Sorry for the long wait. I have had exams and I will have a few more over
the following month, so please bare with me. I will try my best.
Thanks to all those who reviewed.
"Why have you got cheesy puffs?" Hermione eventually managed to splutter out. The image of who her father was, was changing.
"Well Hermione I had to tell someone, and since you're a boy it seemed like I could tell you. You mustn't tell your mother about this under any circumstance. Or the neighbours. They would be talking for weeks if news this big got out." Michael said as he opened the multi pack and thrust one of the smaller ones towards Hermione before she could protest.
"But why would you keep something like this? Well you said yourself Hermione, you were hungry. How do you think I feel? Nearly everyday for the past seventeen years I have been hungry. Not being able to eat in between meals!" Without saying anything else he tore open the packet and literally began pouring them into his mouth as though he were some kind of wild beast.
After anxiously watching for a minute Hermione opened her own pack and stared down at the contents. It shone under the kitchen light and the foil packet gave of a glow that made then appear to have a heavenly appearance. Pretty soon she was in a similar compromising position to her father. Once they had finished Hermione looked at her father's sinful face which had cheesy flavouring all over it.
"Well that was cool..." Hermione began to say but her father cut her off.
"It's not over yet!" with this he returned back to the cupboard and put back the remaining crisps, and returned with something far more wicked.
"You pig!" Hermione said as she barely controlled her anger. Her father looked guiltily, as he stood there with a pot noodle in each hand.
"Yes, I suppose I am Hermione, but trust me they are something else. You have to have one." Michael said as he flipped on the kettle and rubbed his hands in excitement.
"But why would you want something like that? I wouldn't be surprised if mum left you for having one of those." Hermione said, although secretly she was starting to get excited by the idea. Excited in the same sense that being a boy was forbidden, and yet something everyone has to try.
"Well I don't know really. It's just that I'm sick of those bloody sandwiches. I needed something dirty!!!" he said as he ripped the tops off the pots. The kettle was starting to boil and Hermione was getting anxious. Although it was a sin to eat one, it wouldn't result in expulsion from Hogwarts would it? She hoped not.
Her father lifted the kettle of its stand and carefully poured out the correct amount of water. He gave each one a quick stir before sliding one across the table to Hermione. She reached out with a shaking hand to take one. "Get a grip Hermione. It's just food." She thought to herself as she tried to calm her mind. "Yeah only dirty filthy bad boy food!" it screamed back at her. She took her hand back a little and looked up at her father. He wad a spoon positioned between the pot and himself, which were only an inch at most apart. He was moving the spoon backwards and forwards between the two with skilful handmanship, so that the food was more of a continuous flow. Hermione found herself wondering how he had acquired such a skill. She obviously wasn't his first.
Michael sat as he tilted his head back and ate like a wild man. It certainly wasn't a site for children. Hermione never even expected her husband, when she had one to do naughty things like this, but her own father right in front of her...it was unbelievable. Hermione was about to indulge in her own pot noodle when she heard a sound from the hallway. She turned round just in time to see her mother walk into the kitchen. She stopped in her tracks ad stared at her husband, sit greedily eating, completely unaware of the intrusion. She then turned to Hermione who hastily slid the pot noodle away from herself, and did her best to look highly disgruntled.
Her mother dropped the glass that was in her hand and it gave a loud shatter on the floor. Michael lowered his pot and stared at the source of noise. His eyes slowly widened until his face was a picture of panic ad horror.
"I can explain. It's not what it looks like!" he said, although the traces of noodles and the mess on t-shirt suggested otherwise.
"What the hell do you think your doing? How long has it been going on? Have you done it before?" she asked irately as she strode across the kitchen and plastered a hard slap across his face.
"No this was my first. You know I love you. I wouldn't lie to you!" Michael pleaded as he rubbed his cheek.
"No, you wouldn't lie to me yet you would cheat on me for that!"
"What?" he asked as he got up from his seat and tried to take Michelle's hands in his. She angrily pushed him away.
"You heard what I say. You were willing to risk our marriage for one wild fling with a pot noodle. I'm just sorry that Hermione had to witness this." Hermione, who up until this point had been a spectator, suddenly realised that she was involved. Her mother had just caught her committing one of the seven deadly sins. Thou shalt not partake of the noodles of pot.
"It wasn't my fault mum." Hermione said hopefully as she pulled the forgiving look that all children are highly familiar with. Her mother looked back at her, and the still uneaten pot of noodles. Hermione gave her father a sorry look and then burst into fake tears.
"He made me do it! I didn't want to but he kept telling me to try it and that he would be angry if he didn't. He kept saying things like it was all right if it was my first time because it wouldn't be naughty. I didn't want to but he just kept pushing me."
Michelle angrily rounded back on her husband.
"Have you no decency man? She is only a child for Christ sake!"
"But she wanted it she didn't say no once. She practically encouraged me." He begged as he tried to worm his way out of trouble.
"Don't you dare blame this on Hermione. This is your daughter were talking about and you would try and shift the blame for such a sinful crime as this on her." She yelled shrilly. Hermione risked a glance up from her arms where she had been pretending to cry. Her mother was standing in front of her, and her father was backed against the wall, like a cornered animal.
"You can sleep outside tonight because until you can make it up I don't want to be sharing a room with a man like you." Michelle yelled as she turned her back on him in disgust. "Careless regard for your teeth as well. Not to mention you will ruin your appetite for lunch."
"No it's ok to eat food providing you brush your teeth gently yet thoroughly within forty minutes of consumption." Michael said as though quoting a textbook.
"Don't give me facts and figures! I won't make it all right. Since you have already eaten I don't think you will have any need for lunch.
