Here is the beginning of my new story, so I hope ya'll enjoy!
Thank you to all of you who reviewed my last story, "Summer at the Burrow". It was much appreciated!
Special thanks to Leoking- for your super long review, which I absolutely loved, and to Click La Magnifique for translating my story into French. You are both too cool.
Well, this one goes out to all you Ron/Hermione lovers!
If someone had told her that she'd one day come back here again, and willingly at that, she would've recommended said person to St. Mungo's in a heartbeat. Or at the very least, she would've rolled her eyes and flounced away, not even bothering to say how ridiculous that was.
Actually, she had a tendency to do that a lot.
But never mind that, because the fact was, she had been wrong.
And she hated it, absolutely hated the fact that right now, she, Hermione Granger, who believed in reason above all things, was heading for loony Trelawney, oh wait, I'm sorry, Professor Trelawney's room.
Oh yes, she could just imagine the looks on Harry and Ron's faces if they found out.
Goodness, they'd never let her forget it.
Especially Ron.
That prat would probably still be making jokes about it fifty years from now. She could imagine it, both of them toothless and wrinkled, sitting in the Great Hall for their school reunion. And Ron would turn over and whack the table delightedly with his walking stick, chortling as he poked fun at her. "Do you remember how you actually started believing in that Divination nonsense during sixth year and you went to talk to Trelawney? Huh, 'Mione? Huh?"
Oh, that was a horrifying thought.
She blamed it all on her curiosity.
Really, it was only because she was curious that she was able to excel in school, and also go on those preposterously dangerous adventures with Harry and Ron. Not that she didn't love those adventures, mind you. But this time, her curiosity hadn't been a good thing.
Earlier that day, she had been sitting in the Common Room, perusing through her Charms book, which was really not an unusual event. Parvati and Lavender, nearby, had been chattering away happily, which was also not unusual.
"You know, class today was absolutely wonderful!" Lavender gushed.
"I know! I always look forward to seeing what Professor Trelawney has to say. She's really got a gift," Parvati agreed, sounding awestruck.
Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes and stared pointedly at her book, trying to ignore the present conversation.
"Yeah, she really does make some brilliant predictions, doesn't she?"
"Like a few weeks back," Parvati shared eagerly, "She predicted that my grandmother was going to fall off our roof and land on our lawn ornaments and break her hip for the third time."
Hermione raised an eyebrow. Trelawney had predicted all of that?
Lavender seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Really?" she asked, awed. "She really said that?"
"Well," Parvati explained, "She actually told me that misfortune was going to befall my family, but that's obviously what she was referring. Pretty amazing, don't you think?"
Must not bang head against table in frustration...
Hermione groaned. Really, she had expected more from those two!
She purposely turned back to her book, sighing as she realized that she had been reading the same sentence over and over again for the past five minutes.
"...Anyway, did you hear what she said about Hermione?"
And here, she could not help but notice the furtive glances that the two girls sent in her direction. She purposely avoided eye contact, opting instead to flip the page casually, even though she hadn't read through the previous page yet.
Although she'd never admit it, she was secretly waiting for them to say exactly what that old bat had said about her. Parvati and Lavender were talkative girls, she reasoned. Sooner or later they'd burst out with that little tidbit of information, and then she could go back to work.
But much to her dismay, it happened to be the one time the two had ever stopped chattering in the six years since she had met them. Rather than continuing with the conversation, they lapsed into a thoughtful silence and turned back to their Divination homework, scribbling out charts of planet alignment or some nonsense of the sort.
Huffing, she had turned back to her book, her thoughts, for some reason, drifting to a certain bug-eyed professor. She inwardly cursed (something that she would never dare do in public; imagine what it could do to tarnish her reputation!).
And so, because she was insanely curious as to what exactly that lunatic who was, as she liked to put it, "a few bites short of a poptart" knew about her, she had abruptly stood up and strode out of the Common Room and into the hallway, unfortunately leaving just before Parvati said, without her there to hear, "Yeah, what she said about Hermione's hair being the product of evil spririts makes sense, I suppose, because you see..." and they returned to their planetary charts.
...Now here she was, standing outside of Trelawney's classroom, knocking tentatively on the door.
For a moment, she seriously considered just turning back and returning to her Charms book, which was a far safer thing to do.
But she didn't get the chance to do so, because at that moment, Trelawney softly called from within. "Please, do come in."
"Hi," Hermione greeted her former teacher rather awkwardly as she stepped inside, standing at the fringe of the room biting her lip nervously.
Trelawney looked up serenely from a pile of cushions, where she had obviously been napping previously. Completely oblivious to her rumpled hair and glasses askew, she smiled, nodding knowingly. "Ah, I knew you would come."
Hermione snorted, immediately regretting having come up here. To think, she had actually believed the possibility that this woman could know something about her! How absolutely ridiculous she had been.
Before she could open her mouth to mumble a quick, "Never mind," Trelawney had rushed to her side (surprisingly quick for a woman whose goal in life was to appear as if she floated on air) and grabbed her arm, much to Hermione's distress.
"My dear," the woman said urgently, guiding her towards a nearby table, "There are things in your life that must be explained to you." And with that, she closed her eyes and began mumbling words that Hermione could barely catch. She distinctly heard the words, "peanut butter and frog," but she couldn't be too sure.
"My dear," Trelawney opened her eyes and solemnly stared at her, "I know what you came here for."
Hermione raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You do?"
Nodding fervently, Trelawney rose, brushing her long, delicate fingers against a row of dusty teacups lined up on a shelf. Pausing for a moment, she grabbed a green one (apparently, she had bought new ones) and brought it over to Hermione.
"These tea leaves hold the answers to your," she paused dramatically, taking in a deep breath, "Dilemma."
