Thank you all for your reviews, I am so glad you like it. I'm sorry if sometimes it takes a while to update. It's just school and all that sucky stuff.
Chapter 4- Correspondence
Harry alighted on the ground to the sound of a roaring cheer. The first Quidditch match of the year, against Slytherin, had been a rather bloody event, but he had managed to pull through and win it for them once again. He stood on the muddy ground holding the snitch high above his head. The other six members of the team bore down upon him, wrapping him in a tight hug.
Hermione beamed at him from a few feet away. "Great job Harry! You too, Ron, that was great!" Harry knew that she was more proud of them than happy about winning a Quidditch match.
"Thanks, Hermione." He turned to Ron. "Well done, mate."
Ron grinned. "Thanks. You too. We'll see you in the dorm, Hermione." They started for the showers.
Harry nudged Ron. "Does Malfoy look more depressed than usual after a game?"
Ron shrugged. "Who cares?"
"Good game, guys," Katie Bell, Gryffindor's captain, told them in the locker room. "Just keep up this kind of playing and we'll have no trouble winning the Cup."
Ginny was receiving compliments from every side. It was her first game as a Chaser, and she had not missed a single shot. She was beaming widely, looking as though her face must hurt from smiling so much. She seemed unable to stop. When Harry smiled back at her, she grinned even wider.
The usual celebration took place in the Gryffindor common room. Harry was not sure what would happen to the atmosphere of pranks and laughter with the absence of the Weasley twins, but to his surprise it was Ginny who pulled out the tricks- many of which came courtesy of Fred and George. And to his greater surprise, Seamus Finnigan- the other Chaser- spent most of the night by her side, laughing uproariously and, it seemed, flirting. He tried to keep Ron from noticing, not sure what he would do to Seamus if he did.
Harry himself was the one who disappeared for half an hour, returning with an armful of butterbeer and candy. The Gryffindors fell upon it all with great enthusiasm, even the tiny first years who never seemed to speak when older students were around.
When he returned, he found Ron and Hermione sitting in a corner of the common room, laughing over something the way they did right before an argument started. In an attempt to stop it, Harry hurried over. Too late.
"Just because *you* are too stuck up and self absorbed to have noticed, doesn't mean it didn't happen! Ronald Weasley, you can take your broomstick and put it YOU-KNOW-WHERE!"
Harry stopped short a few feet from them. Luckily, the noise in the common room was so raucous that no one else had noticed. Hermione hardly ever raised her voice like that, and she never said things like that. She stormed up to the girls' dormitory, oblivious of the first years she almost knocked over on the way.
Cautiously, Harry approached Ron. "What was that all about?"
"I don't know," Ron shrugged. "She was mentioning someone she's been talking to. I just said I haven't seen her talk to anyone lately besides us. She didn't have to take it that way, I was just making an observation."
Harry shook his head. Hermione's temper seemed to have flared up over the summer. Then again, Ron always had a knack for ticking her off. "Come on, Ron, just forget about it. Have a butterbeer."
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Hermione spent three pages ranting about her so-called friends and how they did not understand a thing, and they could not just let her have her own life without butting in and knowing every single detail. Then she wrote two pages on school, how things were different this year, Professor Winkly compared to their previous DADA teachers…before realizing that he probably did not want to hear about school. *He goes here too.* But she didn't remove anything she had written. She never did. And neither did he. It kept them honest, and she felt like she knew him, even though she had no idea who she was. They were always careful to avoid any names, even names of teachers. Except Professor Winkly, she noted…
She added a page sorting out her thoughts, her newest insight-
~*Anonymous pen pals should be a new fad. It would be quite difficult to establish, but it really is quite freeing. When neither of you know who the other is, you can say whatever you want without fear of embarrassment. You can never be afraid of them telling someone, and even if they did, no one would know who it was. It is so nice to have someone to talk to. I don't have anyone else to whom I can just say whatever I want, and know the person I'm talking- well, writing- to won't judge me on it.