A few minutes after the raging noodle argument had subsided Hermione found herself lying out sun bathing, topless. Topless! "You see that top over there. I'm not wearing it!" Hermione thought to herself as she looked down at her discarded t-shirt. She reached over and took a drink form a pineapple smoothie her mother had made (sugar free). It seemed that since her father had put her through such a terrible ordeal her mother felt it had to be made up to her. Hermione had made sure she snuck off for a few minutes and thoroughly brushed her teeth. The last thing she needed was for it o come out that she had eaten cheesy puffs. The feel of the gentle wind blowing across her chest was something Hermione marveled at. Guys really did have an easy life.
An hour an a half later after being pampered by her caring mother it was about half past eleven. The swimming pool was the same distance away as the high street, but in a slightly different direction. This meant that if she wanted to get there on time she should leave about now. Hermione pulled on her t shirt and socks and shoes. She got some suntan lotion and the magazine and threw it into her backpack with her towel and swimming trunks. Trunks!
"I'm going to the swimming pool now mum ok?" she said as she stopped by the kitchen where her mother was sitting reading the newspaper and drinking some coffee.
"Don't you want to stay for lunch?" Her mother asked as she put that paper down and got up from the table.
"No I have arranged to meet a few friends so I need to go now." Hermione said with a smile. Her mother frowned for a minute.
"You don't have friends that live round here do you? And wouldn't they perhaps find it a bit strange that you were a boy?" she asked suspiciously.
"No it isn't anyone from school or anything. Just some people I met in town this morning." Hermione answered truthfully.
"Ok well let me give you some money so you can buy something to eat." Michelle said as she went to her handbag and rummaged round for her purse. "Oh and one more thing dear." She said as she didn't meet Hermione's eyes and handed her a five pound note.
"Yes?" Hermione asked as she pocketed the money.
"Don't try and take advantage of any girls." At this statmenet Hermione spluttered in disbelief.
"Mum!" She said angrily. Didn't her parents know her at all?
"I'm just saying honey. No need to be angry."
"What do you take me for?" Hermione asked as she stood staring at her mother, who busied herself with other things.
"You're a teenager who is confused over her emotions." Michelle replied bluntly.
Hermione after a moments thought decided that a conversation like this would be pointless. She wasn't going to convince them and seeing it from there point of view it must have been very strange. She could only imagine of some of the things she would think if Ron tried to turn himself into a girl. Besides, if she stayed here and argued then she would be late for swimming. She knew boys weren't much for punctuality but she had to warm up first to avoid getting cramp while swimming. It was a very real danger that people didn't seem to appreciate. Every year over one persons died from it! That would take a few minutes if she wanted to be safe while swimming.
Hermione walked out of the front door leaving her mistaken mother behind. By tonight everything would be back to normal, and with any luck she would stop treating Hermione like some kind of sex fiend! Half an hour later Hermione arrived outside the swimming pool. It wasn't luxurious by any means. It was only small and had one diving board and no slides. Hermione had been several times when she was a young girl, before she went to Hogwarts. It was however conveniently close to the local school and the sort of place that everyone would go to on a hot summer's day. The water was relatively clean and that generally helped.
Hermione walked into the changing rooms and was surprised to find that it was not actually not much different from the girls, which she had nearly walked into. The only real difference was the fact that it didn't permanently occupy a team of gossiping teenagers. In fact it was completely empty, which Hermione was thankful for, and at the same time slightly disappointed. She put her bag down on one of the benches and began to undress. She carefully folded each item of clothing and slid it into her bag. By the time she was finished and suited up for some swimming her bag was full of a pile of clothes neat enough to make an army sergeant blush. She walked over to one of the lockers and put in a fifty pence piece. It wasn't that she had anything valuable, but it was just that to they held significant personal value. Her day as a boy... The day she would probably look back on when she was older and think of with fondness.
Hermione was about to stroll out of the changing room when she stopped in front of a mirror. A question struck her mind. How should a boy stand? Was there a particular way they had to behave around swimming pools? She had heard of how some of them acted... but was that a rule? One thing was for certain, and that was that she should breathe in. It wasn't like her boy body was fat in anyway, it was just what all guys did. They might say that they worked out and things but at the end of the day their stomach would still stick out. They would breathe in when a girl was looking, but when they got into the water they would let their breath out. Hermione had seen the stomachs wobbling like lava lamps as skin floated in the water. The girls pretended not to know this and the guys pretended that they were thinner than they really were. It all worked out.
Once Hermione was confident that she had done every obvious thing in the way that a boy would, she strode out of the changing room and into the bright midday sunlight that immediately washed over her skin with warmth so intense for a few brief moments it was unpleasant. The summer air, thought still had just enough movement to keep the air fresh and cool. It carried with it the distant smell of cut grass, and slightly baked smell of dirt so dry it was cracked on the ground.
There was to detectable taint of chlorine and chemicals which were used in swimming pools and it made Hermione feel free in a strange sense. Never before had she felt that way, but standing here as she closed her eyes with the sun pouring down upon her, it was possible to shed all thoughts as to what would happen when she got back to school and having to do her homework, that she had in fact already done. It was possible to forget about lord Voldemort and what he might do, because standing here surrounded by the laughs of children and people having fun, it was hard to imagine anything bad happening.
Flashes of the sun bounced in her eyes as it reflected on the surface of the water and shot off in various directions, depending on the movement of water, disrupted by other people's movement. The hole atmosphere, so natural and yet so alien to her was overwhelming and Hermione began to feel a little nauseous until she heard someone call her name from a distance. Or at least a name she said was her own.
