A/N: Here is an interlude in which Hermione reflects on things during a pleasant summer afternoon. Hope you all like it.
totallystellar: You don't like Ron much? I find that incomprehensible but I know you're not the only one who feels that way. Fred and George are an absolute gold mine for a writer.
Phoenixtearsp322: Hee! I'm really glad you liked the Weasley interactions. They are so much fun to write about!
chuckleseviltroll312: This is kind of therapeutic for me. It's really refreshing to write from another person's POV other than Harry, at least every now and then.
Danae: Hooray for Fred and George! My favorite lines in any of the five books are theirs, from Azkaban. The whole "really corking, absolutely spiffing" thing gets me in stitches every time. I just LOVE it.
weirdsister: Well, I think I'll leave these chapters where they are instead of putting them into Guardians, but that's why I made this in the first place. :-) But yes, you can see them as "missing chapters" that are just from other characters' POV.
Rob: You are right – I had forgotten all about poor Frank Bryce. Sorry I haven't worked on this in so long. I just got so sucked up in the main story that this got left behind, but it wasn't forgotten.
Four: Rogue Thoughts (Hermione Granger)
"Come on, Hermione! Are you sure you don't want to play? You can be Beater – it's the easiest position there is," Ron wheedled.
"Do Fred and George know you feel that way?" said Harry with a grin. He and Ron were standing just inside the doorway to the library, decked out in gantlets, elbow pads, and shin guards. Both of them were holding broomsticks; Harry had his sleek, dangerous-looking Firebolt while Ron was borrowing Bellaton's Zephyr.
"Sorry, but I'm going to pass," said Hermione.
"Again?" said Ron. "Who needs books when there's Quidditch to play?"
"Who needs Quidditch when there's so much to read?" Hermione retorted.
"Come on Harry, help me convince her!"
Harry shook his head. "No way am I getting into it. You two do very well by yourselves, thank you."
"Look, I'll come outside and watch," said Hermione. That should be a fair compromise, she thought. Actually, it is a beautiful day. Sitting in the sun might be nice.
"Well... all right," said Ron. He jabbed a finger in her direction. "But next time you're playing!"
Hermione shook her head as they left. Ron always thought that a compromise meant he was winning when it really meant that both parties had given up ground.
She turned her attention back to the entrancing sight before her. The moment she had first seen the library, she had fallen in love. The ceiling was twenty-five feet high, and dark wooden bookshelves lined every inch, save where there were windows. Those windows were some of the best things about the room; libraries didn't have to be musty and dim, but far too often they were. One wheeled ladder stood ready for use on each side of the room, which could glide down the whole length of the wall. More bookshelves were neatly arranged in the center of the room, though none were as tall as those against the sides. Wine-red velvety armchairs were placed here and there, some with ottomans to soothe tired feet. Even the floor was beautiful, worked in a tile mosaic of the nine muses.
As lovely as it was, all of it would have been nothing more than just another beautiful room were it not for the books. The books! Thousands of them filled the shelves. They came in every size, shape, and color, and not a single one was dusty. This was just the sort of room Hermione dreamed about having in her own home someday - clean, comfortable, and above all, bursting with books. Hermione loved the smell of the leather and old parchment. The idea that so much knowledge was right there at her fingertips, just waiting to be discovered, was intoxicating.
It took Hermione a moment to remember the spot where she had left off. Professor Bellaton had recommended that she take a look at Magical Music by Carmen Churchill to learn more about Singers, but she had come across so many other fascinating titles during her search that she hadn't found it yet. Today she intended to rectify that. No matter what caught her eye, she wouldn't pick it up.
Hermione climbed halfway up one of the wheeled ladders and gave herself a push off of a shelf. The ladder slid across the tiled floor, crossing Calliope's face and passing two tall windows as if it touched nothing but air. Hermione surreptitiously glanced around to make sure no one was watching and gave herself a push back in the other direction. She laughed aloud as the air breezed through her hair. She would rather die than let Harry or Ron see her do such a childish thing – they would never let her hear the end of it, not for the rest of her life – but it really was fun. She slid to a stop right in front of her old place. She climbed up a few rungs and peered over at the leatherbound spines.
Great Occlumens of Modern Times. The Labyrinth of the Mind. Legilimency: Blessing or Curse? The Mental Watchtower. Thought Thieves.
"Wrong place," Hermione murmured. Those were all about Legilimency and Occlumency, two branches of magic that she knew were related. Another time she would gladly curl up with any of them, but she was going to stick to the plan. Singers first. She climbed further up and tried again.
The Battle of Bishop's Lynn. Enchanted Compositions. The Forbidden Talent. Magical Music.
"There you are," said Hermione, pulling the book from the shelf. As she looked up from the book she found herself catching a glimpse of the Quidditch game through the window on her right. Not forgetting her promise to Ron, she climbed down from the ladder and hurried out of the library.
The game was being played on the east side of the house. Hermione sat down in front of a large oak tree and leaned back against the trunk to watch, her book momentarily closed.
Sirius was the only beater, and he didn't seem to be on either team, as he was taking aim at just about everybody. Lupin and Professor Thornby were the Chasers, Harry was the Seeker, and Ron and Bellaton were Keepers. Ron's choice of position was no surprise to Hermione. Ever since they had first come to Alverbrooke, he had been taking advice from the older man, who had been Keeper for Gryffindor in his own days at school. Ron hadn't said anything yet, but Hermione was sure that he was going to try out for the team this year. She silently willed him to learn everything he could; he loved to play, and making the team would give his self-confidence a huge boost. He was always in Harry's shadow and even though Harry was as humble as could be, considering his fame, it still had to be a difficult place to be.