It's a lot harder to get into an argument when you're talking on paper. Especially since the letters are so long. Have you noticed how often we go off topic? I find these digressions lead to interesting places but keep us from getting the original point across completely successfully. The interruptions do not help to keep one train of thought.
But I still think this is the best thing for both of us. I feel I can talk to you about anything. I don't care who you are, you are amazing at listening to me and sharing your own feelings. I wish my other friends could be like that.*~
The response came not long after. It was a rant that seemed to mock hers, talking about how some people go on and on monotonously about things nobody wants to listen to…or read about. It went on and on monotonously. Then closer to the end-
~* First of all, *you* get off topic often. My train of thought can stay on its track, while yours apparently goes careening off the road into Merlin knows what direction. Read my letters, you'll see. My thoughts are clear and concise. You're the disorganized one.
And you can very well start an argument on paper. I guarantee it'll be proven to you within a week. Honestly, it does not matter how bloody long the letters are, you can have an argument along with anything else you have to say. Now tell me I'm wrong.*~
Hermione raised an eyebrow at these last two paragraphs.
~* I am most certainly *not* disorganized, and I seem to remember you starting in on a Potions class and ending up talking about your hair regimen. If you can show me the connection, then I'll will myself to turn into a flobberworm for a day. Maybe I go off topic more often, but you do it as well and that's the whole point.
People lose track of what they're arguing about during such long letters. Why you are trying to convince me that arguments *can* actually be sustained I do not know. How are you supposed to prove this to me? I can't think of one way.
Don't swear.*~
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At her rant, Draco sighed continuously through five pages, and almost laughed at her sudden change of topic. He decided to respond with a rant of his own. He wrote seven pages about how some people just did not stop talking, saying the same things over and over using different vocabulary.
Then he began to refute her logic, just to prove her wrong. He had done so twice already, and it was only the middle of October. He found some odd enjoyment in it.
When he got her response, he laughed. He had already proved his point, within the course of one letter. He wrote back a very short response to her last letter, the one that ended with "Don't swear".
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Hermione finally got back to their spot, and quickly scooped up the letter. It was quite smaller than usual this time. Checking to be sure no one was looking, she unfolded the paper. She was surprised and at first confused by the contents.
~* See?*~
See what? What was…? *Oh, I see.*
So he had proven his point. Well, good for him, then.
~*Okay, I get it. Very funny. Next time could you please write something I can actually respond to? How am I supposed to get a good letter from just, "See?"? I mean, all right, we could argue in the letters if you really wanted to, but I liked it the way it was before, when we were just talking. Could we please just talk? I get enough argument already.
Sometimes I wish you weren't so far away. I know I said I love this anonymous pen pal thing, but really I would love someone I can talk with face to face. I talk to my other friends, sure, but I can't talk to them about *everything* I need to talk about. With you, I feel like I could lay my soul bare and you would just sit and listen. That is what I want to do. I want to lay my soul bare for you. I want to meet you and know you. It doesn't matter to me who you are, just that you are you.
You sound like you need a friend, a real, substantial friend. Not someone you can't see, someone who you know, really know. I think, even though I have friends, that I need one too. Do you know what I mean? Sometimes I feel like they can't see me, really. But I know you can.*~
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Draco thought very hard about how to respond to this letter. It surprised him how they went from joviality to extreme seriousness in the course of one person's letter. He agreed with her, but he was not sure he was ready to meet her. Everyone in the school knew his reputation. What would she think when she found out the malicious, uncaring Draco Malfoy had written all those things? Would she tell everyone he was really just a soft, effeminate whimp? No, the way she wrote told him she wouldn't. Still, he was worried.
The day before Halloween, on which day there was to be a ball for the students, he placed his reply in their secret mailbox.
~*I know what you mean. I feel the same way.
If you are serious, then meet me. November 1st, 11:45 of the clock, the Room of Requirement. Since you told me where it is in that letter, I assume I don't need to tell you.
Just be there.*~
End Chapter 4
Next chapter is the Halloween Ball. No, they don't meet, I'm sorry. But they will in the chapter after. I promise.
At the time when I'm writing this, I have exactly three reviews for each chapter. Neat.