"Alex, Hey Alex, over here!" She heard a boy yell as he came running along the side of the pool from the other end. Hermione smiled to herself as he was cautioned by one of the life guards. Max finally after a brisk walk came to where she was standing.
"Hi." Hermione said as she shielded her eyes from the sun. Max gave her a look as he squinted, although he had his back to the sun and the pool and so could see much better.
"Yes I know I can't believe how sunny it is." He said as cast a look around him. "Give it half an hour and this place will be packed." Hermione's eyes had started to water a little from the intense brightness and she found herself staring down at the ground, where she became rather aware of her abnormally small boy feet. Still, being only the size of a normal girl hopefully no one would notice.
"I should have bought my sun glasses." She said as she wiped away a bead of sweat from her forehead which had been threatening to run into her eyes. Max thought for a moment and then eyed Hermione up carefully. She was afraid that she must have done something to give herself away, and so she stuck her pelvis further forward.
"You know I have some tinted swimming goggles, I bet they would help. I used to wear them but they are a bit small for me now. You have a small head though and they should fit you good. You can wear them if you like."
"That would be lovely." Hermione said as she forgot herself for a moment. Max didn't say anything but gave her a slightly strange look.
"Er yeah they try and make me say stuff like that at St Brutus', you know how it is. They hit you with a crowbar if you say things like um, fanbloodytastic!"
"Wow, they really use a crowbar?" That must be nasty." He said as he winced at the thought of it.
"Yes." Hermione said awkwardly. It was difficult to lie for her. "It's painful to speak of it." She said in a hope that he wouldn't pursue the subject.
"Oh right year sure. If you don't want to talk about it, then its ok with me man. Now come on. I'm baking over here. I can introduce you to the others." Hermione, thankful for the change of subject, merely nodded and followed behind him. Hermione found herself standing at the deep end of the pool, looking down at four other people, three girls and one boy. Including Max and herself there were six of them.
"Hey guys, this is Alex that I was telling you about. He set an old lady on fire!" Max said as though this was justification of introducing her to his friends. There was a collective "wow" as they all stared up at him in awe. Hermione was considering if she should get into the water or wait to be invited in. She had a third option made clear to her however as she felt the firm hand of Max shove her into the water. She tumbled forward and narrowly avoided hitting a fat man with her arm.
She spluttered as she surfaced and rubbed the water out of her eyes the best she could. She coughed a bit as she had swallowed a little bit of a water. Hermione tossed her head back to get the wet hair out of her eyes, but then realized she no longer had long hair, and so didn't need to. The group of people were all laughing, and Hermione managed a feeble laugh just to fit in. At least the water was nice and cool, whilst not being cold. Max for some reason opted for a much more stylish entry which basically of him sitting on the edge of the pool before plopping into the water. He eventually came to float and then moved over a little to Hermione.
"Anyway I still need to introduce them to you." He said as he pointed to the other four people. He said several names very quickly and several other things that she didn't manage to pick up despite being highly trained in the art of listening to teachers. Instead she was slightly distracted by the looks she was receiving from one of the girls.
Hermione couldn't be sure but what was left of her female intuition, which was most of it, was suggesting there was something more to this look than just observation. If she had to say a word she would reluctantly admit that lust was it. The girl was tough to make out due to the fact that all but her shoulders and head were submerged under water. Her hair was probably quite straight because it clung to her head when wet. It was also a shade of blonde, although again the water was probably making it appear darker. Through the rippling water she could make out that she had a trim body and obviously watched what she ate, but then again most girls did these days.
"So Let's play chicken or something shall we?" asked the boy who Hermione didn't know. For some reason she had a feeling that he was called will or bill or something. Therefore whenever Hermione spoke to him she usually just said "oy", or said the first part quietly so that it would sound like she did know his name.
"What's chicken?" Hermione asked unsurely. She hoped it wasn't anything like the game chicken that involved standing in front of traffic.
"Well basically you split into three groups of two, a boy and a girl. The girl has to sit on the boy's shoulders and then you just run round and try and push the other groups over." Max said as he walked over to the nearest girl and pulled her towards him, clearly claming her as his fight partner. Hermione looked nervously. She was shorter than all the other boys, and in fact only about the size of one of the girls. Surely she would be at a disadvantage.
She had a sinking feeling as no one moved to pick her that it would be like physical education from when she was younger. The horribly degrading task of being picked by the team captains. Of course there were a few boys with exceptional talent that always got picked first. Hermione for some reason didn't posses much skill with what she liked to call a pig sport. She was always the child left at the end as the other group finally decided they would have smelly shelly, the one eyed girl instead.
However a smile spread across her face when the girl that had her eye on Hermione made to walk towards her. In an attempt to make conversation Hermione fumbled for a minute. What did girls like to talk about? Well, she talked about homework. That seemed normal enough for her, but for some reason Harry and Ron always walked away when she did that, and some of the girls in her dormitory through pillows at her. She knew what Pavarti and Lavender discussed, but she certainly didn't feel comfortable talking about that sort of thing.
"Sorry I didn't catch your name." Hermione said politely as nothing came to her.
The girl looked at her and gave a buttery smile.
"Me? My name is Rachael." She said in a pleasant, yet smooth oily voice. "So have you lived in town long?" Before Hermione could stop her self she had already answered.
"All my life." Rachael gave this some thought before asking what Hermione had anticipated. "So where did you go before St Brutus' because I'm pretty sure I would remember someone like you."
"Well I used to be home tutored. The schools wouldn't accept me because I was badly behaved." Hermione said as she tried to act as though this was a cool thing, although actually she hated the idea. Why would anybody be that badly behaved?
