatever she decided to do. It was because of their enthusiasm when I got accepted to Hogwarts, that I decided to do my best in school, so that they could both be proud of me. So far, I hadn't succeeded in getting their approval.
"All right, I'm going to close shop, would you like to purchase anything?"
"Always the businessman, I see," I said laughing, "Just get me a bookmark."
"You know I work on commission, how am I going to make money off of bookmarks?" he whined.
"Tell it to someone who cares, now ring me up!"
As he grumbled about the injustices that he experienced with me while ringing up my purchase, I pulled out the notes. Paying for my purchase with an oh-so innocent smile, I waited for my change.
"Here's your change ma'am. Thank you for your business, hope to see again."
"Oh, god. Shut up!" I groaned receiving my change.
"What happened to your hand?" he asked suddenly.
"What are-"
"Your left hand," he said reaching over to it, "You've got a bad looking scratch there."
"Its nothing, Crookshanks scratched me when I grabbed him this morning at the train station," I said shrugging my shoulders, "In all the commotion, I guess I didn't notice it."
"What happened?"
"You wouldn't believe it. As I was putting my luggage on a trolley, a friend named Neville tripped over who knows what and knocked over the carrier. I had to chase that mangy cat, screaming like a bloody banshee!"
Both laughing, we began to close the shop. As we left the store, the sun was already setting, and the first starts could be seen overhead. We walked home in comfortable silence with his arm slung over my shoulder.
"What are you doing later?" I asked as we passed his house.
"I'm going to pick up Eliza and head over to a club."
"Nice. What time are you going to head over to her house?"
"Said I'd pick her up at seven."
"Well, in that case," I said stopping to look at my wristwatch, "you've got forty-five minutes and counting."
"What?" he asked panicked, "Smeg! I'm going to be late!"
"Smeghead," I snickered, "Listen, go home, change, do what you must. I'll go home by myself."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm a big girl, don't worry about me. Now go and have fun. I'll see you tomorrow."
"All right then," he said giving me a kiss on the cheek before leaving, "See you tomorrow."
I pulled on my hood and began my trek home. Honestly, when will guys learn to be on time? The opening and closing of the front door was the only sound in the house when I arrived home. I went to the kitchen, all the while looking for my parents. No one. I opened the refrigerator, looking for food. Nothing. I guess they forgot to go shopping. It's not surprising that they'd forget something as small as that if they'd forgotten to pick me up at the station.
Sighing, I went to the pantry. I did manage to find a can of peaches, but no can opener. I was oh-so tempted to use my wand, but I would not risk my Head Girl status on a stupid can. With my stomach grumbling loudly, I went over the telephone. Under normal circumstance I would never do what I was about to do; I hate the stuff. But desperate times call for desperate measures.
"Hello, thank you for calling Perfect Pizza…"
It was almost ten when I went to bed. I'd left the leftover pizza in the refrigerator and gotten ready for sleep. Pulling the covers around me, I felt Crookshanks settle down on the foot of the bed. It wasn't long before sleep enveloped me.