Smile like you mean it- "Smile Like You Mean It" The Killers
Yay good music! Okay anyways...
Oy, I finally have this chapter finished! It's a little longer (aren't you proud?) but quite uneventful. But of course, an uneventful chapter serves to set up for an eventful chapter, so I'm sure you'll forgive me.
Oh it's the weekend, and I'm terribly terribly grateful. (Sigh) This school year, I swear. My social life has completely disintergrated thanks to a wonderful thing I'd like to call SCHOOL. Hip hip hooray. Anyways, yesterday was a lovely Friday afternoon and my friends and I spent it at the library. Actually, it turned out to be quite fun, because I love the main library in our city. Honestly, it's so beautiful and brand spiffin' new! Eight stories (drools), lots of glass, escalators, and elevators, wonderfully new computers, several study rooms on each floor- in short, we were in heaven. Alas, I could not just wander the library in awe; I actually had to get some work done.
Okay, ahem. Back to the business at hand then. Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews and to all those people who supported me when I was stressed out and slightly hysterical. I'm doing much better now, thank you (it's a three day weekend! Three days until I return to the evils of my school!) You guys are the best! Kisses!
Thank you to: Siriusly-0bsessed, Brown Pryde, Sabine Strohem-Moss, Rebekahek623, OExpecto PatronumO, Annmarie Aspasia, Tru Lys, Chantal J, elvengirl9, Death Immortalitis, Alexandrea, kendra is cheese, catherine, Sinful Colors, and She-Who-Snogs-Weasley-Boys.
SnakeEyesHannah: Aww, thank you for your sweet review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter... Anyways, there's more to come in the following chapters, and I hope you stay with this story. Your reviews always make me smile, although (snickers) I can't quite believe that you called them "Lav and Pav" either.
Kingmaker: Okay, so my little mini meltdown is over now, thanks! I'm happy to say that I simply don't care about silly little rivalries and stuff anymore (and boys are stupid anyway... no offense D). Anyways, thank you for your review. Hey! What's wrong with a Barney/HP crossover, eh?! Haha, kidding. Even though I was quite the Barney fan when I was four... Anyways, more fun stuff on the way!
AmyChris: Oh thank you for your sweet review! It made me feel so much better... I'm so glad you think my plot is original... it's always so hard to write a fluffy fic that isn't incredibly cliched. So thank you, and please read!
JamieBell: Haha, it's TRUE. Seniors don't know anything... psshh... A debate on Harry Potter is so worth having. Anyways, hope you like this chapter... it's not an eventful one, but there's more to come in the next chapter. Whoohoo. Thanks for reviewing!
Okay guys, thanks for all of your support. Please read, enjoy, and review!!!
Oh the horrors.
Over the course of a mere two days, the mini-Trelawney in Hermione's head had become increasingly more belligerent. In fact, that aggravating, annoying little voice was piping up regularly now, gleefully cackling in its obnoxious little way about how it had known all along that Hermione was really madly in love with...
Oh Ron...She sighed.
Honestly, thinking about that boy all the time...She brought her hands up to her cheeks, wondering if she was blushing madly. She really envied girls who weren't easily riled by their emotions. Honestly, take a look at Ginny Weasley! She was so unaffected by people teasing her...
Hermione flopped onto her bed, pulling out her diary and a quill. She had begun to write in it again, and much to her dismay, the entries had once again become filled with ramblings about a certain redheaded wizard.
And she had considered herself mature.
With a sigh of resignation, she flipped open to a creamy white page and began to write in her neat, even handwriting.
Dear Diary,
Well, I'm terribly confused again. Sometimes, Diary, I think I'm going mad. It's all the fault of that insane Divination teacher. Honestly, first she tries to teach me absolute nonsense and then she makes up some ridiculous story about how Ron and I are meant for each other.
I don't fancy Ron Weasley... I really don't!Oh honestly. Who am I fooling? Maybe, just maybe I rather fancy him just a little bit. But I'm certain that I'm not that deeply affected by my little crush as to subconsciously write little notes about us on the margin of my Potions homework. Right?
Anyways, besides my confusion about my feelings for Ron at the moment, there's more going on. My fellow Gryffindors have been acting rather oddly lately... Parvati and Lavender have been shooting me furtive glances from every corner. It's actually getting to be rather irksome. I do wonder what's going on?
Yours,
Hermione
Signing her name with a flourish, Hermione closed her diary and muttered a spell to lock it. Grabbing her book bag from the floor beside her bed and shouldering it, she paused for a moment, contemplating.
