LARGE NOTICE: If you have already read this chapter, I would advise you to reread it again, as I changed it around, and added a lot more detail. I (and my beta) didn't like how the story was turning out, and I felt that my writing was going downhill, so it was necessary to rewrite this chapter, and then chapter 20. I am also revising all of the chapters prior to sixteen, and it would probably be advisable for you to go back and reread those if you have any time. It should be much more readable now.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything that is in this story, except the plot, and any characters that you do not recognize. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling!!!
Yankee Accents
Chapter Sixteen: Geomancy and Hospital Visits
Written By: Auburn Lily
Hermione's feet slapped the stone floors, and echoed off the walls as she ran away from Draco's rooms. She couldn't believe what she had just done. Anxious thoughts were racing across the notebook of her mind as she tore away from the one she loved, and towards the one who loved her. Portraits either exclaimed in loud protest at her speed, or were awakened by her harsh breathing as she whipped around bends in the corridors. Through the windows that faced east Hermione could just see pale pink and lavender streaked clouds snaking across light green and gold sky. In windows facing the west, however, a pale cornflower blue could be seen still marred by a few small white holes that poked through the blue canopy of early morning sky.
Halfway to Harry's rooms, however, she stopped in the middle of a drafty corridor. If she were to walk backwards, taking two lefts and a right, she'd be back in front of Draco's door that he had probably already shut. But if she walked forward, and took a right around a bend, and then followed the corridor all the way down to the end, she would find herself outside Harry's doors.
Hermione was utterly and completely torn. It felt so right to be with Draco, but then again it felt so wrong. She knew she had been over this countless times in her mind, but no matter how many times she searched for the answer, she came out of it none the better.
She slumped over to one of the windows that faced west, and looked outside. The glass windowpanes had been dispelled of by Filch, who was getting mightily old, mind you, and Hermione could feel the cool morning breeze filter through. The window itself didn't look to have been cleaned in ages, however, because grim and mildew was clinging to the cold, rough stone.
Hermione paid no heed, however, and stared out into the morning beauty. Pine and spruce trees brushed the sky, and the few stars still out were reflected in the smooth, glass-like surface of the lake. Cattails and long, itchy looking grass grew from the water's edge and Hermione could just make out the dock and gazebo that sat at the far edge of the lake. The tall mountains that surrounded the castle were speckled with green and brown trees, and Hagrid's hut was spitting smoke and soot into the fresh morning air.
'Hmm,' Hermione thought to herself. 'A nice walk sounds in order.'
A few moments later found Hermione darting down the stone steps of Hogwarts, and into the morning heavy with dew and the honeyed smell of honeysuckles. Vines of them crept up some of the castle walls, and clumps of them hung in the underbrush that clung to the stone. The dirt path that lead down the iron-wrought gates was pebbly and damp from last evenings rain, and the grass of the lawn was laced in cobwebs, which clung to diamond-sized droplets of dew.
Hermione walked across the cold wet grass towards the lake, savoring the peacefulness of the morning. Bird song echoed around the grounds, bouncing off the stonewalls of the castle, and Hermione could see a few deer just at the edge of the forest, their soft brown bodies standing out starkly against the dark, foreboding tones of the forest.
When Hermione reached the lake, she walked around it towards the dock on the other side. Small bugs flitted across the lake's glassy surface, and out in the center, Hermione could see a few of the Giant Squid's tentacles poking through the water. Frogs and other creatures were buried in the underbrush that clung to the embankment. A few cherry blossom trees were planted a few meters away, in front of a broken, wooden fence, in which morning glories thread through and over the wooden beams.
She trudged through the high grasses, clutching her brown jumper more tightly around herself. She could feel her pant legs soaking through from the wetness that the ground shed, but up ahead a few more steps was the dock and gazebo, being shaded from the morning sun by a huge willow. A half sunken boat was tied to the dock, rocking gently with the waves that lapped the support legs.
