A/N: Just filling in some here… not much happens, but I promise more action and romance will come soon.
Hermione rubbed her tired eyes and sighed as she pulled yet another parchment towards her. It was only the first school day back at Hogwarts, and she was already burying herself in work again. She tried to limit the habit of taking refuge there, but it seemed the library was the only place where she could find solace, peace, and quietness, where nobody expected anything from her and the one place where she wasn't required to be absolutely perfect.
She tried to concentrate on the page in front of her, but she couldn't make her tired eyes concentrate. It seemed like all the words gradually began to break apart and form swirling myriad's of black ink, combining into the image of a broomstick, with someone flying on it… the black ink spun together, forming a rider wearing flowing robes, a large P splashed across his chest… the robes were billowing out behind him, and she could see the wind whistling through the narrow twigs of the broomstick…Hermione blinked furiously a few times, and leaned forward until her nose was almost touching the page…
"Hermione?" a voice came from her shoulder.
Hermione jumped, startled, and quickly slammed the book shut in a cloud of dust. The noise caused was so enough to make Madame Pince scowl at Hermione, but she didn't notice: her heart was beating so loud, and all her focus was on calming it down. What had just happened?
"Um… Hermione? Are you alright?" questioned the voice again, a little uncertain this time.
Hermione looked up from her hard wooden seat and felt her breath slightly catch in her throat as she beheld Oliver Wood standing in front of her. How odd was it, that she had just hallucinated about a Puddlemore United Quidditch player, and here was one standing right in front of her…
"Oh, hey Oliver," Hermione replied, slightly breathless. She felt like a rug had just been pulled out from under her in front of the entire school, and she didn't know why.
She looked up again at Oliver, but as her eyes lifted up she noticed a swift movement of his arms which hid whatever he was carrying behind his back. She frowned slightly.
"Err… sorry… I mean, Professor…"
Oliver smiled ruefully. "Oliver, if you don't mind." He wrinkled his nose. "Professor makes me sound so old."
Hermione laughed, the tension in her stomach lessening a little. "Old? You're hardly 22."
Oliver raised his eyebrows. "Have you been thinking about that, or are you just that smart?"
Hermione blushed, smarting. "Actually, it's really not that hard to figure… You're only four years older."
Oliver laughed, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. Hermione wanted to sigh in exasperation: wasn't he ever happy? Enough of the Quidditch depression already…
"So what did think of class today?" Oliver asked casually, his eyes studying Hermione's face. Hermione didn't know it, but the soft lamplight was casting shadows over her face that softened her features and cast a warm glow. But Oliver wasn't paying attention to that; he just wanted an opinion from one of his smartest students.
And Hermione knew that, which was why she wasn't flattered by the attention. With a somewhat sinking heart, she genuinely replied, "You know, I was actually impressed. I learned something new." She tried to keep the sarcasm out of her voice, but Oliver caught some of the subtlety. He was quite vexing. The sudden realization that Oliver happened to be handsome, no matter how hard she tried to deny it, made her a little short tempered. Don't ask why.
"What, did you think I can't teach?" he asked, his Scottish lilt thoroughly distracting. "That I had been hit by too many Quaffles, and my brain had been addled?"
Hermione smiled. "No," she said brightly. "I was thinking more of Bludgers."
She knew that if she had said that to any other teacher, she would have gotten detention and been fined house points. But for some reason, Oliver thought it extremely funny: his eyes lit up, and his mouth stretched into a smile, emitting a laugh. His laugh was low and booming; Hermione liked it. She was startled; Hermione had meant to drop the hint that she was trying to study in peace, and she was annoyed that he thought just because he was handsome, rich, and internationally famous he could make small talk with her and assume she was falling in love with him.
Oh, shut it, said the voice in Hermione's head. You're just jealous because he has a girlfriend, like the pretty blond in the picture…
Hermione stopped smiling. Her conscious could get so annoying sometimes.
"… Occlumeny?"
"What?" Hermione asked, slightly annoyed that she had been caught daydreaming again.
"I said, are you studying Occlumency?" Oliver asked, his broad shoulders beginning to slightly relax. But he still didn't take a seat.
