Chapter 4: The Alcove

Disclaimer: Nothing but the plot belongs to me

Two days passed without a reply. Hermione was happily going about her days having decided Fred was probably not going to respond to her embarrassingly personal letter. However, these hopes were quickly crushed when a familiar eagle owl flew down to her the third morning during breakfast. She landed near her plate and Hermione untied the vibrant green envelope from her foot. The bird cooed, pecked at her toast and flew off to the owlery. Hermione quickly opened the letter and began to read.

To the Incredible Hermione Granger,

This owl is quite stubborn. Did you tell her to stay until she got a response? Regardless I have grown quite close to her and decided to name her Athena. She responds to it so I think she approves. Back to the matter at hand - we tried adding a light soothing charm to calm the after effects and it worked like a dream! (pun intended) You are absolutely brilliant, you know that?! Also George and I love the idea of selling themed experiences, it's honestly a fantastic idea! Maybe we should have you join our R&D team.

Hermione smiled at this and felt her face warm at the overwhelming praise. She forgot how nice it felt to be appreciated. She continued reading.

Regarding my idiot brother. I haven't a clue how that clumsy oaf got on the team for two years in a row, maybe Harry is biased. But I can see why he's acting like just an absolute prick. He finally gets a girlfriend and he's so up his own arse, he could probably see out of his bellybutton. I'm honestly quite surprised to find out Lavender has such awful taste in men.

Hermione stifled a laugh at this. She quickly looked around to make sure she hadn't caught anyone's attention and kept going.

I really don't understand how you put up with those two. They can be quite self absorbed. It must be difficult being friends with The Chosen One and the biggest prat in the world. You must be a Saint. Maybe you should invest in some better friends. In all seriousness, It sounds like you need to get away from them for a bit and I have just the solution. As payment for letting us use your giant beautiful brain, I will bestow upon you a gift. While George and I roamed those hallowed halls, we happened upon a little alcove attached to the library. If you go to the east wing on the first floor, down a small hallway not too far from the Charms classroom, there is a large painting of cows in a field. If you pet the spotted one third from the left, the painting will swing open. The far end of the alcove is a bookshelf, if you pull on A Study of Secrets Storages and Spaces (yes I know, very on the nose) it will open up to the restricted section. We used that quite a bit when we were doing research for our skiving snack boxes and other top secret products among other products. It's not on the map, we checked. So even Harry won't be able to find you. Hope it helps! If you need any advice or just to vent again, you should definitely write! It was great hearing from you!

Incredibly Inspired,

Fred Weasley

By the end of the letter Hermione found herself grinning from ear to ear. She had never expected such a good response. She reread the second half of the letter. She had a free period after lunch today and she decided to check out the alcove then. With a smile on her face, she tucked the letter away in her bag, wished Harry goodbye, and hurried off to class.

By the time lunch came about, Hermione could hardly contain her excitement. She barely paid any attention to Harry and Ron who were complaining about the brutal Defence Against the Dark Arts class they just came from. Instead, her mind was focused on the letter she received from Fred earlier that day. If what he said was true, she was about to find her new favorite spot in Hogwarts. She scarfed down the rest of her lunch, and quickly got up. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" asked Harry, she quickly responded "Library!" and she rushed off towards the east wing of the castle. She passed a group of second years entering the Charms classroom. She continued on and turned down a small hallway she had never noticed before. It didn't take her long to locate the rather large painting of cows and was pleased to see that she was alone in the hallway. Hesitantly, she raised her hand to the brown spotted cow standing third from the left and ran a finger down its back. The cow mooed in appreciation and then the painting slowly swung outwards. She climbed into the entrance and the painting swung shut behind her.

Hermione stood with her mouth agape. The room was the definition of cozy. As Fred described, the far wall was a bookshelf going all the way up to the sloping ceiling. The room was lit with the same comfortable, warm light that inhabited the library. The walls were a gentle bronze in color with decorated with embroidered Ravenclaw tapestries. There was a low coffee table with two plush navy blue couches framing it. Hermione figured this must have been made by a previous Ravenclaw student as a hideaway to study in peace. She looked toward the adjacent wall to find a desk and chair. Nearby was a sizable side table with multiple drawers of differing sizes and a wide cabinet door. The room itself was strewn with piles with books and all the tables were covered in sheets of parchment.

She picked up a sheet and saw that it was covered in notes and drawings of what she recognized to be Puking Pastilles. The more she looked around the more she saw evidence of the twins all over the room. The stacked books included those that she had read many times before to those filled with spells and potions she had never heard of. Hermione smiled to herself, the twins never let on how much effort they had put into the products. She dropped her bag onto the desk chair, pulled out four or five books and settled into the comfortable blue love-seat. She placed the book next to her and grabbed her copy of Advanced Rune Translation from the top of the pile. Before she could dive into the book her eyes fell upon the beat up, leather bound spine of Secret Storages and Spaces. She bit her lip, she knew she should start her homework but curiosity got the better of her. She walked up to the bookcase and pulled the spine of the old book. Just like she had seen in old movies, the section of bookshelf swung open like a door. Hermione couldn't hide the giant grin that had spread across her face. She was in the restricted section! She walked cautiously through the silent aisles, looking at the names of various books. Powerful Curses and How to Harness Them... Unspeakable Potions... Various Ways to Invoke the Dead... Secrets to Powerful Divination (she rolled her eyes at this.) She was blown away. Hermione had only ever been in the restricted section twice and was under the watchful eye of Madam Pince. She found the freedom exhilarating. She pulled a particularly interesting looking book, Emotion and Their Effects on Alchemic Practices, and stealthily made her way back to the alcove. After all, it was daytime and she didn't want to get caught by the strict librarian. She had wanted to take Alchemy but not enough people had opted for the class. She settled back into the couch and started to read.

An hour later the toll of the bell made her yelp. She had been so completely enthralled in the book she had been reading that she completely forgot her mountains of Ancient Runes homework she had come here to work on! She grabbed a scrap of parchment and marked her place in the book so she could jump back in as soon as she came back to her new hideout. She grabbed her Arithmancy text from her small pile of books, half of which were restricted, and shoved it into her book bag. She decided she would get the rest of her things later and hurried out of the portrait hole into a thankfully empty corridor.