The next day blossomed with a gentlecomforting touch. Hermione woke to a pale light shining in her room. The four-poster bed was against the wall that looked out over the Forbidden Forest. The bed was made of deep maple and had intricate scenes carved into it. Pictures of creatures happily running through life and strong poses of powerful wizards basking in the products of their spells came alive in the wood. The sheets were a deep burgundy silk that moved and flowed like water. The mattress and pillows were a perfect mixture of firmness and softness. Last night's sleep had been one of the best Hermione had encountered in so many nights. She breathed in the certain smell that Hogwarts had in the morning; it was different than any other time of day. As she floated in the smells she finally saw the place that would be her safe haven in the next year. Her room was beautiful. The room itself was large and spacious with a gargantuan bookshelf in the corner. The bookshelf was half full of books Hermione had only heard of. Excitement flooded into her chocolate brown eyes. A smile played across her delicate features. Dumbledore knew that this would be a perfect gift and comfort to someone as studious as her.
She was finally able to pull herself away from the beauty of the books and drag herself to the Great Hall to enjoy some breakfast before her trip to Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade with Echo. Smells of delicious food reminded Hermione that she had skipped dinner last night, voting instead to wander around Hogwarts until she was too tired; she could barely stand. She saw nothing but the bed when she walked into the room that night. The warm breads and ripe fruits made the young teacher's mouth water. Only Dumbledore was at the table when she arrived. He greeted her with a tip of the long hat that sat perched on top of his head of long silver hair. "I trust you enjoyed your room and the books." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled knowingly.
"Thank you, Professor. The books are astounding. I haven't even heard of some of them. I fear though that they'll taunt me until I have devoured them all." A faint tinkle of a laugh escaped from Hermione's mouth as Snape came billowing into the room. He was soon followed by Echo, who was apparently not a morning person. She seemed to be walking in a fog,barely acknowledging any thing or anyone. She took a seat next to Hermione and immediately downed an entire cup of coffee. After about two more cups, Echo started to become the smiling mystery she always was.
Once everyone was about halfway through breakfast, a few owls came and dropped packages at Trabou, Echo, and Flitwick's plates. Trabou's package had a few trinkets left over from home. Flitwick received some sort of sugary candy. Echo's package had air holes and moved. Hermione assumed that this was the package she was forced to wait for before they could go shopping. Hermione finished first and shot Echo a look that said "Hurry up so we can go." Echo shot her a look back that said "I need more coffee".
Hermione returned to her room to change into something that would be a little easier to conceal her wand and a few other precautions, in case a Death Eater got it into his head to take her on alone. When she arrived back at the entrance hall, she found Viktor waiting for her. "Dumbledore thought if vould be a gud idea if I vent vith you for protection." Krum said softly.
"Oh, ok." Hermione was worried about the awkwardness of the situation and the strain it would put on the trip. Echo did not know that there had ever been something between the two of them.
"Hey, ready to go Hermione?" Echo asked bounding down the stairs. She was in robes of a deep purple that darkened her eyes and the red streaks in her hair. Now that Hermione thought of it, Echo Narcula reminded her a great deal of Nymphadora Tonks. Tonks had recovered from Sirius' death by falling in love with his best friend, Remus. They had both died in a very tough battle against an extensive army of Death Eaters. It had been a bad loss for the Order. It was still hard to think about it.
"Hello, Echo. I hope I am not intruding." He said it just a softly, but this time there was a hint of disdain resonating through his voice.
"I figured that we would be forced to have a chaperone. 'The Chosen One's best friend and all." Echo easily said.
"According to Hogwarts, A History, we can't Apparate inside the grounds of Hogwarts. So I thought we would start in Hogsmeade, I have a few things on order for the seventh years." Hermione said in a rush.
"Why not? I heard The Three Broomsticks has some of the best Firewhiskey in all of England." Echo said excitedly.
"I don't care for whiskey, in any form." Krum snarled.
"Yes, well, let's go." Hermione said, ending the strained silence that filled the room. The trio set off on the green grass and towards the prestigious gates that led to the school.
Yes I finally updating. I am so sorry that I haven't updated. In my defense I was gone for about a month. I want to thank all that have reviewed, especially cto4Wrin11989. I couldn't agree with you more about the pace of most stories. It seems like they are immeadiately falling in love and that just doesn't seem like life.
Also I don't own