Rachael just gave a silent nod, before reaching over and taking Hermione's shoulder.
"Crouch down a bit." She instructed to Hermione, who obliged.
"Why are you doing that?" Hermione suddenly asked in shock.
"Well I need to get onto your shoulders somehow don't I silly." Hermione mouthed silently for several seconds.
"I can understand that, I was just wondering why you needed to put your hand down my trunks!" she hissed. Rachael stared into Hermione's eyes for a moment. Before opening her mouth widely.
"Oh sorry I didn't realise I was." She said rather falsely. As she removed her hand and climbed up onto Hermione's shoulders.
"Participating in sports activity was a tough enough activity for Hermione. She had never been very good at it, but trying to do sports whilst having some sort of sex pervert on your shoulders was damn near impossible. Hermione just decided that if she just focused on the game then Rachael wouldn't do anything. Or at least that is what she hoped. Truth be told Hermione was entirely stumped as to why a girl would do such a thing as put her hands down her shorts. She hadn't given any signal that she wanted it, and it was just plain wrong. She didn't go doing that to Harry and Ron!
The games finally ended about half an hour later and Hermione had to admit it was exhausting. She had always imagined girls being light but after having one on your shoulders for half an hour you began to think differently. It wasn't that any of them had said they were bored or exhausted, but the presence of a snappy old lifeguard. He seemed to think that anything other than swimming in the pool was just something to laugh at. Not only had he disbanded their game of chicken, he also spent several minutes asking them why they were having difficulty swimming, and why they just kept floating on the spot.
"And why do your eyes keep rolling at me? It's calcium deficiency I expect. If you pass out don't expect me to save you. I warned you but to you listen..." He moaned until he heard the sound of someone walking to fast down the other end and slowly plodded off to teach them a lesson in pool side safety
"So what we gonna do now?" Asked the third boy, who seemed to have gone rather pink over the last half an hour. His chicken partner probably just had a strong grip and cut off the circulation to his head.
"Well it is getting a little busy so I think we should have some lunch now, and I can just lounge around in the sun for a while." Said one of the girls as she slowly swam on her back towards the edge of the pool, as if she didn't have a care in the world. Hermione couldn't see how an awkward situation could arise from this so after a moment she agreed to it and hastily swum away from Rachael and to the edge of the pool where she pulled herself out with boy strength she wasn't familiar with.
The swimming pool, being located in a reasonably small town and on the outskirts meant that it hadn't been squashed into the area of an old chip shop, and thus had plenty of space. At one end of the pool were just some life guards and pool safety notices, while at the other end there was a large stretch of grass that finally ended when the two high brick walls finally met up in a peak. There were a few medium sized trees that hung over casting large spots of shadow here and there. The grass was thick and yet soft like expensive grass, the kind of grass that the queen might like if she played football. There were a dozen or so people scattered around the grass, with most of them being towards the edge. There was a man and a woman a few years older than Hermione who were playing a ball game in the large middle space which no one seemed interested in using.
"So where are we sitting?" Hermione asked once the other people had gotten out of the pool. Max shook some water out of his head which landed on Hermione who hadn't until then realized how dry the sun had made her in the short time. She would probably have to put some more suntan lotion on in a while. It was meant to be water resistant but Hermione questioned the integrity of the bottle.
"Yeah we're over here." Said Max as he made his way towards some towels over by the left hand side. They were laid out so that they were next to the shade. Probably in fact there had been a variety of shade and sun to suit everyone's wants, but as the sun moved through the sky so did the shaded areas. Everyone plonked themselves down onto some towels as they moved asides a couple of bags and a football. Hermione was about to sit down on her towel when it occurred to her that it was still inside her bag back in the changing rooms.
"Oh bum. I'm just going to go and get my towel." Hermione said as she turned to walk back towards the changing rooms but found herself not moving. She looked round and realized it was because Rachael was pulling her back.
"Don't worry. You can use my towel. I will just lay on the grass. I enjoy the feel of it on my smooth soft skin. It is very soft. Go on, feel it!" she said as she took Hermione's hand and made have Hermione stroke her arm.
"Oh right yes, thanks! Hermione said as she very hurriedly pulled out of the grip and walked over to the only vacant towel where she looked at the ground hoping no one would notice her blush a deep crimson. She cursed to her self. Out of all the things she did when she was a boy why did she have to bump into some sort of girl obsessed with sex. She had enough of that sort of thing at school. Maybe, she thought to herself, some things were the same for boys and girls. She dwelled on this for a moment and considered that Pavarti and Lavender both exuded pervert like qualities. The Gryffindor boys, or at least the non desperate ones, dealt with them by never making eye contact and moving round a lot. Hermione decided that perhaps she should employ a similar technique.
Half an hour passed where everyone talked a bit about where they grew up. Hermione listened intently. It would undoubtedly prove invaluable to her muggle studies essay. "Muggle Children And What They Do When They Aren't Playing Hopscotch" (wizard had a very distorted image of child behavior).
"So how about you Alex, what to you do when you aren't being beaten by teachers and when you aren't stealing and stuff?" Asked a girl who Hermione had managed to pick up from conversation was called Katie. She seemed a bit more reserved than Rachael who was applying a fourth serving of suntan lotion to Hermione's back since she had laid down.
Hermione was a little caught off guard by this question, having spent up until now just nodding and making "mmm yes" sounds.
"Well I don't do much. I guess when im not stealing stuff..." She began to say.
"Or burning old ladies." Max interrupted.
"Yeah," she continued. "When I'm not doing that I do my homework." There was a long stretch of silence from the group as it occurred to Hermione that she said something she shouldn't have. The ruthless criminal Alex Weatherlight most certainly didn't do homework.