Review, I will love you for at least the time when I'm reading your review!!
Chapter 4- Correspondence
Harry alighted on the ground to the sound of a roaring cheer. The first Quidditch match of the year, against Slytherin, had been a rather bloody event, but he had managed to pull through and win it for them once again. He stood on the muddy ground holding the snitch high above his head. The other six members of the team bore down upon him, wrapping him in a tight hug.
Hermione beamed at him from a few feet away. "Great job Harry! You too, Ron, that was great!" Harry knew that she was more proud of them than happy about winning a Quidditch match.
"Thanks, Hermione." He turned to Ron. "Well done, mate."
Ron grinned. "Thanks. You too. We'll see you in the dorm, Hermione." They started for the showers.
Harry nudged Ron. "Does Malfoy look more depressed than usual after a game?"
Ron shrugged. "Who cares?"
"Good game, guys," Katie Bell, Gryffindor's captain, told them in the locker room. "Just keep up this kind of playing and we'll have no trouble winning the Cup."
Ginny was receiving compliments from every side. It was her first game as a Chaser, and she had not missed a single shot. She was beaming widely, looking as though her face must hurt from smiling so much. She seemed unable to stop. When Harry smiled back at her, she grinned even wider.
The usual celebration took place in the Gryffindor common room. Harry was not sure what would happen to the atmosphere of pranks and laughter with the absence of the Weasley twins, but to his surprise it was Ginny who pulled out the tricks- many of which came courtesy of Fred and George. And to his greater surprise, Seamus Finnigan- the other Chaser- spent most of the night by her side, laughing uproariously and, it seemed, flirting. He tried to keep Ron from noticing, not sure what he would do to Seamus if he did.
Harry himself was the one who disappeared for half an hour, returning with an armful of butterbeer and candy. The Gryffindors fell upon it all with great enthusiasm, even the tiny first years who never seemed to speak when older students were around.
When he returned, he found Ron and Hermione sitting in a corner of the common room, laughing over something the way they did right before an argument started. In an attempt to stop it, Harry hurried over. Too late.
"Just because *you* are too stuck up and self absorbed to have noticed, doesn't mean it didn't happen! Ronald Weasley, you can take your broomstick and put it YOU-KNOW-WHERE!"
Harry stopped short a few feet from them. Luckily, the noise in the common room was so raucous that no one else had noticed. Hermione hardly ever raised her voice like that, and she never said things like that. She stormed up to the girls' dormitory, oblivious of the first years she almost knocked over on the way.
Cautiously, Harry approached Ron. "What was that all about?"
"I don't know," Ron shrugged. "She was mentioning someone she's been talking to. I just said I haven't seen her talk to anyone lately besides us. She didn't have to take it that way, I was just making an observation."
Harry shook his head. Hermione's temper seemed to have flared up over the summer. Then again, Ron always had a knack for ticking her off. "Come on, Ron, just forget about it. Have a butterbeer."
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Hermione spent three pages ranting about her so-called friends and how they did not understand a thing, and they could not just let her have her own life without butting in and knowing every single detail. Then she wrote two pages on school, how things were different this year, Professor Winkly compared to their previous DADA teachers…before realizing that he probably did not want to hear about school. *He goes here too.* But she didn't remove anything she had written. She never did. And neither did he. It kept them honest, and she felt like she knew him, even though she had no idea who she was. They were always careful to avoid any names, even names of teachers. Except Professor Winkly, she noted…
She added a page sorting out her thoughts, her newest insight-
~*Anonymous pen pals should be a new fad. It would be quite difficult to establish, but it really is quite freeing. When neither of you know who the other is, you can say whatever you want without fear of embarrassment. You can never be afraid of them telling someone, and even if they did, no one would know who it was. It is so nice to have someone to talk to. I don't have anyone else to whom I can just say whatever I want, and know the person I'm talking- well, writing- to won't judge me on it.
It's a lot harder to get into an argument when you're talking on paper. Especially since the letters are so long. Have you noticed how often we go off topic? I find these digressions lead to interesting places but keep us from getting the original point across completely successfully. The interruptions do not help to keep one train of thought.