The gazebo was visited by many Hogwarts students during the school year, especially during spring and autumn. However, due to the early state of day, Hermione was sure enough that the gazebo would be devoid of any other soul.
She walked over the creaking, rotting floorboards, and opened the bitten screen door to reveal a few benches that circled the gazebo, and found a few owls nestled in between the rafters of the structure. A few droppings lay on the ground, accompanied by some tiny skeletons, and Hermione could see how the owls got in and out of the damp room. A few of the screens that surrounded the gazebo were ripped, providing holes wide enough for the owls to come and go as they pleased.
Hermione settled down on a bench closest to the lake water, and felt the cool breezes tickle her face and stir her hair. The owls hooted peacefully overhead, and she assumed they would be leaving soon to fly down the Great Hall for breakfast with their masters. Hermione could hear a flute's notes carried on the wind, and could hear the soft rustling of the forests' trees.
She sighed sadly, and fell asleep on the bench inside the gazebo, silent tear tracks causing hair to stick to her cheeks.
A few hours later found Hermione back inside the castle, showered, and inside Jessa's doorway, asking her to accompany her to St. Mungo's.
"You've never met any of the Weasley's before, and I want you to come visit Molly. She loves having visitors." Hermione explained to a lounging Jessa, who was drinking a martini and reading a book on Geomancy at intervals. She was also chewing a huge wad of gum (she had recently become very attached to Droobles) in her mouth very loudly and obnoxiously; when she blew a bubble, it was larger than her head.
"I don't think there's anything important that I was hoping to do," Jessa replied. "Sure, I'll go. Lemme just nip upstairs to get my jumper and purse."
"Take your time," Hermione answered nonchalantly from the doorframe.
Hermione had been in Jessa's personal rooms a few times before, but had never had time to fully observe the room.
Jessa was an avid Quidditch fan, and her favorite team was the Panama Pistols. Many black and gray (as those were the teams colors) posters were tacked to the walls, which were painted a bright orange. The baseboards were painted black. This did nothing for the color scheme of the room; it merely served to make the room appear to wish to emulate an out-of-date Halloween shop.
Many bookshelves lined the walls, stuffed with Divination books (the bulk of which were centered around Geomancy) and some of the more empty shelves were overcrowded with rocks, globes, stacks of maps, small models of terrain, and other tools that may assist in the art form that was Geomancy. A few calendars also lined the walls, each months picture showing a palm being read, or tea leaves being sorted out, or furls of candle smoke being observed, and a few posters depicting the rules and procedures of Feng Shui were nestled in between zooming Quidditch players.
"I'm ready, Hermione," Jessa called, clambering down the steps wearing a neon green jumper, which clashed horridly with her tan skin. In her left hand swung a hot pink handbag. "Could we possibly run by Diagon Alley afterwards?"
"I don't mind. We're going to need to grab some dinner or something anyways," Hermione said, choosing not to comment on Jessa's choice of clothing.
"Good. I need to pick up a few books in Flourish 'N Blotts, and I need to run by the Divination store there. They do have one, right?" Jessa said as they walked out of the room and headed down to outside of the Hogwarts grounds to apparate.
"I'm sure they do. They have tons of stores there."
A few moments later they had apparated into dingy, musty-smelling, downtown London and Hermione could hear rat claws scraping on the cement ground as they landed. Muggle trash littered the ground and roads, and Hermione stepped out of the alley that they had apparated into, Jessa following her.
"The entrance is just up here a ways," Hermione said, wiping some rust that had somehow fallen into her hair, and brushing a spider from the front of her jacket.
They walked cautiously past run-down brick buildings with boarded up windows. A few houses stood erect among the rubbish, chimney's gushing smoke towards the sky, and steam spilled from gutters in the ground.
"Metro around here somewhere?" Jessa asked, eyeing one vent.
"Underground," Hermione corrected. "And yes. It runs under London. The hospital is just here," she added, stopping in front of the run-down department store. They didn't really have to be discreet about the whole thing, as most muggles were at work.