It was a Saturday morning, and Ron and Harry were off practicing Quidditch... That wasn't the sort of thing she was interested in, so she'd just have to find something else to do with her time? The library, perhaps? She had a Charms essay due in two weeks, and she really wanted to get a head start with that research.
Yes, she decided. I'll have a productive little morning in the library.
And so with a self-satisfied little smile, she made her way towards the door to leave the girls dormitory.
At that moment, Ginny burst into the dormitory with two other girls of her year chattering loudly. Hermione frowned to herself as she tried to remember their names (Ella? Meredith?). The girls dispersed to the other end of the room, apparently set on mingling with other girls in the room. Ginny, on the other hand, glanced about casually, wondering what to do now.
She stopped when she noticed Hermione with her book bag. "Oh Hermione," she groaned loudly, rolling her eyes. "You're not seriously going to study today, are you?"
In response, Hermione frowned, biting her lip. "Well," she replied defensively, clutching her book bag closer. "I really have to start on my Charms essay... and I think I have a Transfiguration assignment due in a month or so too, and I really do want to get started on all of that..."
With a loud, exaggerated groan, Ginny launched herself at Hermione and wrenched her book bag away. Hermione squeaked in surprise and indignation as she suddenly found her book bag (with her precious books, and assignments, and oh gods her diary) pulled away from her and tossed rather unceremoniously under her bed. "You're not allowed to touch it," Ginny commanded sternly to a protesting Hermione. "No schoolwork today, Hermione."
Hermione looked at the floor dolefully. The strap of her book bag showed from under the bed, and she sighed sadly as she gazed at it. Her dear, faithful book bag. What had it ever done to warrant Ginny's wrath?
"You're going to spend the day with me," Ginny declared enthusiastically, plopping herself onto Hermione's bed with a grin. "We'll do random things that you generally dub as useless," she giggled as she mimicked Hermione with a toss of her hair, "and I promise we'll have fun. Honestly Hermione, even you have to get tired of homework once in a while. It's terribly dull, you know."
Hermione bit her lip again. "But my Charms homework," she began weakly, nudging the strap of her book bag with a toe.
Ignoring Hermione's longing looks towards her book bag, Ginny promptly grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the dormitory, far too quickly for Hermione to even think about grabbing her book bag.
"But, but," Hermione huffed indignantly as she was pulled into the Common Room. "I didn't even have time to check over my assignments for my other classes! And you could've at least let me grab my Charms book, and my Transfiguration work could've used a bit of work as well..."
Ginny cut her off with a roll of her eyes as she purposely walked towards the doorway. "Oh Hermione," she sighed, stepping out through the portrait hole and into the hallway, "you really need to get out more."
Tentatively following Ginny down the hall, Hermione sighed as she resigned to the fact that she probably wasn't going to get much work done this morning. Ginny skipped lightly down the hall, chattering loudly as she stopped every once in a while to make sure that Hermione had not snuck off and buried herself enthusiastically in a book somewhere.
"So, we'll visit Hagrid first," she chirped cheerily, bound
ing down the hall in spirited leaps, "because I haven't properly visited him in a while, and I'm sure you haven't either. I mean, of course-" she quickly glanced over her shoulder to assure that Hermione was still there, "-we're always in class, but then it's always talk of flobberworms or something."
Stepping outside with Ginny, Hermione breathed in the fresh air as she looked around in surprise. Now that she thought of it, she hadn't been outside in quite a while. All that dust in the library couldn't possibly be great for her health, and she was rather grateful that Ginny had dragged her outside.
Not that she would ever admit it.
Once they reached Hagrid's hut though, the girls were disappointed to find that he was nowhere to be found. Ginny advanced to one of the fenced off areas, giving an excited squeal when she found a lone unicorn there.
"It's gorgeous," she whispered in awe, cautiously patting the creature's head.
Hermione nodded in agreement as she glanced around. "I wonder where Hagrid could've gone?" she wondered aloud.
Ginny turned around to give her a mischievous grin. "I know," she whispered with a wink. "Honestly Hermione," she teased, "you don't get out enough to know anything that's going on, eh?"
Before Hermione could open her mouth to retort, Ginny had continued with a wave of her hand.
"Oh come on, you didn't know that Hagrid and Madame Maxime were dating?"
The look of shock on Hermione's face said that no, she had not.
"What?" she managed to choke out as she regained use of her vocal chords. "Since when?"
Ginny responded with a giggle. "Oh since forever. Over half a year, I'd say. I'm surprised that he never told you," she feigned a look of surprise, but her gloating little grin returned in a moment. "I told you that you don't get out enough."
Hermione huffed and turned red. "Oh," she tried to defend herself, "I really don't care about all the gossip at this school anyway. It's far more productive to learn about Charms and..."