But I still think this is the best thing for both of us. I feel I can talk to you about anything. I don't care who you are, you are amazing at listening to me and sharing your own feelings. I wish my other friends could be like that.*~
The response came not long after. It was a rant that seemed to mock hers, talking about how some people go on and on monotonously about things nobody wants to listen to…or read about. It went on and on monotonously. Then closer to the end-
~* First of all, *you* get off topic often. My train of thought can stay on its track, while yours apparently goes careening off the road into Merlin knows what direction. Read my letters, you'll see. My thoughts are clear and concise. You're the disorganized one.
And you can very well start an argument on paper. I guarantee it'll be proven to you within a week. Honestly, it does not matter how bloody long the letters are, you can have an argument along with anything else you have to say. Now tell me I'm wrong.*~
Hermione raised an eyebrow at these last two paragraphs.
~* I am most certainly *not* disorganized, and I seem to remember you starting in on a Potions class and ending up talking about your hair regimen. If you can show me the connection, then I'll will myself to turn into a flobberworm for a day. Maybe I go off topic more often, but you do it as well and that's the whole point.
People lose track of what they're arguing about during such long letters. Why you are trying to convince me that arguments *can* actually be sustained I do not know. How are you supposed to prove this to me? I can't think of one way.
Don't swear.*~
************************************************************************
At her rant, Draco sighed continuously through five pages, and almost laughed at her sudden change of topic. He decided to respond with a rant of his own. He wrote seven pages about how some people just did not stop talking, saying the same things over and over using different vocabulary.
Then he began to refute her logic, just to prove her wrong. He had done so twice already, and it was only the middle of October. He found some odd enjoyment in it.
When he got her response, he laughed. He had already proved his point, within the course of one letter. He wrote back a very short response to her last letter, the one that ended with "Don't swear".
************************************************************************
Hermione finally got back to their spot, and quickly scooped up the letter. It was quite smaller than usual this time. Checking to be sure no one was looking, she unfolded the paper. She was surprised and at first confused by the contents.
~* See?*~
See what? What was…? *Oh, I see.*
So he had proven his point. Well, good for him, then.
~*Okay, I get it. Very funny. Next time could you please write something I can actually respond to? How am I supposed to get a good letter from just, "See?"? I mean, all right, we could argue in the letters if you really wanted to, but I liked it the way it was before, when we were just talking. Could we please just talk? I get enough argument already.
Sometimes I wish you weren't so far away. I know I said I love this anonymous pen pal thing, but really I would love someone I can talk with face to face. I talk to my other friends, sure, but I can't talk to them about *everything* I need to talk about. With you, I feel like I could lay my soul bare and you would just sit and listen. That is what I want to do. I want to lay my soul bare for you. I want to meet you and know you. It doesn't matter to me who you are, just that you are you.
You sound like you need a friend, a real, substantial friend. Not someone you can't see, someone who you know, really know. I think, even though I have friends, that I need one too. Do you know what I mean? Sometimes I feel like they can't see me, really. But I know you can.*~
************************************************************************
Draco thought very hard about how to respond to this letter. It surprised him how they went from joviality to extreme seriousness in the course of one person's letter. He agreed with her, but he was not sure he was ready to meet her. Everyone in the school knew his reputation. What would she think when she found out the malicious, uncaring Draco Malfoy had written all those things? Would she tell everyone he was really just a soft, effeminate whimp? No, the way she wrote told him she wouldn't. Still, he was worried.
The day before Halloween, on which day there was to be a ball for the students, he placed his reply in their secret mailbox.
~*I know what you mean. I feel the same way.
If you are serious, then meet me. November 1st, 11:45 of the clock, the Room of Requirement. Since you told me where it is in that letter, I assume I don't need to tell you.
Just be there.*~
End Chapter 4
Next chapter is the Halloween Ball. No, they don't meet, I'm sorry. But they will in the chapter after. I promise.
At the time when I'm writing this, I have exactly three reviews for each chapter. Neat.
Review, I will love you for at least the time when I'm reading your review!!