"What's this?" Jessa demanded, wrinkling her nose at a smell that was emanating from a nearby trashcan. It smelt of dirty socks and old pizza.
"This is the entrance to St. Mungo's," Hermione replied, and without further ado, turned to the mannequin. "We're here to see Molly Weasley," she told it plainly, and the next moment the mannequin was curling her index finger mechanically, beckoning them forward. "C'mon Jessa," Hermione ordered, pulling her through the glass panes.
After walking through an icy-sheet of water-like material, they found themselves in the welcoming and waiting room, which was stuffed full of people, patients and Healers alike. The patients were milling about, sporting things as little as bloody noses, and things as big as elephant tusks, and Healers were flitting in and out of the way of the patients, who were sitting on plastic blue chairs. The Healers, wearing their lime-green jumpsuits and inkbottle belts, were taking intense notes on brown clipboards, which clung to pieces of parchment that hung all the way down to the ink-splotched floor.
A long queue was forming at the Welcome Desk, where an Hispanic witch helped customers one-by-one. She looked irritated, gesturing to the huge direction sign overhead, probably wondering why it was people couldn't read it themselves. She had closely cropped, dark drown hair, and was waving a dull looking quill around dangerously in one hand.
"I think Mrs. Weasley might've been moved," Hermione said to Jessa. "So, I suppose we should join the line and wait."
Jessa didn't reply, just followed Hermione's lead. She was eyeing the Welcome Witch oddly.
The line moved rather quickly, and soon Hermione and Jessa were next, standing behind a distressed looking woman who was trying to tell an annoyed looking Welcome Witch what had happened with her two sons.
"â€and then Davies, this one right here," the mother was saying, pointing to the taller one who had red hair to match the fire that was spurting out of his mouth. "He attacked my other one," pointing to the smaller boy who was sporting horns nestled into his brown hair.
"Listen lady," the witch behind the desk was saying, waving the quill around again. This time it spurted ink all over the place, spraying a bunch of notes that the Welcome Witch had spread all over her desk. "I don't need a word-by-word run through of what happened, I just need you to tell me what it was that they ate, or what spell it was you were trying to cast, or whatever it was that caused this to happen."
The woman looked positively frightened at being asked to interrogate her sons, but she turned to the younger one anyway.
"Arsen dear, tell mummy what it is that happened," she said in a sugary-sweet voice, turning around to her son, and bending over to question him.
However, Arsen at that point in time did not feel like answering any questions of the sort. Hermione doubted that he could speak at all. Arsen shot fire through his teeth, catching the ends of the woman's short-cropped hair on fire and the woman turned back to the receptionist, a helpless pout on her lips.
"Ma'am," they receptionist tried. "Where's your husband?"
"Work, at the Ministry," the mother replied absentmindedly, trying effortlessly to put out the fire with a simple watering spell.
"Go the fourth floor," the witch ordered, after a few more moments of annoyed observation on her part.
The woman tried her best to make the boys follow her, but than, after several more minutes of plants and other flammable objects being utterly destroyed, including an old portrait of Dilys Derwent, she merely cast a binding spell on them both and proceeded (with quite difficulty, mind you) to make it to the steps.
Hermione stared after the poor woman, not noticing Jessa's complete excitement at addressing the receptionist.
"Luchia Ynfante?" Jessa exclaimed. "Is that you?"
"Yes," Luchia replied coldly. "Hence the name tag."
"Don't you remember me?" Jessa demanded.
Luchia squinted her eyes for a moment, but then shook her head. "Nope, sorry, now what can I help you with?"
"We-" Hermione started, but was cut off by Jessa.
"Jessamine Sanchez," She said. "From Guadahara's? Do you remember now?"
"Jessamine?" Luchia said in disbelieving tones, dropping her professional manner. "Is that really you?"
"Yes, yes," Jessa said excitedly. "Hermione, this is Luchia Ynfante, from Guadahara's!"
