Disclaimer: Me no own. You no sue.
Out side, it was freezing cold. Hermione couldn't believe she had been wearing a t-shirt, skirt, and no coat the day before. She looked up at the grey sky, the once fluffy clouds now flat and monotonous. She hurried towards the Three Broomsticks and looked in the window. Harry, Ron, and two girls were sitting at a table together. Hermione thought she should go inside and say hi, but her feet led her away from the window. She turned her head to look back on the pub and saw that Harry had seen her with tears streaking down her face. She walked faster towards home. For some reason, she could not face people right now.
She broke into a run as she heard Harry calling her name. She sobbed as she ran and her breath caught in her chest. Suddenly she turned into her shortcut alleyway. There she collapsed, sobbing, on an old sofa. Harry's footsteps grow closer. She saw his shadow at the end of the alley and suddenly was glad he had come instead of Ron. Even in their Hogwarts days, Harry knew her best. Harry knew how to cheer her up, and what to do if she did not want to be cheered up.
He walked towards her in the dark. She felt the old springs sag under their weight, and Harry putting his arms around her. He rocked her, and she moved closer to him, not caring if he could tell she had broken down. He squeezed her tighter, and she sobbed into his jacket. He pulled her legs over his and held her like a baby. She slapped him and he laughed.
"Come on, Mione, let's go home." He picked her up and carried her home.
Inside, he set her down on the couch and put away their coats.
"Sorry," she hiccupped. "You didn't have to do that."
"You're right, as always. I didn't have to, but even if I did I would have done it with pleasure." He made them hot cocoa and gave one to her. The cup was warm, and when she dipped her finger in to test the temperature, the cocoa was perfect. She smiled up at him.
"How did you know I don't like it hot?" Harry just laughed and pulled her close to him.
"But before you can drink your cocoa, can you tell me why you're out of work so early?" he asked. Hermione felt tears welling up again and willed them back.
"She-she-she fired me. Because an inkwell smashed." She started crying again, and he laughed. "Don't make fun of me!"
"I'm not! But usually you don't get worked up about those things. I remember you used to tell Ron and I 'don't listen to them, just ignore them.' I guess it's just ironic that I have to tell you the same thing." She stuck her tongue out at him but smiled anyway. He brought her closer to him. She set her hot cocoa on the coffee table and leaned against him.
"I'm so glad you're my best friend," she said, meaning it. Without Harry, she would be a nerd no one liked. Without Harry, there would be no laughter, no adventures, no fun. Without Harry, her life would be incomplete.
"Me too" he said. She nestled closer to him and sighed.
"I'm pathetic."
"No, you're not. You're my Hermione Know-it-all Granger, and you'll always be my best friend." He tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and kissed the top of his head. She giggled like a little girl and closed her eyes. He rested his head on top of hers and said, "We should probably go to bed. It's late." Hermione yawned. He laughed and picked her up again. He took her to her room and laid her down on her bed. "Night, Mione. See you tomorrow."
"Night, Harry," she murmured. She pulled the sheets up to her chin and heard him quietly close the door. She rolled over and saw her Employee of the Month nomination certificate. Now, alone, she let herself cry openly. Soon tears soaked her pillow. She was so tired, yet she knew with these thoughts about work flying about her head she'd never sleep. She took a deep breath, then let it out. It calmed her a little, but not much. Suddenly she could not take it. The star student of her year, everyone had predicted she would do well in whatever she did. But, in reality, she had quit her first job and just got fired from her second. To her, it did not seem like she was doing even half as well as everyone expected her to be. She had let everyone down, what she had wanted never to do since…well, since the day she became the nerd, teacher's pet, and all those other things she had been called in the past.
She closed her eyes and involuntarily saw the memory of that fateful day that changed her life.
"Hermione, you need to keep your grade the best it can be. This is not good enough." Hermione felt tears roll down her cheeks.
"But, Mum—I'm doing the best I can!"
"Well, darling, obviously it's not good enough. You do want to get into a good college and make a success of yourself, don't you?" Hermione nodded miserably. "Then pick up your grades! If you don't pick them up in the next two weeks, we'll have to put you in extra help classes. And that's final." She watched her mother stride away and ran to her bedroom. It wasn't her fault she was doing so badly; somehow, she felt all out of place in this world. She couldn't concentrate on her schoolwork. She vowed to study hard for the rest of her life. That night, Hermione cried herself to sleep.
Then she had gotten the invitation to go to Hogwarts, and she had gladly accepted. However, her studying habits had stayed with her and her mother's stress on doing well had also.
Brrr. She shivered. It was cold that night. Somehow, even though it was early autumn, the weather had taken a turn for the worse and gotten even colder than usual. In her bed alone, Hermione felt isolated from the good things in life. She glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was midnight.
Dong. The clock struck twelve. Dong. Her brain pulled up a fact to the front of her mind this was the evilest hour of the day. Dong. What was that? The tree she had heard last night? Dong. Or something else? Dong. She scrunched up her eyes, convinced that if she stayed very still and quiet she could make it through the nightmare of an hour that was midnight. Dong. Something in the corridor rustled. Dong. She shivered and curled up in a ball, determined to stay very still. Dong. Dong. Dong. Dong. Dong. She drifted off to sleep.