Thanks to all those who reviewed.
"Why have you got cheesy puffs?" Hermione eventually managed to splutter out. The image of who her father was, was changing.
"Well Hermione I had to tell someone, and since you're a boy it seemed like I could tell you. You mustn't tell your mother about this under any circumstance. Or the neighbours. They would be talking for weeks if news this big got out." Michael said as he opened the multi pack and thrust one of the smaller ones towards Hermione before she could protest.
"But why would you keep something like this? Well you said yourself Hermione, you were hungry. How do you think I feel? Nearly everyday for the past seventeen years I have been hungry. Not being able to eat in between meals!" Without saying anything else he tore open the packet and literally began pouring them into his mouth as though he were some kind of wild beast.
After anxiously watching for a minute Hermione opened her own pack and stared down at the contents. It shone under the kitchen light and the foil packet gave of a glow that made then appear to have a heavenly appearance. Pretty soon she was in a similar compromising position to her father. Once they had finished Hermione looked at her father's sinful face which had cheesy flavouring all over it.
"Well that was cool..." Hermione began to say but her father cut her off.
"It's not over yet!" with this he returned back to the cupboard and put back the remaining crisps, and returned with something far more wicked.
"You pig!" Hermione said as she barely controlled her anger. Her father looked guiltily, as he stood there with a pot noodle in each hand.
"Yes, I suppose I am Hermione, but trust me they are something else. You have to have one." Michael said as he flipped on the kettle and rubbed his hands in excitement.
"But why would you want something like that? I wouldn't be surprised if mum left you for having one of those." Hermione said, although secretly she was starting to get excited by the idea. Excited in the same sense that being a boy was forbidden, and yet something everyone has to try.
"Well I don't know really. It's just that I'm sick of those bloody sandwiches. I needed something dirty!!!" he said as he ripped the tops off the pots. The kettle was starting to boil and Hermione was getting anxious. Although it was a sin to eat one, it wouldn't result in expulsion from Hogwarts would it? She hoped not.
Her father lifted the kettle of its stand and carefully poured out the correct amount of water. He gave each one a quick stir before sliding one across the table to Hermione. She reached out with a shaking hand to take one. "Get a grip Hermione. It's just food." She thought to herself as she tried to calm her mind. "Yeah only dirty filthy bad boy food!" it screamed back at her. She took her hand back a little and looked up at her father. He wad a spoon positioned between the pot and himself, which were only an inch at most apart. He was moving the spoon backwards and forwards between the two with skilful handmanship, so that the food was more of a continuous flow. Hermione found herself wondering how he had acquired such a skill. She obviously wasn't his first.
Michael sat as he tilted his head back and ate like a wild man. It certainly wasn't a site for children. Hermione never even expected her husband, when she had one to do naughty things like this, but her own father right in front of her...it was unbelievable. Hermione was about to indulge in her own pot noodle when she heard a sound from the hallway. She turned round just in time to see her mother walk into the kitchen. She stopped in her tracks ad stared at her husband, sit greedily eating, completely unaware of the intrusion. She then turned to Hermione who hastily slid the pot noodle away from herself, and did her best to look highly disgruntled.
Her mother dropped the glass that was in her hand and it gave a loud shatter on the floor. Michael lowered his pot and stared at the source of noise. His eyes slowly widened until his face was a picture of panic ad horror.
"I can explain. It's not what it looks like!" he said, although the traces of noodles and the mess on t-shirt suggested otherwise.
"What the hell do you think your doing? How long has it been going on? Have you done it before?" she asked irately as she strode across the kitchen and plastered a hard slap across his face.
"No this was my first. You know I love you. I wouldn't lie to you!" Michael pleaded as he rubbed his cheek.
"No, you wouldn't lie to me yet you would cheat on me for that!"
"What?" he asked as he got up from his seat and tried to take Michelle's hands in his. She angrily pushed him away.
"You heard what I say. You were willing to risk our marriage for one wild fling with a pot noodle. I'm just sorry that Hermione had to witness this." Hermione, who up until this point had been a spectator, suddenly realised that she was involved. Her mother had just caught her committing one of the seven deadly sins. Thou shalt not partake of the noodles of pot.
"It wasn't my fault mum." Hermione said hopefully as she pulled the forgiving look that all children are highly familiar with. Her mother looked back at her, and the still uneaten pot of noodles. Hermione gave her father a sorry look and then burst into fake tears.
"He made me do it! I didn't want to but he kept telling me to try it and that he would be angry if he didn't. He kept saying things like it was all right if it was my first time because it wouldn't be naughty. I didn't want to but he just kept pushing me."
Michelle angrily rounded back on her husband.
"Have you no decency man? She is only a child for Christ sake!"
"But she wanted it she didn't say no once. She practically encouraged me." He begged as he tried to worm his way out of trouble.
"Don't you dare blame this on Hermione. This is your daughter were talking about and you would try and shift the blame for such a sinful crime as this on her." She yelled shrilly. Hermione risked a glance up from her arms where she had been pretending to cry. Her mother was standing in front of her, and her father was backed against the wall, like a cornered animal.
"You can sleep outside tonight because until you can make it up I don't want to be sharing a room with a man like you." Michelle yelled as she turned her back on him in disgust. "Careless regard for your teeth as well. Not to mention you will ruin your appetite for lunch."
"No it's ok to eat food providing you brush your teeth gently yet thoroughly within forty minutes of consumption." Michael said as though quoting a textbook.
"Don't give me facts and figures! I won't make it all right. Since you have already eaten I don't think you will have any need for lunch.