"I've heard," Hermione replied icily, sparing a cutting glance at Luchia. "Nice to meet you. Now, Jess-"she tried again, but was interrupted.
"How long have you been working here?"
"A few months," Luchia replied unwaveringly. She glanced at the long queue forming behind Jessa and Hermione, and turned back to the two women. "What is it you need? I have to get to all those customers too, you know."
"Molly Weasley's room number," Hermione demanded, pushing past Jessa's bulk to get a better look at Luchia.
Luchia consulted her notes, and looked back up at Jessa and Hermione with an odd sort of gleam in her eyes. "Room number 313. She has her own personal room now. Third floor."
"Oh, thanks so much Luchia," Jessa exclaimed enthusiastically. "We'll have to get together some time soon to catch up."
"Yes, yes we will," Luchia replied smoothly, staring over the rim of her metallic-rimmed glasses, with her lips twisted in a grotesque manner accentuating the smoke lines etched in around her mouth.
Hermione stared at her for a moment, and then grabbed Jessa's thin wrist, dragging her away up the stairs.
"Aunt Hermione, Aunt Hermione!" Hermione heard as soon as she entered Molly's room. She caught a quick glimpse of the occupants, which included Sinead (who was holding Brina over a swollen tummy), Fred (who was wearing a horrible orange bomber jacket), George (who was wearing an equally horrid magenta jumper), Ginny (who was reading some sordid romance novel that she had probably stolen from the bookshelf in the tea room) and Charlie (who was sitting by Molly's bed with Allyn on his lap) before she was bowled over by three hurtling balls of red hair.
"Hello everyone," Hermione called as she hugged each child in turn. They all stared up at her with big green eyes under light colored eyelashes, smiling broadly. "What are you three smiling about?" she asked curiously.
Siobhan bit her freckled covered lip, and then beckoned for Hermione to lower her ear to her mouth.
"We have a present for you," she whispered.
"Really?" Hermione asked, pulling back with mock-incredulity sketched on her face.
"Yes," Aidan nodded enthusiastically. "Brendan has it."
Hermione looked at Brendan expectantly, and Brendan said, "It's outside in the garden."
"Garden?" Hermione asked confused. "There is no garden here."
"There is!" Brendan said forcefully. "I mean, yes there is." He added meekly. "It's for the sick people if they want to go outside."
"Ahh," Hermione replied, a small smile forming on her face.
"Hermione, don't listen to them," Sinead said from her armchair in the corner. "They just want you to take them for a walk out in the garden. Ron took them once before, but he's not here, and anyways they got into a lot of trouble when they went out there together. You know how bad they can be."
"Aunt Hermione, please?" Siobhan begged, pulling a fat lip and puppy-dog eyes.
"Please, Aunt Hermione?" Brendan begged.
"Maybe later, you three. I'm one tired blighter, that's for sure," Hermione replied, lowering herself into one of the fold-out metal chairs in the room. "Everyone, this is Jessamine Sanchez," Hermione added gesturing to Jessa, who was unfolding a metal chair for herself.
"Hello, everyone," Jessa called brightly before lowering herself down.
"Not British, eh?" Fred said.
"No," Jessa replied. "I came with Hermione from the States."
"Are you teaching at Hogwarts as well?" Sinead asked.
"Yea, actually I am. Albus agreed to introducing a subject called Geomancy at Hogwarts for next term. I'm quite excited about it."
"I've never heard of this before. I'm taking it's some form of Divination. Do they teach that here in Britain anywhere?" SInead asked, turning to Hermione.
"No, they don't," Hermione replied. "What else did they teach at the school that you attended Jessa?"
"Yes, it is a form of divination. Now lets see," Jessa said, twisting her lips up in thought. "Theory of the Dark Arts, Necromancy, Alchemy, Taxonomy, and Latin."
"I wish Hogwarts offered that many subjects," Hermione said wistfully.