In her dream, she was walking down a beach with someone. The sky was every color of the rainbow, for the sun was just setting. The ocean reflected the sky. Suddenly, a tall, cold wave came crashing down on the beach and swept away her companion. She screamed and screamed but there was no answer and the ocean was calm once more. She kept walking, looking back every so often. As she went along, the sense of loss drifted away and when she could see the end of the beach, it was totally gone. She stumbled across a hat. Then a pair of jeans. Then a striped T-shirt. She picked them up as she came across them. At the end, someone was waiting for her. She ran to them, with the clothes in her hands, but they disappeared when she got a meter away. The beach opened up and swallowed her whole. She awoke with a scream on her lips.
"Hermione?" came Harry's voice from the door. "I'm making breakfast…are sausages and pumpkin juice okay? That's…erm…all I really know how to make."
"Yeah."
"Okay. See you in a minute. You might want to get dressed first." He laughed, running out the door to the kitchen. She sighed, and then sat up. That person on the beach, she thought, who were they? The question bugged at her while she pulled on her favorite jeans and sweatshirt. She still hadn't been able to answer it when she stepped into the kitchen amid a yummy aroma from breakfast.
Harry pulled out a chair for her and waited until she sat down before sitting down himself.
"Wow, you're a gentleman this morning," Hermione teased.
"Aren't I always?" Harry retorted, trying but failing to look offended. Hermione laughed. "Well, most of the time. When I want to be, anyway." Harry grinned. "So, Ron and I were thinking of meeting Giselle and Nanette at the Three Broomsticks today at noon, but since you're not doing anything, we could cancel, or set you up with someone else…whatever you want." Hermione felt her grin slide off her face like rain off a window.
"I-I don't care, I guess…" She said, not looking at Harry.
"Okay…so, we'll meet Ron and the girls there and decide what to do then. Whoa!" An owl swooped in the window and deposited a bundle on Harry's head. He picked it up and read:
"Miss Hermione Granger. Oh, this is for you. Stupid owl. Here." He gave it to her. She noticed the Hogwarts crest on it and frowned.
"Why—"
Dear Ms. Granger,
We are proud to inform you that you have been a choice Transfiguration Professor for the upcoming school year. Please send an owl with your reply no later than July 31st. We await your response, and will send details within a week of your response.
Sincerely,
Hogwarts Deputy Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall
Harry grinned. "That's excellent! The perfect job for you! And now you won't be bored! Score for one Hermione Granger!" He high-fived Hermione.
"I know! Oh, my gosh! Oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh, Harry!" She jumped up and hugged him. Before she knew it, she was flying through the air. "Ahhhh! Put me down! Oh gosh, please put me down!" She gripped Harry's arms so hard he winced, but she did not let go. He gently set her on the floor.
"Ow, Mione, what was that for?" he said, rubbing his wrists. Hermione tried to look sympathetic, but ended up grinning, so she gave up on that angle.
"Sorry, Harry. But you know, even I can get scared when I'm suddenly up in the air."
"What do you mean, 'even I'? Are you implying that you are some kind of superwoman?" He grinned maniacally and inched toward the end table where his wand lay. Hermione gasped at the prospect of being cursed and flew out the door, Harry on her heels. "Wait up, Granger! I have something for you!" Laughing, Hermione ducked into the Three Broomsticks and squeezed her way in to the crowd. She saw Ron and raced towards his table where he and two very pretty women were sitting.
"Hey, Ron," She gasped out. "Can I hide behind you?" Ron looked confused. She saw Harry making his way towards them and she ducked behind him.
"Alright, where is she?" She heard Harry say. "Aha!" Before she could duck, he aimed the full body-bind at her. A jet of light soared toward her and made contact. She felt herself go rigid and fall to the ground. She heard Harry laughing uncontrollably.
"Nanette, Giselle, this is Hermione Granger, our best friend. We went to school together. I have no idea what these two are up to, but knowing them, it's bound to be something stupid." Ron remarked.
"Hey!" Harry protested. "It's not stupid! She just implied that she was a superhuman, and I was a lower life form, so I hexed her. Is that bad?" He bent over Hermione and stared in her face. "Sorry, Mione," he said apologetically. "I won't do it again, I swear." He performed the countercurse and she felt herself go flexible again.
"Harry! You should be ashamed of yourself!" Hermione heard the smooth, feminine voice issue from the mouth of the pretty blonde sitting next to Ron. Harry grinned. The brunette sitting next to her smiled at her and gave Hermione her hand to help her up. Hermione frowned and pushed herself up and dusted herself off.
"Nice meeting you guys. I have some business to attend to. See you later, Harry. Bye, Ron." She said, trying to get out of her position as it hit her: she was about to spend the day with her two best friends and their girlfriends. That did not sound like a good day to her. As she left, she smiled. Those trendy, giggling females certainly were going to think twice before messing with her friends after the show she just put on. She laughed at the thought they might think she was a little nuts and strode out the door and into the swirling snow in high spirits.
A/N: Well that was fun. XD And quite long, too. So sorry for the long wait! I went to Florida, and had a blast.
I hope to get the next chapter up soon.
"A Birthday Surprise" is on hold, as I seem to have lost my notes and now have only a vague idea where it's going. "Red, Gold, and Fuchsia" is giving me some trouble right now, but I'm working on it!
Thanks sooo much for reading!
insanehpluver