A few minutes after the raging noodle argument had subsided Hermione found herself lying out sun bathing, topless. Topless! "You see that top over there. I'm not wearing it!" Hermione thought to herself as she looked down at her discarded t-shirt. She reached over and took a drink form a pineapple smoothie her mother had made (sugar free). It seemed that since her father had put her through such a terrible ordeal her mother felt it had to be made up to her. Hermione had made sure she snuck off for a few minutes and thoroughly brushed her teeth. The last thing she needed was for it o come out that she had eaten cheesy puffs. The feel of the gentle wind blowing across her chest was something Hermione marveled at. Guys really did have an easy life.
An hour an a half later after being pampered by her caring mother it was about half past eleven. The swimming pool was the same distance away as the high street, but in a slightly different direction. This meant that if she wanted to get there on time she should leave about now. Hermione pulled on her t shirt and socks and shoes. She got some suntan lotion and the magazine and threw it into her backpack with her towel and swimming trunks. Trunks!
"I'm going to the swimming pool now mum ok?" she said as she stopped by the kitchen where her mother was sitting reading the newspaper and drinking some coffee.
"Don't you want to stay for lunch?" Her mother asked as she put that paper down and got up from the table.
"No I have arranged to meet a few friends so I need to go now." Hermione said with a smile. Her mother frowned for a minute.
"You don't have friends that live round here do you? And wouldn't they perhaps find it a bit strange that you were a boy?" she asked suspiciously.
"No it isn't anyone from school or anything. Just some people I met in town this morning." Hermione answered truthfully.
"Ok well let me give you some money so you can buy something to eat." Michelle said as she went to her handbag and rummaged round for her purse. "Oh and one more thing dear." She said as she didn't meet Hermione's eyes and handed her a five pound note.
"Yes?" Hermione asked as she pocketed the money.
"Don't try and take advantage of any girls." At this statmenet Hermione spluttered in disbelief.
"Mum!" She said angrily. Didn't her parents know her at all?
"I'm just saying honey. No need to be angry."
"What do you take me for?" Hermione asked as she stood staring at her mother, who busied herself with other things.
"You're a teenager who is confused over her emotions." Michelle replied bluntly.
Hermione after a moments thought decided that a conversation like this would be pointless. She wasn't going to convince them and seeing it from there point of view it must have been very strange. She could only imagine of some of the things she would think if Ron tried to turn himself into a girl. Besides, if she stayed here and argued then she would be late for swimming. She knew boys weren't much for punctuality but she had to warm up first to avoid getting cramp while swimming. It was a very real danger that people didn't seem to appreciate. Every year over one persons died from it! That would take a few minutes if she wanted to be safe while swimming.
Hermione walked out of the front door leaving her mistaken mother behind. By tonight everything would be back to normal, and with any luck she would stop treating Hermione like some kind of sex fiend! Half an hour later Hermione arrived outside the swimming pool. It wasn't luxurious by any means. It was only small and had one diving board and no slides. Hermione had been several times when she was a young girl, before she went to Hogwarts. It was however conveniently close to the local school and the sort of place that everyone would go to on a hot summer's day. The water was relatively clean and that generally helped.
Hermione walked into the changing rooms and was surprised to find that it was not actually not much different from the girls, which she had nearly walked into. The only real difference was the fact that it didn't permanently occupy a team of gossiping teenagers. In fact it was completely empty, which Hermione was thankful for, and at the same time slightly disappointed. She put her bag down on one of the benches and began to undress. She carefully folded each item of clothing and slid it into her bag. By the time she was finished and suited up for some swimming her bag was full of a pile of clothes neat enough to make an army sergeant blush. She walked over to one of the lockers and put in a fifty pence piece. It wasn't that she had anything valuable, but it was just that to they held significant personal value. Her day as a boy... The day she would probably look back on when she was older and think of with fondness.
Hermione was about to stroll out of the changing room when she stopped in front of a mirror. A question struck her mind. How should a boy stand? Was there a particular way they had to behave around swimming pools? She had heard of how some of them acted... but was that a rule? One thing was for certain, and that was that she should breathe in. It wasn't like her boy body was fat in anyway, it was just what all guys did. They might say that they worked out and things but at the end of the day their stomach would still stick out. They would breathe in when a girl was looking, but when they got into the water they would let their breath out. Hermione had seen the stomachs wobbling like lava lamps as skin floated in the water. The girls pretended not to know this and the guys pretended that they were thinner than they really were. It all worked out.
Once Hermione was confident that she had done every obvious thing in the way that a boy would, she strode out of the changing room and into the bright midday sunlight that immediately washed over her skin with warmth so intense for a few brief moments it was unpleasant. The summer air, thought still had just enough movement to keep the air fresh and cool. It carried with it the distant smell of cut grass, and slightly baked smell of dirt so dry it was cracked on the ground.
There was to detectable taint of chlorine and chemicals which were used in swimming pools and it made Hermione feel free in a strange sense. Never before had she felt that way, but standing here as she closed her eyes with the sun pouring down upon her, it was possible to shed all thoughts as to what would happen when she got back to school and having to do her homework, that she had in fact already done. It was possible to forget about lord Voldemort and what he might do, because standing here surrounded by the laughs of children and people having fun, it was hard to imagine anything bad happening.
Flashes of the sun bounced in her eyes as it reflected on the surface of the water and shot off in various directions, depending on the movement of water, disrupted by other people's movement. The hole atmosphere, so natural and yet so alien to her was overwhelming and Hermione began to feel a little nauseous until she heard someone call her name from a distance. Or at least a name she said was her own.