"Yes, because all of us in here know that you would have taken all of those classes, and gotten more N.E.W.T.'s than you have now," George said, laughing.
"George, just because my academic transcript is more impressive than your's does not mean that you can crack jokes about it every time the opportunity arises." Hermione argued.
"So, Jessa, explain to us about geomancy," Charlie said, trying to prevent a fight from breaking out.
"Well, by a books definition, it refers to an ancient form of divination, like I said before, in which handfuls of soil or other materials are scattered on the ground or markings are made in the earth or sand to generate a range of dot configurations. A seer then reads these. One must, of course, have an avid understanding of geometry, which will be one of the first things I teach this fall, and divination. I'll also introduce Feng Shui, which is a Chinese-type of geomancy, and Astrological Geomancy, which is probably the most difficult of them all. I'll teach that at the end of the year."
While Jessa explained the mechanics of Geomancy, Hermione observed Mrs. Weasley's new room. It was a much more personal room than the other one had been, with no other patients sharing it. A huge bay window was set into the east wall, with airy, light yellow curtains gathered at the edges. Someone had opened the window, and Hermione could hear some music that sounded as though it was emitting from a Wizarding Wireless a few stories down. Hanging from above the window was a wind chime, which sang softly as a gently breeze filtered through the window, and on the windowsill sat an aloe gel plant and a Venus flytrap, which was currently feasting on a huge cockroach. Next to the window stood a bookshelf, which was stuffed with tons of steamy romance novels written by select witches and wizards. Next to the bookshelf was an overstuffed armchair, which held Sinead and Brina. In between the chair and bookshelf was a small table holding a lit gas lamp.
The rest of the time in St. Mungo's was spent amid meaningless chatter and jokes. Eventually Sinead packed up all her little ones, and they left, and Fred and George left shortly after that, muttering something about their joke shop. Finally, after Charlie bid them good night, Hermione gave Mrs. Weasley a kiss on the cheek, and her and Jessa took their leave.
"I like them a lot," Jeesa said as they departed through the mannequin's window.
"Good," Hermione replied. "Sinead invited me to their house over the summer, and I was hoping you could come and stay with me. I'm sure she won't mind; they all seemed to like you a lot."
"So, how many are in their family, exactly?" Jessa inquired.
"A lot," Hermione replied. "Lets see, Ron's married to Sinead, and they have the five children you saw today, and another one's on the way. Bill's married, the last that I heard, and he has a few kids himself. I've never met them before, though. Charlie's never settled down, he always has a different girlfriend. Percy married some girl from Hogwarts, and they have one child. Then there's Fred and George. George is married, but I don't think that he has any kids, and I don't know if Fred'll ever get married-"
"Okay Hermione, I get the picture," Jessa interrupted.
"Anyways, where do you have to go again?"
"Just to get a book in Diagon Alley," Jessa replied.
"Oh good, it's just around this bend here."
A/N: cowers in absolute fear of having things thrown at her You guys, I'm so sorry it's taken this long to get out. I've probably lost a lot of readers because I've been absent for so long, but hopefully I can get back onto a regular schedule soon. Since school has started, I'm limiting myself to weekends only on the computer, so you can expect a chapter (maybe two) a weekend. I've been so busy, with school work, and this is the first free weekend (minus a few assignments I have to do for my AP classes) that I've had in it seems like forever. And guess what???? We got our computer back, because it was in the shop for about a month, so now, instead of using my brother's twelve year old laptop, I can use the newly fixed one. Ahhh, absolute bliss....
Anyways, if any of you didn't read the notice at the top of the chapter, I guess I'll tell you again. I'm re-doing chapter 16, because I really didn't like how it came out. But, my beat couldn't revise it, so if you notice anything amiss about it, please put it in your reivew. I read it through a few times, but I'm still kinda nervous about it. I hope it was better than the last one. Chaps 17-19 will be the same, though.
Anyways, thanks to all my reviewers and keep reviewing!!! Love you guys.