Chapter 3: The Picnic

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot

Hermione stared down at the bright purple envelope that lay in front of her. She had just been reading the Daily Prophet, when a large tawny owl had dropped it onto her empty plate. She took up the letter, and stared down at her name written in extravagant script. The handwriting seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place it. She opened the letter and unfolded the light blue parchment inside. It read:

Hello Hermione,

Hope the year's going well so far. Sorry to write to you out of the blue but George and I were wondering if you had tried out our Daydream Charm yet? Seeing as you're the brightest witch in your year, we figured your input on the charm could be quite valuable. How is our ickle Ronikins? Hopefully he isn't causing you and Harry too much trouble. Look forward to hearing back from you.

All the best,

Fred Weasley

Hermione blinked. She read the letter two more times. She was completely taken aback. She never thought the twins would want her opinion on anything, let alone one of their products. All of their interactions before this had been her scolding them for one thing or another. She stowed the letter in her bag and started towards Arithmancy. She kept thinking about the letter. She had been quite stressed with the mountains of homework she constantly had. Not to mention the boys testing her last nerve. It might be nice to escape from it all. Just then she thought of the horrible possibility that she would have a cheesy romantic daydream involving Ron dressed like a pirate. She had been avoiding him for the last two days and she would hate it if he appeared in her dreams. She made up her mind that she would absolutely not try the charm as she settled into class. However, as she listened to the drawls of Professor Vector, she thought back to her conversation with Luna. She had advised her to take a break and focus on herself, which she hadn't done at all. She figured having her head in the clouds was fairly close to drifting into them and decided she would try out the daydream charm, if only for that reason. If her scheduling was correct she would have an hour of free time after she finished her homework this evening. She would try then.

The day crawled by. After Arithmancy she had a double class of Transfiguration. The whole time she was ignored by Harry, who had been distracted by his last meeting with Dumbledore, and avoided Ron who was basically drooling over Lavender. During her free periods she sat in the common room trying to study, while Harry stewed and refused to talk about whatever happened with Dumbledore that had upset him so deeply. talked about what he had seen in the pensive for the fifth or sixth time. She also had to actively ignore Lavender sitting in Ron's lap as he nodded stupidly along to whatever she was saying to him. She decided she would work on homework in the library that evening. After finishing 3 essays, 8 chapters of reading, and successfully learning how to nonverbally perform Lumos, she headed back to her dormitory. Thankfully Lavender and Parvati were still in the common room. She grabbed the Daydream Charm out of her trunk and sat in her four poster bed. She drew the curtain and cast Silencio. She looked down and the vibrant box and the winking pirate.

Thirty minutes. That was all. If she dreamed about Ron it would all be over in thirty minutes. She could handle that. She took a deep breath and emptied the box into her hand. She was surprised to see a simple black, beaded bracelet. Was this all? She looked into the box to find nothing else. She figured they must have charmed it so it would only work for the wearer. She bit her lip nervously and slipped in on over her wrist.

She blinked and found herself standing at the edge of the lake. The charm must have worked because the sun was shining down on her and the weather was uncharacteristically pleasant. She was wondering why she had been brought there when she heard Ron's voice from behind her. "There you are 'Mione!" she groaned and turned around. There stood a perfectly normal Ron. No pirate costume, no knight in shining armor, just Ron. He took her by the hand and smiled "Come on!" he urged as he led her towards the large tree they would often study under. Although she was very aware of him holding her hand, she noticed her heart wasn't racing at all. Before she could think to much about this, Ron had led her to a red and white checkered sheet and a picnic basket. However, she was surprised to note, they were not alone. Harry was sitting at the edge of the blanket waiting for them. No! She was absolutely not in love with both of her best friends! There must have been something wrong with the charm. She sat down and Harry began to talk about how he had high hopes for the quidditch team this year. Ron grinned broadly and agreed. They all continued to chat about random topics and she found herself laughing as she dug into her mother's homemade pot pie. It was then she realized that this wasn't a romantic dream at all. This was something she wanted far more than that. She was simply spending time with best friends. No imminent threats of danger, no romantic drama, no stress. It was just her and her two best friends having a picnic, watching the giant squid, and talking about everything from how excited they were for apparition classes to how they should visit Hagrid later. They were just three regular sixth years, without a care in the world.

When she woke up half an hour later, she felt tears sting her eyes. She hadn't realized it until then, but she had been incredibly lonely this year. She pushed the thought out of her mind, she had to write back to Fred while the experience was still fresh in her mind. She peeked through the curtains of her four poster. Her two dorm mates were nowhere to be seen. She went to her desk and pulled out a clean sheet of parchment. She dipped her quill into her inkwell and began to write.

Dear Fred,

I have just tried out your Daydream Charm. I must admit, it worked brilliantly. The charm brought me in and out of the daydream seamlessly. The experience itself was surprisingly realistic. Did you work with some magic that uses aspects of the wearers memory? I am honestly amazed by the product. I stand by what I said before, it really is a work of extraordinary magic. In regard to any notes I have, I think possibly adding some sort of calming aspect to charm might be worth looking into. I feel as though people may get worked up or emotional after the daydream ends and the addition of a soothing charm could help with that. Otherwise I wouldn't change anything else. However, I did have an idea. It would be interesting to see themed daydream experiences. When I was about to try on the charm I was originally worried I would find myself on a pirate ship. Thankfully I was not, but I'm sure there are people who would swoon to be stolen away by a pirate. Ron is doing okay.

She paused for a second. She knew that she should have left the letter there, but something made her want to keep writing.

He's actually doing better than okay! He's become quite big headed after rejoining the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He even found himself a girlfriend, Lavender Brown, who spends her time wrapped around him. It's gag-inducing. We aren't on speaking terms currently and I don't intend on changing that any time soon. Harry on the other hand has been incredibly distant. I can't blame him for that but it is rather disheartening. He's also recently started taking some advice from a questionable source and he refuses to listen to me about it. I swear, these boys are trying to make me pass out from worrying. Honestly! I have no idea how to handle them! Other than that the year has been incredibly taxing. I knew that being an N. E. W. T student would be difficult but I underestimated the amount of work there is to do. You and George may have had the right idea flying away from here! Not that I would ever fly on my own accord. Anyhow I know I didn't give much input but I hope it helped in some way.

Sincerely,

Hermione Granger

Hermione sealed the letter. There was still time until curfew so she made her way to owlery. She picked out a tan and black eagle owl and tied the letter to her foot. "Bring this to Fred Weasley, at Weasley Wizard Wheezes." she told the owl who cooed back at her, then flew off. It was only after she began to walk back to the common room, that she realized what she had done. She stopped dead in tracks. Had she really sent such a personal letter to Ron's brother? Why had she done that? She groaned and put her face in her hands. She had been so emotionally charged after the daydream experience she had just vented all her annoyances to Fred Weasley of all people. As she made her way back to the common room, she prayed that he wouldn't reply. She couldn't possibly deal with that kind of embarrassment.