"Oh, yeah," Hermione said, running her hand through her hair and irritably pushing a strand of hair away. "Yeah," she continued distractedly. "Especially with all of Voldemort's supporters gaining power, and the goddamn Lestrange pair in Surrey…"
Maybe it was just because she was so tired, but it was only after Hermione had said this did she realize she had just told Oliver classified information from the Order of the Phoenix. As Harry had gradually been taking a more active role in the Order lately, she had heard bits and snatches of what had been happening, and had even been participating on a more active level. Although she only did some research here and there, her sharp wit and general knowledge of… well, everything…guaranteed that she would very gradually become an important member of the Order.
But what worried her right now was Oliver, who was both uncleared and a civilian, albeit a very strong, broad shouldered civilian…
The usual gasp at the mention of Voldemort did not emit from him, and he was now staring at her more seriously than ever before, as if realizing for the first time her intelligence and wit. Now it was no longer a gaze from teacher and pupil, but from equal to equal. And Hermione was slightly nervous.
Hermione shifted nervously, and opened her mouth to say something… anything… but Oliver interrupted her.
"You might want to be more careful from now on, Miss Granger. Too much information can be dangerous."
He was no longer laughing; his eyes were deadly serious. Hermione felt her stomach begins to twist, and she began to sweat a little. Oh boy… she'd have to clear this with Shacklebolt… She was wide awake now, but desperately wished for the peacefulness of a full stomach, drowsy eyes, and quiet night in the library.
"So," said Oliver again, clapping his hands. The tense atmosphere seemed to lift, and Hermione had a grudging admiration for his ability to change the subject so easily.
"I have a text about Occlumency, if you want to read it. By Cassandra Blankenship, limited edition. You can stop by later tonight or tomorrow, if you want…"
"Ummm… sure," Hermione said, her eyes widening slightly. "Blankenship? Limited edition?"
Oliver nodded.
"But that's really rare… and really, really useful… are you sure?"
Oliver flashed a smile, and yet it didn't quite reach his eyes again. "Sure, why not?"
Hermione's mind was whirring… the fact that Oliver had a copy of Cassandra Blankenship's Occlumency text in itself was amazing, as there were only fifty-two copies printed in the entire world, and the copyright was strictly enforced. But the fact that Oliver seemed so willing to lend it to her was pretty incredible…
"Alright, then," Hermione said, a slight smile. She was still slightly amazed that Oliver was still around talking to her. "I'll drop by tomorrow morning, ok?"
"Sure," Oliver said. "I'll see you later, Miss Granger." He grinned wryly at her, and turned his broad shoulders to her, alternately shifting a heavy, leather bound book out of her sight.
As Hermione watched Oliver's retreating back (he stopped briefly to confer with Madam Pince, and Hermione had a chance to admire his nice profile), she wondered if he knew how much he was vexing her… she didn't even know why he irritated her… and if he knew, how much he was enjoying it.
Yet Hermione couldn't help but smile as she returned to her parchments.
* * * *A/N: Please e-mail me if you have any questions, comments, or if you just want to talk. If you would like personal replies to your comments, then e-mail me, because it gets rather tedious to do it in the story. (And if you want to be notified when I update… well, you know the routine. E-mail : ) )But thank you to my WONDERFUL readers! I love you guys!
Shout outs to
Tracy 3- Thank you! I'll try to update as fast as possible.
L'eau Goddess- Another wonderful review! You are so awesome, a lot of hugs to you! : )
queenofdiamonds1- Yeah, I'm trying to make Oliver suffer : ) J/K… but some angst can do a story good, you know?
sillylittleme- Thank you! I LOVE O/He too, and it's so fun to write about them.
Monkeystaz- Lol thanks! I'll try to get Chapter 5 up as soon as I can!
Nevtassere- I have a good idea in mind concerning the "blond-haired girl". I hope you like it… (btw, love your We're Coming Too fic!)
BotherBother69- Thank you! I hope you like the rest of the chapter.
grahamcrackers- Thank you! Your reviews are wonderful
odyssey1- Thank you! I LOVE your O/He story (as you already know ) and a compliment from such a good writer as you is a good compliment indeed. Oliver's knowledge of DADA and Moody will be revealed soon… I hope…
Athene Saile- Hmm… not related, but that is a good idea… thanks for reading!
Wiffy- I hope you start liking the pair! Thanks for reading.