"Alex, Hey Alex, over here!" She heard a boy yell as he came running along the side of the pool from the other end. Hermione smiled to herself as he was cautioned by one of the life guards. Max finally after a brisk walk came to where she was standing.
"Hi." Hermione said as she shielded her eyes from the sun. Max gave her a look as he squinted, although he had his back to the sun and the pool and so could see much better.
"Yes I know I can't believe how sunny it is." He said as cast a look around him. "Give it half an hour and this place will be packed." Hermione's eyes had started to water a little from the intense brightness and she found herself staring down at the ground, where she became rather aware of her abnormally small boy feet. Still, being only the size of a normal girl hopefully no one would notice.
"I should have bought my sun glasses." She said as she wiped away a bead of sweat from her forehead which had been threatening to run into her eyes. Max thought for a moment and then eyed Hermione up carefully. She was afraid that she must have done something to give herself away, and so she stuck her pelvis further forward.
"You know I have some tinted swimming goggles, I bet they would help. I used to wear them but they are a bit small for me now. You have a small head though and they should fit you good. You can wear them if you like."
"That would be lovely." Hermione said as she forgot herself for a moment. Max didn't say anything but gave her a slightly strange look.
"Er yeah they try and make me say stuff like that at St Brutus', you know how it is. They hit you with a crowbar if you say things like um, fanbloodytastic!"
"Wow, they really use a crowbar?" That must be nasty." He said as he winced at the thought of it.
"Yes." Hermione said awkwardly. It was difficult to lie for her. "It's painful to speak of it." She said in a hope that he wouldn't pursue the subject.
"Oh right year sure. If you don't want to talk about it, then its ok with me man. Now come on. I'm baking over here. I can introduce you to the others." Hermione, thankful for the change of subject, merely nodded and followed behind him. Hermione found herself standing at the deep end of the pool, looking down at four other people, three girls and one boy. Including Max and herself there were six of them.
"Hey guys, this is Alex that I was telling you about. He set an old lady on fire!" Max said as though this was justification of introducing her to his friends. There was a collective "wow" as they all stared up at him in awe. Hermione was considering if she should get into the water or wait to be invited in. She had a third option made clear to her however as she felt the firm hand of Max shove her into the water. She tumbled forward and narrowly avoided hitting a fat man with her arm.
She spluttered as she surfaced and rubbed the water out of her eyes the best she could. She coughed a bit as she had swallowed a little bit of a water. Hermione tossed her head back to get the wet hair out of her eyes, but then realized she no longer had long hair, and so didn't need to. The group of people were all laughing, and Hermione managed a feeble laugh just to fit in. At least the water was nice and cool, whilst not being cold. Max for some reason opted for a much more stylish entry which basically of him sitting on the edge of the pool before plopping into the water. He eventually came to float and then moved over a little to Hermione.
"Anyway I still need to introduce them to you." He said as he pointed to the other four people. He said several names very quickly and several other things that she didn't manage to pick up despite being highly trained in the art of listening to teachers. Instead she was slightly distracted by the looks she was receiving from one of the girls.
Hermione couldn't be sure but what was left of her female intuition, which was most of it, was suggesting there was something more to this look than just observation. If she had to say a word she would reluctantly admit that lust was it. The girl was tough to make out due to the fact that all but her shoulders and head were submerged under water. Her hair was probably quite straight because it clung to her head when wet. It was also a shade of blonde, although again the water was probably making it appear darker. Through the rippling water she could make out that she had a trim body and obviously watched what she ate, but then again most girls did these days.
"So Let's play chicken or something shall we?" asked the boy who Hermione didn't know. For some reason she had a feeling that he was called will or bill or something. Therefore whenever Hermione spoke to him she usually just said "oy", or said the first part quietly so that it would sound like she did know his name.
"What's chicken?" Hermione asked unsurely. She hoped it wasn't anything like the game chicken that involved standing in front of traffic.
"Well basically you split into three groups of two, a boy and a girl. The girl has to sit on the boy's shoulders and then you just run round and try and push the other groups over." Max said as he walked over to the nearest girl and pulled her towards him, clearly claming her as his fight partner. Hermione looked nervously. She was shorter than all the other boys, and in fact only about the size of one of the girls. Surely she would be at a disadvantage.
She had a sinking feeling as no one moved to pick her that it would be like physical education from when she was younger. The horribly degrading task of being picked by the team captains. Of course there were a few boys with exceptional talent that always got picked first. Hermione for some reason didn't posses much skill with what she liked to call a pig sport. She was always the child left at the end as the other group finally decided they would have smelly shelly, the one eyed girl instead.
However a smile spread across her face when the girl that had her eye on Hermione made to walk towards her. In an attempt to make conversation Hermione fumbled for a minute. What did girls like to talk about? Well, she talked about homework. That seemed normal enough for her, but for some reason Harry and Ron always walked away when she did that, and some of the girls in her dormitory through pillows at her. She knew what Pavarti and Lavender discussed, but she certainly didn't feel comfortable talking about that sort of thing.
"Sorry I didn't catch your name." Hermione said politely as nothing came to her.
The girl looked at her and gave a buttery smile.
"Me? My name is Rachael." She said in a pleasant, yet smooth oily voice. "So have you lived in town long?" Before Hermione could stop her self she had already answered.
"All my life." Rachael gave this some thought before asking what Hermione had anticipated. "So where did you go before St Brutus' because I'm pretty sure I would remember someone like you."
"Well I used to be home tutored. The schools wouldn't accept me because I was badly behaved." Hermione said as she tried to act as though this was a cool thing, although actually she hated the idea. Why would anybody be that badly behaved?
Rachael just gave a silent nod, before reaching over and taking Hermione's shoulder.
