More to Life
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, not even this disclaimer. The song is property of the wonderful singer, Jesse McCartney, and his record company people.
Chapter 4: Don't Go Breaking My Heart
Right from the start
I gave you my heart
Oh, baby
You know I gave you my heart
Don't go breaking my heart
Don't go breaking my, don't go breaking my heart
Oh, baby,
I gave you my heart
-Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Jesse McCartney
"Mione, get up!" Lavender said, violently shaking me which did not help my headache what so ever. It already felt like there was a bludger loose in my head without her help. "It's big report day!"
I tripped from being tangled in the blankets as I jumped out of bed. Lavender gave me a hand. "You mean?"
"Sam gave us the assignment! We get to cover the Hogsmeade Summer Festival!" Lavender squealed, hugging me. "Now get dressed! If I were you, I'd wear that cute little black mini-skirt and the bubblegum pink top."
"I don't own any of those." I thought, visioning my closet.
"Oh, yeah, they're mine. "Lavender remembered.
After going through my wardrobe at least three times (with Lavender determining that we need to do serious shopping on our next day off), she decided on layered black skirt and a black top.
Hogsmeade was packed with people. Tourists in town for the festival and the regular crowd, the street just seemed to be filled to capacity.
"Hermione!" Sam, my boss, yelled from down a side alley. "Over here!"
I grabbed Lavender by the wrist and pulled her through the crowd, as she was not paying one bit of attention to Sam.
"What's my assignment?" I asked eagerly. "Do I get to cover the All Night Party for Charity?" That was like a huge assignment. As many people watched it as they watched the quidditch finals. It was this huge party with tons of celebrities making appearances for charity. Last year the singer Jesse Carter gave this awesome spur of the moment concert. I wasn't reporting but I was there. It was great.
"Um, no." Sam said, looking a little nervous. "You get to cover the book signing."
Lavender hit me on the arm. "You love books!" She said, as if I didn't already know that.
"Who is the author?" I asked, thinking I had to get a book for myself.
"He's already sold more then his publisher expected." Sam replied.
"Wow. How many copies so far?"
"Um, three."
"You want me to cover a guy who sold only three copies? He must suck if his publisher didn't even think he would sell that many!" I cried, outraged. This was my big break, the covering of a guy who can't sell a book.
"Isn't there anything else?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest. I was NOT going to cover the story of some horrible book writer.
"Not work."
"Then I won't do it."
Lavender tapped me on the shoulder. "Mione, we need to pay the rent."
Guess I was going to cover it after all.
"Your total comes to seven sickles with tax." I told the customer.
She handed me the money and muttered something about getting her brother back before walking away.
"I wanted to thank you for last night." I whipped around. Hermione was standing there, looking rather down, with her buddy, some blonde haired girl examining a shelf of edible bubbles. She looked vaguely familiar.
"No problem." I replied, coming out from behind the counter. "Are you feeling any better?"
"Yeah. I stopped throwing up awhile ago. My head still hurts though." She said, taking her sunglasses off.
"So what brings you up this way of town? Only a fool would venture out o Hogsmeade today. It's a zoo. But good for business though."
"I got stuck with a lousy segment interviewing an author at the Feathery Quill at noon. What a bad story. I am never going to get to do anything big."
I remembered what Hermione said last night. Love you, Fred. I just looked at her, all pretty and cute, standing there with that depressed look on her face. "You will have a big story."
"Fred, this story sucks." She said, her friend picked up an Unlightable Candle and smelled it.
"It will be huge." I said. She just looked at me with a confused look. "I promise. It starts at twelve, right?"
"Fred, what are you talking about?" She said, warily.
"Never mind that," I said, pulling her into a hug. "Now smile."
She just gave a weak smile and pulled away. "I have to go make sure I know the dumb author before I start, so I'll see you later. Come on, Lavender."
"I want to come back when we're done. That candle smells so good and I love the candles burning when I take a relaxing bath."
"Lavender, the candle doesn't light."
"I don't want to light it, I want to burn it."
"That's the same thing." Hermione argued.
"No it isn't."
"Yes it- you know what, never mind." She said, looking at me and giving me one of those smiles that showed she was getting frustrated with her friend. "I better get going Fred, I'll talk to you later."
"Good luck, Mione," I whispered. She waved as exited the store. Was it me, or was my heart beating a million beats a minute? Was it because of Hermione? Nah, I was crazy, it was probably just the taco I ate for breakfast.
"You must be Hermione. I'm Pierre."
I turned around to look at the author. There he was, tall and athletic, with this gorgeous sandy color hair and sprite bottle green eyes.
"Hi," I said. Merlin, he was so, so cute. He'd be the perfect boyfriend if he wasn't such a horrible author. I tried to make polite conversation until the shoot. "So, um, Pierre, what is your book about? Your publisher had some, um, unusual expectations."
Pierre laughed, revealing his awesomely white teeth. I think I heard Lavender sigh. "He doesn't expect any to sell. Just go ahead and say it."
I cleared my throat; I was highly uncomfortable yet Pierre seemed really okay with the fact that his publisher did not expect him to sell anything. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, why did your publisher publish a book that he did not think would sell?"
Pierre laughed again. "My other books, 101 Ways to Land Yourself in Detention and 202 Ways to Escape Detention, were best sellers. But I decided that for my third book, I wanted to do something more important, something that had an effect, not just teaching pranksters at school how to escape from horrible detentions. Since my other books were best sellers, my publisher was pressured by his boss to publish this book too. It wasn't that he didn't like it. He said it was too controversial."