Harry. Hermione worried about him so much that she felt like she was turning into his mother. She hoped he wasn't still feeling guilty over Cedric's death, though she couldn't blame him if he was. She fervently hoped that she would never have to go through anything so horrible as that.
Harry was a magnet for trouble. When she'd gotten his cryptic letter just two weeks ago, she knew something big had happened, but whatever it was was over by the time Harry wrote. She'd written back with forced cheerfulness, just in case things hadn't been as peachy as Harry had said. Then Dumbledore had shown up at her parents' house out of the blue and taken all of them to the Burrow. Hermione had never been there before, but she had been too worried about her friend to be properly interested. When Dumbledore had told them all what happened, Hermione had nearly cried. The headmaster minced no words and told them that it had been a very close call indeed.
Hermione wished more than anything else that they all could have lived in more peaceful times. She had never had two friends like Harry and Ron before, and they had nearly lost one of their number so many times that she was beginning to lose count. Hermione didn't think she could bear it if she lost either of her friends. They had been through so much together and grown so close-knit that she couldn't imagine life without them.
"Nice save, Ron!" shouted Bellaton as Ron blocked one of Lupin's shots. Ron grinned and tossed the Quaffle back to Professor Thornby, who swerved around Lupin and headed back for the other goal.
Ron IS getting better, Hermione thought as she watched. She didn't care much for flying herself, but after observing dozens of team practices and matches, she was developing something of an eye for talent. Ron's reflexes were certainly improving, and he was learning how to cover all three hoops at the same time.
Harry suddenly dropped toward the earth like a stone. Hermione squeaked and covered her eyes with her hands; no matter how many times she had seen him do it before, that sort of thing always set her heart pounding. There was a loud CRACK as Sirius' club made contact with a Bludger, and Harry was forced to swerve out of its way.
"Ha ha!" Sirius crowed. "You're going to have to be faster than that if you want to catch the Snitch!"
"Just you wait," Harry shouted.
"If I'm as good as I think I am, I'll be waiting all day," Sirius shouted back.
Hermione smiled. At carefree times like these, it seemed hard to believe that she and her friends were inexorably approaching adulthood. Every now and then she would remember that she and Ron would come of age in a little over two years. It would be less than that for Harry, who was already fifteen and looking it. He wasn't skinny like a rake any longer. Quidditch had put a little muscle on his arms, and all his practice with the quarterstaff was surely helping too. Put that together with his jet-black mop of hair and bright green eyes, and he really wasn't unpleasant to look at.
Harry wasn't the only one who had changed. Ron had done a lot of growing up over the last year, literally and figuratively. Sometime in the last few months he'd shot up like a weed and now he was even taller than Harry. Hermione held her book close to her chest and considered Ron carefully. His own bright red hair made him stand out in any crowd, and he had very cute freckles and beautiful brown eyes...
Beautiful brown eyes? Where on earth did THAT come from? Hermione thought in amazement. Of course she was always very aware that both of her two best friends were boys, and she'd always thought that Ron's freckles were sweet, but she'd never really assessed them this way before. She'd always figured that Harry would grow up to be good looking. He could hardly help it with the striking contrast between his hair and eyes, but when it came to Ron and those mischievous freckles...
Stop thinking about the freckles! Why was she even dwelling on Ron like this? It was disconcerting.
Ron suddenly looked down at the oak tree where Hermione was sitting. He blinked in surprise, stared at her staring at him, and then –
"Watch out, Ron!" Sirius shouted.
Ron snapped back to attention, and WHAM! The Bludger slammed right into his stomach. Hermione yelped in surprise and Ron doubled over on his broomstick, wheezing.
The game immediately halted and everyone swarmed around Ron. "Are you all right?" said Harry.
"Huh," said Ron, nodding his head, though he looked anything but fine. "Huh."
"I think that's a yes," said Lupin.
Bellaton shook his head. "Get distracted like that and you'll be beaten to a bloody pulp." He looked down at Hermione and flashed her a big, white grin. Hermione blushed and clutched her book a little closer.
Ron coughed. "Won't... happen... again."
Harry was entirely focused on Ron, but the four adults were looking down at Hermione. Sirius was grinning as broadly as Bellaton was, while Lupin and Professor Thornby wore little knowing smiles. Hermione wanted to smack all of them. They didn't know as much as they thought they did! She haughtily lifted her chin, opened her book, and stared defiantly at the page in front of her though she wasn't really seeing it. After a minute she looked back up. Ron seemed to be recovering.
"Your book is upside-down," Professor Thornby's voice whispered in her ear. Hermione jumped and looked around, but Harry's guardian was still hovering in the air at least twenty feet away. There was no way she could have been right next to Hermione a moment ago. Professor Thornby casually winked at her, pocketed her wand, and turned away.
The game was resuming. When no one was looking, Hermione quickly turned the book over. She looked back at the others and caught Ron's eye. He grinned sheepishly and refocused on Lupin, who was heading straight for him with the Quaffle.
No one was watching Hermione any more. She sighed with relief and turned to the first page of Magical Music, really starting to read this time. Losing herself in a book would be the perfect balm for her acute embarrassment. Her last thought before being swept away was that from then on, she should try not to notice anybody's freckles.