"Crouch down a bit." She instructed to Hermione, who obliged.
"Why are you doing that?" Hermione suddenly asked in shock.
"Well I need to get onto your shoulders somehow don't I silly." Hermione mouthed silently for several seconds.
"I can understand that, I was just wondering why you needed to put your hand down my trunks!" she hissed. Rachael stared into Hermione's eyes for a moment. Before opening her mouth widely.
"Oh sorry I didn't realise I was." She said rather falsely. As she removed her hand and climbed up onto Hermione's shoulders.
"Participating in sports activity was a tough enough activity for Hermione. She had never been very good at it, but trying to do sports whilst having some sort of sex pervert on your shoulders was damn near impossible. Hermione just decided that if she just focused on the game then Rachael wouldn't do anything. Or at least that is what she hoped. Truth be told Hermione was entirely stumped as to why a girl would do such a thing as put her hands down her shorts. She hadn't given any signal that she wanted it, and it was just plain wrong. She didn't go doing that to Harry and Ron!
The games finally ended about half an hour later and Hermione had to admit it was exhausting. She had always imagined girls being light but after having one on your shoulders for half an hour you began to think differently. It wasn't that any of them had said they were bored or exhausted, but the presence of a snappy old lifeguard. He seemed to think that anything other than swimming in the pool was just something to laugh at. Not only had he disbanded their game of chicken, he also spent several minutes asking them why they were having difficulty swimming, and why they just kept floating on the spot.
"And why do your eyes keep rolling at me? It's calcium deficiency I expect. If you pass out don't expect me to save you. I warned you but to you listen..." He moaned until he heard the sound of someone walking to fast down the other end and slowly plodded off to teach them a lesson in pool side safety
"So what we gonna do now?" Asked the third boy, who seemed to have gone rather pink over the last half an hour. His chicken partner probably just had a strong grip and cut off the circulation to his head.
"Well it is getting a little busy so I think we should have some lunch now, and I can just lounge around in the sun for a while." Said one of the girls as she slowly swam on her back towards the edge of the pool, as if she didn't have a care in the world. Hermione couldn't see how an awkward situation could arise from this so after a moment she agreed to it and hastily swum away from Rachael and to the edge of the pool where she pulled herself out with boy strength she wasn't familiar with.
The swimming pool, being located in a reasonably small town and on the outskirts meant that it hadn't been squashed into the area of an old chip shop, and thus had plenty of space. At one end of the pool were just some life guards and pool safety notices, while at the other end there was a large stretch of grass that finally ended when the two high brick walls finally met up in a peak. There were a few medium sized trees that hung over casting large spots of shadow here and there. The grass was thick and yet soft like expensive grass, the kind of grass that the queen might like if she played football. There were a dozen or so people scattered around the grass, with most of them being towards the edge. There was a man and a woman a few years older than Hermione who were playing a ball game in the large middle space which no one seemed interested in using.
"So where are we sitting?" Hermione asked once the other people had gotten out of the pool. Max shook some water out of his head which landed on Hermione who hadn't until then realized how dry the sun had made her in the short time. She would probably have to put some more suntan lotion on in a while. It was meant to be water resistant but Hermione questioned the integrity of the bottle.
"Yeah we're over here." Said Max as he made his way towards some towels over by the left hand side. They were laid out so that they were next to the shade. Probably in fact there had been a variety of shade and sun to suit everyone's wants, but as the sun moved through the sky so did the shaded areas. Everyone plonked themselves down onto some towels as they moved asides a couple of bags and a football. Hermione was about to sit down on her towel when it occurred to her that it was still inside her bag back in the changing rooms.
"Oh bum. I'm just going to go and get my towel." Hermione said as she turned to walk back towards the changing rooms but found herself not moving. She looked round and realized it was because Rachael was pulling her back.
"Don't worry. You can use my towel. I will just lay on the grass. I enjoy the feel of it on my smooth soft skin. It is very soft. Go on, feel it!" she said as she took Hermione's hand and made have Hermione stroke her arm.
"Oh right yes, thanks! Hermione said as she very hurriedly pulled out of the grip and walked over to the only vacant towel where she looked at the ground hoping no one would notice her blush a deep crimson. She cursed to her self. Out of all the things she did when she was a boy why did she have to bump into some sort of girl obsessed with sex. She had enough of that sort of thing at school. Maybe, she thought to herself, some things were the same for boys and girls. She dwelled on this for a moment and considered that Pavarti and Lavender both exuded pervert like qualities. The Gryffindor boys, or at least the non desperate ones, dealt with them by never making eye contact and moving round a lot. Hermione decided that perhaps she should employ a similar technique.
Half an hour passed where everyone talked a bit about where they grew up. Hermione listened intently. It would undoubtedly prove invaluable to her muggle studies essay. "Muggle Children And What They Do When They Aren't Playing Hopscotch" (wizard had a very distorted image of child behavior).
"So how about you Alex, what to you do when you aren't being beaten by teachers and when you aren't stealing and stuff?" Asked a girl who Hermione had managed to pick up from conversation was called Katie. She seemed a bit more reserved than Rachael who was applying a fourth serving of suntan lotion to Hermione's back since she had laid down.
Hermione was a little caught off guard by this question, having spent up until now just nodding and making "mmm yes" sounds.
"Well I don't do much. I guess when im not stealing stuff..." She began to say.
"Or burning old ladies." Max interrupted.
"Yeah," she continued. "When I'm not doing that I do my homework." There was a long stretch of silence from the group as it occurred to Hermione that she said something she shouldn't have. The ruthless criminal Alex Weatherlight most certainly didn't do homework.