"What's it about?" I asked. At least I knew that this guy wasn't a totally bad writer, even if his best sellers sounded like something that Fred and George would have written.
"I know I sound off my rocker but give me a chance to explain myself before you jump to conclusions," he said, taking a breath for dramatic effect, " It's called Release the Prisoners: Stop the Slavery of the House Elves. What do you think?"
"He's your soul mate!" Lavender said with big eyes. My heart and head felt the same way. Not only was he cute but he was smart. I know, he's probably already married.
"What?" Pierre asked with a smile. (And no ring!)
"When I went to Hogwarts, I started the House-Elf Liberation Front and S.P.E.W." I replied, feeling my cheeks heat up.
Pierre's face lit up. I made a guy's face light up! Woo hoo! "I saw your website!" He replied, excitedly. Lavender made a face and sat down on a table filled with copies of Elizabeth Ray's Thirty Minute Potions.
"You are a wizard and you have the internet?" I asked in astonishment. It was very rare to meet a fellow wizard, even one muggle-born that fancied using the internet.
"I'm half and half. My mum is witch but my dad isn't. He has the internet in his office for work. I grew up with it. Computers are so much easier to use to type up books. I can't believe these witches and wizards who insist on avoiding muggle things and end up writing out entire novels with a quill and ink. It's bloody insane!"
"I whole-heartedly agree."
"Say, after this segment want to grab a cup of tea or something?"
I think I was in love.
"George, I'm taking a break." I said, he nodded in reply but I don't think he was truly listening or else he would not have let me leave. Customers were everywhere, the store was packed corner to corner.
I went into the back room and pulled several containers of the same fireworks we had used during our seventh year. Guaranteed to cause a bang. Hermione would have her big story after all
"Good afternoon, this is Hermione Granger reporting live from the annual Hogsmeade Summer Festival. I am standing here with the author of best- selling books, 101 Ways to Land Yourself in Detention and 202 Ways to Escape Detention. Pierre Gregory has just released his third sensational novel, Release the Prisoners! Stop the Slavery of the House-elves. Pierre, could you tell us a little about the book?" I said with a big smile. And I didn't even have to fake it.
"Although my first novels hint at my humorous and mischievous side, I am very serious when it comes to the topic of the enslaving of elves. These elves are forced into doing the dirty work of wizards and have no power against it. I think that we-"
Pierre was cut off by a large boom coming from right outside the store. I grabbed Pierre's hand and pulled him out to the front of the store. Hundreds of pinwheels filled the sky, it was a spectacle bigger than the whole festival in itself.
"YES!" Lavender shouted, jumping up and down. "WE FINALLY HAVE A STORY!"
This day was just getting better and better.
Hermione came running out of the store with some preppy looking blonde guy. I have no idea who he was. Oh wait, he was probably that author she was upset about it. The guy certainly looked too pretty to string two intelligent thoughts together. Did I just call a guy pretty? Whoa, I have been spending way too much time with Ginny. (She helps out at the store some of time but whenever she's there she just spends the whole time guy- watching, completely useless but she does manage to keep my informed on the latest gossip from home. She stills live there. For example, just yesterday, she told me that Ron accidentally fell of his broom at practice and now has a black eye. Okay, so she doesn't tell me anything important like the time Charlie had to be rushed to the hospital for a burn but she does inform of good stuff to blackmail Ron and Percy with later. Ginny has turned out so well, the little prankster/smart mouth/black-mailer. George and I are so proud.)
Well anyway, back to the more important thing (Mione, duh). She was just standing there, beautiful as ever, with the biggest smile I had ever seen on her porcelain face. She excitedly began talking into the camera, Preppy Blonde still standing next to her looking, well, preppy.
I watched her from a distance a few minutes more, waiting until her segment was over to go and talk to her. My heat was pounding in excitement. I know it sounds crazy but I think that I really like my little brother's almost fiancé. I mean really like. Maybe even love. Wow, me in love. What a scary thought.
"This is Hermione Granger signing off here at the Hogsmeade Summer Festival. Stay tuned for all night coverage of the All Night Party for Charity. Musical guests include The Weird Sisters, Fifteen Firebolts, Lunar Eclipse, Carina Faye, and Frozen in Time. Special appearances by comedian Belinda Ross, actress Marina Dodgeson, and actors Oliver Zipwindle and Glenn Sproutbud. Don't miss the Quidditch for Charity Event, tomorrow at noon. You can count on Channel 15 for full coverage. Keep watching channel 15 for tonight there will be a charity raffle for many prizes including copies of Pierre Gregory's latest book, a trip to Majorca for two, concert tickets for Carina Faye in Glasgow on the nineteenth and a signed copy of the latest Lunar Eclipse album, Blocked by the Sun."
"That's a wrap. Excellent Hermione," Sam said, clapping his hands together.
"You were awesome even with that spur of the moment excitement," Pierre said, just standing there being all cute.
"Thanks," I replied and with that he leaned down and kissed me right on the lips. Merlin, now I know that I am in love.
I started to walk towards her as her boss rolled the camera away, my heart beating a million miles a minute. Then it stopped (No, not the camera rolling away, I meant my heart). Stupid Preppy Blonde kissed her.
But that wasn't the worst part. No it wasn't by far.
The worst part was the most heart breaking, gut wrenching feeling ever.
The worst part was that...
She kissed him back.
Author's Note: So what did you think? Please, please review! I will be ever so grateful! And I promise once school ends (two more weeks) I will be updating much more frequently. Thanks again,
Simple Plan GC Fan