Ginny rolled her eyes and gave a loud dramatic sigh of exasperation. "Oh dear," she muttered. "You're hopeless."
She tugged Hermione back inside after giving the unicorn one last pat on the head. "Well, since Hagrid isn't home, we'll have to find something else to do, won't we?"
On the way back into the castle, Hermione pressed Ginny for details about Hagrid and Madame Maxime's relationship.
"Are you serious?" she repeated for the third time.
"Yes," Ginny groaned good-naturedly. "For god's sake, Hermione, everyone knows. You could even ask Snape about it and he wouldn't be surprised at all."
Hermione fell into a pensive silence.
Hagrid and Madame Maxime!She couldn't help but feel a bit hurt that he'd never told her.
And Harry and Ron must have known and they never told me! She thought indignantly.
Those boys... she was going to strangle them when they came back from playing Quidditch.
And with this rather satisfying thought in mind, she followed Ginny back to the Gryffindor girls dormitory. Ginny ran over to her bed and pulled out clothes from the dresser beside her bed. "I need something warm," she mumbled to herself as she dug through the drawers.
Hermione tried not to wrinkle her nose disapprovingly as Ginny pulled out articles of clothing and tossed them messily onto her bed, or heaven forbid onto her floor. It took all of her willpower not to reach over and neatly fold each piece of clothing.
Finally, she could take it no more. Glancing over Ginny's shoulder, she asked before she could stop herself, "You don't organize your clothing by color?"
Ginny wasn't at all embarrassed. "And you do?" she retorted, raising an eyebrow questioningly.
Hermione decided that it would be better not to respond to that.
Oh so what if I have my socks color coordinated and separated into different sections of the drawer?
Ginny looked up, having grabbed a burgundy and gold sweater (it practically screamed Gryffindor pride) and pulling it over her head. She then proceeded to wrap a scarf around her neck and pull on a pair of matching gloved. "Now for you," she said to Hermione, marching over to Hermione's bed.
Hermione opened her mouth to say something about the terrible mess that Ginny had left on her floor and on her bed, but decided not to as she simply followed the other girl.
Lord knows what she has planned.
Reaching over to pull open Hermione's dresser drawers, Ginny began her rummaging, much to Hermione's dismay.
My neat, organized clothes! She thought in anguish as Ginny dug through the drawer with relish.
"Aha!" The redheaded girl grinned triumphantly as she pulled out a navy blue knitted sweater, scarf and gloves. "The color's a bit drab," she remarked, "but you just need to be warm."
She threw the clothes at Hermione expectantly.
As Hermione pulled the sweater over her head, she asked in a muffled voice, "What are we going to do?"
By the time she had completely pulled on all the warm clothes, Ginny was already at the door waiting.
"Why," she responded with an impish twinkle in her eye. "We're going to go flying of course."
And with that, she strode out of the room, leaving a horrified Hermione to gape at the door.
"No, no, no," she squeaked, running over to catch up with her friend once she had recovered from her shock. "You don't understand," she pleaded desperately. "I don't fly. I just don't. At all."
Ginny ignored her pleas, waving a hand dismissively. "Don't be silly," she responded as they walked outside. She turned towards the broom shed, where school brooms were kept for students to borrow. Opening the door, she paused for a moment, assessing the brooms with a small frown. "Here," she grabbed two, handing one to a still-protesting Hermione. "It'll be fun," she assured. "I promise!"
And so Hermione trudged after Ginny onto the Quidditch field, thinking all along the way about the many different ways she could die while at the mercy of a broomstick.
Once they had reached the field, Hermione looked up to find her two best friends zooming about on their broomsticks.
Harry paused on his broomstick, glancing down at the girls in surprise. "Ginny! Hermione!" he called out in greeting. "What are you doing here?"
Ginny mounted her broomstick with a grin, lifting her chin up to stare him in the eye. "What do you think?" she asked challengingly.
He rolled his eyes, chuckling at her good-naturedly. "Well, I would've expected you here, but what's Hermione doing here?" He motioned towards the frizzy-haired girl clutching her broomstick worriedly.
"Oh, she's going to fly with us," Ginny grinned, earning a shriek of dissent from Hermione.
By this time, Ron had stopped flying about as well, and he regarded the girls doubtfully. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Hermione? Flying? I don't know..."
At this, Hermione huffed indignantly, looking up to glare at him. "Of course I can fly, Ron," she snapped angrily. "Don't underestimate me. I'll show you, Ronald Weasley, that I can fly just as well as you can."
And as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized the idiotic mistake she had just made.
Oh drat.