Resisting the urge to bang her head on the table and wail, "Why, why, why did I put myself through this?!", Hermione sighed in resignation and decided to humor the woman. "And what," she inquired, forcing an interested expression, "Would that dilemma be?"
Trelawney's eyes sparkled in joy as she waved her hands over the teacup, closing her eyes for effect. She even began humming in the way that witch doctors did in those cheesy low-budget Muggle horror movies.
Hermione didn't know whether to be horrified or amused. So she opted just to sit patiently and wait for Trelawney to finish her, erm, impressive display of talents.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity (or at least the period of time it took to write four extra credit essays, which she could've been doing during this time!), Trelawney opened her eyes and drew a deep shuddering breath.
Or at least it would have been had Trelawney not suffered from a sudden coughing fit.
Watching Trelawney hack and cough violently, her eyes popping out even more than usual was, although she'd never admit it, one of the most satisfying moments of Hermione's life. In fact, she could barely stop the corners of her mouth from twitching upwards in glee. "Are you alright, Professor?" she asked, trying her best to sound genuinely concerned.
Nodding, the woman straightened up as she tried to salvage what little dignity she had left. "Why yes," she replied, giving Hermione a reassuring smile, "I certainly foresaw that."
Hermione was unconvinced, but she decided not to mention it. Instead, she frowned slightly, asking rather callously, "So what was my big dilemma again?"
Trelawney blinked, looking a bit disoriented. "Oh, right," she said, losing her airy tone for a moment. But she resumed it after a moment to say; "You are obviously searching, searching, searching, searching and searching desperately... for love!"
And here it was Hermione's turn to cough violently. "What?" she asked, unable to keep the incredulity out of her voice, "You're not actually serious, are you?"
"I am indeed serious," Trelawney replied, a hint of annoyance in her tone, "You came here seeking my aid."
"I-" Hermione opened her mouth, fully intending on protesting vehemently, but closed it again and simply turned around, clearly frustrated. "You know," she muttered, disappointed that she had ever decided to waste her time by going back to this classroom, "I think I'm going to leave."
She was halfway to the door when a thin, bony hand shot out of nowhere and grabbed her shoulder. Yelping, she turned around to look into the abnormally large eyes of Trelawney.
For such a fragile looking woman, she sure had a strong grip.
"You cannot leave," the woman insisted urgently, "Not until you hear of what your future holds!"
Tensing as she was guided back to the table, Hermione couldn't help but feel as if the old bat was trying to hold her captive. Imagine, being kidnapped and stored away in a room filled with multi-colored teacups and crystal balls. She couldn't help but snort at the thought.
Trelawney shoved Hermione back down into her seat and sat down across from her, now gripping her wrist. "Now what did you want to know again, my dear?"
"I wanted to leave," Hermione reminded her, trying ineffectively to free her wrist, "So if you'll excuse me..."
But apparently, having already let this particular student slip through her fingers once, Trelawney was not willing to let Hermione go again. Instead, she tightened her grip on the girl's wrist, leaning across the table and gazing at her solemnly. "Your love life, my dear, your love life!" she whispered, her tone urgent.
Hermione rolled her eyes. Apparently, this was how the loony old woman convinced students of her "powers", and quite honestly, Hermione was unimpressed. In fact, she couldn't really care less what Trelawney had to say. "Yes," she sighed, slumping her shoulders in a bored fashion, "And what do you have to say about my love life?"
The corners of Trelawney's mouth turned downwards in a frown as the girl before her sighed again in boredom. She couldn't possibly understand how the girl could still be so, so disbelieving after all of this! Well, that mattered very little. Soon, Trelawney vowed, soon the girl would believe. This, after all, was her big chance! The ideal time to prove to the girl that seeing the future was indeed possible!
So rather than give up, Trelawney continued with greater vigor.
"YOU!" she shouted, standing up excitedly, pointing a quivering finger at a very surprised Hermione. "You will fall in love soon! Yes, you will!"
"Umm," Hermione stared at the woman, standing before her with a maniacal grin on her face. She quickly decided that it would be best not to agitate the woman any further, as one could never predict what that insane bat could do. "Alright then. If you say so, Professor."
She believes! She believes! She believes!
Trelawney was ecstatic, to say the least. Her most difficult student of all time was finally on the verge of crossing over into the world of Divination lovers! She could push this girl through; she could help her to embrace the fine art!
"Yes!" she continued, shaking from excitement. "Yes! You will fall in love with one near to you!"
Hermione nodded, trying to look earnest.
"Why yes, Professor," she assured the woman, who was now... vibrating? How bizarre. "Continue. Tell me exactly who I'll fall in love with."
Of course, being the rational girl that she was, Hermione just knew that this was the way to get out quickly. She would humor the woman, agree with everything she said, and in no time, crazy Trelawney would be satisfied, and she, Hermione, could waltz on out of there, unscathed.
The plan was, as always, absolutely flawless.
That is, until Trelawney opened her stupid mouth and replied.
With a thoughtful look, she peered at Hermione's face and said, quite coolly, "Why that Weasley boy, of course."
Today, Trelawney wasn't feeling particularly receptive to the powers that gave her the answers to the future, so, though she would never admit this, she guessed. And, she thought, she was a pretty darn good guesser.
In a second, Hermione's perfect plan went out the window as she gawked at Trelawney, blushing furiously. "What?" she squeaked, turning an even deeper shade of crimson. "No, I mean, oh, you're obviously wrong. You have no idea what you're talking about," she stood up abruptly, looking around wildly, "I really have to leave now. But you were wrong. You were, yes you were." And so she continued mumbling to herself as she hurriedly walked out the classroom.
Trelawney frowned as she watched the girl leave. "Well," she huffed to herself, a bit offended by the girl's reaction. "Just because I was wrong, she didn't need to have such a fit."